Taking Him, page 9
Victoria tried to process that idea.
She’d always considered Alistair’s marriage as already assured, that everyone was just waiting for her to go down the aisle first. She really did believe that Alistair would be all but following her down the cathedral’s deep blue carpets. But if his mother was against such a match, perhaps her cousin had a chance? Maybe with her in his corner, Alistair would finally be able to stand up to his father who would undoubtedly be the one choosing his son’s future bride.
She glanced towards where the Grand Duke and Alistair stood, where it was clear Harold was berating his son again. To give Alistair his due, the prince had his head up, but his eyes didn’t meet his father’s. Instead, he stared out across the partygoers, focused on the back of the room as he took whatever rebuke his father was throwing at him. Victoria wished he’d stand up to the Duke, to tell him, just once, that he was his own man. It was true that she had failed to do the same—with her father, the King, anyone really—but she wasn’t going to wear the crown. How could her cousin one day lead the nation if he was always bowing his head or was unable to meet the eye of his enemy?
‘Don’t pity him,’ Sophie said. ‘And don’t think him weak. He fights his battles behind closed doors, as a man should. His father could learn a thing or two from my son.’ Victoria turned her gaze away from the heirs and back towards her aunt. ‘I like you, Victoria, I always have. I might not have always shown it, too aggrieved by your mother’s selfishness when she ran off with your father and forced me into a marriage I was far from ready to endure, but I have. I am sorry I allowed your mother’s transgressions to cloud my ability to form a friendship with you. I hope going forward that may change?’
Victoria blinked at the Grand Duchess in surprise and bafflement. Had she just called her mother’s elopement selfish? That the wonderful love story she’d grown up hearing, wishing for her own version of the fairy tale had been the cause of deep pain for others?
She looked at her aunt properly for the first time and noticed a woman, much younger than Victoria had considered, staring back at her. While she knew there was almost a fourteen-year age difference between the Grand Duke and Duchess, she’d never really seen it before. Sophie always stood so stoically at her husband’s side, a prim and proper consort for the future king. She dressed like she was approaching seventy rather than the fifty-four years she was. It was the complete opposite to her own parents, who had just over fifteen years difference. Her father had always seemed younger, almost as youthful as his young wife.
The Duchess and Princess Melinda had been the same age, yet Victoria could never imagine her mother looking as old or dowdy as the woman before her. She glanced towards where her Aunt Amelia stood, two years older than Sophie, yet looking twenty her junior. She often got comments describing her more akin to one of the King’s granddaughters than his actual daughter. Would her mother have looked more like Amelia?
It was a cruel game to play, and not one Victoria wanted to indulge.
And that was when the future queen’s words hit home. She was the same age as her mother would be, meaning they were the same age when they got married, just a day apart. Had Sophie been promised more time before she was supposed to wed Harold and her mother’s elopement had ruined that? In that sense, her mother’s actions could very well be construed as selfish and, in her aunt’s eyes, unforgivable.
‘That would be nice, Auntie,’ Victoria said, finally finding her tongue untied. Sophie nodded her approval and glanced towards where her husband and son were. The Grand Duke pointed his finger at Alistair, saying one last thing before he turned on his heel and stormed away into the crowd.
‘He trusts you,’ Sophie said as she watched her son gather himself together. He took a deep breath before putting on a smile and glancing around the room. His eyes landed on Victoria and his mother and he headed towards them. ‘Please guide him well when he comes to you.’
‘Mother, Victoria, interesting to see you two chatting. Might I enquire the occasion?’
‘Don’t be a brat,’ Sophie said with a put-upon sigh. ‘I’m not your enemy and neither is Victoria.’ And before Victoria could say anything, the Grand Duchess turned and left the two of them. Victoria watched her go, completely baffled as to what on earth had just happened.
‘What were you two talking about?’ Alistair asked, unable to keep the curiosity from his voice. It took Victoria a moment to try and piece together what exactly she could say they’d been discussing.
‘Love,’ she finally settled on. The prince snorted.
‘Like she knows what that is.’
‘Don’t be a dick,’ Victoria frowned as she looked at Alistair. She weighed up if she should say anything more to the Prince when he snagged a waiter and ordered a double scotch. She raised her brows at such a drink.
‘Don’t,’ was all he said. She held up her hands in mock surrender.
‘Come on’—she slipped her arm through his—‘let’s go and see how normal people act at parties,’ she said with a sigh as she led him to Cormac and his friends, putting her conversation with her aunt out of her head.
As they were halfway across the room, Cormac turned and spotted the royal cousins heading towards them. He smiled at her, a wide beaming smile that reached his eyes and made them seem to glow in the warm light of the room. Victoria’s heart began to race, and she had to swallow the sudden moisture that gathered in her mouth at the sight of her future husband… Who was going to kiss her tonight. Her knees felt weak at the thought, and she was glad Alistair was at her side to lead her the rest of the way.
‘You okay?’ Alistair asked quietly as she stumbled ever so slightly.
‘That’s the man I’m going to marry,’ her mouth said instead of the yes, I’m fine her brain wanted to spit at him. Alistair’s warm chuckle at her side only made her brain curse him and her body even more.
‘I really am happy for you,’ Alistair told her. ‘I’m glad that one of us gets to have our heart lead us down the aisle.’
She blinked at the words. Were she and Cormac that good at acting that they were able to convince even her family that they were in love?
Her brain went eerily quiet at that question, her heart thundering in her chest as they got closer to the group. She licked her lips, suddenly nervous, as Cormac took a step towards them.
‘I’ll take it from here,’ he said to Alistair and held out his arm to her. She looked up at him and felt her world tilt. What the hell was wrong with her?
‘You’re going to kiss me tonight.’ Her mouth once again spoke without her brain telling it to. The beaming smile he’d been giving her turned into a salacious grin, and she felt her breath hitch as he leaned down toward her. But instead of aiming for her mouth, he instead kissed her cheek.
‘How about we bail out early and go and do some kissing now?’ His breath was warm against her skin as he murmured his words in her ear, before pressing another kiss just below it. She gasped and turned to him, her nose nudging against his cheek as her body tingled in anticipation of his touch. She wanted to trace his strong jaw with her lips, kiss her way down his neck as she undid that bow tie that made him look so damn sexy, and slowly undo his buttons one by one as she followed them downwards with her mouth.
‘What do you say, princess?’ he murmured as his hands settled on her waist and pulled her closer to him. Was he going to kiss her right here? Would he throw her over his shoulder and march them off to their room that instant if she just said yes? God, she hoped so!
‘Yes.’ She breathed the word and he groaned in pleasure and need.
‘Quickest way out?’ he asked as he pressed another kiss to her neck. ‘Which door?’
‘The one we—’
A ringing of a bell trilled across the room, jarring Victoria and Cormac from their private bubble.
‘Dinner is served!’ the Master of Ceremonies called out and a murmur of pleasure filled the room.
‘Later, princess,’ Cormac said, taking a step back from her. He took her hand, as she stared at him with such disappointment, and lifted it to his lips to press a kiss to it. ‘I promise. Every wish, every desire you have, I will fulfil.’
She whimpered in frustration as they began to walk towards the state room where their fancy dinner would be served. She didn’t want dinner; she wanted the man next to her!
‘Fifty crowns!’ she heard Hugh’s voice shout in elation across the room. ‘Pay up, Artie!’
Victoria groaned.
Since he’d got engaged—and that was still weird to think about—Cormac felt that he’d spent more time standing in front of doors building up the courage to go through them than at any other point in his life. And that was saying something, considering that at sixteen, he’d thought waiting to go into the Headmaster’s office after being caught locked in Jessica’s embrace, sucking a hickey onto her neck with his hand up her skirt was always going to be where he’d needed the most courage.
Then when he was eighteen, he’d figured that was wrong and there was no way he’d ever need as much strength as he did standing at the hospital doors waiting to go and collect his brother, alone, as his new guardian.
At twenty, he’d actually figured raising a baby was easy compared to standing in front of the court doors as they finally repossessed the house his parents had left him; he’d failed to make the mortgage payments for more than six months after being scammed out of the lump sum he’d received in their will.
And at twenty-three, there had been the doors to the first strip club he’d worked at as a hot butler, serving drinks in just a G-string, and stupid shirt collar, tie, and cuffs.
But now, at twenty-five, he found himself constantly pausing in front of any bedroom door that Victoria stood behind, reminding himself not to give in to temptation, to keep his hands to himself, to make their first time the right time… once he was able to get over the whole inequality between them thing. And tonight was that night. He’d seen it when she stood in front of the King, when she’d attacked a Guard to get to him, when she’d demanded things and been denied them, just as he had been throughout his life.
She might be a lady of the realm, but just like everyone else, there were people she had to bow to, had to submit to. She might have money and a title, but she wasn’t too far different from him in the grand scheme of things—they both had to prostrate themselves at the feet of others.
He took a breath and scratched at his ear as he stood staring at the ornate door into their bedroom somewhere deep in the palace. He’d tucked a very tired James into bed and had no other reason to delay walking into their room and doing what he’d promised.
But that was the thing; he’d promised it in the heat of the moment, and now the moment was gone, he wasn’t quite sure how to approach his betrothed. Save for Jessica, all his moments of passion had been quick fumbles in the back of cars, in club or pub toilets, or down dark alleyways.
He wasn’t proud of his experiences, but he’d needed the occasional touch of a woman to remind himself that he was still a man, a desirable one, rather than just a loser as he’d often felt. Afterwards when the moment of sexual euphoria had subsided, he’d only felt a bigger loser. He didn’t want to feel that way with Victoria.
But, he thought with a sigh, Victoria was beautiful, elegant, classy, and sexy. She wouldn’t have lowered herself to such a fumble, she was lady after all. He scoffed at the idea of taking her down a dark alleyway or following her into the back seat of a car to do more than drive somewhere—although there had been that moment in the back of the Rolls when they’d returned from the solicitors. Maybe Victoria wouldn’t be averse to driving out somewhere nice and quiet and steaming up some windows…
They should have just left the party as soon as he’d said the words, found a room somewhere and locked themselves inside for a while. Instead, he’d had to watch her across that ridiculously long table, around huge candelabras, and between waiters’ arms as they poured drink after drink to everyone. There’d been toasts to their hosts and then dancing—not that he’d spent much time with Victoria in his arms then either, as she’d been whisked off by almost every man in the room. He’d even seen her taking a turn with a surprisingly graceful Axel!
‘You know if you stand there any longer, the maids will start to dust you.’ Cormac jumped as Victoria’s voice called from the other side of the door. He looked around to see how she knew it was him when she tapped the wood. ‘Peep-hole.’
He sighed when he saw the tiny glass spyhole hidden deep in the door’s intricate carvings and opened it, stepping inside quickly, and closing it behind him. The room was bathed in just the glow from the fire that shimmered gently in its place; it invited you to snuggle up on the giant, luxurious bed that dominated the room and just drift off to sleep wrapped in warmth and its soft hues.
That was if a goddess wasn’t standing at its foot.
Victoria still wore her stiletto shoes, and her long legs were clad in her sheer black stockings. The lace of her stocking tops was just visible under the silky robe tied loosely at her waist, giving him a glimpse of what she had on underneath, which wasn’t a lot—a tiny pair of lacy panties and a matching bra.
Whatever plan he might have formed, would have been wasted as every thought left his head as she sunk her teeth into her plump lower lip, staring up at him through her long, dark lashes, and swayed slightly on the spot, giving him tantalising glimpses of her bare stomach before the robe hid it again.
Victoria was certainly not like women he’d had before. He didn’t just want to spend himself and push her away. No, he wanted to fall at her feet and worship her. To murmur prayers of devotion into her skin as his lips pressed their blessings upon her. He wanted to take his time with her, to love her and cherish her and make her feel as no other man had. He wanted to do so much and yet his feet weren’t moving towards her, his mouth was simply opening and closing as it tried to say something—anything—but his brain could do nothing but tell him to keep his focus on the woman before him.
‘You look tired,’ she said, giving him an exaggerated pout.
‘I’m not—I mean, I am, but I’m not.’ He had no idea what he was saying as he stepped towards her, his hands reaching out to touch that satiny robe, to get his fingers underneath it and pull it away. She shouldn’t be wearing anything, he decided.
She sucked her lower lip back between her teeth and Cormac wanted to tell her to stop, that if anyone was going to nibble that lip, it would be him. But he decided as he stopped before her, actions spoke louder than words.
He reached up, his strong fingers gently taking her chin, and his thumb slowly pulled her lip free.
‘I’m going to kiss you now.’ His voice was deep, far deeper than he’d ever heard it, and he resisted the urge to clear his throat as he bent his head to finally claim his prize.
He heard her little gasp a second before their lips met. He teased her, giving her that same gentle caress they’d shared a few times before, causing her to whimper in disappointment. He resisted the urge to smile as much as he defied his desire to gather her to him. He wanted to take his time, to go slow and—
Umph!
His breath was knocked from him as Victoria grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled him to her, pressing their bodies together and capturing his lips for the first time properly.
The idea of going slow immediately disappeared from his mind as he gathered her up in his arms, holding her tight as she opened to him and allowed him to deepen the kiss.
Her hands slid into his jacket and began to push it off his shoulders and he quickly helped, shrugging out of it as quickly as he could.
They stood entwined for what felt like an eternity, when it was but a few seconds before they finally had to part to catch their breaths.
‘I thought you’d never kiss me,’ Victoria panted as she leaned back to gaze up at him, her eyes filled with desire.
‘I told you I was gonna.’
She made a hmm noise, tilting her head and considering him, her perfect teeth sinking back into the plumpness of her mouth. He wanted to suckle it again, but her hands slipping up his shoulders to pull at his bow tie hindered him from doing just that.
‘You don’t need this,’ she told him as she made deft work of undoing her earlier handiwork and pulling the strip of expensive fabric from his collar. She made to throw it to one side, but paused as she looked at the bow tie, considering it for a second before glancing back at him with a naughty glint in her eye. ‘At least not tonight. We’ll save that for another time.’
Cormac felt his already interested cock get a whole lot more attentive at her suggestion.
‘I thought you were a lady,’ he said as she threw the tie away.
‘Out there,’ she said, nodding towards the door as she began to work on undoing the buttons on his shirt. ‘Not in the bedroom.’
He groaned at her words as he realised that he had completely misjudged the woman in his arms and hurriedly helped her with the task at hand. As soon as his shirt was off, her lips were on his again, her hands around his neck, fingers sliding into his blond locks so she could return his kiss just as ferociously.
When his hands moved to undo her belt, she broke the kiss, trailing her lips down his neck to his chest as she slapped his wandering digits away. She kissed her way along his collar bone and slowly down his chest. The jangle of his belt only intensified his cock’s response and if she wasn’t careful, she was going to get a sneak peek of what he had to offer before she fully unwrapped him.
He gasped as her finger, running up the zip of his trousers, lightly traced his now straining length. He bit back the groan, trying to remain in control, but as she met his eyes and that salacious smirk returned, he knew there was no denying which of them was running the show. He had definitely misjudged her.
