The Playboy Prince (Piacere Princes, Book One) (19 page)

Her dark eyes were huge on his face, her hand tightening its grip on him as she scooted forward, guiding him back inside her. “I want you, too.”

He closed his eyes, reveling in the hot softness of her body, and swallowed. “I know. And goddamn if we’re not good together, so let’s not spoil it thinking too hard.”

“I think I can do that.”

When he opened his eyes, the smile was back on her face. She folded her legs around his waist for the second time, locking her feet behind his back, and leaned back on her hands. The invitation was clear, her desire written all over her, and Salvy took her at her word.

Took her, again, with no plans to stop as long as she’d let him continue.

Chapter Fourteen

Magdalena

Everything looked different in the light of day.

Magdalena woke early, when the first hint of sunlight peered around Prince Salvadore’s heavy curtains. She rolled onto her side, the slip of his silky sheets on her bare skin deliciously scandalous, and studied him as he slept.
 

A five o’clock shadow crept over his chin and on his upper lip, the hair on his face as jet back as the thick locks on his head. And other places.

She felt desire tingling between her sore thighs at the mere thought, and bit her lower lip. He was beautiful, and holy shit, his hands and body had given her pleasure like she’d only imagined. The other men she’d been with had been happy enough experiences, but they’d all been far more concerned with their own orgasms than hers. Salvy…he
looked
at her and she started to shake.

Last night, with their clothes off and his hard body under her hands, it had been easy to agree not to think. To tumble with their shared need, cast off the thought of tomorrow. She didn’t regret last night. Couldn’t. She’d wanted him, regardless of his mistakes, for years, and Maggie had trouble feeling terrible about her snap decision to grab on, even if it was only for a night. For a few blessed hours she hadn’t thought about her future, about her father’s diagnosis or Matrigna Holdings—not to mention her recent inclusion into the criminal element.

But now, tomorrow was here. With it came the weight of every one of those damn boulders. They slammed into her all at once. It hurt to breathe, to consider what might happen if anyone found her here, in bed with the prince.

“Stop,” Salvadore said, commanding her even in his half-sleep.

And he thought he didn’t have what it took to be an integral part of the daily royal business here in Cielo.
 

“Stop what?” she asked, even though her heart squeezed at the words she knew he would say next.

“Worrying. I can hear your brain.”

Salvadore wasn’t the worrier. She was, and she realized now that she’d ignored that crucial dynamic in their relationship when she’d agreed to use his bathtub last night.
 

And now they were here.

“I can’t.” She swallowed, trying to slow the race of her heart. “Salvy, we…this whole thing. It will ruin me if anyone finds out. Luca will tell the King, and he’ll fire us. No one will hire the tailor who was sacked by the royal family, and you know Luca won’t stop there. It will be in every gossip magazine from here to Australia—Prince Salvadore goes slumming with the staff.”

Tears filled her eyes and she gulped air, the headlines rolling through her head already. How could she have been so stupid, to jeopardize her entire future for her own indulgence? It wasn’t as if this could ever be anything more than a few weeks of fun.

“Mags, breathe.” Salvadore was awake now, his blue eyes sharp as he sat up. His body was chiseled from his neck to the six-pack of his stomach, and she knew now that the perfection kept going. “Come here.”

She shook her head. “No. I have to go.”

“Magdalena Rossi.” His gaze pierced hers. “Let me help.”

She struggled to breathe as he tugged her against his chest. His arms were warm and a comfort around her, and she tried matching her breathing to his deep, calm rhythm. It worked, and the brush of his fingers through her sex-tangled hair didn’t hurt. Her arm brushed his crotch and he stirred, but made no move to encourage more.
 

“Listen to me,” he said, his voice firm and reassuring as it rumbled from his chest into her ears. “I will not let any of that happen. Luca won’t find out about us. My father will never fire you as long as I have any kind of say in matters of the crown, and Nico adores you and Gabriel. Trust me.”

She wanted to. She wanted to let go of her worries and give them to Salvadore, to trust him the way she had when they were children, when she’d known that he’d always look back for her, always reach for her hand to make sure she didn’t slip, and he’d kept all of her secrets.
 

But even though it was nice to hear, and the protectiveness in his voice made her want to nestle closer, Salvy didn’t know everything. He didn’t know about what Matrigna was threatening or about what she’d caused at their offices. Everyone knew Luca Piacere would do anything to discredit the other members of the royal family—if he found out what she’d done, or what her father had done, he could use it against Salvadore.

“I just…I don’t think…”

“Please, don’t say you don’t think we should do this again, Magdalena. There’s no way you mean it.”

“Salvy…” she sighed. Now, with their bare skin pressed together, she certainly didn’t mean it. But later, when she couldn’t look to him for comfort and the worry over being found out crowded her thoughts, would she?

“No. If you tell me that last night was a mistake and you want to be done with me because you didn’t like it, or I bug the shit out of you, or you need time to yourself, then I can respect that.” He paused, his fingers still sliding against her scalp. “But if you tell me we can’t spend more time together because you’re afraid of being found out, I don’t accept that. I will keep you safe, and keep your reputation intact. I swear. And I’ll fucking kill Luca if he tries anything that hurts you.”

Maggie startled at the venom behind the threat. “What?”

“You’re the only person, other than my brother, who I’ve ever considered a friend, Maggie. I won’t stand by and watch anyone hurt you. Ever.”

What if
you
hurt me?

The stray thought made her shudder. Made her realize that, no matter what she’d told him about knowing exactly what this was and what he could offer, her feelings for him had only grown stronger as they’d laid dormant all these years. That all of the times she’d rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose at the gossip regarding his behavior, it had been disappointment, a shield—not true disdain.

He tightened his hands on hers. “I wish things could be different—”

“Salvy, stop. Things can’t be different. It’s the one thing you and I have always known for sure, even when we didn’t know anything else. You’re a prince. I’m a seamstress. It might have been fine for us to be close when we were children but it’s not going to work now. You’re going to get married. I’m going to be fine.”

That last part sounded good, at least. Whether she would ever be fine was another story.

“I know that, dummy. You’re going to find someone who treats you like you deserve, and gives you the life you’ve always dreamed of, and he’s going to be better than me. Because you’ve always deserved that.” He paused. “But I really do wish there was another way.”

“Me, too.”
 

“We have two weeks, Maggie. Say you’ll spend them with me.”

She raised her head to look into his eyes, taken by the earnestness she saw in them. The desire, the care, the honesty.
 

“Just you and me,” he added, as though he figured she was wondering whether she’d be the only one.

It had actually never occurred to her that she wasn’t, but now that he’d said it, she realized he likely had arrangements with other women in Cielo. The thought wrinkled her nose.
 

He leaned in and kissed the tip. “Oh, Maggie. How are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Making me want to beg.”

“I don’t want…this isn’t just about me and my reputation, Salvy.”

“You seriously think
my
reputation could get any worse?”

The reminder made her frown. “Yes. After this whole stupid ball thing is out of the way, you may find yourself spending more time here. You might decide you like having more of a say. If Luca gets…if he uses anything in my life against you, it could hurt your chances of winning the people’s trust.”

Her bumbling sharpened his gaze, and he took a moment to think before answering. “What are you talking about?”

Shit. Now that she’d said anything, she had to tell him something.
 

Magdalena worried at her bottom lip. She hadn’t intended to bring him into the troubles plaguing her life. In fact, she’d outright refused when her friends had suggested she use her friendship with the royal prince to leverage some help as far as Matrigna.
 

She also hadn’t intended to have sex with him. Three times. So far.

“I told you about the company in Cielo that’s looking to buy up land. Lots of it,” she started, not sure how much to tell him about the blackmail.
 

“Yes, and Nico said some people have been asking for help but that our official stance is that nothing illegal is going on and my father doesn’t want to get involved.”

She was surprised he’d heard at least that much, but his use of the “our” when speaking about the royal family gave her the tiniest bit of hope. “Well, they’re after my father’s land. Our house. They’ve offered an insulting amount, even if he did want to sell, but he doesn’t.”

“That should be the end of it, then.”

Her throat tightened. “It’s not. Whoever’s in charge is blackmailing people. I’m not sure what he has on my father, but it’s something. I would tell them to go fuck themselves, but he’s worried about me. Now that he’s….sick, he wants to make sure I can take care of myself. If the business is ruined, he’ll worry.”

“They’re blackmailing people? Does my father know?”

“How would I know what the King is privy to?” She frowned. “It’s not just us. They’re doing it to a lot of people.”

“I’ll talk to the King. Today.”

“You don’t have to do that. I just wanted you to be aware that your future plans could be affected by…whatever this is, too.”

“And I want you to know that
this
—which, by the way, is fucking lovely, no matter how we define it—will not affect your happiness, Magdalena. I’ll make sure of it, and I can at least talk to my father about what’s going on in his kingdom.”

Maggie pressed her lips together to keep from saying that she felt sure the King already knew exactly what was going on in Cielo. Alfonso wasn’t a bad ruler—he was quite a good one, as those things went—but he did have a reputation for choosing the path of least resistance.
 

Both she and Brigida had decided the other night that there was no way the King didn’t at least suspect who owned Matrigna Holdings. The list of people with the assets and power to pull it off was simply too short.
 

And half of them were family.

“Okay,” she said, wondering why she didn’t feel more relieved.
 

“Thank you.” Salvadore smiled at her, and the room went slightly wobbly around the edges. “So, tell me you’re in
this
with me, at least until you want out. No strings. No pressure. Just time together—like we used to, but with more nudity.”

Maggie couldn’t help but laugh at the description. She’d missed having a friend even more than the illusion of something more. Her heart felt heavy at the deadline looming at the end of this, at the prospect of having to watch him choose and marry another woman, but she also knew that it was the most she would ever get.
 

She stared at him for a long time. “You really are an idiot.”

“I know,” he said, still waiting on her answer.
 

She had two choices: accept his proposal and spend the next two weeks having amazing sex with a man she genuinely enjoyed, or walk away and start mourning now instead of later.
 

If she took away the worry over her reputation, and his future, the choice was an easy one. If she added it back in…he’d shown care with her over the past ten days. That she could trust him. Maybe it really would all be okay.

“Magdalena,” he asked, dropping a hand to cup her breast. His thumb stroked her nipple, which sprung to attention under his touch.
 

She’d never wanted anyone this way. Never had what she wanted, just for her, close enough to touch, and goddammit, she wasn’t strong enough to walk away. Even knowing the risks, and how bad it would hurt, in the end.
 

Instead of answering, she leaned in and kissed him. He responded with unexpected enthusiasm, considering last night, and didn’t waste any time flipping her onto her back. The fingers of his left hand continued to tease her breasts as the two, then three on his right dipped inside her hot center.
 

Maggie moaned, shutting her eyes as his tongue stroked hers, needing more of him.