Royal Ever After (2 page)

Adrenaline still coursed through my veins as I parked my car at the pub. The cops weren't close to catching me. My royal blood would protect me anyways. There was no way I was going to waste even a year of my life sitting in a cell. If worse came to worse, they fine my parents. I swung the keys around my finger as I walked inside.

Being rich was harder than it looked. Everyone treated you differently. Nobody wanted to really be your friend. They only wanted your money. Family was all that mattered.

Charles greeted me and gave me the usual talk about the cops putting bracelets on me one day. Over my dead body.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted someone new. She wasn't the usual fare we got here at the pub: shoulder-length brunette, brown eyes, and innocent. You can tell the difference between the bad and the good—she was a good girl.

She had a gravity about her that pulled me in. I didn't even wait to ask who she was before I found myself walking her way.

“Name's Lucas,” I announced. Talking to women was like second nature to me. I could strike up a conversation with anyone.

The woman stared up at me from the table, not saying a word. I couldn't tell if she was frightened or just didn't care. She closed her eyes and gulped. “I'm Brooke.”

An American accent? Her voice was heavenly.  I glanced down at her cleavage and felt a pang of desire in my pants. Foreigners were my cup of tea.

I shook her hand and felt a jolt of electricity zap through me. A feeling I'd never experienced before. I'd been with a lot of women—too many to count. A prince got whatever he desired. But this one was different.

“What are you doing in a place like this, love?” I asked.

“I'm a student at the university and I'm trying to avoid writing a paper.” Her eyes averted my gaze—I just needed one more look at that beautiful face.

I never needed to go to school. Whatever education I received was from Percy who came by the house and tried to teach me and my brothers multiplication once a week. He didn't last very long.

I put my finger and thumb on her chin and lifted her head until her eyes met mine. I lost my breath as we stared at each other for an eternity. I wanted this woman—
fucking needed her.

“If you need help with anything, just ask me.”

“I actually need to pick some king or prince to do a report on. I haven't lived here long enough to know very many.”

She has no fucking idea who I am. I could have fun with this.

“I can help.” I sat down across from her. The tension between us was palpable.

Charles screamed from across the room. “Lucas, get off your arse. We have to get over to the house now.”

Fuck...Brooke totally made me forget about my parents.

I wanted to ditch my brothers and spend forever with this girl.

I snapped back to reality—why was I letting a woman affect me so much?

I never told anyone my secret. Not even to my best friends. It was too embarrassing—too weird.

Here it goes...I have never been with a man before.

I had some boyfriends in middle school but the farthest we ever got was hand-holding. It's not like I didn't want to go further. They were all too good for me. Once I got to high school and college, I was so busy that I had no time to find a man.

This one just plopped into my lap and I had no idea what to do with him. All that studying for school wasn't going to help me in a real-life situation. Lucas was different than any other guy I'd met; something about the way he held himself. He was cocky and strong—he could get anything he wanted, including me.

Charles screamed from across the room. “Lucas, get off your arse. We have to get over to the house now.”

“I'm sorry Brooke, we'll have to put your tutoring on hold. Family business.”

“Family business?” I asked, gazing at him from behind my lashes. The alcohol was still knocking at my front door. Was I being to invasive?

Lucas leaned back in his seat. “Nothing special. Just dinner with the parents.”

It was hard to focus with all the desire pooling between my thighs.

“Well I'll still be here trying to come up with a royal figure.” I muttered.

Lucas smirked. “Don't worry, love. I'll be back”

Oh my! When did I become so weak to the British accent?

“Cheers,” he whispered.

No! Don't go yet!

“I hope so,” I replied.

“I won't leave a beautiful lass like yourself alone for too long.” He winked.

My cheeks flushed with all the red in the world.
Beautiful?
What was this man doing to me?

After dinner, I went back to the pub to find Brooke. I asked around and nobody had seen her. She wasn't the first nice girl to escape when she had the chance.

It was hard to find a woman who didn't put handcuffs on you once they found out how much you were worth. Hiding my identity from Brooke was the only way. But now she was gone and didn't know anything about her other than her name.

A week later I'd forgotten all about that pretty brunette and moved on. My brothers and I were moving on a major business deal that could gain us some serious cash.

John found me in the basement one morning pumping iron on the bench press. “Isn't that too much weight?” he asked, rushing over to spot me.

I strained as I lifted the two hundred bar of weights above my chest. A few years ago I was only able to do under one-fifty. Not having a job, I had a lot of time on my hands and working out was the natural way to pass it. Add a competing brothers and weight training was all you knew.

John grabbed the bar and helped me lift it back into place. I sat up and grabbed a white towel to wipe the dripping sweat from my face. “Where are we with Kernal Co?”

John started lifting two free weights. “We have a meet set up with them later this week,” he grunted.

“You think they're going to go through with the deal?”

John strained his bicep as he brought the weight to his shoulder. “Should go smoothly. Their company is in dire need of cash.”

“Why are we buying another business? We have plenty.”

John smirked. “Daddy says you always have to stay on top of the competition.”

John's explanation made sense. But I still had a nagging feeling that this was a bad move. But I'd never question my older brother.

John set down the free weights. “You seen that chick that was at the pub last week?”

He was talking about Brooke. I hadn't seen her but she had been on my mind since that first meeting. I shook my head. “Haven't seen her since that first day.”

“That's a shame. She was a fine piece of ass. Someone you can actually take home to mother. If you know what I mean.”

I knew exactly what he meant. Brooke was smoking hot but didn't look like the other bimbos I'd dated in the past.

I sat in the library, daydreaming about Lucas. His tight shirt and shredded muscles were so damn hot. How could a man affect me so much? I could barely think straight. I needed to focus on my history paper.

I couldn't stay at the pub. Something about the place scared me. I don't know what it was exactly. But after meeting with Lucas, my instincts were to run for the hills. That left me in a precarious situation. I wanted to see Lucas again but I needed to see Mr. Capshaw and ask for help. This paper wasn't going to write itself.

“You going to stare at that wall all day?”

That voice snapped me out of my head and I looked up to find Lucas standing there, his arms crossed and a giant grin across his face. My heart fluttered. “What are you doing here?”

Lucas sat down at the table across from me. “You ran out on me last week. I just wanted to check in and see how the paper was going?”

I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes. “I'm sorry. It got late and I needed to get back to my dorm.”

Lucas snatched the paper from out in front of me. “So what do we have here?” Lucas grinned and passed my paper back to me. “You still don't have a clue what to write about, do you?”

I looked up and into his eyes. My whole body warmed as I stared into his brown globes. “I've been going through books but can't seem to pick a figure. Any suggestions?”

Lucas smiled. “Of course. How about me?”

I tried to keep a straight face but couldn't hold it. I burst into a fit of laughter that brought the attention of the students sitting around me.

Lucas had a straight face. He wasn't fucking joking.

“You're serious?” I asked.

“I didn't want to scare you away when I met you. But I'm a prince.”

You just scored big, Brooke.

I brought out a pad of paper. “Can I interview you?”

Lucas checked the expensive watch on his wrist. “There's nothing more I'd love, darling. But I have a meeting I need to get to.”

“Can I come with?” I don't know what came over me or where that burst of confidence came from.

Lucas narrowed his eyes at me.

“I promise I won't get in the way.”

“You can't write about what you see.”

I nodded. “You got a deal.” I shook his hand and felt that same spark from before shoot through me.

“Meet me at the pub and we'll leave from there.”

I came to a row of cars at the pub. John, Charles, Gabriel, and Iain were all there, working on their cars. I couldn't help but say it over and over in my head. Lucas was a prince. Lucas was a prince.

Iain bent over and hugged his knees as he vomited all the whiskey he just consumed.

Gabriel let out a hearty life and slapped Iain on the back causing him to throw up even more.

“Which one is yours?” I asked Lucas.

Lucas pointed to the classic Aston Martin at the end of the line. I'd only seen one of those old Bond movies.

“Ever ridden in one before?”

I shook my head.

“You're going to like it.” Lucas shot me a devil-may-care smile that made me melt into a puddle of desire.

Charles came over and pulled Lucas to the side. “You're taking her along?” They spoke in hushed tones but it was still easy to overhear.

“Yeah, why not?” Lucas whispered.

“She's not family.” Charles glanced over at me and snarled.

“I'm taking her with us. She won't get in the way.”

John pointed at Lucas. “You make sure she keeps her mouth shut. Can't risk ruining this deal.”

Fear bubbled in my chest, raging through my system. Where were they taking me? If it was so dangerous, maybe I shouldn't go. My history paper wasn't more important than my life.

Lucas escorted me to the Aston Martin and opened the door for me. “Don't worry, it'll be fine.”

I smiled. He instantly put me at ease. His strong presence and soft face made me feel safe. I could definitely fall for a guy like this.

Lucas climbed into the driver seat and started the engine. The car rumbled to life. The vibration beneath my thighs was exquisite. “Ready, Brooke?”

My heart pounded in my ears. I'd never felt this excited and scared before. I nodded. I looked for the shoulder seat-belt but couldn't find it. Only a lap belt. I snapped it around my waist.

“This baby was built before all those seat-belt regulations. But don't worry. You'll be safe.”

I laughed. “Good to know.”

Lucas put on a pair of black Ray Bans that made him look so cool and sexy. “You might want to wear sunglasses.”

Lucas switched gears and we lurched forward. We followed the gang out of the parking lot and onto the street. I'd never felt like this around a man before. Dirty thoughts invaded my mind of Lucas taking me the backseat.

Lucas gripped the steering wheel and we launched down the street. The wind blasted around my body and face. My hair whipped back and I inhaled the clean air. Lucas shifted gears and we picked up speed. My heart was beating faster and faster. The adrenaline rush was addicting.

We weaved in and out of cars, following the rest of the group. We slowed down and turned off onto a country road. We stopped at a gate blocking our way and Gabriel got off and unlocked it for us.

Lucas looked behind. “You're enjoying this aren't you.”

I smiled and nodded. The scenery was jaw-dropping. Green pastures and beautiful trees. The sun sat overhead, shining down on us. The perfect day.

The ride was so bumpy and rocky. I felt like I was on a bucking bronco. I gripped onto Lucas' arm harder to keep myself from being thrown out through the open roof.

So many emotions were rolling around in my stomach that I didn't know what to feel.
I was falling hard for Lucas.