“You’re
what
?”
“Kidnapping you. You already admitted that you wished we could spend more time together. Now we can.”
“But what about my family? My job?”
She thought his satisfied grin, when he handed her his cell phone, was a bit too juvenile. Grabbing the device from him, she surged to her feet and walked a few paces away.
“Justin, let me speak to Papa. Hello, Papa. You’ll never believe…oh. I see. Yes, it was very clever of him. But at this moment I’m…well, no, I haven’t had a vacation in a long while, this is true but…I see. Well, then, I guess I will see you in a week.”
Sophie closed the phone and shook her head. “My father, it seems, knew it was you who ‘spirited me off’, and thinks an impromptu vacation is a
splendid
idea. He has apparently already contacted my assistant at the Children’s Home. I’m not to worry about a thing, just have a good time.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to sound so disappointed.”
Sophie looked over at him. He made her mouth water, heated her blood, and sparked her temper all at the same time. She could no sooner erect her usual walls against him than she could fly to Montgermane without a plane.
And he was going to be all hers for the next week.
Sophie realized that he was making fun of her with that last statement. Frankly, she couldn’t blame him.
“I’m not disappointed.” To prove it she went over to him and sat on his lap. “Tell me about your chalet.”
“I had it built about five years ago, when I came into my inheritance from my maternal grandfather. It’s my refuge. My parents and brother have seen it, of course. I’ve never brought anyone else there. Until now.”
The dip in his voice with those last two words triggered an alarm within her. If she didn’t know better, she would have said that sentiment was romantic. She tossed off the idea and relaxed. He was the playboy prince. He was adept, she was certain, at making a woman feel like she was the only woman in his life. It was likely so ingrained in him, he didn’t even realize he was doing it. If a lie was called for, well, then she was certain he would lie. Just a tiny white lie designed to make her feel good. And she accepted that, accepted him. He suited her. Besides, there could be no romance between them, for she was set on her course.
But there could be lust. There could be honest, mutual pleasure. There could be a friendship when their interlude together was complete. Given time, she could probably extend that friendship to whatever woman he eventually married. Ignoring the burning in her belly that thought caused, she told herself to count her blessings.
A week with Stephan was more than she’d ever thought she would have with any man.
Deciding to take his words at face value, she placed a light kiss on his lips. “Thank you, then, for sharing your sanctuary with me.”
“You’re welcome.”
Sophie gave in to the persuasion of his hands, and snuggled into his chest. As his hands stroked down her back, a sudden thought made her rear back to look at him.
“
Mon
Dieu
. I just realized! I have no clothes except what I’m wearing!”
“This is not a problem.”
“It’s not?” Could he have been so thoughtful as to have requested a suitcase packed for her? She hoped so. There was no way in hell she’d wear the castoffs of another of his women.
“No, it’s not, because I’m planning for us to spend most of the next week naked.”
* * * *
It was good to be home.
Stephan lived in a wing of his family’s ancestral residence, but his chalet was home, and had been since that first treasured weeklong vacation. Looking up at his stone and glass sanctuary with Sophie standing beside him felt incredibly right. Determined not to dwell too long on that feeling, he turned his attention to her instead. He did want her to like his chalet. How much he wanted her to like it was a surprise to him.
He’d told her nothing but the truth. Outside of his family, she was his first guest here.
“It’s beautiful. Oh, and the air is so different here than at home. It’s clean and crisp, and I can smell the trees!”
The tone of excitement in her voice made him smile. “It’s a bit cooler than Cardinia, or even Korvan. But we’re still in summer, even here in the mountains. The temperature will dip down at night. If you go outside you’ll need a jacket. But the middle of the day is warm enough, and sometimes even hot. If you like, we’ll go for a walk before the sun sets.”
“Yes, thank you. I think I would like that.”
“Come, I want to show you the inside.”
Winding his fingers through hers, he guided her up the short flight of stone steps. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys. This moment always thrilled him. Any time he’d arrive at the palace in Korvan, the door always opened for him. Here, no one opened the door but him.
He caught the expression on Sophie’s face and chuckled.
“Where is your major domo?”
“I don’t have a major domo.”
He waited with his hand on the door knob because he knew she wasn’t quite finished.
“Well, I suppose the chalet is a bit small for a full staff. But surely there’s a housekeeper?”
Stephan tried not to laugh as her curiosity was replaced by confusion. “No, sorry,” he answered cheerfully. “No housekeeper.”
“A maid? A cook? You can’t be out here in the wilds of Montgermane all alone. You’re a crown prince.”
Her tone was so totally reasonable, he suspected she was about to receive the biggest shock of her life. But since she was still acting the role of princess, he decided to respond just as reasonably. “Yes, you’re right. And I’m not really alone, not ever. Beyond where you can see, in those woods, there is a barracks. There are security personnel on duty around the clock. The property is quite secure, I assure you.”
“But what about inside?”
“Inside, there is no one. At least not until we cross the threshold, then there will be just you and me.”
Pushing the door open all the way, he turned and scooped Sophie up into his arms. Her squeal of surprise triggered his laughter. He stepped into the house, spun them in a circle, and kicked the door shut with his foot.
“Stephan, you maniac, set me down!”
He did, but kept his arms around her, laughing down into her upturned face.
“If there is no one but us here, who is going to cook and clean and…take care of us?”
“That’s the best part, darling. We are.”
“We are? You and me? All by ourselves?” Sophie was having a hard time grasping the concept. It didn’t help her concentration that Stephan was grinning like a schoolboy on the first day of summer vacation. She put her hands on her hips when he made a show of looking around the large room they were in.
“I believe there are only the two of us in the building. So … yes.”
She took a moment to mimic his gesture of looking around the room. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen. Stone and polished wood, impossibly high ceilings and what seemed like miles of gleaming glass. There were two big leather chairs and a long, wide leather sofa that looked more comfortable than her bed. And there, just against the far wall, an enormous fireplace waited in chilled silence.
Then Stephan’s assertion came back to her and she turned to face him.
“I’m sorry to be the wet blanket here, but you need to know. I cannot cook. Or do laundry. Now, Papa had us tidying our rooms at the farm when we would go there for summer vacation, but that was merely a matter of putting our dirty clothes in a hamper and straightening our beds. And the truth is that I only pulled my blankets up each morning, rather poorly as I recall, yet the bed seemed perfectly made each evening.”
“Sophie, none of that matters.”
“It doesn’t?” Oh, now there was a very mischievous look on his face. He took one step toward her, but she didn’t feel threatened. When he reached out to caress her cheek, she couldn’t help her response. Turning her face into his hand, her blood heated at the same instant his expression turned carnal.
“No, it doesn’t. Because you can do something no one else has ever managed to do.”
Sophie sensed Stephan’s emotions were about to overrun his libido. She couldn’t let that happen. So she did the only thing she could think of to distract him.
How convenient that it’s also what I want most in the world to do.
She closed the distance between them with a single step. Slowly, her gaze never leaving his, she wound her arms around his neck, brought her body flush with his. “Kiss me. Touch me. It feels like forever since you’ve had your hands on me.”
“
Sophie
.”
His kiss was swift and lusty and deep. She lost herself in the glorious flavor of him, in the wondrous sensation of heat and excitement that filled her as his hands caressed her bottom. When he lifted her, she simply wrapped her legs around him. Oh, how had she lived all her life before him without this fire, this passion? He had only to look at her and she quickened. He had only to touch her and she burned. Her tongue swept and stroked his, and she drank him in. Her hands craved the silkiness of his hair, her fingers combed and caressed the strands, and this, too, aroused her. Vaguely, she was aware that he carried her up a flight of stairs, but she didn’t care.
When he laid her flat, when he pressed her into the mattress, she needed more, and she needed it now.
“Please.
Please
,” she begged, totally incapable of putting into words what she craved. But he knew, of course he knew. His hands stripped her of her clothing, just as this burning need for him stripped her of all civilization. Uncaring, she grabbed his shirt and pulled. Buttons flew, and her hands found flesh.
“Here, let me.”
He raised himself away from her and she whimpered. Then she sighed as he tossed off his clothes, each economical motion revealing more scrumptious masculine flesh. She hadn’t really paid attention that first time, hadn’t fully allowed herself the pure visual pleasure of looking at his naked body.
She looked now. His penis was hard, standing nearly straight up, and she wondered anew that something so large could fit inside her so well, and give her such joy.
“My God, little one, you inflame me with only your eyes.”
Her gaze was drawn to his face. His expression looked pained. The thought that Stephan could be hurting in any way created a pang in her chest. She didn’t want to think about that, so she reached for him.
He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, kissed it. Passion and purpose in his eyes, he reached over to the bedside table, pulled open a drawer.
Fascinated, she watched as he tore open the small foil package and rolled the thin latex into place. Then he was lowering himself over her, making a place for himself between her thighs.
She couldn’t wait another moment. She wrapped her arms around him, reveling in the heat and the weight of him as his chest crushed her breasts, his taut stomach pressing against her softer belly like a missing puzzle piece. Mouth open, she met his kiss, sank into it. His tongue excited as it delved and danced with hers. His taste was like no other, feeding and teasing at the same time. Yes, she wanted this, his hard hot flesh on hers, his hands petting and caressing, his fingers pinching and rubbing and sliding inside of her.
Her hips shot off the bed as his fingers explored her depths. Wave after sweeping, trembling wave of rapture cascaded through her until she didn’t know if she could take any more. Just as the shivery-pulsating pleasure began to ebb, Stephan shifted his hips and thrust into her.
* * * *
He had to close his eyes and use all of his will not to come there and then. It felt like years since he’d been right here, nestled between Sophie’s silky thighs, deep inside her body. She fit him as if she’d been made for him. He didn’t care if it was barbaric, the idea that only he had been inside her thrilled him.
He felt the velvet clasp of her intimate flesh tighten around him in another rhythmic shiver, heard her cry of pleased surprise as she came again, arousing him even more. “Yes, come on me, little one,” he whispered hoarsely into her ear, unable to resist nibbling lightly on her lobe. “Just like that.”
“Stephan!”
He slid an arm under her and held her close while he began to thrust hard. He’d wanted to take his time, but had known it would be like this. Only the solid knowledge that they had an entire week alone together allowed him the freedom to let go, to take her the way he longed to take her, to claim her the way a man claims his woman.
“Give me your mouth!” He heard the desperation in his own voice and didn’t care, plundering her lips when she instantly obeyed. He wanted to be joined to her in every way possible. Her absolute surrender, to the passion, to him, pushed him over the edge of reason. His orgasm exploded out of him, ripping every shred of energy from his body, flooding into her and leaving him helpless to do anything but hang on to her and come.
After what seemed like a lifetime he collapsed on her and concentrated on breathing. Her arms around him, her contented sigh, told him he hadn’t hurt her. But he was heavy, and didn’t want to smash her into the bed. He grunted and started to move. Sophie clutched his shoulders.
“Don’t go.”
“No, I won’t. But I’m too heavy. Come here.” He rolled onto his side and took her with him. He was still inside her but knew that wouldn’t last long. He should excuse himself and get cleaned up. He really didn’t want to move.
“It’s better in a bed than on the grass.”
Sophie’s purring observation made him laugh. Delighted, he pulled her even closer and kissed her forehead. “So it is. If we’re to do a comparative study, though, it seems to me there are many more places we should try.”
“There are?”
The two words reminded him of her innocence. Once again the reality of being her first lover filled him with primal male pride.
“Oh, indeed there are. On the sofa, on the dining room table, in the shower…mmm, and the hot tub too. It’s a very good thing that we have an entire week for this personal journey of discovery.”