HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS (16 page)

“Ha,” she mocked, trying really hard not to let the teasing sound become a moan.

He brought those wonderful hands between them, sliding them up over her rib cage, cupping both breasts, and he whispered, “You don’t know what you do to me.
You
get me out of control.”

It pleased her to no end to hear him admit that. She could almost start thinking they were finally getting somewhere. “I do?”

“Oh, yeah....”

“Show me.” She kissed him as he caressed her, teasing his lips with her tongue until he let her in, let her taste him slow and deep, let her have control of the kiss. And while she was kissing him, she slipped a hand beneath the water and wrapped her fingers around him nice and tight.

He jerked against her touch and groaned into her mouth. “Alice...”

She stroked him, long, slow strokes. And then faster. Harder. He gave in to her, let her push him back to rest his head on the tub rim, let her guide his hands out to either side, let her slide around and ease her legs under him, bringing his hips above the water and the slowly dissolving bubbles.

He kept those big arms widespread, letting her have him, letting her do whatever she wanted. The sounds he made, low and urgent, drove her on.

She tasted him at her leisure, bending close and surrounding him by slow degrees, letting him free, only to take her sweet time licking all along the length of him.

“Please,” he groaned. “Alice...”

And she lowered her mouth on him again, all the way down, then slowly up and down and up again, creating a building rhythm, stroking him with her encircling hand at the same time.

He called out her name. And she felt him, under her palm, at the base, pulsing. She lifted—and then took him in all the way. He touched the back of her throat as he came, tasting of salt and sea foam. She swallowed him down.

A moment later, he reached for her, guiding her around by the shoulders until he could pull her in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her and she lay against him. With her back to his broad chest, the slowly cooling water buoying her, it seemed she felt him all around her, yet she floated above him, too.

He pressed his lips to her temple, murmured rough and sweet in her ear, “We’re good together. You know that we are.”

She chuckled, a husky, easy sound, tipping her head back enough that they could share a quick kiss. “Spoken like a recently satisfied man.”

“I’m serious.” Gruff. A little bit angry, but in such a tender, urgent way.

“All right. Seriously, then. Yes, I agree with you. We
are
good together. Mostly.”

“You have complaints?” He bent and nipped at the wet skin of her shoulder.

She moaned. “At this exact moment? Not one.”

“Good.” He cupped her breast with one hand and idly, possessively, teased at the nipple. With the other, he touched her belly, spreading his fingers wide beneath her rib cage, pressing down a little, bringing her into closer contact with his body, making her burn for him within. “I don’t want anyone but you.” His voice was gruff and soft at once. “I honestly don’t. I’ve been with more women than maybe I should have. But no more. I’m true to you. I
will
be true to you. It’s not a hardship. It’s what I want.”

She reached back, needing her hand on him, and clasped his nape. It felt so good just to touch him. “I’m glad. So glad.”

He caught her wrist, brought her hand to his lips, kissed the tips of her fingers one by one. “I started out to find myself a princess.”

“Yes. I know.”

“I was an ass.”

She agreed with him. Gently. “Well, yes. You were. A bit.”

“But then guess what happened?” He curved his fingers around hers and brought their joined hands down together under the water. “I went looking for what I thought I wanted—and I found so much more. I found you.”

All at once, her throat felt tight and her eyes were brimming. And she couldn’t stop herself, didn’t
want
to stop herself. She went ahead and said exactly what was in her heart. “I love you, Noah.” It came out in a whisper. She made herself say it louder, owning it, proudly. “I’m in love with you.
You’re
the one that
I
want, too.”

And then he was taking her shoulders again, turning her so that she faced him, so she was meeting his eyes. “Marry me.” He said it low. With heat and longing and coaxing intensity. “Say you will. Say yes this time. Be my wife.”

Chapter Twelve

A
lice longed to give him what he wanted, to tell him yes.

She did want to marry him. She wanted that a lot.

But somehow she couldn’t say it. She couldn’t quite make herself put that yes out there. She couldn’t quite open her mouth and give him the answer he was waiting to hear.

Instead, she only stared at him, mute, her body yearning, her heart aching.

Her silence didn’t go over well. The hot, hopeful look left his eyes. They turned cool. Hard.

And then he lifted her off him. Firmly guiding her back to her own end of the tub, he gathered his feet under him and stood.

The water sloshed over the rim and splashed onto the thick bath mat as he got out. He grabbed a towel from the linen cart and wrapped it around his waist. Without stopping to pick up his scattered clothes, dripping water, he headed for the door.

She let out a cry. “Noah, please don’t go....”

He kept on walking. Two more steps and he was through the doorway, out of her sight.

She waited to hear the outer door open and shut.

When it didn’t, she felt a tiny bit less awful.

He wasn’t happy with her, but at least he hadn’t stormed out. Well, not
all
the way out. He’d stayed in the suite.

She climbed from the tub, reached for another towel from the stack and dried off, giving him a little time to settle down before trying to talk to him again. At the beveled mirrors over the twin sinks, she took down her hair and shook it out on her shoulders. And then, knowing she’d probably stalled as long as she dared, she snagged her light robe from the back of the door, stuck her arms in the sleeves and belted the sash.

He was standing at the French doors, still wearing the towel, staring out at the moonlit equestrian fields when she found him. She approached with care and drew to a halt a few feet from his broad bare back. About then she realized she had no idea what to say.

Apparently he got tired of waiting for her to find her voice. He demanded, without turning, “What do you want from me, Alice? Heavy use of the L-word? My heart on a pike?”

She fell back a step. “You’re being cruel.”

He whirled on her then. She startled, certain he would raise his voice to her. But no. He drew in a slow breath and spoke in a tone as even and low as it was dangerous. “I don’t know what more to say to you, what else to do to prove to you that I want this, you and me. I want it to last and I intend to do my part to see that it does. I want to be your husband. I want us to have children together. When I get old, I want to be looking over at you in the other rocking chair.”

What he said was so beautiful. Her arms ached to reach for him. But she knew he would only pull away from her touch. So she brought her hands up and folded them, prayerfully, under her chin. “I want that, too, Noah. I meant what I said. I love you. I do. You mean the world to me. It’s only...” With a hard sigh, she let her arms drop to her sides again. “It’s been barely more than a month since we met. I think we need more time.”

“Speak for yourself. I
know
what I want.”

“All right, then. Speaking for myself,
I
need more time.”

“How much time?”

“Some. A little. I don’t really know. But when you rush me like this, it only makes me more certain I need to slow things down.”

His face looked haggard suddenly. “You say that you love me. But you don’t trust me.”

Again, she wanted to reach out, smooth his brow, to swear that she
did
trust him, that in the end it would be all right. But she kept her arms at her sides and told him quietly, “It’s not you I don’t trust. Not really. It’s...me.”

He threw up both hands. “Oh, excellent. Like there’s a damn thing I can do to fix that.”

“I don’t expect you to fix it. There’s nothing
to
fix, not really. There’s just...” She struggled for the right words. “Honestly, what you did tonight, making your peace with Lucy, finally letting her go when she’s the last of your family and you have this ingrained need to keep her close where you can protect her.... Well, that was amazing. That was really, truly something. It showed me that you
can
compromise, that you’re not all about winning, about doing what
you
think is right. That when someone you love finally draws the line on you, you’ll do what you have to do to keep the connection. Also, I did hear the things you said to me a little while ago, about being true to me, about wanting me for myself, not because I fit some idea you had of the perfect trophy wife—and then what you said just now, about you and me and the rocking chairs. All of it. It’s good. It’s right.”

He ran a hand back through his hair. “Great. I’m wonderful. Amazing. I say the right things to you. I’ve proved that I’m flexible, willing to give in. You’re in love with me. I’m the guy for you. And still, you keep putting me off.”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m an impetuous person. I told you that at the first. My sister Rhia says I do best when I go with that, when I follow my instincts. I think she’s right—as a rule. But I do have to be careful about saying yes to sharing the rest of my life. Ten years from now, I don’t want either of us to look back and wonder why we said
I do.
”

“That’s not going to happen. Not for me.”

“I have to be sure, too, Noah.”

He was silent, watching her. Then he said, “I think I’ll sleep in my room tonight.” He started to turn.

“Noah.”

“What now?”

“Stay. Please.” She held out her hand.

He scowled at it—but then, just when she thought he would turn his back on her, he took it. She pulled his arm around behind her nice and snug, stepping up close and resting her head against his bare chest.

“You don’t ask much,” he muttered against her hair.

She cuddled closer. “I love you, Noah. Let’s go to bed.”

* * *

Noah let her lead him to the bed. But he’d had enough for the night. Enough of stepping back and letting his sister move to Manhattan where he couldn’t protect her. Enough of having Alice turn him down—even though she claimed to love him.

In bed, she cuddled up close the way she liked to do. He wrapped his arms around her—for a while.

But as soon as her breathing grew even and shallow, he eased his arm out from under her head and slept on his side, turned away from her.

In the morning, they were up before dawn to see Lucy and Damien off. He stood on the front steps with Alice on one side and Hannah on the other, waving goodbye as the black SUV drove away.

Once the car was out of sight, Alice turned to him with a brilliant smile, those gorgeous dimples flashing. He made his lips curve upward in response. But his heart wasn’t in it.

They spent the day in the stables and out working with the horses. That night, she asked him if something was wrong.

He shook his head and kissed her. They went upstairs together. He’d been thinking that maybe he’d sleep in his own room. But she kissed him again and he couldn’t resist her, so that led where it always led.

Later, as they lay together in the dark, she reminded him that she had to leave on Wednesday. “Next weekend is the Autumn Faire, remember?”

He did remember. “The bazaar and the parade you have to ride in.”

“That’s it.” She settled in closer, pressed her lips to his shoulder. “Come with me. It will be fun.”

Was it going to go on like this indefinitely, then, with the two of them constantly together in every way except the one that mattered most to him? “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I have a trip to Amarillo Thursday.”

She went very still. And then a small sigh escaped her. “No. You didn’t tell me.”

He
hadn’t
told her, and he knew that he hadn’t. In fact, the invitation from Yellow Rose Wind and Solar was open-ended. He’d just that moment decided to go on Thursday. “A West Texas wind farm. I want to have a look before I decide how much to invest.”

She rolled away from him, sat up and switched on the lamp. “I’ll ask you again.” She pulled the sheet up to cover her pretty breasts and settled back against the headboard. “What’s wrong?”

He started to insist that there was nothing. But instead, he hauled himself up to sit beside her. “Look. It’s hard for a guy. To keep asking and getting told no, all right?”

She kind of sagged to the side and put her head on his shoulder, which felt really good, absolutely right. Damn it. “I’m not saying no. I’m just saying not yet.”

He couldn’t hold back a grunt of disgust. “Sounds a lot like no to me. And then there’s the love thing. You said that you love me.”

“Because I do.” She clasped his upper arm, squeezing a little. He shifted, easing away from her until she let go, lifted her head from his shoulder and frowned at him. “Is there something wrong with my saying I love you?”

He had no idea why they were talking about this. He never should have let it get started. “It’s nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. You know it does.”

“It’s nothing, Alice.”

“That’s not true.”

“Can you just leave it alone?”

She winced. “You mean it bothers you that I told you I love you and then turned down your proposal?”

It occurred to him that if he said yes to that question, this conversation that made him feel as though poisonous spiders were crawling around under his skin might end more quickly. “Yeah. That’s it. It ticks me off. You said you love me—and then you refused to marry me.”

She leaned in closer, so their noses almost touched. He wanted to push her away—and he wanted to grab her good and tight and bury his face in her sweet-smelling hair. “How about this? I won’t say those dreaded words again until I’m ready to answer yes.”

He would prefer that she never said them again. Not ever. But if he admitted that, she’d be all over him, wanting to know what was wrong with him that he had such a big issue with the L-word. The questions would be endless. The spiders under his skin would start biting.

Uh-uh. Not going there.

He said, “It’s a deal.”

She cradled the side of his face, and then combed the hair at his temples with a fond, gentle touch. “Are you worried about Lucy?”

“Hell, yes.”

“She’s going to be fine, Noah.”

“So everyone keeps telling me.”

She kissed him. He breathed in her sweetness. “Reschedule your visit to the wind farm,” she whispered. “Come to Montedoro with me.”

He shook his head. “You go home. I’ll go to Texas. We can’t be together all of the time.”

“Noah.” She held his gaze steadily. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“Of course not.”

She kissed his chin, his jaw and then nipped at his ear. “Say that again.”

“I’m not trying to get rid of you.”

“Prove it.” Her naughty hand slid down beneath the sheet.

A moment later he flipped her over on her back and showed her just how happy he was to have her around.

* * *

Lucy called him the next day. He took the call in his study and couldn’t help smiling at the breathless, happy sound of her voice.

“Noah! New York is amazing. The energy here... I could work round the clock and never need to sleep. And my apartment! It’s in a beautiful old building. I have tall windows facing the street. There’s a claw-foot tub in the bathroom and those old black-and-white subway tiles. The building has seven floors, two apartments per floor, except for the top two floors, which are Dami’s for when he’s in town. Noah, I’m here just a day and I have so many ideas I can’t sketch them fast enough.”

He chuckled. “Speaking of fast, have you already moved in?”

“No. Remember? I’m at the Ritz-Carlton for the next few days while I get the place furnished and all that—I mean, at least until I get a bed in and a few basics for the kitchen and bath.”

“Good, then.” He knew she didn’t want to hear it, but he had to caution her, “Don’t push too hard. Take care of yourself....”

She laughed. “Oh, I will. I promise you. And I’m feeling great. Fabulous. Never better, I swear.”

“How’s Damien?”

“He’s been wonderful. So helpful and sweet. Plus, he’s easy to talk to and I can ask him anything. He never laughs at me for being so inexperienced and having way too many silly questions.”

“Is he...there at the hotel with you?”

“Uh-uh. He’s staying at his apartment—the one in my new building?”

Excellent. Noah felt relieved enough to tease her. “Right.
Your
building.”

“It
is
my building, because I’m going to live there. Tomorrow he’s taking me furniture shopping. But then Wednesday he has to go back to Montedoro.” Good. Noah was willing to believe that Dami and Lucy were friends and nothing more, but he would still rest easier when the Player Prince had left New York. Lucy added, “Some festival or something.”

“The Autumn Faire.”

“That’s it. He has to drive a race car in a parade. He’s been so sweet, though, Noah. He introduced me to nice Mrs. Nichols across the hall from me. And there’s a great building superintendent, Mr. Dobronsky. He takes care of the apartments and fixes anything that gets broken. I met him and his wife, Marie, too. I liked them both a lot.”

He couldn’t help smiling. “You like
everyone
a lot.”

“Mostly, yes. I do.” She said it proudly. “And how about you?”

“I’m fine. Perfect.”

“Hannah?”

“She misses you already.”

“I miss her, too. I’ll call her tonight. How’s Boris holding up?” Hannah would be taking the cat to her later.

“He’ll survive.”

“And Alice?”

“Good. Alice is good.”

Lucy chided, “You’d better
be
good to her.”

A curl of annoyance tightened his gut. “Oh, come on, Lucy. Of course I’m good to her.”

“You know what I mean. Treat her right. Take care of her. Let
her
take care of you. Don’t close yourself off. Don’t boss her around.”

“Just what I need.” He tried to make a joke of it. “Relationship advice from my baby sister.”

But Lucy wasn’t kidding. “Someone has to say it. Alice is the one for you. I just don’t want you to blow it.”