A Bodyguard For The Princess (A Bad Boy Romance) (33 page)

I pushed my boxers off over my ass and stepped out of them, pushing Annie onto her back. She turned as I did so that she was laying the proper way on the bed and spread her legs for me. I settled between her hips, feeling myself brush against her thigh, and leaned down to kiss her. Her tongue darted out to meet mine, hands sliding down my chest and stomach to my hips.

We had slept together three times before I broke it off. The first time, we were both so nervous that it was all awkward touches and laughter, with neither of us quite sure what we were doing. She wasn't the first girl I had slept with, but every girl was different, and I had liked her so much I wanted it to be good for both of us. The second time had been less anxious and more exploratory. The third had probably been too quick for her, but she hadn't complained. I wanted this time to be good.

I was slow when I rolled into her, and one of her hands gently wrapped around my shaft, helping to guide me. It was a struggle not to push my hips forward and bury myself in her. She was tight and hot, and the noises she made in my ear made it hard to hold onto my self-control. I stopped moving when I was completely inside her, neither of us doing anything except waiting and basking, our bodies tight, adjusting to pleasures they had been denied for far too long.

When Annie kissed me, I started to move, trying to find the perfect angle with each thrust. Finally, I ran a hand down her side to grab her thigh and throw one of her legs over my shoulder. I heard the bed above us squeak as she pressed her foot against the mattress, and her moan told me everything I needed to know.

Sweat was already gathering on my skin as I picked up the pace and force, reveling in each smack of my hips against her. Her other leg wrapped around my waist, heel digging almost painfully into my back, goading me on. Our lips met in a sloppy kiss, all passion and no finesse. I had stopped thinking about anything except how she felt around me, clenching, pulling me deeper. Each thrust brought me closer to my own peak. I felt her knuckles brush against my stomach.

“Come on, babe,” I muttered into her ear between gasped breaths. “I want you to come with me. Please, please come with me—”

“I-I am—” Annie replied, her voice thick and choked with pleasure. “I am—oh, God, Zach—”

Her saying my name was enough to make the tension in my sex release. I buried into her with a final thrust, feeling her body jerk against mine. My arms shook with the effort of holding myself up, but the only other option was crushing her beneath me. Her heel pressed into my back again. Still hard, I thrust gently, barely moving, just enough to stimulate both of us until we grew too sensitive and she pushed me away.

I peeled off the condom and leaned over to chuck it into the trash bin by the chair, then curled up next to Annie. The sweat on our bodies was beginning to cool. I pushed aside some of the hair plastered to Annie's brow and kissed and nuzzled her cheek.

“I love you, Annie,” I said into the sound of our pounding hearts and quickened breathing. “I never stopped.”

She turned her head and brushed her lips against mine, a barely-there kiss that left me wanting more all over again. “I love you, too.”

Annie

I woke up feeling happier and more sated than I could ever remember being over the past two years. Early morning sunlight streamed through the window and over my face, which pulled me from a pleasant, drunk slumber with a tiny smile on my face.

Zach was a warm and solid weight against my back, one arm around my waist. I rolled over to face him, eyes barely open, and snuggled in closer. He grunted and tightened the grip he had on my waist. His breathing had quickened, and when I kissed his chin, he opened his eyes enough that I could see a hint of blue as he smiled at me.

“Hey,” he rasped. The hand now on my back began to rub the base of my spine.

“Morning,” I replied. Zach sighed and let his chin rest on top of my head. I pressed my face into his neck and inhaled the scent of his night sweat. I had a small headache forming behind my eyes, but it wasn't anything a bit more sleep or some water and pills wouldn't fix. I sighed and said, “I just want to stay in bed all day.”

Zach's chest shook in a quiet chuckle. “Yeah, that'd be nice, but I think our parents would have something to say about that.”

“Do you think we should tell them?” I asked. “About us.”

“I don't know,” Zach replied. “We haven't done anything wrong, but…it's complicated.”

I knew that well. I also knew it was a subject neither of us wanted to think about. But it was a pressing one, and I knew also that if we wanted to continue with this, we needed to be honest with Mom and Evan about it. Hiding it would only cause more pain. Unwilling to let him go, I cuddled into his chest, slipping my bare legs between and around his.

“We need to tell them,” I said. He grunted, which I took for an agreement. “But we'll do it together, okay?”

“Wouldn't it just be easier to wait until after the vacation?”

“You mean after they've had two weeks alone together? Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.”

Zach snorted. His hand stroked up my spine, and despite my best efforts, it was putting me back to sleep. “Sorry. It's just not a pleasant thing to think about. I'd much rather focus on this, on you here, on the fact that we're alone. Those condoms are just on the other side of you, you know...”

I sighed and rolled onto my back, pulling him on top of me. He settled between my hips, braced on his forearms, and kissed me softly. He had morning breath that smelled like beer, but as long as his lips were on mine, it didn't matter. Besides, I doubted mine smelled much better.

One of his arms stretched out, reaching for the long strip of condom packets he had dropped the night before, trying to get them without having to break our kiss. His weight shifted so much that he nearly fell off the bed. Laughing, I turned my head to the side, evading his lips until he grabbed the condoms and ripped one off, leaving the others on the floor again. He held it in one hand and returned to kissing me, slow and deep. I forgot about telling our parents.

There was just enough space between our bodies for me to slip my hand down and wrap my fingers around his length. Touching a dick had always been a funny experience, but the sounds Zach made and the looks on his face made it less humorous and more arousing. He hardened in my hand, thrusting against my palm. I kissed him, tugging on his lip, and angled my legs wider to accept him. He paused only to roll the condom on and check that I was wet enough for him. I was more than ready and more than willing.

I bit back a groan when he entered me and matched his slow, easy rhythm with rolls of my hips. It didn't matter that across the hall, our parents were probably still asleep in the same bed, or that at some point we would have to tell them the nature of our relationship. All I cared about was how Zach felt inside me, the gentle pressure and the brushes of contact against my clit when our bodies met.

None of the drunken desperation I remembered from the previous night existed this morning, but it was just as passionate, and when my peak came it was just as satisfying.

We lay in bed for a while after, stuck in that limbo between sleep and wakefulness, until finally, the sunlight grew too bright and it was time to get up and face the day. We dressed between kisses, then stepped out into the hall to meet our blissfully unaware parents and find out the plan for the day.

We tried to find a time to tell Mom and Evan about our relationship, both past and present, but a moment never presented itself. At breakfast, there wasn't a big enough gap in conversation, and then Mom left to go to the pool and Evan soon after. There were too many people at the pool to risk saying anything. Then it was one of them never being in the same place as the other. It was a frustrating back and forth that caused a new tension between Zach and me. All I wanted to do was hold his hand without one of our parents seeing us and wondering what we were doing. When we swam in the pool, I wanted the games we played to be less restrained. I wanted to take stupid selfies to share on Facebook when we got home.

It was a different world when we were alone in our cabin. Zach certainly got his money's worth for whatever he spent on those condoms. There was no more sleeping in separate bunks. No more shyness. I openly watched him dress, and he did the same to me. We didn't go so far as to shower together, just in case one of our parents decided to come knocking, but we did plenty of other things when the lights went out. It was useful for relieving some of the stress on our new relationship. I really had forgiven him, and I think he figured it out for good the third time we slept together. If everything went to shit, he would know there were no hard feelings.

One of the stops on our trip was Nassau. Zach was particularly interested in Nassau, rambling off information about how it had once been the most notorious pirate haven in the Caribbean. There was a museum there to attest to the fact, and plenty of other pirate-themed attractions.

Our parents decided to drop the bomb on us while we were there. We had elected to have an early dinner at a nice restaurant near where the ship was docked. It was nice to eat off the ship, even though there was a curfew. It was nice not to have to dress up for once, too.

Evan stood during dessert and got down on one knee with a box suddenly appearing in his hand. I nearly choked on my food, and Zach dribbled water down his chin. I gripped his thigh tightly under the table.

“Donna Newell,” Evan said, “I've never met a woman quite like you, and I've had some shit luck, but I have a really good feeling about you. I know it's kind of soon, but I'm not getting any younger, and I just wanted to know... Will you marry me?”

Mom had tears in her eyes. Her happiness should have been infectious, but all I felt was a keen sense of horror deep in my chest. I glanced at Zach. His face, which had gained a healthy tan from the amount of hot sun we'd enjoyed, had paled. I probably looked the same. Neither of our parents noticed. Mom was crying openly. The people around our table were applauding. I had to admit, the ring looked amazing on her finger, as if it was made for her. Unfortunately, Zach and I had a bigger problem. Unless something catastrophic happened between now and when we got home, the two of us were going to be stepsiblings.

“I need a drink,” Zach mumbled through the fake smile on his face.

“Ditto to that,” I replied. “Fucking ditto to that.”

Back in our room, we sat on the lower bunk with the TV on to keep the silence between us from being completely uncomfortable. It was playing the same black and white movie we'd seen at least three times since the start of the trip, but it was familiar and easier to follow than to think about how the hell we were going to deal with the fact that our parents had decided to get married. He had his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his side and chest. In fact, he hadn't let go of me since we'd said goodnight to Mom and Evan and retreated to the safety of our cabin. Neither of us had spoken since we got back. I don't think he could think of anything anymore than I could. The solution was deceptively simple—do what we'd been trying to do for days, which was tell our parents we were a thing. The method to reach that solution was considerably more complicated.

“Maybe it's best to just...do it,” Zach said finally, breaking the quiet between us. “You know, like ripping off a Band-Aid. We're both grown adults. What are they going to do about it?”

“Nothing,” I conceded, “but I know your relationship with your dad is just as important as mine is with my mom. I don't want to jeopardize that.”

“Well, what's the other choice?” Zach asked. “Just stop? Pretend nothing happened? I know we won't have to live together, but we're going to be family. We'll be seeing each other all the time. Can you do that? Because I can't.”

He was right. I couldn't do that. It would eat me up inside. As much as I loved my mom, my love for Zach was just as important, as different as the two were.

“What do you think they'll say?” I asked.

Zach shrugged. “They might not say anything. It's not like they set this up on purpose. Neither of us told them we used to date, and that's on us. But… I mean, maybe it won't matter. Our lives have been messed up enough as it is with the divorces and the cheating and . . .you know, all that. What's one more slightly messed up thing? I don't know about you, but I don't have a whole extended family to be all disapproving of us.”

“I don't either,” I replied. “Just a couple aunts who live on the other side of the country. We only see them once a year.”

“So, the Band-Aid method?” Zach asked.

I sighed and turned my head into his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his shirt and skin. “Yeah,” I said. “The Band-Aid method.”

He raised his hand to stroke my hair, loose around my shoulders now that we were alone, and kissed the top of my head. “It's gonna be okay, Annie,” he said. His words weren't very reassuring, but I appreciated hearing them, regardless. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I sighed again.

Zach shifted around and guided me into laying down, sandwiched between him and the wall with my head on his shoulder and his arm around my waist. I slung my legs over his. I could see the TV but still cuddle close. Zach propped his head up on his arm. For a while, we did nothing but watch the movie, an old comedy, but not one I'd heard of before the cruise. It had been funny the first time. Now, the jokes were old from hearing them too often.