Page 46 of Some Like It Royal

Prentiss excused himself and Daniel circled around to block her from the rest of the room. He held out a handkerchief and she dabbed at her eyes again, trying to quell the unfamiliar tears.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He frowned.

“I’m fine. Really—I think I’m more than fine. I wasn’t—I wasn’t expecting anyone to approach me tonight, you know, not from him. He’s my cousin—third cousin once removed or something like that. I’ve lost track of how all that works. But he wants to meet me and more than that—” she held up the necklace, tears threatening again, “—whether I want to see him or not, he sent this as a token to acknowledge me as a member of the family and for my birthday.”

“Your birthday…” Daniel exhaled and she saw his pained look. He’d not realized. “When is it?”

“Oh, that’s not important. I don’t know why this is getting to me so much.” She really didn’t. Why should a stranger’s approval touch her so deeply?

Her thumb traced the crest. Before three months ago, before Daniel, she’d never heard of the Andraste royal line, much less imagined herself a part of it. She was a waitress working her ass off between auditions, an actress desperate to make her mark and break out of the fifty-dollar-a-day extra jobs.

Now she was the Grand Duchess Alyxandretta and none of Victor’s lessons could prepare her for the weight of that responsibility.

“Well, I beg to differ. It is important.” Daniel closed his hand over hers on the necklace. “In the meantime, contracts have been proposed and it’s up to Martin to hammer it all out. Want to run away with me for a while?”

She sniffled and grinned. “Running away to Beverly Hills isn’t exactly running away.”

“No—but I was thinking a little further. Ever been to Big Bear?”

Having repaired most of the tear damage, she shook her head slowly. “No.”

“Me either. Wanna go?” His eagerness must have been contagious, because she no sooner nodded than he threaded her arm through his and they cruised through the room. Quick pleasantries, glad handing a few executives and they were at the door, claiming her wrap.

As she stepped into the elevator, she caught sight of Prentiss’s gentle smile and he lifted his wineglass in quiet salute. She inclined her head and let out a squeaky breath as the doors whooshed closed.

As if by mutual consent, Daniel caught her face in his hands and his lips slanted over hers, a hot salty kiss that smashed through the wobbly barriers, already raw from the grand duke’s invitation and Daniel’s success. She clung to him, arms twining around his shoulders. A clatter of noise pushed between them as the doors opened and a couple of photographers snapped their photos. The flashes dazzled her eyes. Daniel lifted his head with a mild oath and tucked her into his side.

Building security appeared and escorted the photographers away, but more waited in front of the building. The flashes cut through the dark evening and she hid her face against Daniel’s shoulder as he guided them through the throng and to the open door of the limo. The driver closed them in and hurried around to pull away.

“Holy crap.” She glanced back at the crowd on the sidewalk.

“Yeah, I know. But let’s forget them.” Daniel grinned and tugged her to him. She met his lips with a sigh and dropped the necklace box onto the seat. He palmed the privacy control and the window to the driver slid shut. When his hands shaped over her breasts, she let out a little moan.

“In the car?” Breathless laughter rose up. She was still seeing stars from the flashes.

“Oh, yeah. In the car. On the car.” A zipper on the side of her dress gave way and he hiked her skirt up. Dampness flooded between her legs and she could feel the weight of his erection pressing up to her as he tugged her onto his lap. “Right here. Right now.”

“But the driver—” This was insane. They’d just been in the middle of a formal party and the grand duke sent someone to approach her. Everything about that event had been foreign to her just weeks earlier.

He cut her off with another tongue-thrusting kiss. She forgot about the necklace, the photographers and the driver. It took a little juggling to get his pants open and she teased his cock as she helped him into a condom. There was something so lovely about the silken heat of his skin as she rolled the condom into place.

Once it was fitted to him, he closed his hand over hers and she rose a little higher so they could line his cock up. There was a little jolt and she bumped her head against the roof before she could sink down. Still laughing, she made a face at Daniel and then he was inside of her, stretching her perfectly.

“The driver,” she gasped out in between kisses. “Is he going to know?”

“Who cares?” He palmed her breast as he thrust upward. Pleasure licked lazy flames through her as she braced her hands against his shoulders. “He’s paid by the hour. He can drive us around all night.”

That pulled another laugh from her. “Pretty sure Victor would frown at the etiquette.” His next thrust upward pushed the air from her lungs.

“Do you want me to stop?” The question whispered against her lips sent a cascade of feeling through her.

“Absolutely not,” she said, her tone probably sharper than it needed to be. Then again, she also fisted his hair as she rolled her hips, taking her cue for the rhythm from him.

“Thank God,” he muttered.

“Daniel…” But his kiss swallowed the rest of her words.

I love you.

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