The Royals: Alexander and Clara: Volume One (The Royals Saga) Read online

  Belle gave him an approving look, her eyes darting to me. “Excuse me a moment.”

  As soon as she left the room, Alexander stepped forward and handed me the flowers.

  “I thought you didn’t do romance,” I teased.

  “Consider that a consolation prize,” he said. “If you’re going to put up with my family for the evening, you deserve a reward.”

  I considered this as I searched the cupboard for a vase. Of course, his family would be there. I’d been so obsessed with the idea that we were about to make our relationship public—in a big way—that I hadn’t really thought about meeting his entire family.

  Alexander moved behind me, gripping my hips. “Don’t think about them.”

  “That’s easier said than done,” I whispered. “I barely know what’s going on between us and now I’m going to meet your family.”

  “It’s not a big deal. Just remember that if they’re jerks it’s because of me and not you,” he reassured me. But as he spoke, his grip on me tightened.

  “That doesn’t really make me feel better.” They were going to judge me, and my American accent was only going to make the situation worse. I was following Alexander into a viper’s nest and we both knew it.

  “Don’t think about it,” he ordered, pulling me against him. “Right now, I want you to think about what I’m going to do to you in that dress.”

  Despite my anxiety, this brought a smile to my lips. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to concentrate with you looking like that.”

  “She does look fantastic, doesn’t she?” Belle flitted back into the kitchen. She didn’t bat an eyelash to find us pressed close together even though she had to have heard what he’d said to me.

  Alexander murmured his agreement, and Belle swept past us. She reached to the highest shelf and retrieved a vase. News that his family was going to be there tonight had distracted me from my search. “Here. Oh wait!”

  Belle whirled around and grabbed a pair of scissors from a nearby drawer.

  “Sorry!” She clipped a rose from its stem. It was in full bloom, its petals spread into velvet leaves. Belle tucked the beautiful blossom into the loosely pinned hair above my ear.

  “Perfect,” Alexander said with approval. Lust glinted in his eyes, and it made my knees weak.

  “I need to go. Philip will be downstairs.” Belle air-kissed my cheek. “See you there!”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and waved her off. Of course, I would have Belle there, and no matter what happened she would have my back. While I hoped I didn’t need an escape plan, if I did, I couldn’t do better than Belle.

  “Shall we?” Alexander crooked his arm, and I took it. “If we don’t get going, I’m going to spread you across the kitchen counter.”

  Yes, please. I bit my lip in attempt to cover my excitement.

  Alexander groaned, his eyes flashing darkly, and shook his head. “Let’s get to the car before we miss the party, Miss Bishop.”

  “Lead the way, X.”

  

  By some miracle, Norris had managed to get around the back without catching the attention of the paparazzi camped outside the flat. The fact that they had missed the limousine idling behind my building proved how indispensable Norris was. Maybe they had all packed up and headed over to the scene of the actual event this evening. Not that they had any way of knowing I would be there with Alexander. He’d been careful about not using his mobile phone to message me; instead, I’d been given instructions to contact Norris if there was any trouble.

  Alexander placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me toward the car. His touch didn’t waver until I was safely inside. He disappeared behind the closed door and I took a look around. The low seat wasn’t ideal in a ball gown, but it was much more spacious than the Rolls.

  “Do you know what I love about London this evening?” Alexander asked as he slid fluidly into the seat beside me.

  I cocked my head in curiosity. Right now I loved everything about London because it was, in this city, where Alexander was with me.

  “The traffic. I never appreciated it before tonight.” Alexander moved closer to me, taking my face in his free hand. He drew me to him but stopped short of kissing me. Instead he lingered for a moment, and I breathed him in, losing myself momentarily to his touch, his scent, his nearness. When he finally crushed his lips to mine, my hand flew up and caught his, holding him to me, greedy for the taste of him. It had been too long since I’d felt his body against mine. We’d known each other such a short time, but I’d felt his absence like the ache of a ghost limb. He was meant to be with me. He was meant to be part of me.

  “Poppet,” he murmured. “I’ve thought about you all week.”

  My breathing shifted to panting as he bent to grasp the hem of my dress. He lifted it over my knees, giving him leeway to slide a hand across my thighs. The gown’s silk made it impossible to wear even a scrap of underwear, and I’d been counting on its length to hide that fact. Alexander’s hands urged my legs apart and he slipped his hand against my sex.

  He groaned when he made contact with my bare flesh. “That’s hardly playing fair.”

  “This dress doesn’t work with panties.” I shrugged apologetically, but the smile on my face was anything but sorry.

  “Personally I’m of the opinion that no dresses actually work with panties,” he said with a wicked smile. He shifted in his seat and withdrew his hand, leaning forward as if to kneel before me.

  “No,” I said, stopping him.

  “I don’t like that word from you, poppet,” he growled. “I have a very hard time listening to it.”

  I ran my tongue across my lips and shook my head. “No, I want you.”

  “And you can have me.”

  “No, I want to taste you.” I’d imagined how it would feel to wrap my lips around his luscious cock since I’d first seen him, and the thought of having him at my mercy sounded even more delicious.

  Alexander didn’t resist me. Instead he sat back, propping his hands behind his head, lust written across his face. Occasionally the car jolted from a bump in the road, but I didn’t care. Hitching my skirt higher to allow me freedom of movement, I dropped to his feet. My hands trailed along his slacks, sliding up his thighs as I reached for his zipper. I tugged it open, and Alexander moaned as his cock fell into my hands. Despite its softness, it was heavy and hot as I began to stroke it tenderly, and it then grew thick and firm in my hand. Bowing down, I dipped my mouth to his heavy sac and tongued his balls, sucking one carefully into my mouth. Then the other. Alexander shifted forward to allow me more access as his breathing increased.

  He groaned when I ran my tongue up the length of his shaft, and I was pleased to see he was fully erect now. His cock was a thing of beauty—virile, primal, unabashedly masculine. I teased him, licking and sucking, for a few more minutes until his hands had fallen to his sides and clenched into fists. Feeling him harden and lengthen in my mouth made my sex swell with desire. I was so ready for him, but all I wanted right now was to watch him fall over the edge. I sealed my lips over the wide crown of his cock and then lowered my mouth to its root. Hollowing my cheeks, I sucked him hard, drawing my mouth hungrily up his shaft before plunging back down.

  “You look so fucking hot with your red lips wrapped around my cock.” A growl rumbled through his chest and he caught the nape of my neck as my lips engulfed his length once more. “It makes me want to fuck you.”

  But I wasn’t about to let him. I needed to watch him come. I wanted it. Increasing the pressure of my suction, I was rewarded with the first warm drops of pre-ejaculate. I moaned, sweeping my tongue across the glistening pearls, and sucked harder as Alexander’s hand tangled in my hair.

  “Oh Clara, you are so beautiful.” His breathing grew ragged as his head fell back against the seat. “I’m going to come.”

  But I didn’t budge as he spilled hot across my tongue. I swallowed each thick spurt greedily as he pumped into my mouth. Drawing my to
ngue up leisurely, I savored the taste of him that lingered in my mouth, and when I pulled away, Alexander’s eyes were wild.

  He scooped me off my knees and lifted me toward his lap, bringing his lips to mine and kissing me hard before he pushed me onto my back on the seat. His hands slid recklessly up my legs, shoving my skirt up to my waist. He traced my slit with deliberate but tender strokes, finally nudging a finger between my swollen lips. “Sucking me off made you wet.”

  I nodded, knowing the proof of my arousal coated his finger.

  “I need to be inside you. Nothing between us. Is that okay?”

  I moaned a yes and closed my eyes, my breath lodging in my throat as I anticipated the delicious stretch of my cleft around his cock. I couldn’t believe he was still hard after the orgasm he’d emptied into my mouth, but a moment later, I felt the proof that he was nudging against my slick entrance. He sank into me slowly, giving my body time to relax against his rigid cock, and I gasped as he pushed inside me entirely. I circled against him, savoring the beautiful agony of his impalement, but Alexander grabbed my hips and held me steady.

  “Not yet, poppet.” I could see the struggle in his eyes. His desire to control my pleasure and his fight to control himself.

  I whimpered, desperate for him to take me.

  He found my clit and flicked it with his finger, sending a wave of anticipation rolling through my body. “Think of a safe word, poppet. You don’t need it now, but you might later and when we’re in that moment, you won’t be able to think of it.”

  I shook my head.

  “I’m trying to control myself, poppet, but I want to make you feel safe. Choose a word that makes you feel safe,” he ordered.

  “How about majesty?”

  “Your safe word shouldn’t be something that you might have to use for other reasons,” he said.

  “Oh X, do you really think you’re going to get me to call you Your Majesty?”

  He smirked. “With what I’m planning to do to you, you might.”

  The man couldn’t be any more infuriatingly sexy, and it was hard to think clearly when he touched me. How could I ever say no to him? I’d tried to before. I’d walked away from him with barely a backwards glance, not realizing that soon my life would spin completely out of control and that he would become my center of gravity. And there was one word I associated with denying him. “Brimstone.”

  “You could just say go to hell,” he suggested dryly.

  “I thought you wanted me to pick a word that I would remember.”

  “Brimstone, though?”

  “It was the last time I said no to you,” I explained in a quiet voice.

  “You’ve said no to me since then,” he pointed out.

  “But I didn’t really mean it those times.”

  His smiled returned as I confessed this, and he rolled his thumb over my aching clit. “Whatever you wish, Clara.”

  “Then fuck me.” It was all I could think of, feeling him inside me. Alexander responded with a thrust, massaging circles on my pulsing clit. My cleft stretched, blossoming open as he pounded ferociously into me. His heavy sac smacked against my ass, and I trembled under him.

  “Look at me,” Alexander said. “I want to see you as you come.”

  I opened my eyes and met his as he hammered relentlessly. The hunger I saw reflected there melted through me, and I shattered against him, bursting into a million fragments. Alexander arched back and drove into me as I felt the first lash of his hot seed. He came with my name on his lips.

  “I love knowing that you’re full of me,” he whispered as I clung to him. “All night I’m going to be thinking of being inside you, knowing that I’ve marked you. Knowing that you’re mine.”

  I licked my lips and pressed them to his, too awestruck for words. I’d given myself to him fully—bared my body and soul—and he had left his mark.

  “And I’ll be thinking of your hot, naked cunt under this sexy dress. I want it to be ready for me if I need it,” he added

  “It will be,” I promised him.

  I sagged across him—boneless and limp—but I forced myself to take his offered hand. We would be there any moment and I couldn’t get out looking like this. Alexander buttoned his slacks and tucked his shirt in. Then he helped me smooth my skirt out, dropping kisses along my bare legs as he moved downward.

  “Stop, you fiend.” I smacked his shoulder.

  “I can’t help it. I can’t keep my hands off you.” He shot me the wicked smile that made me want to drop my panties. Except I had none to drop.

  “I’m not wearing underwear,” I reminded him. “You don’t have to work so hard.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Alexander settled onto the seat next to me, brushing a few stray hairs into place and adjusting the rose that Belle had placed in my hair.

  I opened my clutch and fixed my lipstick, which thanks to Belle, had barely budged. The girl knew some cosmetic voodoo, that was for sure. Wiping away some slight smudges from under my eyes, I was relieved so little damage had been done. Of course, my cheeks glowed with the flushed heat of a recent orgasm, but there was nothing to be done for that. I could only hope it was written off as nerves or excitement, but I didn’t really care. The whole world already knew about our sex life, thanks to the hackers who’d released Alexander’s texts to me earlier today. This will give them something real to talk about, I thought smugly.

  “Are you ready?” Alexander asked, knitting his fingers through mine. My heart leapt into my throat, refusing to budge. He’d offered me his arm before or wrapped one around my waist, but holding my hand felt personal in a way that nothing we’d experienced so far had. I swallowed hard on the unexpected emotions this produced as I tried not to cry.

  Stop it, I ordered myself silently. You are here as his date.

  There was nothing more to it than that, but even as my head warned me against getting my hopes up, my heart continued to race. He didn’t release my hand until the limo had stopped and he slid smoothly out of the backseat. But as soon as he was out, he leaned in, offering it to me again. I took it along with a steadying breath, unsure what to expect. As I exited the safe confines of the limo, I was blinded by the flashes of dozens of cameras. I blinked against the glare as the reporters began shouting their questions for Alexander. I suddenly wished I’d come into this situation a bit more prepared. My first instinct was to look to Alexander, hoping for cues on what to say and do.

  Alexander stared straight ahead, a charismatic grin plastered on his face and then he led me forward without a word.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alexander’s fingers stayed knitted through mine as we maneuvered through the lobby, but I couldn’t stop shaking. The cameras. The questions. The number of women staring at my man. It was a lot to take in. Beside me, Alexander smiled, returning nods of welcome and calling out hellos, but his posture was stiff and his movements became automatic. After a few minutes, he pulled away from me, placing his hand on the small of my back. This small gesture usually made me feel safe and protected, but right now, it only felt mechanical. He was going through the motions as he put on a show for those around us.

  “Are you okay?” I whispered when we reached the ballroom.

  “I’m fine, Clara,” he said in a clipped tone. “Excuse me one moment.”

  He left me standing there, alone, in a crowd of hundreds of people, and I wasn’t sure what to do. My eyes skimmed the room for Annabelle, my would-be salvation. She should have gotten here already. I scanned the room until I spotted her lithe figure. Saying a silent prayer of thanks that she was so tall, I bee-lined toward her as quickly as dignity would allow—or this skirt for that matter. Belle caught sight of me and lit up, waving me toward her, but I hesitated as I realized that she wasn’t alone. But relief flooded through me when Belle’s companion turned, and I caught a glimpse of her face

  “Stella!” I exclaimed, rushing forward to give her a hug. Immediately, I remembered where I was and stepped back, feel
ing embarrassed. “We probably shouldn’t be hugging at something as formal as this.”

  “Nonsense! Hug me again!” Stella gave me another squeeze, grabbing my hands in the process. “I’m just the caterer.”

  “You look fabulous,” I told her, and it wasn’t a lie. Stella had always been pretty, but now her sleek, black hair was bobbed short, jutting to a flattering angle that emphasized her glamorous cheekbones and sloe eyes. On anyone else, her electric blue evening gown might have looked flashy, but as one of London’s hottest up-and-coming chefs, she had the attitude to pull it off.

  “Doesn’t she?” Belle agreed. “Totally unfair that she spends all day around butter and lobster and she still looks like that.”

  “I keep my figure by dealing with a kitchen full of cocky jerks. It’s hard work kicking their asses all day,” Stella said dryly. “Speaking of, I should check on my new partner. I’ve left him in charge of the plating, and he’s probably screwing it up.” But instead of leaving, she shook her head in exasperation and returned her attention to me. “How are you, Clara?”

  Stella had been a year ahead of us in school, earning a business degree that made her a double threat in the culinary world. I hadn’t seen her since she’d graduated, although I’d planned to look her up when I got to London.

  “I’m so sorry I haven’t called you,” I said. “I’ve had a lot on my plate.”

  “That’s one way to put it,” Belle said with meaning.

  “Don’t embarrass her.” Stella shushed Belle and then gave me a sympathetic look. “You should come by and let me put something delicious on your plate to distract you from all this crap. Although from where I’m standing, you’ve found yourself something tasty already.”

  “If I knew where he was,” I said. My eyes darted around the room, wondering if Alexander had come looking for me yet, but he was nowhere in sight.

  “He probably went to get you a drink,” Stella said. She’d always had a way of making me feel at ease since I’d met her in a nutrition class my freshman year, and I couldn’t have been more grateful to see her right now.