She coughed and forbore to mention Catholic school. Still, she was no innocent. "I know about money. I’m just not familiar with your currency."
He raised a skeptical brow. "Uh huh."
That did it. She stopped in front of his bike. "Look, thank you for the ride. I’m sorry for cramping your style, so if you’ll just hand my money back, I’ll be on my way. I think I’m going the wrong way, anyway. I have a feeling what I’m looking for is in the opposite direction." Pride demanded she say it, but she didn’t really feel it. Like it or not, she’d gotten used to Rabbit’s brand of protection.
He looked over her head. Without expression, he said, "Get on."
She glanced behind her and waffled. A group of interested looking men stared back, clearly eager to see what she would do. Somehow she didn’t think they wished to welcome her the neighborhood. She looked back at Rabbit. Glittering challenge made his green eyes glow. If she refused, would he toss her on his bike? Shove her out of the way and take all comers? Somehow she knew he wouldn’t just drive away.
White knight, indeed.
Lowering her eyes, she got on his bike’s leather seat. With one last cold stare at the crowd, he slid on his shades and moved off.
Night moved in as they drove, and Ally realized she’d arrived in Rabbit’s world in late afternoon. "I thought you said it was ‘miles’ to the capital. We’ve been riding a long time."
He pulled off onto a small, almost invisible trail. "It is. Many miles. We‘ll be there tomorrow."
She snorted, but found she was too tired to argue. When he pulled up and parked the bike, she stared around in surprise. "Where are we? Is this a pit stop?"
"We’re staying here for the night. The next inn is an hour away, and you keep falling asleep." He swung a long leg over the bike and rummaged in his saddlebags.
"I can last an hour," she said querulously, recognizing the peevishness that came from sleep deprivation.
He tossed her a snack bar and declined to comment.
Grumpily, she crunched on the bar and watched him set up a small tent. It barely looked big enough for one.
"Settle in. I’m going to stay up and make sure we’re not followed."
Too tired to argue, she slid into the sleeping bag inside the tent and promptly fell asleep.
Dawn light woke her. Too cozy to move, she snuggled deeper into the warmth holding her, then rolled over and warmed her back on the wall of heat, trying to rearrange her pillow. Instead, it was pulled away. "Hey!" She rolled to her back and opened her eyes.
Sleepy green eyes smiled back. "Bossy, aren’t you?" His gaze dropped speculatively to her lips. "How old are you? Eighteen?"
"Nineteen." Fresh from sleep, she was too fuzzy to remember why his hungry look might be a bad thing.
His eyes moved lower, as if remembering what lay under the sleeping bag. "You must belong to someone," he said huskily, with a hint of disappointment.
"I told you I don’t."
"You’re lying. Women like you don’t wander around without bodyguards and keepers. Some man is looking for you right now."
"Nope. Only you." It wasn’t what she’d meant to say, but his eyes kindled. She’d never seen such green eyes.
"I’m going to pay for this, I know it," he muttered, but he kissed her anyway.
Ali moaned. She’d had a kiss or two before, but those had been like eating liver and lima beans compared to what he gave her. Godiva, champagne, and thou, she though dizzily, then she didn’t think at all. Hot brandy seeped into her blood, then ignited in a flaming dish she just had to sample. His mouth was heaven, and when his tongue slowly entered her, swept inside, and took command, she wanted to die. With a growl, he took more of her, moved over her body and settled in to feast.
Ali cried out at the hot weight of him, threw back her head, and panted when he parted her thighs with his knee through the covers. That got the barrier thrown back, and this time there was only his pants and hers between her and heaven. Drowning in unfamiliar pleasure, she struggled to keep up with his hungry kisses.
As if sensing her confusion, he lightened his demands, coaxing instead of devouring. Driven by his silent requests for pleasure, her arousal soared. Her resulting burst of kissing clashed their teeth.
Rabbit pulled back, breathing hard. "You’re a virgin."
Horrified, she pushed back and found neither man nor ground giving. "Am not!" At his chiding look, she muttered, "Well, it’s none of your business, anyway."
He laughed in disbelief and moved off her. "I guess it won’t be, will it? At least I know you aren’t married. Is that what you’re running from? A wedding?"
"I’m not running," she ground out, getting up. She fished her boots out of the bottom of the tiny tent and crawled outside, refusing to look at him when he joined her. A fresh, fruity smell teased her nose, and she looked up, eyeing the cluster of blue fruits that hung just out of reach.
Rabbit reached up and pulled down a cluster. "Here. You worked up an appetite."
With a dark look for his teasing, she accepted the bunch and took a bite. Blueberry flavored juice spurted out, dripping down her chest and tickling the slope of one breast.
Rabbit grinned. "Allow me." He ducked his head and slowly licked the droplet from the creamy slope. She gasped, freezing with surprise as heat streaked through her belly. She’d thought they were done with this.
Mischievously, her lover took the fruit from her hand and squeezed it, watching with satisfaction as the liquid disappeared into the valley of her shirt. He backed her against a tree and nipped her ear. "Guess I’d better clean you up." His lips swallowed her protest, then worked their wicked way down her chin. Without asking permission, he opened her top.
Ali panicked and grabbed his face, but he took her frantic fingers into his mouth and made slow love to them, making her forget what she’d been trying to do. When his clever mouth finally released them, his eyes were smoky with promise. Leisurely, like a pasha inspecting his newest dancing girl, he opened her vest, inhaling deeply. With a lion’s hum of anticipation, he lowered his head and lazily feasted.
A choked cry burst from her lips as tongue made contact with her skin, licking here, flicking there. Tender, dominant, he made her want him to do it, made her grasp his shoulders as her world spun at his command. Then his hot, wet mouth closed over her nipple….
Ali cried out and her body arched as pleasure burst in hot, pulsing waves through her whole body. It had to be climax. Was there anything else in the world that felt so indescribably electric, so wonderfully erotic?
As suddenly as he’d started, Rabbit stopped. As cheerfully as if he’d just won the lottery, he straightened up, playfully flicking one pink nipple. "Day’s wasting, hot stuff."
Staring at him as if he’d lost his mind, Ali watched him dismantle the tent, unable to move even to fasten her top. That was it? He was going to stop right there? Was he insane? When he made no move rejoin her or even look her way, she fastened her shirt. Giving the discarded fruit on the ground a swift kick, she stomped off to use the facilities, such as they were.
Rabbit smiled in amusement and kept his thoughts to himself. His runaway princess didn’t like to be teased, and no wonder. Anyone that volcanic needed to either remain on ice or have regular eruptions. All that pressure couldn’t be good for a woman.
He couldn’t blame her for running off before the wedding. Anyone that cloistered was bound to need an adventure, to break loose before settling down.
That’s what he was here for--to give the royal miss her escapade and act as bodyguard until he could get her to the capital and safely wed to his Highness. They’d had a good time, she’d seen a bit of the world, and he was confident he could get her to the chapel in good order. The kissing hadn’t been planned, but he didn’t regret it, or anything that had followed. She’d be a married lady soon--a few indiscretions now would soon be glossed over. Unwilling to reveal his smirk, he kept his face averted as he put on his shades and her weight settled on behind him.
He could get used to this.
They hadn’t gone a mile when the Mad Hatter and Bud joined them, each riding a bike. Hatter grinned and called, "Have a good night’s sleep?" He leered playfully at Ali, who ignored him.
Rabbit just laughed and gunned the throttle. Let them concentrate on keeping up--it would keep them from razzing him about his love life.
Their next stop was Flower Gardens, at ritzy dressmaker specializing in hideously expensive gowns. The shop girls greeted Ali with great excitement, eager to serve. Ali herself seemed confused by the trio, who fluttered around in dresses of soft yellow, pale blue, and pink, for all the world like talking flowers. The proprietress herself was more regal in shades of rose, with an upper crustiness that never failed to amuse Rabbit.
"We are delighted to see you, your highness," she told Ali. "Allow me to show you your wedding dress." Before Ally could speak, she whipped aside a curtain, revealing a mannequin in a gorgeous wedding frock. Ali’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Rabbit couldn’t blame her. The gown was white, but draped in a stole of sparkling, rainbow hued gauze. The underskirt was embroidered with a rainbow of flowers, and a matching band of embroidered ribbon trimmed the bottom. The tulip sleeves were plain, except for a tiny ribbon rose on each side.
"I can’t wait to see you try it on," one girl gushed. "Come on! We’ll get you bathed and in your undergarments, then you can test the fit."
Ali looked wildly at Rabbit as the girl tugged on her hand. "Wait! You’ve got the wrong girl. I just hitched along for the ride. Ask Rabbit--he’ll tell you."
The girls just giggled and kept tugging.
Rabbit smiled and winked.
Something wasn’t right. Ally wasn’t sure what was going on, but the girls had her stripped before she could work up a good protest, and next she knew she was bathed and climbing into stockings, a corset, and a truly tiny pair of white panties. She had no choice--her clothes had disappeared, and it was either wear the princess dress or strut out in front of Rabbit half-dressed. Recent intimacies aside, she just wasn’t ready for that, so she put on the dress. It fit as if it had been made for her, yet another suspicious coincidence in a string of iffy circumstances. Even the embroidered satin shoes they gave her fit.
Rabbit’s eyes glowed when he saw her. Slowly, he clapped. "Well done, Madam Rose. His highness is definitely giving you a bonus for this one."
Madam Rose managed to preen and look humble at the same time. "Thank you, your--er, Rabbit."
"Can I have my clothes back now?" Ali asked tightly, convinced by now that she was in the middle of a very bad dream. She wasn’t a fool--she saw where this was going, and it was more than time to throw on the brakes.
Rose and Rabbit cast her a glance, one disbelieving, one amused, but neither produced her clothes.
Hatter poked his head in the door. "Hey," he drawled, looking her up and down. One hard look from Rabbit wiped the leer from his face. "Uh, the carriage awaits. Bud’s ready to go."
The carriage turned out to be a white car straight out of League of Dangerous Men. Bud, attired in a Hawaiian print suit and chaffer hat, held the door open. Ali took one look at it and balked. "Uh, no. Actually, I have a pressing engagement elsewhere, so I’m going to have to skip your little get together…."
Rabbit flashed his killer grin and wrapped his hand around her waist, steering her toward the car. "You don’t like my transportation? I’m hurt, baby. Really hurt."
Her stupid little slippers couldn’t get any traction, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. With Rabbit sweeping her on and the ditsy flower girls waving them off, Ali soon found herself deposited on the white leather seat. "Should’ve kicked him," she muttered, sweeping her skirt out of the way so he wouldn’t sit on it.
"I wouldn’t," Rabbit advised as his henchman shut the door. His eyes swept over her again with pride and pleasure. "I’m almost sorry you’re wearing that dress--it’ll show if I muss you up."
She glared at him. "You’re taking me to marry some dumb prince, aren’t you? Admit it! You tricked me. You’ve planned this the whole time!"
He leaned back, half turned on the seat, his arm stretched along the back. "I made you run away? I don’t remember that part."
Had it been physically possible in a seated position, she would have stamped her foot. "You kissed me!"
"You liked it."
"But you planned to marry me off to someone else!"
He looked at her carefully. "Did you hit your head somewhere along the way?"
She looked out the window and grit her teeth. Fine. So he was the kind who would take what he could get. It didn’t matter to him who she was or what she wanted, just as long as he could get a little free entertainment. In the advent she actually set eyes on this mysterious prince, she planned to give him an earful. Maybe he’d chop Rabbit’s head off for her.
"Are you pouting?"
"I’m brooding."
"It looks like pouting from here."
She said something very rude, not bothering to look at him. When she could no longer stand his silence, she risked a glance at him, then wished she’d kept her mouth shut. His cool, aristocratic expression made her shiver.
"You’re in sore need of some discipline, sweetheart. Maybe I can remind you of a few things." Before she could panic and pound on the black glass privacy screen, he reached over and scooped her up, depositing her rear firmly on his lap. Grasping her chin in one businesslike hand, he bent his head and demanded a kiss with such finesse that she gasped. Leisurely, his tongue swept inside and mastered her with such sweet savagery that she moaned.
"Firebrand," he whispered against her wet lips, deepening the kiss.
She jerked away, gasping, "You’re giving me to someone else who will want to do this." The knowledge burned.
"Nobody else can do this," he said confidently, taking her mouth again with such mastery that she cried out as hot pleasure lit white sparks behind her eyes. When he let her breathe this time, she was no longer able to argue.