The Keys' Prince (The Royal Heirs) (12 page)

Making love to Dario again was everything she’d imagined it would be and more. The way he touched her body made her come alive in ways she’d never been able to do at the hands of another man. It was not only as wonderful as she remembered, but also so much more. They’d gotten better with age. Something she’d never thought possible. They’d both learned a few new tricks over the years, making all of her wildest dreams mild in comparison.

But their connection went much deeper than the physically sensational experience they’d shared last night. Their love for each other was stronger than it had ever been. In some ways it seemed as if they’d never been apart. They were as much in sync now as they were twenty-five years ago.

She never thought she’d get a second chance with him. And now that she had, she’d do whatever it took to make sure he was hers forever.

The sun in all of its glory now, high above the palm trees, Stella went back inside to wake up her sleeping prince before he missed their ride to the beach.

“Have you been watching the sunrise, babe? You always enjoy that,” Dario said, surprising her that he was already awake.

“I was. You could have joined me,” she said sitting down on the edge of his bed, playing with a few rogue curls from his fantastically messed-up head of hair. She was tickled that she was partly responsible for his morning-after look.

“I’ll join you tomorrow. I promise. Today, I laid here watching you, knowing how very lucky I am to wake up with you.”

“We are lucky, aren’t we? Being together again is all I’ve ever wanted. It still feels like a dream,” she said, running her fingers over his rock hard chest, wishing they’d never have to leave the sanctuary of his room.

“A dream come true,” Dario said, placing his hands over hers.

“For me too,” she said, leaning over to kiss him, praying that, from this moment on, every morning would begin like this.

“I can’t imagine not having you in my life anymore. And I can’t believe I tricked myself all of these years into thinking that I could find someone else that made me feel this way,” Dario said, holding her close to his chest.

“Exactly what I was explaining to the universe,” she said, knowing she could never thank the powers that be enough for bringing them back together.

“Well, let’s hope that tossing it into the universe works,” he said, rubbing her back, sending sweet shots of desire clear to her toes. “That’s what you used to say, isn’t it? You toss your wishes into the universe, and eventually the universe answers. Well, I took your advice, and I’ve been tossing wishes for an awfully long time.”

So had she, she thought, reveling in the warmth his sincerity brought to her heart and soul. Oh how she’d missed him.

“Sometimes, the universe takes a while to get the job done,” she said.

“I should say so, but at least he or she got it right,” Dario said, sweeping a strand of hair out of her eyes.

“Indeed they did,” she said, laying her head on his chest, taking comfort in the cadence of his heart beating close to her ear.

“So what time are we supposed to be ready for the beach?” He asked, slipping his hands through the front of her robe.

“Soon enough that if I don’t get back to my room to get showered and changed, we’ll be late,” she said, in no shape or form to deny anything he asked of her until then.

“You don’t have to go back to your room to shower. I have one that I’m more than willing to share with you,” he said, slipping her robe off of her shoulders.

“Oh, you do, do you? Then we’ll be late for sure,” she said, tilting her head to give him easier access as he began kissing her from the tips of her ears down to her collar bone and lower.

“Hey, those guys work for us. I don’t think it will matter if we’re a couple minutes late.”

“Good point,” she said swatting the back of his head with a pillow, which resulted in him picking her up and taking her straight to the shower.

• • •

After a shower she wished would never end, Stella made the walk back to her suite with a spring in her step she hadn’t had since she was eighteen.

Why had it taken her twenty-five years to find her way back to Dario? She’d probably never figure that out. But really, did the why matter? She lived in the now. At least she tried to. And today, the now was looking fantastic. There was nothing to gain by re-living the past. That was one thing she knew for sure. She’d spent quite a few years approaching life that way, and it sucked. There wasn’t a nicer way to say it.

Lost in the heady notions of building a life with the prince she’d never forgotten, Stella had a hard time figuring out what to wear for their beach date. She finally decided on a soft turquoise, silk and gauze beaded sundress, copper metallic sandals and a large floppy hat that perfectly matched the color of her dress.

At least the hat gave her a line of defense against the cameras that would invade the start of their day. It was a good thing she enjoyed wearing hats. She’d hid under them for quite a bit of her adult life.

Franco buzzed the intercom in her suite to let her know they were all to meet up in the back of the property by the garages. That was odd, she thought. Normally, he liked to pick her up as close to a door as possible. Not that she minded the walk. There were many times that she would have loved to have been able to do that instead of being hustled from door to door. She decided to celebrate the reprieve, instead of questioning its purpose, and enjoy the walk through the estates’ rose, herb, fruit and vegetable gardens. She could sure use the stretch, too. She was starting to feel a tad sore from her all-night antics.

When she arrived at the garage, loaded down with a picnic basket and her beach bag, Franco and Dario both looked daggers at her.

“What?” She asked, knowing darn well why they were miffed.

“Don’t give us that look. You know what,” Dario said, taking the basket and bag out of her hands. “We’d have been more than happy to help you with that, if you’d asked.”

“I was perfectly capable-”

“You might as well forget it, Your Highness. She can be rather stubborn, especially when it comes to letting people help her,” Franco said, looking at Stella over the top rim of his Ray-Ban’s.

“We’ll see how long that lasts once I get her to Kristianico,” Dario said and laughed, lifting the lid of the basket and peeking inside. “It looks delicious. Well done, princess. How did you know that that’s exactly what I’d want to eat?”

He winked at her.

“Just a lucky guess,” she said, instantly feeling heat flush her cheeks. She knew she was blushing something horrible.

And wasn’t he simply hilarious? A real wise-guy. She made a mental note to settle the score later that evening.

“You do know that you won’t be fixing your own picnic lunches in Kristianico?” Dario asked, his tone more of a challenge than a statement of fact.

“We’ll see about that,” Stella said and smiled. “So is the Rover packed and ready for the beach? Oh, and don’t forget our beach chairs, Franco. They’re so comfy.”

“We won’t be taking the Rover today,” Franco said, motioning for them to follow him around the Rover to another one of the nine bays in the garage. “Part of the way, we’ll be taking this beauty right here. Then, you and Dario will finish the journey on your own.”

Rounding the corner of the Rover, Stella passed a vintage Jaguar, another vehicle following that, covered up with a fancy protective blanket, and then a bay with two Ducati racing bikes. Next was a brand new Ford pickup with two bicycles in its bed.

To be accurate, there was one bike along with an antique, DeSoto three-wheeled bicycle. The three-wheeler had a delightful, perfectly rusty basket in the front between the handle bars and another basket in back between the two rear tires.

“You’re kidding, right? Although, I hope you’re not! This is going to be awesome,” Stella said hardly able to control her excitement.

She was finally going to ride one of the three-wheeled bikes that she’d seen all over Auntie Elo’s retirement park.

“Well, Stefan and I got to talking about how we were going to handle this whole beach day. We can’t chauffeur you to the beach. That will bring way too much attention,” Franco said, while adding two beach chairs to the bed of the truck. “We decided that after your photo op at Java Love, we’d have these bicycles packed and waiting for you out back of the coffeehouse. If you both have hats and sunglasses on while you’re riding, no one will think anything about it, and we’ll be right behind you in the truck. Same thing when you leave the beach. Ride your bikes to the coffeehouse. We’ll be behind you and pick you up. Does that work?”

“Work? It’s ingenious! Of course it will work! Bravo!” Dario said, patting both Franco and Stefan on their backs.

“It looks like you’ll have to strap the chairs across your back while you pedal though,” Stefan said.

“No worries,” Stella said, hardly able to keep from jumping up and down. “They’re light. And I carry mine like that anyway between Auntie Elo’s car and the beach.”

“Did both of you bring a change of clothes, including your swim suits, cover-ups and hats? We don’t want you wearing anything at all that you’re photographed in for the press conference, or you’ll for sure blow your cover,” Franco said, tightening the straps anchoring the bikes to the cargo hooks in the truck.

“Check,” Stella said, pointing to her bag in which she’d packed her beach attire along with an extra outfit.

“I’m on it as well,” Dario said, tapping the side of the duffel bag he was carrying.

“Good. Then I think we’re ready, if you are,” Franco said, opening the back door of the truck’s cab and motioning for them to get in.

“We’re more than ready, aren’t we, princess?” Dario asked.

Stella gave two thumbs up and climbed into the truck.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The press conference was soon successfully behind them, and the reporters were hanging out in Java Love for coffee on-the-house—one of barista Tatyana’s brilliant ideas to stall them while Stella and Dario changed clothes and took off for the beach.

Stella put on a black, two-piece tankini with a matching, beaded coverlet. She’d never been the kind of girl to let it all hang out. Even though she was in the best shape of her life, and probably wouldn’t look bad in a much skimpier suit, it just wasn’t her style.

Ready to go, she hightailed it out of the back door of Java Love. While waiting for Dario to join her, she tucked her beach bag inside the basket on the back of the bike, next to the picnic basket that Franco and Stefan already had in there. She strapped her beach chair to her back and settled onto the seat of the bike, thankful for the wonderfully large, comfy seat. She couldn’t stand narrow bike seats. How people rode long distances on those things was a mystery.

Stella was so excited to ride the DeSoto she could hardly keep from pedaling off into the horizon without Dario. She didn’t know which meant more to her, getting to ride this particular kind of bike or enjoying the freedom that riding gave her. With Dario at her side and Franco and Stefan in the truck behind them, this would be as close to total freedom as she’d been for as long as she could remember.

Dario finally came out the back door of the coffeehouse. He was wearing a super-sexy pair of navy blue and white, nautical-inspired swim trunks and a white, muscle-cut T-shirt. Noticing the way the shirt’s fabric pulled taught across his chest and abs, Stella inhaled sharply, silently fighting the urge to trade-in a day at the beach for an entire day in Dario’s bed.

Too busy thinking about the benefits of each option, Stella jumped up from her bike seat when Dario planted a tender kiss on her lips.

“Sorry I startled you, baby. But you look way too stunning for me not to sneak in a kiss before we pedal off,” he said, kissing her again, this time much deeper, lingering long enough that skipping the beach was becoming a very real possibility. “And I can’t wait to see what you’ve got under that sparkly cover-up.”

“You already know what’s under there,” Stella said, trying to catch her breath following his tantalizing tease.

“No, I don’t. I haven’t seen you in a bathing suit for years. But, in case you want to know, I’m imagining it right now and will be for the entire ride,” he said, his ornery grin making him even hotter than he already was in a navy cap, dark aviator sunglasses and flip flops.

“Thanks. That will make the ride much more pleasant,” she said, enjoying how low his trunks hung on his hips as he got on his bike.

God how she’d missed him over the years. Especially his sense of humor. His propensity for dishing out the sweetest of sexual innuendos had always made her feel so special and loved. That may be what she’d missed most of all—their playful, super-charged banter.

They pedaled through the alley behind the shops on St. Armand’s Circle and ventured out onto South Washington Drive, with Franco and Stefan’s truck pulling in close behind them.

“Is this incredible or what?” Stella asked, looking over her shoulder at Dario who was riding up beside her.

Feeling the sun heat up her face and the breeze rustle her coverlet as they turned towards the beach, she thought that, quite possibly, she was on her way to heaven.