The Prince (31 page)

Maybe more than just kind of.

Nora reached out and touched Wesley’s dark blond hair. Maybe she could get used to it being this long. Maybe. As long as it didn’t cover his eyes. Wesley stirred in his sleep and pushed closer to her. He settled back down again quickly and Nora smiled when he grunted softly and buried his face in the pillow. Gently, so as not to wake him, she lifted the sheets for a second. Naked. They were both completely naked and in Wesley’s bed together. After they’d made love on the dock, they’d straightened their clothes and returned to the guesthouse. Nora had assumed she and Wesley would get into bed and sleep, but sleep had been the last thing on his mind. As soon as they’d entered the house, the clothes had come flying off. They’d had sex twice before they’d even hit the bed—once in the entryway the minute they’d gotten in the door and once in the hallway only feet from the bedroom. Both times Nora had ended up on her back with her legs wide-open and Wesley on top and inside her. So strange…she never had sex like this, in basic missionary position. No pain, no bondage, no nothing but their two bodies joined together. Never had she imagined she could enjoy sex that simple. Wesley had been on top both times, but he certainly hadn’t been dominating her. With every initial penetration, he asked if it was okay, if he needed to do something different to make her feel better. She whispered words of instruction in his ear, words of encouragement. She’d never done anything like that with Søren. Sex with Søren was one of the rare times Nora shut up. He needed no instructions, required no encouragement. Had she tried either with him he would have gagged her in seconds and not let her speak again until he was done with her. And when inside her, he was always on top, while Nora ended up on her stomach or her hands and knees. They did have sex in missionary position on occasion. The last time, he’d sliced her open with a razor blade first.

All she ever said to Søren while he was inside her was, “yes, sir” or “no, sir” or more often simply, “I love you, sir.”

Once in Wesley’s bed, Nora put the boy on his back and climbed on top of him. Wesley seemed immediately uncomfortable with the position.

“What’s wrong?” she’d asked him as she came down onto her hands and let her nipples brush his chest.

“I…it feels weird.”

“Weird? How?”

“I don’t know. Just weird. My…it’s sort of a weird angle. Good view, though.” He caressed her breasts and Nora sighed.

“Okay, but I’ve got to get you into something other than missionary. Vanilla is bad enough,” she’d teased as she rolled off him and onto her side. Wesley spooned into her and she felt his erection pressing against her lower back. Moving up, she tossed her top leg over his, took him in her hand and slid him inside her. Wesley gasped as he moved deeper into her. “Better?”

Wesley covered her neck and shoulder with kisses.

“Definitely. This…good. Very.” The words were lost in a mumble of more kisses all over her shoulders and back.

“Missionary and spooning,” she said as Wesley nuzzled her hair. “The Underground must never hear of this.”

Wesley had stopped moving then.

“Is this bad? Do you not like it?”

“Don’t stop. Don’t stop...” Nora reached behind her and grabbed his hip.

Laughing, Wesley resumed moving as ordered.

“I will never stop again.”

Nora pulled a pillow to her chest and rested her head on it as he continued his slow, sensual thrusts.

“No…I like it. I do. It’s just different for me. I’m either really dominant in bed—on top, him under me, usually tied down. Or…”

“Or?”

“I’m really submissive. Like with—”

“Yeah, I know.” Wesley lightly touched the tips of her nipples. “So what’s so different about it? Just the positions?”

He pushed in a little harder and deeper and Nora’s vagina clenched around him. After a few seconds she’d caught her breath enough to speak again.

“Um…no. It’s hard to explain. When I’m being the Domme or the sub, I fall into this role... This other part of me takes over and I become
the
Nora Sutherlin if I’m on top. Or if I’m with Søren, I turn into his Little One.”

“Little One?”

Nora nodded. “That’s what he always calls me. It’s his pet name for me. He’s huge, you know.”

“We’ve met.”

Nora grinned at the disgust mixed with envy in Wesley’s voice.

“He’s six foot four. And I’m…not.”

“I can’t believe he calls you Little One. It’s so…”

“What?”

“Fatherly.”

Fatherly…Nora couldn’t really argue with that assessment. He was Father Stearns, after all. To the world, anyway. Within five minutes of meeting him, he’d told her his real name—Søren—and said she could and should call him that when no one else was around. Calling him Father Stearns had always seemed like an inside joke to her. Even after twenty years, she could hardly say it with a straight face.

And yet…he’d practically raised her. As soon as they’d met, her reliance on her parents, minimal to start with, had become nonexistent. She’d answered to him and him only. Even now…being here with Wesley had been Søren’s idea, Søren’s gift to her. But for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why.

“Why…” she whispered across the sheets as Wesley stirred and opened his eyes.

“Why what?” he mumbled, pulling her close to him. For a minute he and Nora wrestled with arm placement. With Søren in the mornings, she’d simply drape herself across his broad chest—no arm wrestling necessary. She wasn’t used to this side-by-side, face-to-face, can’t-figure-out-where-everyone’s-arm-goes thing.

“What are you doing?” Wesley asked as Nora wriggled against him, trying to find a comfortable position.

“I think I’ll need to cut my arm off if we’re going to lie like this. Or you’ll have to cut yours off.”

“Nora, have you never cuddled before?”

“Not like this. Here. You lay on your back. I’ll lay on you.”

“Fine. Fine…” Wesley rolled onto his back and Nora collapsed onto his chest. He let out a puff of air as she scrambled into position. “Are you made of lead?”

“I’m solid muscle and evil. Stop bitching and cuddle me.”

Laughing, he wrapped his arms around her. “Yes, ma’am.”

Closing her eyes, Nora nestled against Wesley’s chest—not quite as broad as Søren’s, but warmer, closer. And Wesley’s young heart beat faster than Søren’s. Was that his natural rate or just a side effect of having a naked woman on his body?

“How are you this morning?” Nora asked, turning her eyes up to his.

“Good.” Wesley nodded after he’d paused to think about his answer. “Really good. I feel like I could do anything I wanted today.”

“Welcome to afterglow. It’s nice, right?”

“Very. They should sell this stuff on the black market.”

“They do. It’s called pot.”

“Kentucky’s unofficial number-one cash crop.”

Nora’s eyes widened. “I like this state more and more every day.”

Groaning, Wesley sat up and sent Nora sliding onto her back. He slapped her lightly on the bottom and she yelped much louder than necessary. Wesley stared at her with shock.

“Sorry,” she said. “Force of habit. What?”

“Let’s go. Clothes on.”

“Both of those are horrible ideas. Why and where?”

“We’ve gotta figure out what happened to Spanks for Nothing.”

“Really? We are?” Nora crawled off the bed and started throwing clothes on.

“Yeah. You said Talel’s a good guy and wouldn’t kill his own horse. If you believe in him, so do I. After all, no horse owner in his right mind would kill their own moneymaker. Not unless they were completely desperate for quick money.”

“And Talel has money, so that can’t be it. Any theories?” Nora pulled on her jeans and T-shirt. She probably should have taken a shower, but she didn’t want to waste the time and she sort of enjoyed smelling like sex with Wesley. Maybe more than sort of.

“Nope. Let’s just go over there and talk.”

“Good plan. You talk. I’ll…not talk.”

“Deal.”

In ten minutes time they were in Nora’s Aston Martin, heading down the parkway.

“Where are we going?” Nora asked as they took an exit. She’d let Wesley drive, since he knew the way and she planned to imbibe extraordinary amounts of coffee.

“Paris.”

Nora choked on her coffee.

“Paris? That’s a little more than a day trip, Wes.”

“Paris, Kentucky. That’s where Talel’s farm is. Well, one of them.”

“How many damn farms does he have?”

“Two less than we do.” Wesley glanced at her and winked.

Nora rolled her eyes. “So much for my semi-normal guy fantasy.”

“What? Who’s a semi-normal guy?”

“You are. Or were. When we lived together, I would catch myself thinking about how nice it was to be with a semi-normal guy. I mean, semi in that you’re way hotter than actual normal guys. And smarter. And a virgin. Well, you were back then. But now you’re not. You’ve got more money than God. Or at least more than Talel.”

“Well, it’s my parents’, really. But I’ll inherit it all someday, I guess. Ten thousand acres at last count, including the satellite farms in Maryland and Tennessee. Two hundred horses in training. Five or six hundred broodmares and yearlings.”

Nora turned away from him to stare out the car window. She’d never seen so many miles of green in her life.

“What will you do with this empire of yours?”

Wesley shook his head. “I don’t know. The amount of work my father does every day—it’s insane. He’s gotten up at 4:30 a.m. every day for as long as I can remember. He looks strong and healthy, but he’s been fighting ulcers since I was ten.”

“Sell it.”

“What?”

“Sell it. Sell it all. Get rid of it if you don’t want it. You went to college in Connecticut, never told me one word about your life here. We went horseback riding, but only for fun. You want to be a doctor, not run an empire, right?”

“Right.”

“Then sell it. Griffin sold off his grandfather’s horses. Never looked back.”

“This farm is a legend. And it’s been in my family for generations. It’s my father’s obsession. It’s my father’s legacy.”

“Stealing cars, chopping them up and getting whacked by the mob is my father’s legacy, Wes. Just because our parents care about something doesn’t mean we have to.”

Wesley shook his head. “Can’t do it. I’d never forgive myself for selling The Rails.”

“Then what’s the other option?”

“I don’t know. Mom and I talked about it. She said I should marry a woman into horses and let her run the farm, while I did whatever I wanted. Mom’s allergic to horses. She has to take shots every week just to breathe through her nose.”

Nora laughed. “I like your mom. Good thinking. We’ll have to find you a wife who’s really into this shit so you can go play doctor.”

“I’d rather have a wife who’s into me.”

“That’s crazy talk.”

Nora and Wesley crazy talked all the way to Paris. When they drove up to Unstableside Farms, Nora couldn’t help but gasp aloud again.

“What?” Wesley demanded.

“Wesley, this is insane. Why does everyone in Kentucky live in a fucking palace?”

“Clearly, I need to take to you to eastern Kentucky. You’re getting a very skewed perception of this state.”

“Eastern Kentucky? What’s there?”

“Ever seen
Deliverance?
”

Nora pushed her sunglasses on and scoffed. “Seen it, Wes? I’ve lived it.”

Wesley rolled his eyes as he parked the car in the circular driveway in front of the massive colonial manor that comprised the main house at Unstableside.

“Unstable? Adorable,” Nora said. “Talel has a little too much fun with his English.”

“He gives his horses the most fun names. Mom names all our horses and she’s real conservative. No BDSM references.”

“I want to name a horse.”

“If you stay here, you can name all the horses from now on.”

Nora’s heart tightened at the smile on Wesley’s face. She was so used to Søren loving her that it hardly registered anymore. Søren’s love was like the sky—huge and ubiquitous, always there without fail. She no more expected his love to go away than she would ever imagine walking outside at night and seeing a void where the stars should be. But Wesley’s love…it seemed so strange to her, so novel. Where had it come from? And why? She would understand the origin of the stars before she ever got why this beautiful boy, so sweet and pure, would love a woman like her.

Wesley rang the bell at Talel’s front door and took her hand as they waited.

“So we can just drive up here and ring the bell?” Nora asked, shocked by the lack of security.

“Nope. We can’t. But I can.” He grinned at her again and Nora stuck her tongue out.

“Fine. I get it. You own Kentucky. When we go back to New York, I’m going to take you places only I can get us into.”

“Do we have to?”

“Have to what? Go into places only I can get us into?”

“No…” Wesley’s smile left his face. “Go back to New York.”

Nora sighed heavily as she squeezed his hand. “This is your world, kid. Not mine. You know I don’t belong here.”

“You told me once you loved it down south.”

“I was talking about anal sex.”

“Of course you were.”

The door opened and Wesley started to introduce himself to the young woman who’d answered. She ushered them in before Wesley could even get his name out.

When the woman turned her back, Nora stuck her tongue out at Wesley.

“Big shot,”
she mouthed.

“Big money,” he replied, not sounding terribly impressed with himself. Nora could sympathize. Wesley didn’t really care about horse racing. During the year and a half they’d lived together, he’d talked at length about his med-school dreams…becoming a pediatrician, treating kids like himself, with type 1 diabetes and other diseases. Helping people, helping children. He cared as much about his family money as Søren cared about his. Søren had given away every cent he’d inherited. His trust fund had gone to Kingsley, and had financed the Underground empire. The bulk of his inheritance he’d given to his two sisters. As a Catholic parish priest he made about thirty thousand dollars a year. Of course, with Kingsley around, Søren had access to anything and everything he needed. And Nora kept him well supplied with grand pianos and high-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets. Even when he told her not to.