Page 6 of Royally Theirs (Risqué Royals)

“Morning, Chambers. Tell me... will we have time to hire a girl to pop out of a cake or some randy strippers for you before the big day?”

Glaring at him, I cannot hold back my grin. No, we do not have time for a bachelor party or much of anything leading to my wedding. My mother and Charlotte’s grandmother have planned the entire thing by now. All we need to do is show up and promise the rest of our lives to each other.

“Shut up. Let’s get down to business.”

An hour later with little business done because my cousin and best friend spent most of the time giving me a tough time, we call it meeting well spent. I let them get their digs at me. Dexter will be in the same position soon enough. Given no choice but to get married because our traditions demand.

“We just got word that Charlotte will be here within the hour,” Dom alerts me after I send Dexter off to his own province with a promise to visit.

Stopping in my tracks, I feel my heart stutter a bit. Within the hour? I have just one hour left before I face the woman I will call my wife? My feet move before I know where they will take me.

“Set up something in the library, Dom. I want to greet her there. Tea, some sweets, both my mother and her grandmother should be treated like the royalty they are. As for Charlotte,” I pause as I glance back at my confidant, “no one is to greet her before me. No one should see her before me, besides you, to get her to the library.”

A strange sense of possessiveness washes over me as I think of anyone else meeting my future wife before me. Dom told me she is beautiful, but I avoided looking at the photos he provided. He had gotten more than photos of her. He had put together an entire file about her likes, her dislikes, her hobbies, anything a man could want to know about his bride. I avoided all that data too, because I want to know the person, not what is down on paper.

Dominic hustles off as I take the steps to my quarters two at a time. I am nervous. I am never nervous. I guess today would be a good time to be with me meeting someone I will spend my life with for the first time. As I burst into my bedroom, the heavy doors slamming after me, I laugh aloud.

“I am excited,” I say to no one. “I want to meet her.”

Grinning to myself, I rush to my wardrobe to choose a suit. I do not want to intimidate her with my royal attire. Shrugging out of the gold and crimson jacket, I grab a slate gray suit. Pairing it with a pink tie because I recall Dom mentioning how she preferred pink, I shower, trim my beard neatly, and dress.

Standing in front of my floor to ceiling mirror, I take a good look at myself. I am a good-looking man, I suppose. Tall, stocky, witha thickmuscled build from my years playing rugby. With thick dark hair and a dark beard, I look like I could be king. I am glad that won’t ever happen.

“Time to meet your wife, Chambers,” I tell myself, fixing my ruby cufflinks and adjusting my tie.

Staring at my reflection, I imagine her there beside me. Golden hair waving down her back, a curvy figure with wide hips made for giving me an heir. I think about our wedding night. We will make love of course, even if we have just met. I will make sure it is good for her. I will be good to her.

Clearing my throat because I am suddenly looking forward to our wedding night, I rush from my room. I am still fussing with my cufflinks when I crash into someone. Grasping the soft body of whoever I collided with, I blink in the hallway’s darkness.

Now my throat feels dry. I am thirsty. I am dying for a drink of something. Because in my hands is the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on. Standing together in the hall, neither of us speak. Neither of us move—hell I am not sure either of us breathe.

Charlotte. My wife. Well, she will be my wife very soon. As I gaze down into deep blue eyes full of lightness I have never seen, I swallow again. There is something shimmering in those stunning eyes. Mirth. Warmth. And just a glimmer of excitement. To meet me? To be married to me?

“I am sorry, love,” I apologize as I gaze down at her.

“It’s my fault...I wandered off. Iamsupposed to be here,” she starts to stammer, her hands lying on my chest. Not pushing me away. Just resting there as my big hands wrap around her hips. Wide, thick hips that fit against me as I tug her closer. “Well, Iamsupposed to be here...but maybe notright here?”

Smirking down at her and her adorable nervous chatter, I breathe her in. Charlotte smells like fresh rain and the beautiful flowerbeds that fill our gardens. Not just one specific flower. Sweet and spicy scents, all of them together as she lets me hold her close.

“No, love you can go wherever you want. Were you looking for me? Or looking to avoid me?” I wonder, lifting a hand to brush golden waves away from her freckled face. God, she is beautiful. Her soft body presses more against mine as she takes a deep breath. I watch her eyes dilate, darken, stare up at me with that clever glint.

“A little bit of both. You know who I am?”

“My future wife,” I lower my head to whisper it against her ear, taking the chance to brush my lips at her pulse. It leaps beneath my touch, and I press a soft kiss there. Her body shudders and I bite back a groan.

Now I am very much looking forward to our wedding night. Part of me wants to gather her up and storm back to my bedroom. Forget tea and sweets with the others. I want her all to myself. I want her to see how good of a husband I will be to her in our bed.

“Chambers?” She whispers my name and I do groan. God, her eastern lilt is so sexy.What is she doing to me?

Being who I am has allowed me to meet some of the most beautiful women in the world. Exotic beauties from India and South Africa, proper debutantes from London or Wales. None of them, even the ones who tried to catch my eye, ever left me feeling the way I do right now.

Desire has stirred in me before, of course. Even with Dom, there have been some hot and heavy moments. I see no difference in who I enjoy in my bed. Man or woman, if I can please them and they can please me, it hardly matters, does it?

While I have had my fun, both with those exotic beauties, the regal ingénues, and even my best friend, I never gave them everything. I was always holding that for my wife. It is one of our traditions that mattered to me. That intimacy will be given to the future mother of my children.

“You found him, love,” I answer at last, my hands grasping her waist to pull her even closer. There is nothing but air between us and still, I want her closer. The sparks of pleasure I have felt with Dom is nothing compared to what I feel when she giggles and lets her tits press to my chest, her hands toying with my tie.

“I had no right to wander,” she tells me, her head tipped back so her eyes can meet mine. “I am just...finding out I am supposed to get married to a man I never met has made me forget my manners. I was not looking to avoid the inevitable. Maybe just postpone it for a bit?”

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