Page 4 of Regally Binding

Nana Bets lifted her chin and waved again. She curved her hand and smiled demurely at strangers. Liss’s phone buzzed with a message from Isla.

Isla:What is going on? Did Nana Bets fuck the King? That makesyou a princess or something, right?

Liss:I’ve no idea. She won’t tell me anything. I don’t know where we’re going, and I’ve got some hot-suited man next to me.

Isla:Tell me more. Which celeb does he look like?

Typical Isla. There wasn’t enough space in the tiny car to hide the phone from him and her nana, but he wasn’t paying attention to her anyway. She took a surreptitious look at him from beneath her lashes.

Liss:Maybe Tom Hardy, but when he was younger and without a full beard. He’s kinda hot if you like that sort of thing.

Which Liss secretly did even though both her exes were like preppy perfection with button-down shirts and smart jeans. Bear’s thighs widened further.

Isla:Would you fuck him?

Liss looked again. The stranger was more likely to feature in her unshareable fantasies than he was to get a right swipe from her. He stared straight ahead, oblivious to what she was typing.

Liss:God, no. And he’s a dickhead. He keeps mansplaying. He probably has a small dick, but he’s trying to pretend he has a footlong.

“I’ll take that.” Bear snatched her phone. His voice was so low it thrummed through the car.

“The hell you will! Give me my phone back.” Liss tried to grab it, but Bear slid it into his inside pocket. Had he seen what she’d typed?

“Nana,” she implored, “tell the man with a stupid name to give me my phone.”

“No, Felicity,” her nana said sharply before resuming her wave.

Liss opened her mouth, but Nana silenced her with a pointy finger. Instead, Liss studied Bear with a glare. He was big, the sort of man that little guys wanted to fight to prove something. His suit fitted his body perfectly, gripping every muscle pressing against her. The tailored outfit that displayed a subtle nod to wealth highlighted his biceps and trunk-like thighs. Liss sensed he wasn’t comfortable in it but couldn’t put her finger on why.

“I want my phone back.” She needed to keep Isla updated with her destination. She fixed him with a scowl, but he stared straight ahead. Adrenaline rushed through her limbs, and her fingers tingled. Although she’d never had a sibling, much to herdisappointment, she’d learnt via Isla and Steve how to annoy those close to you. “Are you a naturist, Bear? Is that why they call you Bear, Bear? Is it actually spelt B-A-R-E?”

But her digs hit his vast muscles and pinged off. She was still in fight-or-flight from the stress of the morning. Her nana’s attitude and unanswered questions made her jittery, and she poked his thigh with her fingers. Her chipped blue nail varnish was bright against his dark suit. Each prod met resistance. Not only did he have thick muscles, but his mansplaying thighs were taut as if he was tensing. She swallowed the saliva building up in her mouth.

Liss gritted her teeth against a sigh. She was supposed to be getting to him and not vice versa. Was it his muscles, the deep voice that climbed into her body, or her existing annoyance? Damn Isla for making her consider if she’d fuck him. The attraction freaked her out. Her hands were clammy, for goodness sake. She sighed dramatically, making the wisps of her hair falling from her ponytail jump in the air. She’d always crushed on big men with strapping bodies that could throw a woman around a bedroom. Not that she’d experienced it herself, but it was on her fantasy list. Aches pulsed in her belly, and sweat beaded the back of her neck. The guy was pissing her off, and she wanted a reaction from him.

“Is the naturist thing why you’re uncomfortable in a suit, Bear?”

Still nothing.

“So that’s a yes then, Bear. Do you know where we’re going? Give me my phone back, Bear.” Every time she said his name, she overemphasised it. The B was like a poke.

Bear’s only movement was widening his legs as if hinting at the package in his trousers while squishing her limbs tightly. With broad thighs and taut trousers, she couldn’t stop staring, even as he disregarded her space. It turned out her message toIsla was wrong. He did look bigger than she’d suggested. But the size of his package was irrelevant. She shouldn’t be attracted to this knobhead. She licked her lips and fisted her hands. Her body was intent on embarrassing her.

She side-eyed her nana, who was busy staring out the window while speaking on her mobile. In her faux upper-class accent, she was giddily telling someone called Sergio about the King’s announcement. She was so involved in her conversation that she was unaware of the drama next to her. Why was she allowed her phone?

Liss needed to get her phone back and control her growing lust. If asked, she’d explain her next tactic was because, once, her mum told her after a detention, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” But in truth, Bear’s widening thighs pressing against hers were doing things to her. She desired a reaction from him and couldn’t stop herself.

“Look, Bear. Maybe we can come to a deal.” She slid her hand down his thigh. His leg shuddered so subtly that she would have missed it if she hadn’t touched it. Liss fought the temptation to squeeze it to get a bigger response. She was supposed to get her phone back, not seduce a stranger.

He cleared his throat, and there was a teeny twitch to his right eye as he picked up her hand and popped it back on her lap. His hand was hot and coarse, like she fantasised a night with him would be.

Liss leaned into his ear. He smelt of aftershave, something with notes of wood and citrus. She was tempted to breathe him in and imagine his scent on her skin after a night of decadence. Fuck. It was too long since she had sex. Maybe that was why she was acting so out of character.

“Okay, so I need my phone. I don’t want my grandma to know why.” Liss sneaked a look at her nana, but she was still engrossed in her phone call, cackling loudly.

“I’m listening,” Bear grunted.

“The thing is, I sent this guy a picture of me in underwear an hour ago, and he hasn’t replied,” she confessed in a rush of words to the brooding stranger. She wasn’t this confident with strangers, yet his impenetrable persona made her want to poke the bear.

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