Wannabe Heir, page 14
“It isn’t obvious?” she says.
I shake my head and so does Spencer.
“You’re getting married.”
“We can’t get married,” we both say turning to stare at each other.
“You can, and you will. The marriage certificate has been backdated to a week ago yesterday, so Godfrey will have no reason to doubt what you told him wasn’t true.”
“I don’t understand how this is going to help,” I tell her.
“Don’t you see, if you’re already married, you can’t get married to him.”
“He will just demand she get an annulment,” Spencer hisses.
“Yes, but that can only be done when government is in session, and they won’t be back in session until September first, and even then, it will take some time to get in touch with a Navy Admiral who is at sea.”
“Do we have a Navy Admiral here?” Spencer asks, uncertainty clear in his tone.
“Of course,” she says, “Célian arranged it for us, he’s grown quite close to the naval officers while improving their base. All he had to do was promise a state-of-the-art night club on the property, which he was happy to do.”
Spencer laughs at her. “That’s all, huh.”
Nodding, she grins like a cat who got the canary. “And besides, why are you acting like you don’t want to do this? I mean, you’ve been pining after this Princess for years. And here’s your chance to win her back after you so stupidly let her go.”
He glares at his sister. “I have not been pining after anyone.”
She shrugs her shoulder. “Dreaming about, stalking, semantics.”
I stare at Spencer, biting my lower lip. He’s been thinking about me? I wouldn’t have believed it, but I know siblings, and this sibling is telling the truth. I’d do the same for my brother to both aid and embarrass him at the same time. It’s a thing those who love each other do when royalty gets in the way of honesty.
Spencer stares at me, licking his lips. “Ignore her.”
“Don’t do any such thing,” she laughs. “This really is the best way, and I’m not just saying that because I think you’ll make an excellent sister-in-law. I’m saying this because Count Godfrey Hawkins is vile and evil, and thinks he’s going to rule the Vespa Isles. He wants to marry you because you are of royal blood and his ticket to taking over Eastwood. You can’t give him that in. You can’t. Besides, this marriage I’m proposing will buy you time.”
“Just me?” I ask, seeing a political side to her that I never have.
“And the time we all need to figure out how to stop him before he rules the world,” she admits.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, Spencer glances away and sighs. “It’s not a bad plan.”
“I’m going to give you two a minute,” Camilla says softly.
After she’s out of ear shot, I reach over to Spencer and tip his chin to meet my eyes. “I really should go.”
He shakes his head. “That’s a really terrible plan.”
“It’s the only one I have.”
“Come on, you have another staring you right in the face. Take me and use me the way you think I used you.”
That was a line I’d written in my book—the one about him. He read it. No matter how angry I am at him, I feel bad for those harsh words on the page. I honestly didn’t think he’d ever find out. “You read my first book.”
His eyes fill with sadness. “I did, and I want to show you I’m not as selfish as you think.”
“I can’t ask you to do this for me.”
His blue eyes soften in a way I haven’t seen in years. “You don’t have to ask me. I’m offering.”
I stand here, unsure of anything.
“Let me help you,” he pleads.
I shake my head. “I can’t. It’s too much.”
“Then, help me. Help my family. My country. Your country. The Vespa Isles for fuck sake. Proving to Hawkins we’re already married will no doubt set him off. It was obvious he didn’t believe you. If we do this, you can prove to him he shouldn’t doubt you. Perhaps then, he will trust you. He has a plan, Liz, and maybe he’ll tip his hat if pushed hard enough.”
“So, I’m helping you as well by doing this?”
He nods. “Just like my sister said.”
Pulling at a sense of honor, I didn’t know I had, I consider my heart and if it can take this. If the pieces that I glued back together have had long enough to dry or if they shatter when this is over. No, they won’t. They can’t. Not if I control the outcome this time. Not if I take charge. I can do this. I will do this. “Okay,” I finally agree. “But this arrangement between us will only be temporary,” I tell him.
Without responding, he takes my hand and walks me into the church.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. I’m marrying Spencer Lexington. The man my parents forbade me from going anywhere near because he was not a blooded royal.
They are going to kill me, I think, but then I remember we will all be dead soon enough if I don’t do something.
And something is always better than nothing, right?
THE MILE HIGH CLUB
Everything about the ceremony was lack-luster. From the traditional vows to the use of the amethyst birthstone that was on my sister’s finger to the slight brush of our lips after we each said, “I do.”
A marriage without an ounce of romance.
A marriage of convenience.
Not that I’m a romantic in the least bit, but I did think when I committed to someone, I might have been able to step outside of my comfort zone and do the whole flowers and chocolates, get down on one knee thing.
Especially for her.
Especially after telling her the truth that has been eating at my heart for ten years.
Especially because…
Fuck.
Because I want her.
Always have.
Always will.
Glancing over at her, she’s pretending to be reading, but I know she’s doing no such thing. “Interesting article,” I comment.
She keeps her eyes cast down. “Quite.”
Liz and I are finally alone on the jet, awaiting takeoff. Camilla decided to stay the night with Célian, and that wasn’t a bad idea. Liz and I have a lot to work out. Married or not, we still have unfinished business to settle.
“Really,” I deadpan, “Because you’re reading it upside down.” I know I’m being a dick, but I can’t help it. Sure, I got my fucking way, and she won’t be Hawkins anytime in the foreseeable future, or ever, if I can help it. I married her for her, for me, for us. And the distance between us is fucking kill me.
Groaning, she tosses the magazine on the empty seat beside her and throws her head back. “I’m not sure we should have done that,” she whispers.
“Done what?”
“Gotten married,” she huffs.
I shrug, trying to act like it’s no big fucking deal.
“Now, I’ve not only trapped you, but I’m bringing you into a situation you probably don’t need to be involved in.”
“Explain.”
She gazes out the window as the jet starts to ascend. “Godfrey is already causing problems for your family. What we just did will only make those problems worse.”
“Or it could make them better by giving us some insight.”
“I doubt that.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Okay, the tough guy act has been stripped naked. We are facing each other, and I lean forward a bit in my seat, so I’m closer to her. “Look at me.”
She does.
I place my hand on her knee, and I watch a shiver goes through her. “You don’t need to worry about me. I can handle Hawkins.”
The way she bites her lip drives me wild. “Maybe, but still.”
My other hand is now on her other knee, and I’m sliding them both up her thighs. “There are no maybes between us, baby. Sure, this marriage serves a purpose, but that purpose doesn’t have to be the only reason we did it.”
“What other reasons are there?” she asks, her breath hitching, her insecurities rearing their heads despite her best efforts.
Little Liz Laurent always trying to be tougher than she really is. Not wanting me to know she’d never been kissed. Not telling me she was a virgin. Pretending to hate me. A chuckle leaves me. “I think you know,” I tell her as I pull her body to me, so that she’s straddling me on my seat.
Her eyes bounce between mine, looking for something, something thank fuck this time I know how to give.
Reassurance.
Hope.
And who the fuck knows—maybe even love.
I hit the button on the arm of the chair, and as the seat eases back, I take her face in my hands. “I still remember the first time I kissed you.”
“You do?” She seems surprised. She shouldn’t be. I haven’t forgotten one thing about her. Then again, she wouldn’t know that.
I lean forward, my mouth a breath away from hers. “Yes, especially the way I thought the ground shifted beneath me.”
She laughs. “Really?”
I nod. “It’s true. Little Liz Laurent, you rocked my world. And then there was the first time I drove my cock deep inside you, and I thought, how the hell could a sinner like me find heaven?”
“Heaven? Come on. Be real.” She laughs again, this time as if she doesn’t believe me.
The lights dim, and I nod again. “It’s the truth. In fact, this is the most real I’ve been in a very fucking long time, baby.”
She softens. “Tell me more.”
I go on. “When I found out I’d taken your firsts, I wasn’t mad, not like you thought I was. I just felt like I didn’t deserve them. You were pure, and I was anything but.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yeah, it is. I was a rebel without a cause and had nothing to give you. Look, I was shit with words and didn’t know how to tell you what I was feeling. Fuck, I’m still shit with words, obviously. I mean, my attempt to explain everything only made you hate me more and I’m not sure it’s doing much good now, either. I’m sure that’s why you hate me so much.”
She pulls back and stares into my eyes. “I don’t hate you.”
I raise a brow. “You sure about that?”
She smiles. “No, not really. Actually, yes I am,” she backtracks. “I’m sorry for saying that.”
I shake my head. “No sorries, either, baby.”
She nods. “Go on. Tell me more.”
I kiss her softly on the lips. “I think that’s enough talking for now.”
The look she gives me is filled with lust and I know mine must be too. “Oh, and what do you want to do?”
“I think it’s time to seal this deal.”
Her breath hitches. “Seal the deal, how?”
Instead of telling her, I show her, allowing my hands to slide down her back and rest on her ass, causing her to suck in a deep breath.
“It’s a short plane ride.”
I slide my tongue along her bottom lip, and she bites down on it, making me grin. “I can be quick when I need to be.”
Her baby blues darken before me. “But we’re not alone.”
“We’re alone enough, and my dick is so hard, waiting until we get back to the Villa just isn’t an option.”
“We can’t. Not here.”
“We can. You’re my wife now. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to fuck you anywhere or at any time.”
A blush coats her cheeks, and fuck if it doesn’t turn me on even more. “We’ll have to be quiet.”
“Quick and quiet. Got it.” I kiss her hard, full of years of regret, and want shining through with each plunge of my tongue. “Stand up, pull your dress up, and then turn around and drop back onto my lap,” I tell her pulling back.
At first, she raises a brow as if to say she doesn’t take orders from me, but then she surprises the hell out of me and does what I told her to do.
With folds of silk puddled around my thighs, I use my teeth to undo the clasp at her back, loosening the top. Then, I slide my hand beneath the fabric to pull her down. When her back is flat against my chest, her blonde hair spilling across my shoulders, her body tenses, and I put my mouth to her ear. “Relax, baby. Let me make you feel good.”
She does.
I pull one side of the dress down just enough to expose half her breast, and while one hand pinches her hard nipples, the other slides between her thighs to rest against the lacy fabric of her panties.
Excitement fills the air, her chest rising and falling rapidly in anticipation. While rolling her nipple between my finger and thumb, I use the fingers of my other hand to pull her thong aside, tugging hard enough that it snaps.
Instead of scolding me, her hips lift, pushing me closer to her, only proving to me she doesn’t care about anything but what I’m about to do to her. The moment I’m cupping her pussy, she clenches against my hold, and her lips part on a moan. “Oh, God, Spencer.”
Grinning, I dip inside her sweetness and coat my two fingers with her wetness, then slide my hand back to rub her, circling my fingers on each side of the sensitive nub. When I start to squeeze, her head falls back farther, pressing into me, and she whispers into my ear, “This is what I’ve been searching for all these years.
“Yeah, baby. Me. It’s always been me, hasn’t it?”
Licking her lips, she presses her pussy against my hand, chasing her orgasm.
“Not yet,” I whisper and take my time, moving my hand slower instead of faster, then faster, only to slow when I sense her muscles tightening.
“Please,” she begs.
“Please what, baby?” I breathe into her ear. “Use your words.”
She shudders against me. “Please move faster.”
And I do. “Like this?”
“Yes,” she cries out, her mouth nipping at the skin of my chin as she loses all control.
I watch her come, my lips grazing over the skin of her neck and biting as I work her clit. Once her body settles, I drag my hand up the silk of her dress until my fingers reach her mouth. “See how good you taste.”
Her tongue sneaks out, a deep moan leaving her, and then I grind against her, my dick rock fucking solid beneath her.
Unabashed, she pushes into me. “I want you inside me.”
“Turn back around, baby,” I tell her and grab for a condom from my wallet while she does.
Keeping her dress at her hips, she turns to face me. After raising the seat back up a notch, I take her mouth, assaulting her tongue with mine. Her hands find my pants, and she undoes my buckle and then unzips my fly. Raising my hips, I free myself, and my dick sticks straight up between us.
Suddenly, the lights in the cabin flick back on, letting us know the plane is descending. “We have to hurry,” she exclaims.
I roll the condom on and nip at her lip. “Fuck me, baby.”
She uses her knees on either side of my hips to lift her body and she aligns her bare pussy right above my dick. In one swift move, I pull her down on me. She moans, and I grab her shoulders, easing her down to make sure I’m as far in as I can be, and when I get there, I press my face against her chest and growl, pumping inside her.
Her breath hitches, but when her head falls back, I catch it with my hands and bring her back look at me. “I want your eyes on me,” I growl in a deep throaty noise that sounds animalistic even to my own ears.
I pull her nipple into my mouth, scraping my teeth back and forth, not losing eye contact once as she rides me. Soon, I’m skimming my lips up her chest to the hollow of her throat and using my hands to grip her hips, showing her how I want her to move. Up and down, rougher, faster and faster, and just as my dick feels like it’s going to explode, her legs start to quiver.
“That’s it baby,” I tell her, pressing my feet against the seat across from me and lowering her back onto my bent knees to change the angle. The plane continues to descend, and together we prepare to fly. We stay this way for a long time, slowing the pace until neither of us can wait a single second longer.
Just the ground comes into view, I sit straight up and bring her with me. “Fuck, that’s it baby,” I groan into her hair, and I lose myself in her, coming like I don’t think I ever have. She presses her face to my chest and covers her mouth, but her loud moans echo in the space despite her best effort to remain quiet.
The wheels touch down, and she jumps up. “You said you’d be quick.”
I raise a brow. “And you said you’d be quiet.”
She shrugs and does the best she can to right herself. After removing the condom, I zip up my pants, knowing nothing about my life will ever be right again without her in it.
I just hope she knows that too because I really am shit with words.
HOMECOMINGS
The car pulls up to the Villa, and I open the garage. Liz is asleep beside me, and only wakes when I bend down to gather her in my arms.
“I can walk,” she tells me.
I shake my head no.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m carrying you over the threshold.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she laughs. “Put me down before you make me feel like this marriage is real.”
I start up the steps. “Oh, it’s real, baby, and you know it.”
“That’s not what I mean. You don’t have to do this. Besides, you are hardly the romantic type, and tradition isn’t your thing. You don’t owe me anything.”
The stars in the sky are twinkling above us, as bright as her eyes. “Oh, baby, trust me when I say I know who owes who. And you’re about to show me you do too.”
This turns her on. “Oh yeah, how?”
“By getting on your knees as soon as we get to the bedroom.”
As I start up the second flight of steps, she wraps her arms around my neck and holds tight. “And why would I go to my knees?”
“To suck my cock.”
Her head shakes, embarrassment coating her cheeks. “You have a much dirtier mouth than I remember.”
I grin at her as I approach my door. “Oh, Little Liz Laurent, you have no idea how much I’ve grown up.”
