To Catch a Princess (9 page)

“I know you haven’t said much about that night, but sometimes it’s good to let it out.”

“It’s silly,” she said with a tearful sniffle and her head buried against his chest.

“Getting kidnapped and seeing your brother shot doesn’t rank as silly in anyone’s book.” His own gut twisted with remembered worry at receiving the call from Alexander about her kidnapping, and then getting the call from Kathleen about his friend having been wounded. It had not been a good night.

“Promise me you won’t do anything like what my crazy brother did,” she pleaded, gazing at him with eyes that were wet and shiny.

He’d make the promise, but he had no hesitation in breaking it if it meant protecting her. “I promise,” he said. But she wasn’t buying it.

She twisted in his lap to face him, which had her straddling him in a decidedly intimate way. Not that she noticed, since she was intent on punching him in the shoulder to emphasize her point. “Damn it, Peter. I’m serious. I know you’ve learned to accept violence and bloodshed, being a cop and all, but
I can’t
.”

“I get it,
solnyshko moyo
,” he replied with little conviction, forcing him to snag her fist with his hand to block the next blow. The action sent her lurching against him and he wrapped his free arm around her to steady her. Now there was no missing the effect she was having on him, which brought an unexpected response from her.

“For real, Peter?” she asked, eyes now wide with a mix of surprise, excitement, and maybe even anger shimmering around the edges.

“I’m a man, Tatiana.”

She rolled her eyes. “As if that excuses anything.”

He chuckled, but didn’t release his hold on her. “You’re a beautiful woman—”

“Really,” she said with a bite of sarcasm and another eye roll.

“And I’m a handsome man.”

“And modest, too,” she said, and yanked her hand free of his grip, but laid it on his shoulder.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to you, sweetheart. But I also want it to be about more than physical attraction.” He was well aware he was opening himself up to problems, but was willing to take that risk. Maybe truthfulness now might offset her anger that he’d hidden his real identity from her, along with the secret he had yet to tell.

“What if I was okay with it just being physical?” she replied, shocking him. He hadn’t pegged her for a one-night-stand kind of woman.

Narrowing his gaze, he searched her features, trying to gauge the sincerity of her statement. But he wasn’t able to tell if she was being truthful in her reply. So he opted for the humor that seemed to work for them. “What if I said I wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of guy?”

“Seriously? You want me to believe that?” she shot back, playfulness in her tones once again.

“I want you to believe this.” He covered his mouth with hers, communicating to her everything that he felt but couldn’t say. Urging her to respond.

…

Tatiana did, opening her mouth to his and accepting the slide of his tongue. Tasting him and leaning against him until every inch of their bodies melded together.

His powerful arm had her locked tight to him, and at her center the large and very strong jut of his erection was impossible to miss. She got wet just thinking about him sliding his cock into her, and rocked her hips against him, inviting him to do just that.

“Not yet,
solnyshko
. Not yet,” he murmured against her mouth and reached down to cover her breast with his hand. Her hard nipple rested against his palm for only the space of a heartbeat before he took it between his thumb and forefinger, caressing it into an even tighter peak.

She sighed into his mouth and guided his free hand to her other breast, loving the feel of his hands on her. Wanting the roughness of them so much that she couldn’t wait a second longer. She whipped off her T-shirt, revealing that she was bare beneath the soft cotton. Earning a deep groan from him as he covered her with his hands. He held still for a moment.

“You are gorgeous,” he said, reining in her rush for him to pleasure her. Making her feel precious as he tenderly stroked his hands across her breasts, his gaze on them for only a moment before he looked up.

“Are you sure, Tatiana?”

Despite all her reservations about why they could not be together, she was sure of one thing. “I want your hands on me. And your mouth,” she said, and warmth traveled across her cheeks at her boldness. She had never been this daring with her only other lover, but then again, he had only been a boy and Peter was all man.

“Like this?” He bent his head and licked her tight nipples, causing her to shudder.

“Yes, like that,” she said, and dug her fingers into his hair to hold him close.

He moved from one breast to the other, teasing her with his fingers and lips. Making her moan with need that had her shifting her hips against his, wanting more. Wanting him deep inside her, bringing her satisfaction.

He answered that want, shifting to lay her against the soft cushions of the sofa, his big body pressing her down onto them before covering her.

She cradled his head in her hands and he continued his loving, suckling and biting her breasts until she needed more.

She spread her legs and he settled himself against her center, his long, thick erection at her core.

Could he feel the wet of her, the heat of her wanting him?

Arching her hips up against his, she whispered, “More, Peter. More.”

Chapter 11

Peter shook as Tatiana pressed herself tight against him, and his cock jerked with need.

He was going straight to hell. Right after Alexander found out and killed him. But even that thought wasn’t enough to dissuade him.

He reached down, undid the snap on her jeans, and dragged the zipper open.

She was naked under the denim, and he groaned at the soft feel of her skin beneath his palm. He slipped his hand down to her center.

Wet. So wet and hot
.

His head whirled with thoughts of burying himself deep inside her, but he wanted to pleasure her first.

He found the swollen nub of her clit and pressed against it, drawing a soft cry from her. He swallowed the next cry with his mouth, making love to her with his lips and tongue. He circled her clit, building her pleasure before easing his fingers into her center.

She dug her nails into his shoulders and held him tight, moving against his hand. Breaking away from him to draw one ragged breath as the first shudder of orgasm registered against his fingers.

“Come for me, Tatiana. Come for me,” he urged, relishing her beauty as she lost herself to him and shattered.

He bent and kissed the tips of her breasts, gentling her back from her release. Slipping his hand from her core to sweep it down her side in a lazy motion, he realized she wanted more. She moved her hand down to his cock and stroked the length of it.

He stopped the movement and met her questioning look.

“Not yet,” he said, twining his fingers with hers to keep her from rubbing them over him again. The pleasure which he’d felt from their lovemaking, from touching her, was quickly being replaced by guilt.

He should not be doing this
.

For so many reasons.

…

Remnants of her release still buzzed through her whole body, and it took all of Tatiana’s control to calm her breath and ask, “Why not?”

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about each other,” he replied, but something decidedly uneasy lurked in his gaze, and she wondered yet again if she could trust her heart to him. She knew there was more that he wasn’t saying. But up until this very second that had been the last thing on her mind.

In a second, that had changed.

Suddenly feeling awkward with her almost naked state, she ripped away from him, rose, and snatched her T-shirt from the floor. She jerked it on over her head and closed up her jeans. The seam rubbed against her clit, reawakening the desire he had so expertly built just moments before.

Making love with me will leave you breathless
.

Even without making love, he had achieved that, making her wonder how it would feel to finish what they started—and making her angry that she wouldn’t find out.

“I can’t believe you’d do this,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself and pacing away from him because she was feeling way too vulnerable. She had exposed so much of herself to him, while he had risked nothing.

But he had taken nothing either
, the little voice in her brain reminded.
You were willing to give him all, but he hadn’t taken it
. Did that make him a fool or a hero?

A part of her took it as rejection, but as she met his gaze, there was no denying how torn he was.

A hero, then
.

“Why?” she asked again, because his answer had been far from satisfactory.

He shook his head and looked away. Dragging his fingers through the short strands of his hair, he shrugged. He moved his other hand in an uncertain gesture, then rubbed it nervously down his thigh.

She came back to sit down on the coffee table beside their uneaten desserts and laid her hand on his.

“Why?” she pressed yet again, needing to hear everything.

He finally faced her, his gaze intense and, oh, so earnest. “Don’t think I don’t want to,
solnyshko
. But your brother will kill me and I wouldn’t blame him. You both trusted me—”

“I do trust you,” she said, despite her earlier misgivings. There was nothing in his attitude now that said he was holding back his true emotions about what was happening between them.

He sighed. “There are things you don’t know about me. Things that need to be said. Only…it’s too soon.”

She frowned. “You’re a cop, so I have to assume it’s nothing criminal.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“You’re prince and you’ve got a job, so I assume you don’t intend to sponge off me. Although if this heist happens and the casino’s reputation takes a hit, I may have to sponge off you.”

A glimmer of a smile reluctantly emerged at one corner of his mouth. “Don’t worry. I have excellent benefits. Medical, dental, and a pension.”

“Well,” she murmured thoughtfully. “At least you told the truth about one thing.”

The barest hint of a flinch shifted across his face. “Why do you say that?”

She smiled sexily, leaned forward, and whispered against his lips, “Because you did make me breathless.”

Bringing her lips to his, she did a leisurely exploration of his mouth, tracing the edges of his lips with her mouth. Taking a love bite of his full lower lip before licking away the hurt.

He groaned against her mouth and dug his fingers into her hair to keep her close, murmuring, “You don’t make it easy to be good.”

She chuckled and pulled away. “It’s not supposed to be easy, is it? I mean, the prince in Sleeping Beauty had to slay the dragon. Prince Charming had to find Cinderella. The Beast—”

“Had to find someone to love him. But I’m not the kind of prince you want, Tatiana, and this is no fairy tale.”

“Maybe it isn’t, but you can’t deny that there are feelings here, between us. Feelings that could become something more if only you’d be totally honest with me,” she urged.

“I can’t deny that it could be more. All I’m asking for is a little more time.”

Her family sometimes thought her impulsive, and maybe she was. She had ignored caution and common sense and allowed him to do things she had only done with one man before. She wasn’t the kind of woman to sleep around, because to her it was about more than satisfying herself physically.

Not that she could deny he had made her feel amazing.

But she needed more. Wanted more. His restraint was both admirable and frustrating, but she forced herself to understand and accept it.

“Okay, Peter. We’ll do it your way. When you’re ready to share, I’m here.”

He smiled, the relief apparent on his face. “You won’t regret it, Tatiana.”

She hoped not. To ease past the moment, she reached around and grabbed the dessert she had ordered for herself. “I guess I’ll just have to settle for the next best thing. Chocolate.”

He shook his head and laughed. “You’re a piece of work.”

“No, I’m just determined.” She scooped up a big piece of the cake and made a show of licking it off the fork.

“You know that’s a turn on, right? Watching you eat that cake.”

She took another big forkful and grinned saucily, but this time she brought the cake to his lips and smeared some of it along his mouth. “Oops. Guess I’ll just have to lick it off.”

Which she did, slowly and sexily, pulling a deep groan from him. “You’re making this very hard, Tatiana.”

It took all her willpower not to reach down and find out just how hard. Instead, she pulled away and shoved the rest of the forkful in her own mouth. She swallowed, met his gaze, and said, “You know what they say.”

“No, what?”

With another sexy grin, she replied, “Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.”

…

Shea had spent a restless night, wondering how that elegantly dressed man with the princess and the Ivanov security chief had made him so easily.

No one had ever done that before. He mumbled a curse and stalked back to the small desk in his room where he had tossed the copy of the newspaper he had purchased after hightailing it out of the casino.

Splashed across the front page were photos of Princess Tatiana with that same man. “An unidentified companion,” the paper read, but he hadn’t gotten the sense yesterday that the two were an item. If anything, it had looked like the man was part of the security detail added to deal with the upcoming fashion show.

Only he didn’t dress like any cop Shea knew.

He hadn’t gotten a long look at him, but Shea recognized quality when he saw it. The suit had been designer and expensive, same as the shirt, tie, and shoes. Nothing a security person or average cop could afford.

He shot a look at his watch. Almost eight.

The princess had been out on the balcony around this time yesterday.

He hurried outside with the camera and trained it on the uppermost floor of the Jewel of Russia building. Barely a minute went by before the French doors opened and the princess stepped out, wearing the same sapphire blue dressing gown and light-colored pajamas as the day before. She walked to the railing and raised her face to the sun, but something suddenly pulled her attention away.

He shifted the camera in the direction of her gaze and noticed the man from the day before walking out of another set of doors and toward the princess. He wore loose sweats and was bare-chested.

Interesting
.

The man moved with confidence and something that said he was no stranger to the princess. When he stood before her, she turned and laid her hand on his chest, and Shea intended to take advantage of the situation.

Smiling, he engaged the motor drive on the camera and shot off photo after photo of the innocent embrace that was bound to look like much more than that to anyone wanting to see an indiscretion. The man bent and whispered something in her ear and with his hand at the small of her back, they walked back in the direction of her bedroom.

Shea snapped off yet another series of photos of them entering her bedroom, thinking that combined with those of the earlier exchange, they’d be quite damning for the young princess and the man, whoever he might be.

Sold to the right sources, he’d get quite a nice sum, and they might create enough distraction to keep the man from focusing on Shea’s activities.

Perfect
. He walked back to the tabloid, found the masthead inside, and after a well-placed call, he was on his way to a little extra cash and hopefully some peace of mind.