The Prince's Texas Bride Read online

  “Then don’t,” he said, his eyes hooded and almost glowing with the hot, blue fire she’d seen in intense flames. His hands smoothed up her legs, over her hips, up to her ribs…and stopped. “Although at some point, I’d love to remove these clothes.”

  “Come here,” she ordered softly, and he leaned forward. She went to work on the buttons of his shirt, pulling it from the waistband of his slacks. “I’ve wanted to do this since I saw you on the beach.”

  “And I’ve wanted to do this since you grabbed me and kissed me at the truck stop,” he replied, sliding his hands to the hem of her cropped T-shirt, then higher, bringing the fabric with him, skimming over her breasts. She’d barely gotten his shirt unbuttoned before he peeled her T-shirt over her head, dislodging her hands.

  “Much better,” he said, gazing at her barely covered breasts. His appreciative look warmed her from chest to tummy.

  “Mmm,” she said, reaching up again to grasp his shoulders, raising herself off the bed to feel the warmth of his flesh beneath her fingers. He leaned down and kissed her deeply, pressing her into the thick quilted comforter. She felt consumed by him, inundated with his smell and touch, the wet suction of his kiss, the hard press of his arousal.

  But she wanted more. When he moved to her neck, she whispered, “We are still wearing too many clothes.”

  “You’re right,” he murmured against her collarbone. “Come here.”

  Within seconds they scooted off the bed and managed to finish undressing. He retrieved his wallet and tossed it on the table beside the bed, giving her a glimpse of several square packets. Thank heavens. At least one of them was thinking. She hadn’t given a moment’s attention to the subject of birth control.

  Kerry couldn’t stop touching Alexi, reveling in his warm, lightly tanned skin, the soft hair covering his chest and the strength she sensed he controlled just as carefully as his public image.

  Then he pulled her tight against him again, kissing her, driving her wild. Once more he backed her toward the bed, but this time he reached behind and swept away the quilt. Her bottom touched the cool sheets, and then he lifted her. With a sigh and a smile, she fell back on the mattress.

  “Climb up those steps and come to me,” she said, trying to be as bold as possible, hoping she didn’t disappoint him. She knew she wasn’t a seductress, like he was probably used to, but he made her feel so sexy, she didn’t have to pretend.

  He smiled seductively and prowled up the steps, kneeling on the mattress and crawling toward her like a sleek, dangerous predator. A beast who preyed on unsuspecting—but willing—truck stop waitresses.

  “I feel like I’ve waited years for this moment,” he whispered against her neck, one hand covering her breast. His fingers worked magic on her already-tight nipples, making her move restlessly. She wanted him close, tight against her, merging hot inside her.

  She caressed him wherever she could reach, but he didn’t let her touch the part of him that throbbed hot and heavy against her thigh. “Too much,” he explained. “Later.”

  The idea that this wouldn’t be the only time they made love filled her with warmth. Then he kissed her again and she stopped thinking, stopped planning. She gave herself over to the feel of his large, hot body. The sound of a packet tearing, then the feel of him at her most vulnerable place, filled her with yearning. She moved against him, urging him closer, pulling him deep. And when they joined, she gasped at the rightness of the emotions that surged through her.

  She closed her eyes and gave herself over to the feelings building, building, until she cried out. Alexi buried his face in her neck and joined her in a wild climax that went on and on until everything—the Victorian suite, his royalty, her humble background and their differing future—was eclipsed by a passion more profound than she’d ever imagined.

  ALEXI AWOKE to the sound of rain on the tall windows. The Tiffany lamp was still burning, casting muted shadows in rosy shades across the high walls and ceiling. Beside him, Kerry snuggled closer, her hand fisting on his chest. She was holding on, he thought with a smile, even in her sleep.

  But she couldn’t hold him much longer. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but probably the night had already slipped into a new day: Saturday. The day she needed to return for her graduation. The day he needed to find Gwendolyn so he and Hank McCauley could exchange identities.

  He didn’t want to return. At least not yet. Not when he’d just discovered Kerry, when he’d barely explored the passion they shared.

  Although he’d taken a while to grow into his title, he loved the difference he was making in Belegovia. He wanted to be a prince. But at this moment, he thought he might be able to give up something—some part of his heritage or his title—for more days with Kerry Lynn Jacks.

  He placed her hand on the bunched-up quilt, then slipped out of bed. He carefully laid their clothes on the chaise so they’d be relatively unwrinkled in the morning. Besides, he didn’t fancy tripping over his shoes or getting tangled in Kerry’s T-shirt in the middle of the night or the half-light of dawn. Then he turned off the lamp and made his way carefully back to bed.

  She snuggled against him, moaning a sexy little sigh before her hand settled once more on his chest. He smiled into the darkness, feeling her softness and warmth so close, so real. He’d never enjoyed sleeping with a woman, always feeling a bit awkward, even if the sex had been good and he liked her as a person. But he didn’t feel that way with Kerry. He wanted to wake up beside her. He didn’t dread the morning-after conversation that inevitably followed a night of passion.

  She stirred, slipping one smooth leg between his. Her hand drifted lower and her breath tickled his pectorals as she stirred slightly. He wanted to wake her, to show her how much her nearness affected him, but she needed her rest. She had a big day tomorrow, with the graduation ceremony and probably some sort of celebration with her family.

  An event he would not be attending.

  He tried not to feel depressed over the idea of Kerry off with another group of people, sharing good memories, laughing over her accomplishment. He bloody well wanted to be there, his arm around her shoulders, making new memories they could both share…at least for a while. Until he was required to do his duty and choose a bride.

  He settled Kerry deeper into his arms and rested his chin on her tousled hair. This holiday had been both wonderful and terrible. He’d had a wonderful time, but that had only accentuated how his life was about to change. This time next year, he would not have been able to run off with a truck stop waitress who kissed him because, in her spontaneity and inherent charm, she thought he was someone else.

  Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t at first realize that her hand was again headed south. Then she touched him. Stroked him. He responded so quickly that he felt a bit light-headed.

  “Now is it okay?” she asked in a sleepy, throaty voice.

  “Now is fine,” he managed to whisper before losing his mind to her inquisitive fingers.

  When he could wait no longer, he prepared himself, then pulled her astride him. “Ride me, cowgirl,” he muttered as she eased over him, down, moaning in that sexy, throaty way that drove him crazy. Slowly, he filled her, and then she began to move. Rocking, gaining momentum, clenching tightly until she cried out.

  He let himself go, losing a little more of himself to Kerry Lynn Jacks. Getting a little closer to heaven…and to hell.

  KERRY AWOKE to the muted sounds of voices from below and immediately smelled sausage and coffee. She stretched, unsure of the time, but knowing the place. The suite at the B and B. The queen-size four-poster bed with Prince Alexi Ladislas.

  She’d just spent the night making incredible love to her very own prince.

  Well, not her very own. In a matter of months, he’d belong to someone else. Someone else would sleep beside him at night and wake him up to make love again…and again.

  The thought was too depressing, too distressing, to consider. He was still sleeping, so she slipped out of bed and
padded barefoot across the cool, wide plank floor to the bathroom.

  She noticed that all their clothing from last night was neatly placed on the chaise lounge. Alexi, she hoped. She certainly didn’t want to believe that someone else had come in to tidy up while they’d been sleeping. She’d never stayed in a bed-and-breakfast before, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t part of the service.

  She gazed longingly at the tub. Big enough for two, it just screamed “intimate encounter,” with its gleaming brass fixtures, fluffy white towels and multiple candles just waiting to be lit.

  After taking care of nature and brushing her teeth, she exited the bathroom, only to come up against a warm, wide chest and a pair of sexy bedroom eyes.

  “Good morning,” he drawled, even though he didn’t need to pretend he was a cowboy.

  She smiled in return, hugging her arms around him. He was so solid, so real.

  “It’s only six-thirty,” he muttered against her hair, “and we never did get to try out that big bathtub.”

  “No, we didn’t.”

  He walked her backward through the door she’d just exited. “I’m just dying to wash your back.”

  “Hmm,” she murmured, her hand straying over his chest, then lower, to discover how much he wanted her…again. “I’m just dying to wash your front.”

  He laughed as he reached for the faucets.

  She’d never taken a bath with a guy before, so she wasn’t sure of the protocol. She and Alexi were both already naked, so the awkward removal of clothes wasn’t an issue. But as he looked up at her from his position near the faucets, adjusting the water, she thought playful might be just the right approach. She smiled, gave him an “I sure do like what I see” once-over, and then trailed her fingers in the big tub. Just as he reached for her, she cupped a handful of water and threw it at him. His eyes went wide, he shook like a ferocious beast and then he reached for her.

  Kerry giggled as she pretended to struggle, but he didn’t seem concerned. He growled as he picked her up in his arms. “You’re asking for trouble now,” he said as he held her over the tub.

  “Don’t you dare drop me!”

  He moved as if he would let her go, making her squeal and throw her arms around him. His morning beard was rough against her cheek, but she didn’t mind. Her fingers caressed the back of his neck, then she couldn’t resist brushing away the clinging drops of water from his hair and around his face. Her mood turned from playful to passionate as his eyes turned from cunning to hooded.

  “There’s just one thing we need,” he said, striding toward the bedroom with her still in his arms.

  “What?”

  “Our little friend,” he said, nodding toward the nightstand. Only one lonely packet remained.

  She picked it up. “Good thing we have only a short time before we’re due downstairs for breakfast,” she joked.

  “Good for whom?” he asked with a sexy smile as his hands curled over her thigh. He walked back into the bathroom as though she weighed next to nothing.

  Not for me, she wanted to say. She wanted more time. More hours until they had to leave this suite, more hours until he had to leave Texas.

  He lowered her into the tub, then reached down to turn off the water and turn on the jets. The surface erupted into bubbles and waves as she sank into the water. “This feels wonderful.”

  He stepped into the tub, seemingly unconcerned that he was fully aroused. Of course, he had been for some time now, she remembered, thinking back to when she’d caressed him minutes ago.

  “If you think that’s wonderful,” he said, slipping behind her and resting against the slanted end of the tub, “wait until you feel this.”

  He settled her back against his chest, his arousal pressed between her legs. With his hands he caressed her breasts as she leaned back against his shoulder, moaning into his neck. Oh, he was talented. In so many ways. In so many…areas, she thought as she moved restlessly against him. The water churned around them as he brought her closer, closer to where she wanted to go. Where she’d gone so many times last night.

  But with him inside her, she wanted to stay, tossing her head from side to side as his fingers parted her, rubbed her, entered her.

  “Let it go,” he whispered, his breath hot in her ear.

  “Come with me,” she urged.

  “Next time.” He stroked harder, faster, so deliberately she could no longer think. She came apart in his arms, in the big bathtub she’d longed to share with him.

  And then, while she was still limp and sated, Alexi donned their last protection, flipped her around so she straddled him and showed her exactly what wonderful sensations whirlpool jets and a thoroughly aroused prince could produce.

  THEY WERE nearly late getting down to breakfast, but the Brodys didn’t seem to mind. They also apparently didn’t know—or care—that their guests had just participated in the greatest sex ever experienced in this or any other house in Texas. Or maybe North America.

  They chatted about the spring weather and the upcoming summer and the joys of growing roses, and Alexi listened and seemed to be paying attention, until she discovered his hand creeping up her thigh beneath the table. Breakfast was delicious, but she didn’t eat all of her French toast or sausage-potato casserole. A certain prince had her tied up in emotional knots that she didn’t know how to unravel.

  Before long they went back upstairs to pack. She didn’t want to leave this room or the man who’d made her feel like a princess, if only for one night. But reality awaited, halfway across the state, and they needed to get on the road.

  “Ready?” he asked as she zipped up her bag.

  “No,” she answered honestly, with a sad smile she couldn’t hide, “but that doesn’t really matter, does it?”

  “You could skip the graduation ceremony. I could put off meeting up with Gwendolyn for one more day.”

  She shook her head. “No, as tempting as that sounds, I need to get back to my life. This has been wonderful, but it’s not real. Having one more day would only make it more difficult.”

  “Kerry, I—”

  “It’s okay. We both knew this, right? I mean, all along we said we had to get back. So let’s just enjoy what’s left of the day and have a pleasant trip back to Ranger Springs.”

  “Pleasant doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about being with you.”

  “Me, too,” she whispered, fighting her emotions. “Now, let’s hit the road before I really do abduct you. I have a feeling that Lady Gwendolyn would come looking for us eventually, and I’d hate to make a scene.”

  He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “Last night was magical.”

  “Yes, it was, but now it’s morning,” she whispered against his chest. “It’s time to go back to being a prince.”

  “Are you my Cinderella?”

  “Hey,” she said, pulling away and forcing a smile. “If the glass shoe fits…”

  Chapter Six

  Despite fairly heavy traffic, they made good time on Highway 21, the most direct route from their location in East Texas to San Marcos. She called her mother when they stopped for drinks, telling her that they should meet at the ceremony. She planned to drop Alexi off at the Four Square Café, where Lady Gwendolyn could recover the royal runaway. They wouldn’t have much time, so there would be no lengthy goodbyes. Just a polite public parting of two people who had shared a few days of vacation.

  It’s been great. Have a good life. If you’re ever in the area, stop by and say hello. She would never see him again, and that was something she’d learn to accept. Eventually.

  Alexi was quiet. Too quiet. She felt him watching her sometimes when she was busy driving. Like when they went through Bryan and College Station, where Texas A & M was located. And lots of other small towns, with only one traffic light and the inevitable eighteen-wheelers and overburdened pickup trucks. She felt his gaze on her, but she didn’t ask him why.

  Maybe she didn’t want to know. Because no matter what
the answer, he was leaving today. Or tomorrow at the latest. No matter what.

  All she had to do was protect her heart for a few more hours. Then she’d have a lifetime to recover from these four days with her prince.

  By the time they got to the outskirts of town, Kerry was running late. She didn’t have time to change clothes, but luckily she’d be wearing her cap and gown, and everyone wore cool clothes beneath the graduation garb. Her stomach felt a little queasy and her hands began to sweat on the wheel.

  “Nervous?” Alexi asked as she jerked the steering wheel too hard to avoid a paper bag blown by the wind.

  “Yes, because I’m running late and I don’t know how long it will take Lady Gwendolyn to come for you and I don’t think I’m good at saying goodbye.”

  He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Relax, sweetheart. I know today has been difficult, but we’re almost there.”

  She held back a sob as she turned onto the square. “I know.”

  In the center park of the square, right in front of the café, two men, one wearing an army-style camouflage vest and the other in an old-fashioned polyester suit, with large cameras stood talking to one of the waitresses. She was fairly new to town, wore too much blue eyeshadow and rarely volunteered to help Kerry’s mother fold napkins. Kerry didn’t like her much, but she seemed to be telling the men something very interesting.

  “Those men aren’t from around here.”

  Alexi looked at them, squinting against the early-afternoon sunlight, and then swore. Before she could ask him what was going on, he ducked down in the seat. “Keep driving,” he said. “Those two are paparazzi. I can think of only one reason they’d be in your town.”

  Paparazzi, here in Ranger Springs? “How did they find out you were going to be here?”

  “Who knows? They’re as devious as hell. Just get away from here before they see me. They might even know who you are, although they probably don’t know this car.”

  “Good grief,” she muttered. “I can’t just drive off! What will I do with you during my graduation ceremony?”