Secret Heirs: Royal Appointment

‘No, I’m not.’

‘I guess there’s only one way to convince you,’ he said, laughing softly.

He drew her closer, inch by inch, and then he kissed her. And this was not a teasing brush of his lips, but something more that drew emotion out of her, until she was happy and sad, excited and confused, all at once. She was happy to be here with him, and sad because she knew it couldn’t last. He excited her. Her body was going crazy for more—which he knew. And she was apprehensive too, in case she got this terribly wrong. There were so many ways she could get this wrong.

‘Stop,’ Luca murmured against her mouth. ‘Stop thinking and just allow yourself to feel for once. Go with your instincts, Callie.’

Her instincts were telling her to rub herself shamelessly against him, to part her legs and find relief as quickly as she could for the throbbing ache of frustration that he’d put there. And she had mightily encouraged, Callie conceded. She wanted this badly. Even more than that, she wanted the connection between them to last, but she had to face facts: Luca was an itinerant worker, as was she, and so they’d both move on.

He kissed away her doubts as he lowered her slowly to the ground. Stretching out his length against hers on the cool swathe of grass, he made sure that the world faded away, leaving just the two of them to kiss and explore each other. It was as if time stood still. Water still bubbled nearby, and a light breeze still ruffled the leaves overhead, but they were in another world where her senses were totally absorbed in Luca’s warm, clean man scent, and the feel of his powerful body against hers. His chest was shaded with just the right amount of dark hair that rasped against her nipples as he moved. She was filled with desire for him, and only felt a moment of apprehension when he reached into the pocket of his discarded shorts and she heard a foil rip. She was glad he had the good sense to protect them both, because she had no intention of pulling back. She had no regrets. None.

When he dipped his head to suckle her mind exploded with sensation. Moving her head on the cushioned earth, she bucked her hips repeatedly, involuntarily, responding to the hungry demands of her body. In the grip of sexual hunger, she reached for his shoulders and held on tightly, as if she were drowning and Luca was her rock. She had stifle a gasp of excitement when he moved over her. The weight of him against her thighs was new to her, and a little frightening. She had to tell herself that this was what she wanted, and that nothing was going to stop her now, nothing.

‘I’m right here,’ he soothed as if he could sense her apprehension.

‘Don’t I know it?’ she joked half-heartedly.

‘Seriously. Stop worrying. I would never hurt you.’

She stared into his eyes and saw the truth behind his statement. It was as if that had opened the floodgates to hunger, to curiosity, which left her fierce with passion, as well as uncertain as to what Luca was used to. Goodness knew, her experience was limited, to say the least. She was on a journey of discovery, Callie consoled herself, and this was an adventure that would carve a memory so deep she would never forget this moment, or this man.

Luca whispered against her mouth, ‘Trust me, Callie,’ and then his hands worked their magic and she was lost.

‘Oh...that’s...’

‘Good?’ he suggested in a low, amused murmur.

Her answer was a series of soft, rhythmical sighs. ‘Better than good,’ she managed to gasp.

‘More?’ he suggested.

The hands cupping her buttocks were so much bigger than hers, and his skilful fingers could work all sorts of wickedness.

‘Would you like me to touch you here?’

His tone was low and compelling. ‘So much,’ she admitted, sucking in a shaking breath.

One of Luca’s slightly roughened finger pads was all it took to send her mindless with excitement. He knew exactly what to do. He started stroking steadily, rhythmically, applying the right amount of pressure at just the right speed.

‘Good?’

Was she supposed to answer? She daren’t speak. She was frightened of losing control.

‘Would you like me to tip you over the edge?’

‘I’m not sure.’

‘Yes, you are.’

Staring into Luca’s laughing eyes, she knew he was right.

He kissed her as he explored her, a shallow invasion at first with a single finger, and then deeper, with one, two, and finally three fingers. ‘You’re so ready,’ he commented with approval.

She rocked her body in time to the steady thrust of Luca’s hand. It wasn’t as good, or as immediate as when he attended to her achingly sensitive little nub. It was a different feeling, and one just as compelling in its way. It made her want him to lodge deep inside her. The urge to be one with him was overwhelming.

Nudging her thighs apart with his, he continued to touch her in the way that took her mind off everything else. The delicious sensation of having him enclose her buttocks in his big, warm hands while he touched her lightly at the apex of her thighs was startlingly good. He found new ways to tease her, moving his body up and down until she was so aroused he could slide in easily, but then he pulled out again, provoking her more than ever. ‘Don’t stop!’ she exclaimed with frustration.

He ignored this plea and continued to tease her. Wild for him, she begged for more in words she’d never used before.

‘Like this?’ Luca suggested in a low growl.

She gasped with shock when he sank deep. For a moment she didn’t know if she liked it or not. He was very slow and very careful, but that only gave her chance to realise how much he stretched her. Every nerve ending she possessed leapt instantly to attention. The sensation was sudden and complete. She couldn’t think, she could only feel. ‘Yes,’ she sighed, moving with him.

Luca maintained a dependable rhythm, taking her to the edge and over, and he still moved intuitively, steadily, to make sure that her ride of pleasure continued for the longest possible time. She might have screamed. She might have called his name. She only knew that by the time she quietened her throat was sore, and with a gasp she collapsed back against the grass.

‘And we’re only just getting started,’ Luca promised with amusement.

Still lodged deep, he began to move again, persuasively and gently to take account of her slowly recovering body. He kept up this sensitive buffeting until the fire gripped her again and she wound her legs tightly around his waist as he thrust deep. She didn’t wait to be tipped over the edge this time, but worked her hips with his, falling fast and hard, while Luca held her firmly in place so she received the full benefit of each deep, firm stroke.

‘Greedy,’ he approved as she gasped for breath.

‘You make me greedy.’ Luca was still hard. She was still hungry. She reached for him and he took her again.

Callie was unique in his experience. It was as if they’d been lovers for years, but could enjoy the first, furious appetite that came with discovery of someone special. Not only could she match him, she fired him like no other. He was driven by the primitive urge to imprint himself on her body, her mind, and her memory. Pinning her down beneath him with her arms above her head, he thrust firmly to the hilt. She growled, and bucked towards him, as hungry as she had ever been. She was wild and abandoned, as he’d imagined Callie would be once he discovered what lay beneath her carefully cultivated shell. When they were still again, she turned towards him, as slowly as if her bones had turned to lead. Smiling, she managed groggily, ‘You’re amazing.’

‘And so are you,’ he replied softly.

CHAPTER FIVE

THEY BATHED IN the stream, seemingly unaware of the chill of the water, and dried off on the bank next to each other, kissing and staring into each other’s eyes. Luca seemed surprised when she insisted she would go home on one of the staff buses, but she wasn’t ready to spend the night with him. She needed to clear her head and come to terms with the fact that this might have been a life-changing experience, but it had no future.

Let this be, she thought as Luca smiled against her mouth before kissing her. Let it remain shiny and special. Allow nothing to taint it. She had those same thoughts when she boarded the bus, but by the time she walked into the hotel lobby her mood had changed, mainly because the concierge was waiting for her, and he looked worried to death.

‘Thank goodness, Signorina Smith. This came for you.’

She looked at the envelope he was holding out. It was obviously urgent. She ripped it open and started reading. There was some confusion about her room at the bed and breakfast. She had intended to move hotels tomorrow, but now it seemed her room at the B & B was no longer available. Crumpling the note in her hand, she frowned as she wondered what to do next. She couldn’t afford to stay on here.

‘Signorina Smith?’

The concierge was hovering anxiously. ‘Yes?’

‘Forgive my intrusion, but I can see how concerned you are. Please don’t be worried. The manager at the establishment you had hoped to move to left that note for you. He has informed us of a problem, and so it is arranged that you continue to stay here.’

Callie’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. ‘I’m afraid I can’t afford to stay here,’ she admitted frankly. The concierge looked as embarrassed as she felt and this wasn’t his fault. ‘I’d love to stay on,’ she added warmly. ‘Everyone’s been so kind to me, but I need to find somewhere cheaper. Maybe you can help?’

‘Please, signorina,’ the concierge implored, shifting uncomfortably from polished shoe to polished shoe. ‘There will be no charge. You have been let down. This is a matter of local pride. The management of this hotel and the staff who care for you will be insulted if you offer payment.’

‘And I’ll be insulted if I don’t,’ Callie said bluntly. ‘I really can’t stay on if I don’t pay my way.’

‘The cost of your room has been covered.’

She swung around in surprise. ‘Luca! Are you following me?’

‘Yes,’ he admitted.

‘What do you know about this?’ she demanded. Luca, tousled and magnificent, couldn’t have looked more incongruous in the sleek, polished surroundings of the five-star hotel. She had to curb a smile as she glanced down at her clothes, and then at his. They both looked exactly what they were, labourers from the fields, which was another reason for decamping to another, much plainer establishment. Not that her body could have cared less what Luca was wearing. As far as her body was concerned, Luca looked better naked, anyway.

A million and one feelings flooded through her as they stared at each other. ‘Are you responsible for this?’ she asked, holding out the letter. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the concierge, who’d returned to his booth, looking more anxious than ever. Something was definitely going on. Luca knew Marco. Had they pulled strings between them so that she would have to stay with Luca? She refused to be manipulated, especially by Luca.

‘I couldn’t help overhearing that you were having difficulties,’ he began.

She bit her tongue and decided to wait to see what he said next. When he shrugged and smiled, threatening to weaken her resolve, she said, ‘I don’t suppose you know anything about my mysterious benefactor, or the fact that the hotel is refusing to charge me?’

He raised a brow. ‘Don’t you like it here?’

‘That’s not the point,’ she insisted. It hadn’t escaped her notice that Luca was speaking as calmly as if he were a tour operator dealing with a quibbling client, rather than a controlling alpha male who seemed to think that everything and everyone should run to his prescription. He might have quite literally swept her off her feet at the party, but post-party common sense had had time to set in.

‘My only concern is that you have somewhere comfortable to stay,’ he insisted.

She bristled. ‘Well, thank you, but I’m quite capable of making my own arrangements.’

‘They had a burst pipe at the small establishment where you booked a room,’ Luca explained while the concierge nodded vehemently. ‘Marco alerted me to this, and the concierge was only trying to help.’

‘How did Marco know I was planning to move to the B & B?’ she asked suspiciously.

‘I’m sorry, Callie, but you can’t live in a small town like this and not know what’s going on.’

‘So Marco told you?’ How could she have been so dim?

‘Stay on at the hotel,’ Luca offered, as if he were the owner of the sumptuous building. ‘You’ll be closer to the lemon groves here.’ He shot her a questioning look. ‘That’s if you intend to continue working on the Prince’s estate.’

‘Of course I do,’ Callie confirmed. She loved it on the Prince’s estate, and was nowhere near ready to leave yet.

‘So, come back with me.’

Luca was waiting at the lobby door, as if it were all a done deal. Did he mean go back to the party with him? Or did Luca have something different in mind? She had paid for the hotel until tomorrow, and packing could wait until the morning. Meanwhile...adventure beckoned!

More adventure? Why not? Luca was everything virile and masculine, drawing her deeper into the adventure she’d always dreamed about. ‘Thank you for your concern,’ she said, knowing she needed time to think more than ever now. ‘And, thank you,’ she added to the concierge as she walked away.

* * *

Callie avoided him the next day. His pride was piqued. However, everyone broke for lunch in the afternoon and congregated at the cookhouse. She was there, and they nodded to each other as they stood in line.

‘Luca.’

Her greeting was cool. She hadn’t appreciated his interference at the hotel, he gathered. He was hot from the fields, and hot for Callie, who had spent the morning in an air-conditioned facility the size of an aircraft hangar. Small, neat and clean, she slammed into his senses in her prim little buttoned-up blouse. Her denim shorts were short and they displayed her legs to perfection, as well as a suggestion of the curve of the bottom he’d caressed last night. That was all he needed before an afternoon’s work.

‘Excuse me, please,’ she said politely, waiting with her loaded tray to move past him.

The urge to ruffle those smooth feathers and make her wild with passion again was more than a passing thought. Weighing up the bandana he wore tied around his head to keep his crazy hair under control, she moved on to scrutinise the ancient top skimming his waist, though was careful not to look any lower. He took charge of her tray. Her gaze settled on his hands, and then his wrists, which were banded with leather studded with semi-precious stones, collected for him by the children of Fabrizio so he wouldn’t forget them while he was away. ‘I can manage, thank you,’ she said, trying to take the tray off him.

‘I’m sure you can,’ he agreed, ‘but sometimes it’s good to let people help you.’

Her brow pleated in thought as if she’d heard this somewhere before.

‘Are you staying on at the hotel, or have you found somewhere else to stay?’ he enquired lightly as he carried her tray to the table where Anita was waiting for Callie to join her.

‘Is that why you’re here? To question me?’ Callie probed with a penetrating look.

For a moment he couldn’t decide whether to shrug off her question or throw her over his shoulder like the caveman she thought him. He did know one thing. The tension between them couldn’t be sustained.

‘See you later,’ he said, turning to go.

‘Not if I see you first,’ she called teasingly after him.

A little frustration would do them both good, he decided. Ignoring the buzz of interest that accompanied him to the door, he saluted the chefs and left the cookhouse.

* * *

Infuriating man! How was it possible to feel so aroused, and yet control the impulse to jump on Luca and ravish him in front of everyone? Which was probably exactly how he expected her to feel. The tension in the cookhouse had been high, and made worse because people were obviously trying hard not to stare at them. She had tried to start a conversation with Anita, but couldn’t concentrate and kept losing her train of thought.

‘If you take my advice, you’ll get it over with,’ Anita advised, glancing at Callie with concern.

‘Get what over with?’ Callie demanded, frowning.

‘Sex. You need to sate yourself.’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Oh, come off it, Callie. You’ll be no good to anyone, least of all yourself, until you do.’

‘Anita, I’m shocked!’

‘No, you’re not, you’re frustrated,’ Anita argued. ‘No one would think any the worse of you if you glut yourself on that one.’ She glanced in the direction Luca had gone.

‘This isn’t an adult playground. It’s a place of work.’

‘Listen to yourself,’ Anita protested with a forkful of crisp, golden fries poised in front of her mouth. ‘Take precautions and don’t involve your heart. You’re here for adventure, aren’t you?’

It might be too late to do as Anita said, Callie reflected as she left the cookhouse ahead of her friend. Her heart was already involved. She couldn’t last a minute without wondering if she’d see Luca again soon.

Turning onto the dusty track leading through the lemon groves, she headed for the storage facility where she’d been working that morning, only to see Luca coming towards her.

‘Shall I show you a short cut?’ he offered.

A short cut to what? she wondered as he grinned and took hold of her hand.

* * *

It was no good. He couldn’t get through the afternoon without it, without her, without Callie, without being up against a tree kissing her as if they were the last couple on earth and time was running out fast.

‘Luca—we can’t—’

‘Yes, we can,’ he insisted. Pressing his body weight against her, he slowly moved his body against hers until she was sucking in great gulping sobs of frustration.

‘I need you,’ she gasped out.

‘I know,’ he whispered.

He found her with his hand over the rough, thick denim shorts and stroked firmly. He could feel her heat and his imagination supplied the rest. He couldn’t wait. Neither could she. They tore at her shorts together. Removing them quickly, he tossed them away. There was no time for kissing, or touching, or preparing, there was only this. He freed himself. She scrambled up him. He dipped at the knees and took her deep. She came violently after a few firm thrusts. Tearing at him with hands turned to claws, she threw back her head and howled out her pleasure as each powerful spasm gripped her. When he felt her muscles relax, and her hands lost their grip, he gave it to her again, fast and hard.

‘Yes!’ she cried out as he claimed her again. ‘More,’ she begged, blasting a fiercely demanding stare into his eyes.

‘You can have all you want,’ he promised as he worked her steadily towards the next release. ‘But not right now,’ he murmured, still thrusting, ‘because we have to go back to work.’

‘You’re joking.’ Her eyes widened. ‘How can I go back to work after this?’

‘That discipline we talked about?’

‘You talked about.’

He ended the argument with a few fast thrusts, and she screamed out her pleasure as they both claimed their most powerful release yet.

‘You’re right,’ she accepted groggily a long while after she’d quietened. ‘They’ll be short a team member if I don’t go back, and I can’t let everyone down.’

He could have sorted this out for her with a few words in the appropriate ear, but that would be taking advantage of his position, and so he huffed an accepting laugh and lowered her down to the ground. They were both bound by duty. Groping for his phone, he clicked it on to see the time. What he saw was a line of missed calls. Springing up, he dislodged her. ‘Sorry, I have to take this,’ he explained as he walked away. Sorting himself out as the call connected, he tucked the phone between ear and his shoulder and asked a few pertinent questions. Having cut the line, he beckoned to Callie. ‘Sorry, but there’s somewhere I have to be.’

‘Your afternoon shift?’ she queried, frowning.

‘Something like that, but I’ll have to leave the estate.’

‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ she asked, feeling his tension.

‘Nothing.’ He sounded abrupt, but there was no time for explanations.

Callie was hurt. She refused to meet his eyes. His sharp response had shocked her. And no wonder, when one minute they were totally absorbed in each other, even if that was up against a tree, and the next he couldn’t wait to leave. It couldn’t be helped. He’d see her again, if and when he came back.

* * *

She didn’t have much experience of love affairs, but she knew enough to know Luca’s behaviour wasn’t acceptable. His intended departure was brutal and sudden, and only went to prove she didn’t know the man she was with. She didn’t know him at all. Shame and humiliation swept over her in hot, ugly waves as he paced impatiently while she struggled to put on her shorts as fast as she could. For Luca it was just sex, necessary like eating and breathing, and now it was done, he couldn’t wait to leave.

What a mug I am, Callie thought as she pulled up her zipper. Even her well-used body mocked her as she dressed. It was so tender and still so responsive, while her mind continued to whirl in agitated spirals as she flashed glances at a man who seemed to have forgotten she existed. She’d been swept up in a fantasy, but as far as Luca was concerned they were two healthy adults who’d wanted sex. Now that was done there was nothing left. She couldn’t even be angry with him. She’d been a more than willing partner. She was just puzzled as to how they could seem so close, and now this.

She glanced at him. He glanced back, but only to check on her progress. There’d be no more conversation or confiding, no more intimate jokes. Smoothing her hair as best she could, she looked at the time on her phone and grimaced. She was already late for the afternoon shift and would have to take a shower before returning to work. It must have been her heavy sigh that prompted Luca to say, ‘There are facilities next to the building where you’re working. You’ll find everything there—towels, shampoo—’

Did he do this on a regular basis? Callie wondered. ‘Thanks.’ Why wouldn’t he? Luca came here every year. She couldn’t be the first woman to fall for his blistering charm. Her face flamed red as she pictured him with someone else. She’d thought they were special, which only went to prove how little she knew about men. She could understand he was in a hurry, but couldn’t there be just the slightest pleasantry between them, to allow for an exit with dignity?

‘So that’s it?’ she said as she checked her top was properly tucked in.

‘Should there be more?’ he demanded.

His response was the slap in the face she badly needed. Something had to bring her to her senses. Reality had landed. Hooray. He was right. What more should there be?

Callie was angry, but they were hardly at the stage where he could confide state secrets. She controlled herself well, but the tension in her jaw and the spark in her eyes told their own story. It couldn’t be helped. News of Max’s attempted coup was for his ears only. He strode on ahead as soon as Callie was ready. His mind was already elsewhere. Stabbing numbers into his cell, he told his staff to prepare the helicopter. He had to get to Fabrizio fast. He would just have time to shower and change before it arrived to pick him up. Max and his cronies had been causing trouble again, and, though they had been swiftly suppressed, the people of Fabrizio needed the reassurance of seeing their Prince.

‘So, you’re not even going to wait for me?’ Callie called after him.

He turned around, shrugged impatiently then kept on walking. She was no longer his priority. However much he might want her to be, he couldn’t put his own selfish pleasures first.

* * *

‘What’s got under your skin?’ Anita asked when the two women bumped into each other outside the shower block. ‘A man? One man in particular?’