Escaping A Royal Wedding (15 page)

Erik ordered his team to continue the search. She had to have a history somewhere. Someone was bound to have noticed such a beautiful woman in a hotel lobby or restaurant – somewhere within the public areas of the hotel.

They landed in Grand Cayman two hours later and Erik hesitated to wake her up. She looked so comfortable and relaxed. Gone was the wariness he saw when she was thinking about something and there was no tension in her shoulders. In the end, he woke her simply because he knew that his bed at the beach house was more comfortable.

Ana awoke still groggy and disoriented. She didn’t feel well rested at all and she had no idea where she was. It took her long minutes to realize that Marcus was smiling down at her, his blue eyes showing his concern for her fatigue. “Did I wear you out, my lady?”

Ana didn’t bother to deny it as she pulled the sheet more securely around her. She was completely worn out from his lovemaking. “Yes. Now what are you going to do about it?”

“You mean besides pull that sheet down so I can see your lovely body again?” he asked wolfishly, starting to do exactly as he’d said.

Ana slapped his hands away from the sheet, laughing at how incorrigible he was. “Not that,” she said, grabbing it tighter in her fists. “You’ll have to feed me, sir. And entertain me and I’ll warn you that I’m very finicky.”

“Finicky, huh?” he growled. “Well, then we’d better be off. I think I have a lot to do and just a little time to do it in,” he said and pulled her up quickly, the sheet falling down as her startled hands grabbed onto his shoulders for balance instead of holding onto the sheet for modesty.

“What are you doing?” she shrieked as he carried her into the shower.

“We have to get moving. There’s a fire-breathing show at the Lexium Hotel tonight that you won’t want to miss. My housekeeper makes the most amazing dishes so be sure you’re hungry,” he said before turning on the shower for her. He left her in the bathroom with a sweet kiss on the cheek and a wink before he patted her on the bottom on his way out the door.

True to his word, Ana was treated to a whirlwind of activity. Friday night, he took her to dinner at a Cajun restaurant that had a wonderful show with fire-eaters and fire twirlers. Ana could barely keep up with all the activity and was thrilled with the entertainment. He made love to her that night with a slow, powerful rhythm that made her head spin with the power behind each touch, each kiss.

Waking up in his arms was a wonderful experience as he made love to her with the sun shining down on them in the early morning light. Saturday morning, he took her snorkeling on a reef filled with fabulous colored fish. It was amazing to watch them swim right up to her face mask before darting away. Lunch was at an outside café where the cook personally came out to greet them, chatting away in some Cajun language Ana was unfamiliar with. But it was interesting watching him and the chef talk casually, laughing and slapping each other on the back. That afternoon, he took her sailing and she laid out on the top of the small deck, letting the sun warm her skin and lull her to sleep.

She dreamt that Marcus had changed and was more serious, but still the man she loved and he arrived right before her wedding to a stranger, picked her up on his white horse and carried her away to a white castle in the clouds. She woke up to the waves crashing against the hull as they came back into port.

The evening was wonderful and relaxing. They did nothing more than sit out on the beach where a table was set up with white linen and silver with candles dancing in the ocean breeze. They dined on lobster and scallops in a white wine sauce. Unfortunately, they didn’t do justice to the fragrant meal. Both of them were more eager to talk, not really about anything important or heavy, just laughing at whatever came into their minds.

Ana let him pull her onto the sand and make love to her as the waves crashed over their bodies. She’d always thought it would be uncomfortable to feel the sand under her but with Marcus, there was no time to think about anything when he touched her. He overwhelmed all her senses, leaving nothing to think about other than the next touch, the next feeling.

Sunday morning, Ana was sitting out on the balcony, a cup of tea already in her hands and a feeling of lethargy stilling her movements. She had woken early and watched the sunrise, knowing it would be her last for a very long time. As soon as she returned home, she fully expected her mother and father to be furious. Locking her into her rooms is not beyond her imagination although it would be relatively severe.

“You look too serious for a gorgeous morning. Why don’t you come back to bed,” Marcus said, moving up behind her and nuzzling her neck.

“I will in a minute,” she said, touching his cheek and smiling up at him happily. “Thank you for a wonderful time,” she said.

Marcus sat down in the chair on the opposite side of her, knowing he needed space to keep his hands off her. It was time to make his next move and try to convince her to stay with him longer. He knew going into this weekend that he’d need more than just two days. Spending just one day with her had convinced him that they had something incredibly special with each other and they shouldn’t just let it go.

“I wanted to talk about that,” he said and poured himself a cup of tea from the urn on the table. “Why can’t we continue like this?” he asked. “You can’t deny that you had a good time this weekend. Why can’t you come back with me and just live like this longer?”

She was thrilled that he’d felt the same thing she was, but it was still no good. She couldn’t accept his offer. Ana shook her head sadly. “I have obligations that would prohibit me from…”

He didn’t want to hear the end of her sentence. He knew it wasn’t the right answer. “From enjoying your life?”

“Yes,” she said, not willing to lie to him anymore but knowing she couldn’t tell him the full truth.

He was impatient to find out what was holding her back. He wanted answers and was frustrated with her half truths. “Tell me what they are. I guarantee I can overcome whatever issues come up. I’m a very powerful man and have connections all over the world. Would you trust me?”

Ana looked out at the sunrise and wished she could hand over her issues to him. “Are you offering marriage?” she joked.

There was a long silence and she finally turned to look at him. The peacefulness she had been experiencing disappeared. “I was kidding but I’m guessing that wasn’t even on your mind.”

“I can’t offer you that,” he said. “I can offer you myself and time, but I can’t offer marriage.”

Ana’s heart broke with his words. A pain sliced through her body, a feeling so intense she never could have imagined feeling something so awful. “You’re asking me to become your mistress, aren’t you?”

He saw the tears form in her eyes and he hated himself at the moment. “That sounds awful but it doesn’t have to be. I have obligations that I can’t get out of. But I want you in my life.”

Ana stood up and set her tea cup on the table carefully, her fingers shaking from her emotions. “I can’t become your mistress, nor would I even if I could.”

“Ana, it wouldn’t be like that,” he said and stood up with her. He stopped her by putting his hands on her shoulders. “Please, consider my offer. Think about it. This doesn’t have to stop here. It could go on if you’d just let it.”

She didn’t want to hear what he was saying. He was obviously committed to someone although she knew he wasn’t married. She’d asked him that at the beginning and, if she knew anything about him, it was that he wouldn’t lie to her. He might hurt her with the truth but he wouldn’t blatantly lie.

It wasn’t good enough though. Just because he wasn’t married didn’t mean he wasn’t committed and that was the real issue, wasn’t it? He couldn’t fully commit to her because he had someone else waiting for him. “What about children? Would we be able to have them? I want lots of them and I doubt a mistress would be able to have children with you. At least not legitimate children, right? Isn’t that the way it goes? I’m guessing you’re some sort of aristocrat and you are already engaged, aren’t you?” She hated the fact that tears were now streaming down her face but she couldn’t help it. He was hurting her more than she ever realized he could. Why had she never asked if there was another woman, no matter how insignificant she was?

He didn’t answer and Ana saw the answer on his face. “You bastard! You’re engaged. How could you?” she demanded. “Does she know you’re having an affair? A cheap, tawdry affair with someone you just met?”

He stood up and held her upper arms, stopping her from turning away from him. “Annie stop it. This isn’t cheap or tawdry and you know it. Don’t belittle what we have together. But I have obligations I can’t get out of.”

She flinched at his touch, and felt a betraying sense of heat steal into her body. She pulled roughly out of his hands, wishing she could hurt him just as much as he was killing her. “You’ve said that! And I don’t want to hear anything else,” she shouted. “Just leave me alone,” she said and rushed into his bedroom, the place they’d spent so many hours exploring each other, finding complete fulfillment in each other’s arms. And now it was all over. She quickly pulled on a pair of slacks and shirt, not even caring if they matched or not.

Erik followed her, angry for the first time at his position and obligations. Because of them, he was losing the first woman who had ever gotten under his skin and made him feel something more than just mild amusement. “Annie stop. Listen to me. Come with me, let me show you were I live and you’ll understand.”

She ignored him, continuing to dress as best she could since she could barely see through the tears streaming down her face, blurring her vision. All she wanted was to get away from him and out of his life. “No! I’ve heard everything I need to hear. Let me just summarize for you. You’re engaged to be married at some unknown time yet you still want me in your life. You’d like me to come back, be stored away in some hideout where you come around once in a while, make love to me, then leave and produce wonderful children with your loving wife who knows nothing about the two of us.” Ana didn’t stop moving while she yelled, horrified at what she was saying because it was the complete truth. To get herself through these last, awful moments, she just kept throwing clothes into her suitcase in an effort to leave as quickly as possible.

“That’s not the way it would be,” he said, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Ana didn’t want to hear his half truths anymore. “I don’t want to hear your version of it.” She zipped her suitcase up and slipped her feet into a pair of sandals. Grabbing her purse, she pulled her suitcase off the bed and lugged it to the door.

“Annie, I’m not letting you leave like this,” he said and put his body in front of the door.

She had to get out this beautiful house and away from the man she loved more than anything else in the world before her whole body crumbled. So she said the only words that would hurt him as much as he’d hurt her. “Marcus, I’m engaged as well. I only have a short time before my wedding. So if you’ll excuse me, I need to head back to my home and have my wedding dress fitted.”

His face paled at her words and he shook his head in disbelief. “You’re lying,” he countered, not wanting to believe what she was telling him.

“No. I’m not. I’ll spare you the silly details, but it is something my family has wanted for years and is the reason I couldn’t let you know I was staying at the Mayflower. Please let me go.”

Without another word he stepped to the side and let her leave. He looked at her, trying to determine if she was telling him the truth or not. But the calm way she was looking at him now told him everything he needed to know. She was really engaged and would leave him to marry someone else regardless of her feelings for him.

With that realization, he didn’t argue anymore. He simply walked to the phone and called Tim who had his limousine out front within minutes. Erik knew he should make sure she got to the airport safely, but he also knew Tim would do that for him. Right now, he couldn’t face the idea of seeing her leave him, knowing she’d be going to some other man’s arms.

Erik stared out at the ocean and watched the waves crash against the sand. Gripping the railing, he worked through all the details he knew about her, which were precious few. Everything he knew though, added up to the fact that she was telling him the truth.

“Dammit” he said and punched his fist into the wall of his bedroom, creating a gaping hole. He didn’t care. He walked into the bathroom and quickly showered. He dressed in record time and left the villa. Within an hour, he was at the airport and back on his plane, taking off, heading back to his home and the obligations he’d been ignoring for the past week. With iron determination, he pushed all thoughts of Annie and their time together from his mind.

Chapter 8

Ana left the security of the limousine and walked into the airport, her heart heaving and the tears just behind her eyelids. With as much dignity as she could muster, she walked up to the ticket booth and inquired about flights to Cordova.

The clerk typed on her computer and, after several minutes, came up with an itinerary for her. “I’m afraid it is going to be a long flight,” she said. “There’s a flight in forty five minutes that will fly you to Paris. From there, you can catch the next flight to Germany and then to Cordova. I’m afraid we don’t have any direct flights. I wouldn’t imagine that any other airlines do either. That is a small country,” the ticket agent said. “I’ve been there once before and you’re in for a treat. Gorgeous country!” she said, waving her hand for emphasis.