ALEX Read online

  “What did the king think of your samples?”

  She lifts a shoulder. “I didn’t even meet him.”

  That is not surprising. Though my father considers him a man of the people, he still manages to keep a distance between himself and them whenever possible.

  Not wanting to let my father spoil this moment between Nikki and I—without even being here—I change the subject.

  “What do you think of your time in Rhodon so far?”

  “This palace is incredible.” She grins at me, and it’s like she’s stroked my cock. “I’ve never been in a castle before.”

  I suppose it can be thrilling to someone who has not spent most of their life trying to get away from it. “How about the rest of the city?”

  “Honestly, except for the trip from the airport, I haven’t set foot outside of the grounds.”

  “That is a shame.” And, really, it is. Our ancient city is both vibrant and picturesque. Not to mention the mountains, beaches, and villages in our little island kingdom. It really is unfortunate we are keeping Nikki so busy with her job that she has not had a moment to enjoy it.

  Then I am struck with inspiration. “How long are you here?”

  “I planned on sticking around a day or two after the wedding.”

  That is not much time, but I can make it enough. “I could show you around after the wedding.”

  She glances up at me, one of those red eyebrows arched. “Why would you do that?”

  “It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”

  She rolls her eyes at that. “What’s in it for you?”

  I could tell her the pleasure of her company. But despite the ease in which we are speaking now, I get the feeling she might bolt if pressed too hard too fast.

  “I hope you might do something for me in exchange.” Before she can run, I cover her hand on my arm and tighten my hold. “Do you know, I am completely useless in the kitchen?”

  “So are a lot of people.”

  “But a lot of people aren’t in the presence of a world-famous baker.” I squeeze her hand. “Perhaps you could give me a quick lesson.”

  Her mouth falls open as she gapes at me. Her full, red bottom lip practically begging me to bite it. “You want to learn how to bake?”

  At this moment . . . “Certainly.”

  She chews on that very lip I imagined nibbling on myself, and my dick grows hard. What I would not give to have those same full lips wrapped around me. My dick twitches in response, and I push the thought out of my head. For now.

  “I suppose I could give you a quick lesson after the rehearsal dinner tonight,” she says.

  The two of us would be alone in the kitchen after hours. “Sounds perfect.”

  I leave her at the door to the kitchen a few minutes later, my mood vastly improved. One baking lesson does not guarantee I will get Nikki into my bed. But contrary to my brother’s earlier remarks, I can be very persuasive with women when I put my mind to it.

  And I intend to put my full mind and body into getting more than a taste of this woman.

  Nikki

  Alex dumps a cup of flour in a bowl, sending a mushroom cloud of dust into the air—and into his face.

  Biting back a grin, I cover his hand and show him how to pour the flour in without getting half of it all over his fancy clothes. Narrowing his eyes, and sticking his tongue out to the side, Alex tries it again and lands it perfectly.

  “There you go!” I raise my hand and wait a few seconds for him to realize I’m offering him a high-five. “We’ll make a baker out of you yet.”

  He obliges with a high five. He grabs my hand before it drops to my side and presses a kiss to it. “I have an excellent teacher.”

  My heart skips a beat, and I turn back to the ingredients, hoping to hide yet another telltale blush.

  This evening has been surprisingly enjoyable. Though I nearly cancelled the baking lesson with Alex at least a dozen times today, I’m glad I saw it through. With his jokes and easy manners, he’s actually fun to be around.

  Even if I want to drop my panties every time he’s in the room.

  After mixing the dry ingredients, we move on to the liquids. Alex combines them concentrating more than any other person I’ve ever seen.

  I give the batter a quick stir and nod. “Perfect consistency.”

  He flashes a bright, proud smile, and my heart once again swells. Oh, he really is bad news for me. I am not in a position to be losing my heart. Though, maybe what happens in Rhodon stays in Rhodon. A little vacation fling wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for me.

  I shelve that idea for later as we fill the cupcake liners and put them in the oven.

  “What now?” Alex asks.

  “Now, we wait.” We could make some frosting, but I have so much leftover from the wedding cake, it seems like a waste. Both in resources and in our time. “Tell me something about yourself.”

  He lifts a shoulder. “There’s not much to say. I’m a helicopter pilot in the military. I’m here for the wedding.”

  It’s an awfully cagey answer for a man who spent the past half hour asking me about every moment of my life. He knows I went to four different high schools. That I spent one semester in college but dropped out to get a job to pay for it. That the job I took as an assistant to a pastry chef changed my life. How my life has been a whirlwind for the past year.

  He knows everything except how much I’d like to let my guard down and have him kiss me until I can’t think straight.

  “Is it scary?” I ask, trying to come up with some sort of question to get him talking.

  “Flying a helicopter or being a soldier?”

  “Either. Both.”

  Sighing, he tugs off his apron, leaving him standing in a rolled up white shirt and dress pants. He’s never looked more delectable.

  “I suppose it can be for some people.”

  “But not for you?”

  He shakes his head. “I never feel more myself than when I’m doing something. The military gives me something to do.”

  “You’re a regular man of action then, aren’t you?”

  His eyes flicker as he takes a step toward me. He places his hands on either side of my body, neatly trapping me against the counter. “You have no idea.”

  My breath catches a second before his lips capture mine in a searing kiss. My eyelids flutter shut as every part of me comes to life. I know I should put a stop to this before it gets out of hand. But while my head knows this, my hands reach up to his shirt and pull him closer.

  Groaning, he nudges my lips open so his tongue can slide in. As it connects with mine, massaging it slowly, my body radiates with heat and need. That heat and need settle between my thighs.

  That vacation fling sounds better and better.

  He presses against me, his hard, thick cock rubs against my belly. My hand slides down to cup him. My fingers are just tracing his length when someone clears their throat, drawing me back to the moment.

  Our mouths pull apart as we both look toward the source of interruption. It’s the princess.

  “Shit,” I murmur, earning a grin from Alex.

  Princess Sarah arches an eyebrow curiously. “I just came for a ginger ale.”

  She reaches into the refrigerator and pulls out a can. She starts back for the door but turns at the last minute. “Alex, if I had to say which one of my brothers I would find kissing the baker, you would’ve been my last guess.”

  Alex is her brother. She’s a princess. The daughter of a king. That makes him . . .

  My stomach drops. Slipping under his arm, I put as much distance between us as quickly as possible. Not only was I just caught making out on the job by my boss, which is so unprofessional. But it was with her brother. Who is a prince.

  A mother-freaking prince. A prince sitting there smirking at me. The jerk. He must make it a habit of seducing the household staff.

  The timer on the oven rings. I grab a potholder and pull the cupcakes out and set th
em on the counter harder than necessary.

  “I should be going,” I say.

  His smirk turns into a frown. “You don’t have to leave. My sister does not care. She’s marrying her bodyguard for crying out loud.”

  So the whole family makes a practice of seducing the help. Sure, marriage is a little more serious than a fling. But I’m absolutely positive Prince Alex of Rhodon here is about as far away from dropping down to one knee and asking me to be his wife as I am to saying yes.

  No way. Not happening. Not in this lifetime or the next.

  “I have to get up early,” I say, as if that would’ve stopped me from having a fling with a hot soldier. But it will absolutely keep me from hopping into bed with a prince. “Baker’s hours and all.”

  “I also get up early.” He takes a step toward me, my heart pounding in my ears with every step closer he comes. “I’m a soldier.”

  “You’re a prince.”

  “By birth. Not by choice.”

  I arch an eyebrow. “Do you really get a say in the matter?”

  He pauses mid-step a few feet away from me. His gaze darkens. “None of us chose to be born into nobility. We are all making the best of it that we can.”

  Which, I admit, is an interesting thing to say. Almost interesting enough to make me want to linger a little longer. Ask him a few more questions. But that curiosity will probably only end up with me lying flat on my back on the counter while a royal prince sows his wild oats.

  That possibility—and the fact that I almost ended up in that very same position without knowing all the details—reignites my anger.

  “As you know, I have to serve cake to a few thousand people tomorrow.” I fold my arms over my chest. “I don’t really have time for your poor little royal boy sob stories.”

  His brows knit together. “Why are you angry?”

  “I don’t appreciate being lied to. If you don’t have the decency to respect me enough with the truth, we’re done here. Have a nice life.”

  With those parting words, I spin on my heel and stalk out the door. I pat myself on the back all the way back to my rooms. Even as I do, my stomach flutters a little at the memory of his hands all over his body, his mouth on mine.

  A handsome face and a smooth talker nearly turned me into putty. I would’ve given it all up—even put my job at risk—for a few steamy minutes. I really am my mother’s daughter.

  Alex

  As the music changes, and the Rhodon Royal Choir’s voices fill the cathedral, I rise to my feet.

  James elbows me in the rib. “You might want to look a little like you want to be here, or the papers will have a hay day.”

  “Fuck the papers,” I mutter under my breath, but I make more of a point to soften my expression.

  Just because I am pissed off at the turn of events with Nikki, there is no reason for me to ruin my sister’s wedding day. After everything she has been through this year, she deserves to be happy. Even if some of us are working on a serious case of blue balls.

  My father and sister glide through the center of the church. With a bouquet of flowers clutched in her hands, and a dress that probably weighs a hundred pounds, my sister stares forward. Though she decided not to wear a tiara today, with her chin raised and eyes clearly resolute, she looks every inch a queen.

  At the altar—where our Aunt Muriel, thank goodness, is not passed out—my sister’s future husband gazes at her. His stare every bit as steady.

  And when Sarah reaches Ryan’s side, she takes his hands in hers. I can just see her mouth the words “I love you too.”

  I want that. Someone who both steadies me and lights a fire within my soul. Someone I can walk through life with knowing that everything will be okay, because we are together.

  And though she currently is not speaking to me—and may hate my guts—I think I have found that woman. I refuse to give her up without a fight.

  Nikki

  I can’t believe I didn’t recognize a freaking prince when I saw one.

  Luckily, with it being the wedding day, I have more than enough going on to spend too much time thinking much about Alex. Or where things could have gone if we hadn’t been interrupted. And with it being his sister’s wedding day, Alex has apparently been too busy to go sniffing around the kitchen.

  Thank goodness.

  But even as I tell myself it’s for the best, a small part of me can’t help wishing I could go back to last night. Before I knew he was a prince. Back when he was a soldier, I was a baker, and the heat between us was off the charts.

  Dressed in a simple black dress, I slip into the palace’s ballroom to give the cake a final look before the princess and duke cut it. Glancing around, I feel like I’m being transported into a Disney movie. With flowers and candles everywhere, it is a real life fairytale.

  As if fairytales could ever be real life.

  I know better.

  I stay on the edge of the room making extra certain not to let my gaze slip to the head table, where I’m sure Alex is congratulating himself for being the first of his brothers to seduce the baker.

  (I did a Google search on the family after our run-in and now know more about the royal family. I could pick any of them out of a line-up. I really should have done my homework sooner.)

  I reach the cake and can’t help smiling despite my foul mood. With layers stacked high and a waterfall of edible flowers cascading down the sides, this really is a work of art.

  “It’s fit for a princess,” a deep voice says behind me. Then Alex steps forward to stand at my side. “I’ve never seen a prettier cake.”

  I wait for the anger to come. Instead, warmth spreads through my belly. I sigh at myself and shake my head.

  “We shouldn’t be talking.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because. I’m the help.”

  His expression grows dark. “You are an artist.”

  I try to ignore the way his words grab hold of my heart like a gentle caress. “You’re a prince.”

  “I should have told you sooner.” He runs a hand over his short, dark hair. “To be honest, it was refreshing having someone look at me like a person and not a title.”

  His words chisel away at my resolve to be mad at him. “I guess I can understand that.”

  “Forgive me?”

  Sighing, I nod. Because who am I kidding? I’ll never be able to hold a grudge against this perfect specimen of a man. “I forgive you.”

  “Good.” A smile breaks out across his face. He extends a hand. “Now, may I have this dance.”

  And just like that, the wall goes back up. “Are you crazy? You can’t dance with me. You can call me an artist, but I’m still here as an employee for your family.”

  His brows knit together, but after a moment he seems to come to a decision. Glancing over his shoulder, he takes my hand and leads me out the doors. Down the hallway he stops suddenly and turns to me. He offers me his hand again.

  “How about that dance?”

  Try as I might, I just can’t resist him. I lift my hand to his and rest my other hand on his shoulder. His arm goes around my waist, settling on the full curves of my hips. Another occupational hazard for a baker, I’m afraid. I always carry a few pounds around with me. A jolt of electricity zaps through me at his touch.

  As a new song plays, muted only slightly by the doors, we move with the music. Alex leads with such authority and grace, it’s no wonder he is both a soldier and a prince. They are so much a part of him in everything he does. Even dancing. I should have seen it sooner.

  His head leans down until his lips are a breath away from my ear.

  “I had a chance to try one of your pastries earlier today.”

  “Oh?” It’s all I can manage to say with my heart thundering in my chest, my body tingling.

  “It might be the sweetest thing I have ever tasted. Besides you. Nothing tastes as sweet as you.”

  He presses his lips just below my ear, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings.
His mouth trails down my neck, and I melt. Heaven help me, I can’t fight him or this desire pulsing between us any more.

  “Let me have you.” His low whisper rumbles in my belly, stoking the hot coals already burning in there. “Have me.”

  I nod, unable to form the words even as my lips find his.

  This time, our kiss is like an explosion. My hands slide up and around his neck. His hand moves down to cup my ass, pulling me to him again. My body melts against him. He’s rock hard, his need for me every bit as strong as mine.

  He presses my back against the wall, and his other hand roves up my thigh leaving goosebumps in its wake. His thumb slides under the satin of my panties and finds me. I am already wet for him. I instinctively move against him, sighing.

  Alex pulls back suddenly. My eyes fly open as I slide down his body.

  “Not here,” he says. “Fuck, I’d love nothing more than to take you here. But I want to be the only one he sees you come.”

  Taking my hand again, Alex strides down the hall with me racing to keep up with him. After a few turns around corners I’ll never remember, he opens another door and pulls me inside. He slams the door shut and pushes me against it. His hands mold over my curves, and I hold on tight to him as he kisses me again.

  I can’t wait any longer. I tear my mouth away from him

  “I need you inside of me. Now.”

  My hands move down, reaching for the button of his pants. I pull out his hard length, massaging him with my hand as he groans.

  “Wait,” he says. “I need a condom.”

  “I’m on the pill. And I’m clean and good to go.”

  He nods. “Same here.”

  With one swift yank, he tears the crotch of my panties and lifts me up as he slams into me.

  I cry out as my body stretches to accommodate his size. “Oh God.”

  “You feel so good.” His breath tickles my neck as his cheek presses against mine.

  Then he moves, pumping in and out, faster and faster. His hands and fingers gliding over me, building the pleasure inside of me.

  Just as I am not sure I can take it anymore, that pleasure explodes inside of me. Alex pushes in once more, shouting my name as his cum shoots inside of me.