Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1) (19 page)

Rebecca smiled; it felt nice to be cared for. “I won’t push it. I know my own limits. I’ll want to visit my parents tomorrow anyway, so I can see them in the morning and work in the afternoon.”

“You’re not leaving the castle.”

“They’re my parents, Alex,” she said with disbelief. “They’re very worried about me, and I’m worried about them. What if the people behind this go after them?”

“All the more reason to stay away.”

“I’m going to see my parents, and that’s final. You would do the same in my position, I know you would.”

“Know me so well, do you?” he muttered as they entered the formal dining room.

“No, but I’m starting to,” she whispered back just before he pulled out a chair for her and they sat down to dinner.

Conversation at dinner was fairly casual, despite the rich food and the excellent wine. It was a revelation to see the royal family laughing and talking as her own family did at dinner. She wondered what the rest of the country would think if they saw the royal family right now. Perhaps, she thought, that was the very reason they didn’t. Only a few saw this side to them.

She was now one of the few.

Marcello and the Queen were seated on either side of Rebecca, and neither made her feel uncomfortable. By the time dinner was over, she could almost say they were friends or, at the very least, pleasant acquaintances. In any case, they’d both distracted her from her troubles.

Alex and Cat sat across from them. She’d heard about connections twins had, and about the teasing, loving relationship between the pair, but it was really the first time she’d seen it firsthand. Alex, the elder brother teasing his thirty-minute younger sister one minute, then speaking seriously with his father the next. Alex shifted easily between his duties as brother, son, friend, and future ruler. Would she be as adept as he, if she pursued this relationship with him?

After dinner, in a sign of true Vallerian upper class, the men went to relax in one room while the women did the same in another. She managed to enjoy the time sipping tea and learning more about the Queen, and relaxing with Cat in a more informal setting. It might be difficult to go back to being Cat’s chief of staff after becoming closer friends.

That is, if she managed to live through the next few days.

She knew the perpetrators were after the royal family; she was just a pawn in the game. She wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse. Would you rather have some target you specifically, or conveniently? She wasn’t sure, she thought as a shudder ran through her, rattling the teacup in her hand.

“Everything all right, dear?” Genevieve asked.

“Yes, thank you, Your Highness. I think I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”

“Of course you are. Catharine, why don’t you take Rebecca back to her room?”

“I’m sorry,” Rebecca said. “I don’t mean to cut your evening short. One of the maids could just as easily show me.” Then, perhaps, she might see Alex once more this evening, too.

“Nonsense,” Cat said. “I’m exhausted myself. Papa and the boys won’t mind if we turn in early.” Cat rose and gave her mother a kiss goodnight.

“Try to get a good night’s sleep, Catharine,” Genevieve said as she gave Cat a hug. Then she turned to Rebecca and gave her a hug, too. “Same to you, Rebecca,” she said as Rebecca stood perfectly still before slowly raising her arms to hug her back. Did the Queen know about her and Alex? Did she approve? Rebecca must be exhausted if she was analyzing a simple hug.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Rebecca said softly before curtsying and following Cat out of the room.

Still analyzing, Rebecca missed most of Cat’s conversation as they walked the twisty corridors back to her room. Rebecca had to admit, she was glad for some rest, if it would even come tonight, but she wished she could have seen Alex one more time. Perhaps, if her dreams were filled with him again rather than the evil outside the palace walls, she would be able to sleep.

Once inside her room, alone at last, Rebecca was once again reminded of what she’d lost. Cat had brought outfits for her to wear, but no pajamas. All she had was the lingerie she’d bought at lunch; had that only been hours ago?

Rebecca walked over to one of her bags and pulled out one swath of soft pink satin. After teasing Alex last night about wearing something soft and pink, she knew she had to get it as soon as she had spied it in the store. It wasn’t particularly revealing, and looked more like a slip than anything else, but when Rebecca had tried it on, she’d felt beautiful. It had thin straps, a rounded neckline that displayed the tops of her cleavage, and while it fell barely a breath below what it was meant to hide in the front, it barely covered anything in the back.

Rebecca did all the mundane things she did every day before she went to bed: she brushed her hair, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and thought about her tasks at work the next day. But today, after doing the mundane, she did something different.

She slipped the nightgown over her head, and felt it shimmer against her skin. As the fabric fell over bare breasts, she felt the satin mold itself against her curves, and abrade her innocent nipples. She’d decided against panties as well, so the silk brushed itself against her semi-bare folds below and against the full curves of her ass.

She slid underneath the sumptuous covers and a quilt as soft as a cloud. There, buried in warmth, comfort, and beauty, she slipped into dreams.

***

Alex walked through the secret corridor from his room dressed only in boxers with a robe hastily tied over him. As he reached his destination, he found the hidden fingerprint scanner and pressed his thumb against it. When the door clicked lightly open, he stepped inside.

The Lavender Room foyer was as he’d left it earlier. Slowly, quietly, he walked to the bedroom and came to a dead stop in the doorway.

Rebecca, the love of his life, was lying in bed. With a soft light lit in the bathroom nearby, he could see her chocolate hair cascading behind her against the white pillowcase, with only her bare shoulder and arm visible above the covers. She looked like an angel.

He walked closer, then paused when she sighed and shifted in her sleep. Was she dreaming of him? Or were the nightmares plaguing her?

He continued his progress towards her, and sat softly on the bed beside her. His hand caressed her cheek and she sighed again. His cock twitched in response. Just one look from her, one sigh, was enough to arouse him.

He continued his caress until he sensed her mind waking. He should have left her to rest after the long day, but he was too much a selfish bastard when it came to her. He’d been disappointed, to say the least, when he’d rejoined his mother after dinner to find Rebecca gone. He knew he would not be able to rest until he saw her saw her again.

Her eyes blinked open, then her head shifted towards him. Fear crossed her face and she let out a terrified gasp as she grasped the covers and scrambled to the other side of the bed.

“It’s me, Rebecca. It’s Alex,” he said quickly as he held up his hands.

“Oh,” Rebecca said with a shuddered gasp. She put her head in her hands and the covers slipped away. He was sure she heard the sharp intake of his breath that followed.

She was dressed in something soft and silky that caught the meager light of the night. One paltry strap had slid off her shoulder, revealing a great deal of lush cleavage. Her nipples were peaked against the silk and he wanted to suck them, right there through the fabric until she moaned. His cock also clearly liked the idea.

“You scared me,” Rebecca said when she finally looked up. “What are you doing here?”

“I needed to see you.”

“You couldn’t wait until morning? I think you took ten years off my life.”

He shifted closer to her and pulled her into his arms. His eyes widened when he saw how short her nightgown was, barely covering the ass he loved to look at it and flirting with indecency in the front. As he held her in his arms, chasing the fright away, he rubbed his hands down her back. It finally occurred to him that she was naked but for the soft fabric underneath his hands, something his strength could easily rip away.

Instead of pursuing his fantasies, however, he dropped a kiss on her head and raised her face to meet his. “Feeling better?” he asked.

She nodded. “How did you get in here, Alex? I locked all the doors. Did you get the key?”

“Ah,” he said a little sheepishly. “There’s one door you missed. There’s a secret passageway behind a wall near the foyer.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Where does it lead? Could anyone find me through it?”

Alex rubbed his hands along her warm, bare arms. “There are corridors all through this wing of the palace, and were built strictly for the royal family and their guests. If you follow the passage long enough, you’ll find my royal apartment, as well as the others. No one except us and security knows about them.”

“But what about the maids or butlers or someone else? I’m not accusing anyone,” she said quickly. “But surely they would know about them.”

“They might know about them, but only specific people can access them. There are fingerprint scanners that unlock the doors on either side, and only the royal family’s fingerprints can unlock them. We can add additional people to the list, but there’s never been a need to do that.” Alex made a mental note to have Rebecca’s fingerprints added soon.

“I’m sorry,” she said as her head dropped onto his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just a little on edge.”

He kissed her head again. “I know. That’s why I came to see you. I wanted to make sure you were all right. I also wanted a kiss goodnight since you denied me earlier.”

Her head popped up. “What do you mean?”

“You left before I got a chance to do this,” he said before cupping her face and bringing her pink, unadorned lips to his. He started slow, with gentle brushes of his tongue against her lips. With a sigh, she opened for him and he felt a ridiculous surge of triumph. They spent several minutes like that with each other. Eyes closed, simply kissing.

When that was no longer enough he laid them down on the bed, side-by-side, as his hands shifted down to pull her closer. One broad, masculine hand shifted down to her leg, caressing her calf. When he reached her knee, he shifted her leg over his hip and pulled her closer. Even through the robe and boxers, she would be able to feel what she was doing to him now, and what she had been doing to him for months now.

His hand continued up her thigh, and teased the edge of her nightgown before slipping underneath. He studied the curves of her ass, memorizing each one by touch, before slipping a finger between her cheeks and traveling to her silky folds from behind. He groaned at the wetness he found there and she gasped.

“Al-Alex,” she stuttered as she suddenly realized where they were. “What are you doing?”

His lips continued a path down her slender neck, and to the curve of her shoulder. Rebecca’s hands, which had been fisted in his hair, forced his head away from her addictive body. “What do you think I’m doing, darling?”

“Seducing me,” she said and he noticed a slight fear in her eyes. Cursing himself, his hands stopped teasing her. It was her first time with a man, after all, and why that thought had his cock surging was beyond him.

“Rebecca,” he said and dropped his head to her chest. He desperately wanted to kiss her there, taste her heat, but he held back. “I told you I wouldn’t lie and I won’t.” His eyes lifted to hers again. “I do want to make love with you - I won’t deny that - but there’s another reason I want you.”

She was quiet for a moment before she said, “You need a wife, and this is how you’re trying to convince me?”

Alex shook his head. “I’m not here because I need a wife or the country needs a queen, though that’s true. I’m here because I need
you
, Rebecca,” he said as he pulled her closer, her full breasts pressed tightly against him. “I don’t just want your body; I want your heart. I
need
your kind, generous heart.”