The Royal’s Pretend Wife (6 page)

While she was actually in scenes with Apolo, it felt effortless, but getting out of the scenes was growing incrementally harder. By the time seven p.m. rolled around and Dr. Horne's car came to pick him up, she was exhausted.

Despite her weariness, she still bid the doctor a fond goodbye, hugging him as he left.

“You have a rare gift, my dear,” he said softly, “And I don't mean the acting.”

She started to ask what he meant, but he only winked.

“You are the kind who steals hearts, but I am pleased to say that you are kind enough and sweet enough to give them back. The young prince is a very lucky man.”

She started to tell him that he had misunderstood, that there was nothing between them. She wondered if he had somehow gotten confused over what they were doing, but then he stepped into his car and was gone.

Suddenly, she was alone with Apolo again, and with that realization came a feeling of pleasure.

The words “alone at last” echoed through her head, and she followed him into the kitchen.

“I'm half-starved,” she said, and he nodded.

“Steaks, then,” Apolo declared. “There are some in the refrigerator, and I know how to cook steak without harming it or us.”

She sat at the island, playing with her phone and watching him expertly sizzle the steaks on the grill. The instinct to go over and to wrap her arms around his waist as he cooked was strong, but she refused to give in to it. There was such a thing as being too involved in her role.

The thought gave way to another, however, and she was thoughtful as she ate the delicious meal that Apolo had prepared. She was so quiet that as they set the plates aside, he raised an eyebrow.

“Are you tired, or is there something on your mind?” he asked. “I'm not used to you being this quiet.”

She grinned at him, sitting down on the couch. After a moment, he joined her, sitting at the opposite end. He set his cup of tea on the coffee table.

“As a matter of fact, you have only known me for two days, so you can't be used to me just yet. Maybe I am always like this.”

Apolo looked dubious, and she laughed. “It's true, I am thinking. I was watching you cook, and thinking about what Dr. Horne said, that we basically know what we need to do this thing we're doing.”

“So?”

“He never covered touching,” she said promptly. “We went over family stuff, job stuff, verbal affection and all that, but nothing about how we kiss each other or how we touch each other.”

“Perhaps he didn't think that it was so important?”

Trinity snorted.

“As a matter of fact, if you are an actor, it's the one thing you can't skimp on. You might have your lines down perfectly, makeup might have made you look like a goddess, but unless you have…physical chemistry, nothing is going anywhere.”

In the space of a heartbeat, Apolo went from a man who was enjoying a simple post meal tea to a predator scenting the air for his prey. Suddenly he was studying her with those sharp black eyes, and she could almost see the tension that thrummed in the air between them.

“Well, the man is a therapist and not an acting coach,” Apolo conceded. “And you are the expert, so I will leave it in your capable hands. What should we do about the fact that we did not cover touching today, hm?”

His words were perfectly dignified, even deferential, but there was a dark river running underneath them. She reminded herself that sometimes, the calmest waters hid the most dangerous undertow, and that yes, she was definitely swimming in some dangerous waters now.

“I think that we could use some practice,” she said, aware that her voice was slightly higher than it normally was. “I think…that if we are on the spot, it is best to be natural and…and practiced.”

“Practice sounds very good,” he said. “Shall we practice now?”

She knew that this was her last chance to save herself, to make sure that this was just going to stay a lucrative, enjoyable business engagement. All she would have to do was laugh, and tell him that they would likely be fine with learning to interact with one another on the plane tomorrow. On the plane, they could learn the simple touches that couples granted each other, the smiles, the caresses.

Trinity had no interest in playing things safe.

“Yes,” she said. “Let's practice now.”

The words were no sooner out of her mouth then he reached for her. She had known he was strong, but she had no idea how strong. With barely any effort at all, he lifted her up in his lap, setting her so that she straddled his powerful thighs. Underneath her skirt, she could feel the coarse weave of his trousers against the skin of her inner thighs. The sensation sent tingles of pleasure through her legs, and she rocked herself on his legs, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to draw him close.

When they kissed, it was like finding water in the desert. There was no shyness, nothing meek or timid. They fell on each other as if they were ravenous, their mouths devouring and wanting. Trinity whimpered as his hot tongue swept between her lips, thrusting in and out with a powerful rhythm that they could both feel. For a moment, she simply enjoyed the sensation, but then she drew on his tongue gently with her lips, drawing a moan from him. When she pulled back, it was only to start kissing his neck. She wanted—needed—to find the point of his pulse with her tongue. She wanted to feel his hot life moving against her lips.

His hands roved her body, sliding down her taut flanks to rest on her rear. After a moment, Trinity realized that he was moving her forward to sit squarely over his erection. Suddenly, she was aware that there was nothing separating them but thin fabric, nothing holding them back except their wills. Instead of making her want to stop, it only made her bolder.

Trinity tugged at Apolo's shirt, looking down at him imperiously.

“Take this off,” she whispered. “I need your skin. I need it against mine.”

With a single fluid motion, he shucked his shirt off over his head, tossing it aside.

“Fair's fair,” he retorted.

Instead of waiting for her to peel off her dress, however, he simply took two great fistfuls of the fabric and tore it apart. She gasped as the thin fabric gave way, leaving her sitting in nothing but a bra and panties on top of him. She felt stripped bare and vulnerable in a way that she hadn't been before. Without thinking of what she was doing, she covered her breasts with her hands, only to have him grab her wrists and pull them away.

“No,” he said hoarsely. “Don't be ashamed. You…you're beautiful, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen…”

She laughed at what must be an obvious lie, but then his strong hands came up to unhook her bra. It was a contrast from his earlier savagery, how delicately he could work when he wanted to. When he pulled her bra away, he paused to gaze at her now-free breasts. They were small but round, with coral pink nipples that hardened in the cool air.

Trinity watched, fascinated, as his dark hands moved over her pale skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. It seemed to take him an age to get to her aching nipples, but then he was squeezing them and rolling them between his fingers, arousing her with a gentleness that she wouldn't have expected.

“So beautiful,” he crooned, as she gasped with pleasure. “So sweet, and so beautiful…”

He moved to kiss her again, this time trailing kisses over her sensitive shoulders and down the slope of her breasts. When his tongue curled around first one coral peak and then another, she whimpered frantically.

She could feel the heat building inside her own body, rising higher and hotter with every passing moment. Without knowing quite what she was doing, she rocked herself on his hips, seeking any kind of contact that might cool the passion inside her. When she felt his hard cock beneath her, she moaned out loud. She knew that she was growing wetter and more desperate with every passing moment, but Apolo seemed content to simply tease her, his mouth on her tender breasts and his warm hands trailing fire up and down her back.

Trinity pressed as close to Apolo as she could, arching her body towards him. It felt good, better than anything she could remember, but it wasn't enough.

“I need you, please,” she whispered. If she had had a little more presence of mind, she might have been shocked at how needy she sounded, at how much she craved his touch. As it was, she was willing to say nearly anything to make him give her what she wanted.

“Soon,” he murmured. “Soon, little gata…”

She moaned as his touch grew firmer. Instead of light, nearly tickling motions, Apolo ran the sharp edges of his nails down her back before reaching down to squeeze her rear. She rocked back against him, but he shook his head.

“Soon, soon, I promise…”

He must have seen the impatience in her eyes, because he chuckled.

“Perhaps you need some help staying still…”

She was about to tell him exactly how he could help her, but then she yelped as he lifted her up, carrying her away from the couch.

“All right, let's see if you'll hold still here.”

To her shock, he carried her to the marble kitchen island. With a careless strength, he bent her over it so that her breasts were pressed flat against the frigid marble. The cold was shocking at first, making her yelp, and then all she could think about was how good it felt. She was tall, but so was the island. Her weight was mostly on the marble, and her toes just barely brushed the ground.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked, her voice light and breathless.

“Nothing you don't want,” he promised. “Beyond that, anything I want…”

She whined as he tore her panties from her body as easily as he had torn her dress. While he was still dressed in his well-tailored slacks, she was now as bare and naked as a sacrifice, stretched across a marble slab.

“I don't think you have any idea how beautiful you are like this,” he growled. His strong hand massaged her scalp, making her purr with pleasure before he tugged her hair.

“I think I'm going to enjoy your body a long time before I let you come,” he said, and it took her a moment before she realized what he had said.

Bent over the marble island, she had no choice but allow him to touch her how he pleased. Apolo ran his hands down her legs and up them, massaging her trim thighs and firm rear. When he pressed her legs apart, she moaned because she could smell her own arousal, and that meant that he could as well. When he trailed a finger along her slit, she rocked against the unyielding stone, hoping for more but knowing that he would not give her an inch more than he wanted to.

“Oh yes, so desperate and so lovely,” he purred. “Perfect and waiting for me.”

With no more warning than that, he slid a finger inside her. She groaned because of the pleasure, but it was not enough, it was nowhere near enough. Soon that finger was joined with another, and he was rocking his hand slightly, just enough to make her whimper desperately for more.

When he pulled his fingers away, Trinity nearly sobbed with need and desperation.

“Please!” she cried out. “Please, I need more…”

“Oh, like this?”

He slid his fingers against her clit this time, finding the bundle of nerves with an unerring accuracy that left her gasping with pleasure. He used her own wetness to smooth the way, rocking his fingers against her until she buried her face in her hands with need.

Then he stepped back, leaving her gasping. Trinity tried to twist around to see what he was doing, but his hand was back in her hair, holding her with that impressive strength.

“Stay right there,” he said. “I'll be right back, and I don't want you to move.”

“Or…or what?” she asked, finding the last lingering scrap of her defiance.

His grin was sharp and wolf-like.

“Or I'll stop and start over.”

Apolo laughed at her tiny squeak and walked away. He was right. She didn't think that she could take much more of this teasing. She was so aroused that she was nearly lightheaded. Her need was thundering in her ears, and the idea of being denied for one moment longer than she needed to be was too much.

Instead, Trinity stayed as still as she could, trembling and waiting for Apolo to return. She knew that he was only gone for a few moments, but it might as well have been years.

She sighed with relief when he came up behind her again. She could hear him tearing open a foil package, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to be the one smoothing the latex over his cock. That wasn't to be, however, as he sheathed himself and then took his place behind her.

Trinity shivered as she felt his hot cock press against her. She could feel how large it was, and how ready he was. However, he didn't take her yet. Instead, he seemed content to press against her, stroking her back almost sweetly.

“I think I have wanted this from the moment I met you,” he said softly. “I wanted to see your beautiful hair in disarray, and I wanted to see your lovely lips parted with pleasure. Just like this.”

“I want you,” she whispered brokenly. Her body was strung so tight with pleasure that she was afraid that she would break.

“I know you do, little gata, I know…I can feel how wet and ready you are, and I want you to wait just a little longer.”

“I don't know if I can,” she said, and his laugh was dark.

“You will. You'll wait until I am done. If you don't…well, you won't like what happens next.”

It didn't make any sense that his cruel words made her even hotter. She knew that at any moment, she could pull away, stop playing this game with him, or start a different one. Instead, she swallowed her pleas and nodded, her eyes shut tight and her teeth buried in her lower lip.

She was so sensitive that she nearly climaxed when he pressed into her in one deep stroke. For a terrible moment, she could feel the hot shimmers of pleasure running down her body. Then she caught it as hard as she could, refusing to fall over the edge.

When her breathing calmed, she realized that Apolo was still, watching her intently.

“Brilliant little gata,” he crooned. “Being so good for me. Follow my orders, and I'll make you feel so good…”

He started to thrust into her, long slow motions of his hips that filled her to the brim until he drew back. With every thrust, her pleasure went higher and higher, but she kept herself as still as she could. More than once, Trinity thought that she would have to break, that she couldn't bear it any longer. Each time, however, she dragged herself back from the edge. As he thrust into her, he praised her, telling her how beautiful she was and how good.