Royal Duties--Book Three Read online

  The little dog wiggled against the foreign leash as we opened the gate. “They won’t harm Baxter?” I asked, worrying for him.

  Xander shook his head. “They’re very well trained. But they get territorial about their food. As long as he doesn’t go near their bowls, he’ll be fine.”

  At the mention of food, Baxter’s ears pricked. His front paw began to scratch at his collar, trying to slip it off. “Baxter!” I said warningly. He looked at me, as if to say what, who me? and then pulled back sharply on the collar, using my own grip to slip the leather over his head. I looked on in horror as Baxter galloped straight for the line of food bowls.

  “Baxter!” I started after him, visions of the last time he had run from me still fresh in my mind.

  Xander held out an arm, pulling me up short. “You’d never get there in time. If things get bad, I know the command words to make the castle dogs stop.”

  My hands started to wring as Baxter reached the first bowl. He wolfed down its contents, and then proceeded on to the second, eating it so fast it scraped along the ground and knocked into the doghouse behind. The German Shepherd’s ears pricked up. It looked at Baxter and then sprung to its feet, growling. Baxter looked toward it, then moved onto the third bowl, eating even quicker.

  The dog leapt forward with a snarl. It was huge—the biggest, meanest looking dog I had ever seen. A scar ran down one side of its face. All activity in the yard paused.

  It stopped a few feet from Baxter, hackles raised, throat rumbling. I looked at Xander, but he shook his head, eyes intently watching the larger dog.

  Baxter had almost finished his third bowl. The German Shepherd drew back its lips in a snarl and then barked once. Even I understood that command—get away from my food, or I’ll hurt you. Baxter’s tail stopped wagging. He looked up, food hanging from the fur around his mouth. And then—I couldn’t believe it—Baxter’s hackles rose, and he snarled right back.

  The larger dog began barking furiously, spittle flying from its mouth. It snapped at Baxter with teeth almost as large as the little dog’s head. Baxter stood his ground before the food. Then he began to walk forward aggressively, teeth bared, a tiny rumble throbbing from deep at the back of his throat.

  The German Shepherd looked at him with confusion. Baxter took a step forward, ears flattened, food still dripping from his chin. He began to bark; a tiny, noisy ball of fluff standing up to a bully five times his size.

  The German Shepherd paused. Baxter took another step forward. There was crazy in the little dog’s eyes.

  The German Shepherd met the gaze, and then dipped it’s head and slunk away, tail between its legs.

  Baxter trotted back daintily to his meal.

  My mouth closed with a snap. Xander brought us both forward with a chuckle. “Dogs have a pack mentality. Baxter just had to show them who the Alpha was!”

  When Baxter had finished his third bowl, he promptly trotted over to the big German Shepherd, tail wagging, to play.

  * * *

  We left Baxter with the other dogs while we continued the tour—I figured the exercise would be good for him after the long plane ride yesterday and three bowls of food today. Our steps carried us down another long, stone corridor, this time lined with portraits of stiff faced kings and queens from ages past—Xander’s relatives, I realized as we walked.

  “Here, I want to show you something special,” he said, pausing before a beautiful dark oak door.

  “You mean the throne room wasn’t?”

  He shook his head. “Not like this. As a child, this was my favorite part of the castle.” He twisted the door handle and then motioned me inside. “The Royal Library,” he announced.

  My hand went to my heart. “It’s beautiful.”

  The library was two stories high, with an ornate gold balcony on the upper level that looked down upon a collection of books so vast it took my breath away. Many were leather bound, with gold lettering and thick spines, but here and there I could see manuscripts, and parchments, and what must be fragile works, displayed behind glass in airtight cases.

  I walked to one, admiring it, face pressed close. It was a huge old book written in beautiful flowing script, with intricate illustrations around the margins of each page.

  “A ninth century gospel,” said Xander, walking close. “Almost as old as the Book of Kells.” His hand unflicked the latch. “Would you like a closer look?”

  I pulled back in alarm. I didn’t know much about old books, but I did know they shouldn’t be touched. “You can’t just open the lid. What if it crumbles or something? It’s a priceless work of art!”

  He shrugged. “Only $23 Million at last valuation. There are many more valuable books in the room.”

  My eyes bulged. “That’s... that’s...” I sputtered. I couldn’t even comprehend that much money. I backed away from the case quickly, pressing up against a bookshelf behind. “That’s ludicrous.”

  Xander laughed, taking his hand from the latch. “We wouldn’t have picked it up—not without gloves at least.” Then his eyes twinkled. “Remind me to show you my childhood coloring book sometime.”

  I looked at him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Is it under a glass case too?”

  “It used to be, before it was my coloring book. After that it lost a considerable amount of value.”

  “I swear you’re going to give me a heart attack.”

  He walked toward me, backing me into a bookcase against one wall. His arm rested against the books above my shoulder. “I’ll give you something, my lady.”

  “Really?”

  “Did you honestly believe I brought you here to talk to you about boring old books?”

  “What did you want to show me then?” My body pressed back into his. Desire begin to flutter a message from my heart to my thighs. I could get lost in those eyes and drown.

  “A secret.”

  I raised an eyebrow

  “A secret I’ve never shown any woman before.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” I whispered. His lips against my neck were making it hard to think straight. “You’re... ah... too good for me to be your first.”

  His hand shifted slightly above me. His chest pressed against mine. “Au contraire mon bel amour. You will be the first.”

  “Will be?”

  He grinned. “I have something large I want you to see. Something that when pulled... just right,” his arm shifted again, “leads to a fabulous treasure.”

  He winked at me. I closed my eyes, head back against the shelf.

  The kiss I was expecting never came. Instead, the whole bookcase began to turn.

  Chapter Three

  I stumbled into a dark stone passage behind the bookshelf. “What just happened?”

  Xander chuckled. “You’ve discovered this castle’s secret passageways.”

  I blinked in the gloom. “Secret passageways? That’s not quite what I was expecting.”

  His hand slipped behind my back, pulling me into a deep kiss. When he broke away it left me breathless. “I know. That’s why I did it.” Then he took me by the hand.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see soon enough.”

  We walked hand in hand down the narrow passage. It was dry, with an atmosphere of disuse to it—the air smelled like a musty old cupboard. Here and there it branched in different directions, and at one stage a set of slender stairs tapered down into inky depths, but we continued straight, eventually coming to a blank stone wall.

  He pushed a discolored stone at waist height. The wall swung outward. Then he took my hand and helped me down into a pitch black room.

  “Where are we now?” I asked. Something clinked in the distance.

  Xander strode into the darkness. I heard the click of a light switch and then blinked in the sudden brightness. I gasped as my eyes adjusted. We were in the treasury.

  I stepped forward in wonder. The huge room was filled, wall to wall, with riches. Racks of gold bars lined one comple
te wall, multiple bricks deep. Shelves of exotic chalices, golden crests and gem studded relics lined another. Against the back wall hung a huge tapestry, and under that stood row upon row of polished suits of armor. Each one held a jeweled sword or shield

  I took another step. Something crunched, sliding, beneath my feet. I was standing on gold coins of every denomination, so thick they carpeted the floor, forming mounds across the room. “This is all yours?” I asked, looking around in astonishment.

  Xander nodded, stepping toward to a huge chest of gems nearby. There were many such chests scattered across the room, each containing a different sparkling color. “We keep our cash with the Reserve Bank of Alonia, but this is where we store our more physical treasures. He picked up a fistful of diamonds, letting it pour through his fingers. “Would you like one?”

  I frowned at him. “Be serious.”

  He shrugged. “I am! I’ve got plenty, and I’m always hearing in America about how they’re a girl’s best friend.”

  I smiled, moving to him. “You’re my best friend, you know that?”

  “I hope I’m more than that.”

  I stood on my toes to kiss him. “You are.”

  His arms wrapped around me, and then suddenly he was kissing me in a room that didn’t sparkle half as much as his eyes. The kiss grew deeper and more forceful. We parted, breathing hard.

  “So no-one knows we’re here?” I asked.

  “Correct.”

  “And no-one’s likely to come in any time soon?”

  “Correct again.”

  A look passed between us. We launched ourselves at each other, scrabbling to undo our clothing in a flurry of kisses. Xander’s shirt was free in a matter of heartbeats. He pulled my dress over my head. We stumbled backwards and fell onto a mound of coins, kissing.

  They scattered as Xander rolled on top of me. “What do we have here?”

  I was wearing a lace Agent Provocateur embroidered bra—pink, with a matching v-string, and it didn’t leave much to the imagination. “You should know, you bought it.”

  “If I own it, that means-”

  “Nuh-Uh,” I interrupted. That wild look was in his eyes. I’d seen it before. “You rip it and you get nothing, comprenez vous?”

  He slid down my body, kissing me as he went. “In that case...” His lips reached the lace lined edge of my panties. Then his breath tickled my inner thighs. “I’ll find other ways to get access.”

  His head dipped forward; snaring my panties and pulling them down with his teeth. They fell from his lips to the gold covered floor, and only then did he use his hands; sliding them back up my legs to gather possessively at my hips.

  His tongue followed more slowly, trailing up my inner thigh. I squirmed in pleasure as he hovered briefly over me, exhaling, then gasped as his lips sunk down.

  Shivers shot straight through my body, replaced almost instantly with something more—small tremors up my spine as his tongue began to flick back and forth at my most private of places. My hands clutched at the coins to my side. They tinkled as his deft tongue caused a particularly violent tremor.

  “That feels so good!” I moaned.

  His muffled reply made me moan again.

  This was the reason I had come to Alonia. The look in his eyes that said I meant everything to him, and all he wanted to do was make me happy. I was in a room of gold and gems, and all I wanted to do was make a bed with it.

  His tongue was dancing between my legs. My chest heaved faster and faster, the lace stretching over hard nipples to form two perfect buds that rose up and down in time to his movements.

  Every part of me was owned by the pleasure Xander alone could give. My hands reached to his head now, pressing him into me. I wanted to be devoured, consumed by his worship.

  My hips arched up to meet his lips. I began to buck and throw myself into him, riding his tongue. It paused. And then I felt it probe deep inside. I cried out in pleasure, trying to hold out for as long as I could, before soaring on a wave of ecstasy which I couldn’t resist. Wave after wave of pleasure zinged through me in delightful, bubbly bliss as I voiced my joy.

  I lay back when it was done, replete, upon my bed of gold. Xander rose to stand before me and I looked at him groggily. “OMG.”

  His hands went to his buckle, undoing it deftly. His pants slid down to reveal bulging Calvin Klein underwear. “We’re not done yet,” he said.

  A warmth returned to my thighs as his urgency was revealed beneath his briefs. I parted my legs, an invitation he quickly took.

  My eyes rolled back as he entered me, his hard length taking my breath away. We were making love on a pile of money, but my focus was on him—his warm body, his deep blue eyes, that cologne I still didn’t recognize, but which I was quickly coming to love. He pulled back, leaving me with naught but need, then thrust in once more. Pleasure zinged all the way to my toes. I gripped his shoulders as his hips drove urgently onwards, a piston pumping pleasure through me in ever increasing amounts.

  Our breathing sped up, my breasts sliding against his chest in my bra. He propped himself up, one hand kneading the material greedily. The look of lust only made me want him more.

  My hands went to his hips and then curved around his taut, firm buttocks. My fingers pulled him into me. Our motions got harder; our hips meeting furiously atop the bed of gold. It dug into my skin, his movements causing coins to cascade in a waterfall on each side, but I didn’t care. There was a buzzing in my heart that laced pleasure through my veins like a drug. I wanted more of it. So much more.

  I tried to control myself, but it was so hard! I could think of nothing but him entering me over and over, his gorgeous length transporting me to another place; a cliff that I could see approaching rapidly. A cliff that I no longer wanted to hold back from.

  His steel shaft swelled. And then he was bursting forth inside, inundating me with his pleasure. The release brought me rushing to my own precipice. I flew, soaring through the sky yet anchored to him in undulating rhythms.

  Coins tinkled down the considerably smaller pile when he lay beside me. “We’re going to have to fix this pile up before we leave,” I panted, still breathing heavy.

  He laughed easily, his body much more fit than mine. “Don’t bother; they weren’t in any sort of order to begin with. We needed several chests last year to transport gems for a display. I upended the gold to get at them.”

  His hands reached back to scoop a handful of gold coins and scatter them across my stomach. “I really should clean this all up sometime soon.”

  My eyebrows rose. “I’d be happy to help you spread the pile anytime you wish.”

  He kissed me tenderly, then rolled to his feet and pulled me up. “That sounds very nice indeed.”

  I dressed quickly, grateful that Xander hadn’t ripped this dress like he’d done so many others. When I looked up, he was standing before me, arms behind his back, a peculiar look on his face.

  “What?”

  “You look beautiful.”

  I waved him away. “You’re just saying that because I let you firetruck me on a pile of gems and jewelry.”

  He shook his head. “No, I was watching you—did you know you hum when you’re happy? Or that your hips wiggle every time you get dressed?”

  I blushed. “Stop it.”

  He stepped toward me, bringing his hands from behind his back. In one was a beautiful golden necklace. Its centerpiece was a dazzling teardrop diamond the size of my thumbnail. “I want you to have this.”

  I stepped backward, hand on my heart. “Xander, no.”

  He walked forward, insistent. “You’ve given up so much to come here Kate. Your whole life—and all on a whim and a prayer. Please, I insist. Take it as a token of how much you mean to me. As a symbol.”

  “Xander, it’s too expensive.”

  He gestured. “Look around and then say I can’t afford it.”

  “I can’t. It’s too much.”

  “This necklace is special. It would
mean a lot to me if you wore it,” he said. “More than you know.”

  I took the necklace hesitantly from his hands. “It... it is beautiful.”

  “Here,” he said, moving behind me. “Try it on.”

  The metal was cool against my skin and heavy round my neck. It felt... decadent, wearing something like this. I couldn’t take it, could I?

  Xander had insisted though...

  My hand went to the diamond, clasping it. “Tell you what, I’ll wear it on loan. I can’t accept it—it’s too much—but I can wear it as a symbol of what you mean to me.”

  He looked at me, considering, and then nodded. “We can discuss the ‘loan’ part at a later date. But for now your compromise pleases me.” He strode to the exit—a huge vault-like metal door that opened by spinning a wheel. “My lady?”

  It cracked open on heavy hinges and Xander backed out, holding the door open with a bow. I stepped outside, fingering the diamond at my chest. Then I smiled, leaning over to kiss him. “I should roll on piles of gold with you more often.”

  A cough sounded beyond the vault door. I looked up, and then dropped the diamond with a strangled choke. An older woman was waiting in the hall. An older woman with a regal air, and an honor guard on either side of her.

  Her fingers began to tap. “Hello Alexander,” she said, looking past me. “We need to talk.”

  Chapter Four

  “What do you mean you brought her with you!?”

  I’d been escorted away, but had lost the guards as soon as I could and doubled back. My ear was now pressed against a closed door, though I don’t know why I’d bothered—the Queen was screaming so loudly you could hear her throughout the castle.

  I heard something slam against a wall. Her fist, I surmised. “Your little ‘affair’ in America was one thing. But bringing her back here is quite another!”

  Xander’s voice was quiet. “I love her mother.”

  My heart filled with love for Xander. But his mother’s next words drained it.

  “Do you think that love has any place at all in the running of a kingdom?”