A Bodyguard For The Princess (A Bad Boy Romance) (23 page)

“I told you,” Daphne said and took the cell phone Matt pulled from his pocket. “Dion and Ambrose kidnapped me last night and plastered those photos all over the news. He was going to kill me.”

“It’s all lies!” Dion yelled, but Matt shook him hard enough for his teeth to rattle.

Alexandria’s hand covered her mouth as Calix’s opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Daphne… What are you saying? This is madness! He’s your cousin!”

“And he wants the throne,” she argued angrily. “You know this—both of you do.”

“I don’t understand,” Alexandria whispered. “Daphne, we would have known if you were kidnapped.”

“Obviously not,” she said gently, trying to reign in her rage. “You’ve been too busy controlling my life to realize the actual danger I was in.” She tossed the phone to Jeremiah. “Play the file that’s up, and make sure everyone can hear it.”

Jeremiah bowed his head and hurried to the computers behind him. Calix and Alexandria closed in around their daughter, asking her if she was really alright and what she was talking about. They didn’t believe it was possible for something so horrible to happen after all they had done to protect her, but she told them to be quiet and listen. Jeremiah turned the audio up, and the room was filled with Ambrose’s last few words to Daphne.

The second they heard him say Dion had ordered him to kill Daphne, Calix turned to his nephew and Daphne saw him hit a new level of rage. The audio cut off right after she’d been slapped across the face again, her mother wincing at the sound, and Calix charged at Dion.

“You greedy little cretin! You were going to kill my daughter!”

“Your king is speaking to you,” Matt snarled and gave Dion another good shake.

He spat at Calix’s feet and cackled but didn’t speak. He didn’t get a chance. Calix brought his fist back and hit Dion hard enough to knock him unconscious. Matt let his body slump to the floor, and Alexandria called for one of the guards to find Agnes.

“Daphne,” she said gently, taking her daughter’s hand. Tears filled her eyes as she cupped her cheek. “I’m so sorry… We thought… We just assumed you ran off.”

Daphne smiled at her mom but stepped backwards. “I’ve wanted to—so many times, I’ve wanted to just leave.”

Alexandria and Calix stared at her, wide-eyed. “But you’re in line for the throne. You’re the princess,” her mother argued.

“Yes, of a kingdom which believes I’m a shut-in because of you two.” She took a deep breath and tugged her earlobe. Alexandria automatically reached up to stop it, and Daphne swatted her hand away. “No, I’m done being controlled by you. I know it hurt when Marietta died, but you locked me away. You took over my life. I won’t allow it anymore.”

“Oh, Daphne, stop this,” Calix huffed. “We did nothing of the sort.”

“Sorry, but you did,” Dorian said, stepping forward. “I live out there. I hear what everyone says, and they all believed Dion would make a better heir because of your actions.”

Alexandria laughed nervously. “No, that’s not possible.”

“Will you stop thinking you’re right all the time?” Daphne yelled. “Jesus!”

“Is that why you slept with this man?” Calix growled and pointed accusingly at Matt.

“That man saved my life, Dad, and I love him,” Daphne admitted. “I love him, and whether you like it or not, I’m going to be with him.” She held out her hand, and Matt immediately took it, moving to stand by her side.

“You can’t,” Calix commanded. “I won’t allow it.”

“The hell you won’t,” Matt snapped. “I won’t give you a choice.”

“And I don’t care anymore,” Daphne said gently, gaining strength from Matt. He showed her what she wanted from life and who she could be. Nothing was going to stop her from getting it, and even if they tried to keep her, the look on Matt’s face said he’d take them all on and take her away, no matter what. “You either get me with Matt and a change of how things are done here, or you find a new heir.” Her parents could only stare, both at a loss for words, and Daphne let out a deep sigh of relief. “While you decide, I’m going on a small vacation with Matt. I’ll be at our private estate in the Caribbean. You can find me there once you’ve made up your minds.”

Alexandria stretched forward and pulled her daughter into a hug. “Daphne, my sweet girl, I’m sorry. Please stay, we can work this out,” she begged.

Daphne pushed her away, kissed her cheek, and said they could call her but she was leaving. “And I suggest you send someone down to the docks to fetch Ambrose’s body,” she added. “Might find a few other things of interest as well.”

“No,” Calix argued, moving towards her. “I forbid this!”

Matt stepped between him and his daughter. He didn’t say a single word, but Daphne knew exactly what her dad saw as he took a hurried step backwards, his face showing uncertainty and fear. Matt backed off, slowly, and turned his back on the king and queen.

Matt smirked at her and asked, “Are you ready to go?”

“To start a life with you?”

“I’m not letting you go back on your answer,” he said and kissed her knuckles sweetly.

“Wasn’t planning on it. Let’s go. We have a plane to catch.” And together, they strode out of the surveillance room, down the corridor, and out of the palace. A weight lifted from Daphne’s chest, and for the first time in her adult life, she knew no matter what came next, she’d handle it with Matt by her side, holding her heart as she held his.

Epilogue

Two Months Later

The sand was warm and soft beneath her feet as she curled her toes into it. Daphne took a deep breath of the ocean air, the wind blowing her hair back around her head. After two months of being alone on the private Eridian estate with Matt, she was far more relaxed than she’d ever been. Every day was a new adventure somewhere around the islands. And every night they explored each other’s bodies, taking their pleasure to new heights until they passed out in each other’s arms.

Then there was the wedding that took place on the beach only a week ago. Daphne grinned, glancing down at the simple sapphire and diamond ring on her finger, sparkling in the setting sun. She’d informed her parents of her decision, and though they’d tried to convince her to wait, she refused. This was her life, and it was time she started living it.

Two strong arms closed around her, and she leaned back into Matt’s warm body, his chest bare from another long day spent on the beach.

“Sunset is beautiful tonight,” she mused.

“I wasn’t watching the sunset,” he whispered in her ear and kissed her earlobe. “The dress I picked out for you is stunning.”

“Course you’d say that,” she said with a laugh, though she couldn’t deny it. The dress hugged her body in all the right places, the blue fabric showing off her hips and full breasts. It was easy enough to remove too, another reason he picked the style.

He breathed her in, and she shivered as his hands bunched in the dress, hiking it up higher each time. “The water looks quite enticing tonight.”

“Is that right?” she said breathlessly as he pulled the ties free at the halter neck. “Matt.”

“Yes?” he whispered and let the top of her dress come free before he turned her around and kissed her, teasing her with his tongue. She dug her hands into his soft hair, groaning when his mouth moved lower and the dark beard he let grow in rubbed against her nipples.

“Matt, there’s something… something I want to tell you,” she said and pulled his head back up.

“The king and queen have come to a decision?”

“No, not at the moment. They’re still cleaning up Dion’s mess,” she told him. “Something else—about us.”

He frowned, eyes searching her face. “Daphne? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” She beamed at him. Taking his hands, she moved them down to her belly and held them there. “Something new.” She watched his face go blank. Then his face lit up as he sank to his knees in the sand and hugged her to him.

“You’re pregnant?”

“Yes, we are,” she said and laughed when he kissed her belly gently. “Are you alright with that?”

Finding his feet, he kissed her fiercely, setting her blood on fire as he always did. “You have no idea, love,” he said and scooped her up into his arms. But he didn’t turn back for the manor but headed for the waves instead.

“Matt, the dress,” she giggled as he kissed her again. “It’ll get ruined.”

“Then let it get ruined,” he whispered, and the intense love filling his smoldering gaze left her breathless and aching for his touch. “I’m going to make love to my wife until the damn sun comes up again.”

Daphne wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer, their tongues dancing as he stepped into the water and it surrounded their bodies. As they floated out in the clear blue waves, their laughter turned to cries of passion, sharing their love with the sunset and the stars appearing on the horizon. This was what it meant to live, and Daphne was going to soak in every second of it.

Bonus Book #1

FLING

(A Stepbrother

Romance Novella)

By

Mia Carson

COPYRIGHT © 2016

All Rights Reserved

Annie

After a whole month of going on and on about this guy she had met online, Mom finally told me she wanted me to meet him. All of my efforts to get her out there and talking to people had finally paid off! Last Monday she called me, and her tone told me everything I needed to know.

“Annie, you have to come home this weekend,” she said, and honestly, I almost didn't recognize her voice. “There's someone important I really want you to meet.” It was a bit out of the blue, but I agreed, of course.

I made the necessary arrangements and packed a small bag with what I needed to spend a weekend away from my apartment. If it had been anyone other than my mom, I would have been annoyed at the short notice, but I hardly ever visited her anymore, and I knew she was lonely in the house all by herself, even though she pretended it didn't bother her. Mom knew how I was about not having enough time to prepare for something, too, so this guy must have been something if she was so desperate for me to come out.

Thankfully, it wasn't a long trip from my apartment to my childhood home. I'd been lucky enough to not get moved around from house to house and parent to parent. Dad had left, and Mom had done everything she could to make sure she kept the house. I didn't realize how grateful I was for it until I met people in high school and college who had moved from house to apartment and back again and never spent more than a few years in a single school district. I'd been able to keep the same friends from elementary school through college, though, of course, life had pulled some of us apart.

I liked the drive home, unless the weather was bad, and it definitely wasn't. It was a beautiful spring day, and I had pumped myself full of allergy pills so I could drive with the windows down, the radio up, and the wind whipping through my hair. When I left my apartment, it had been a bit nippy, but my body adjusted to the temperature. I didn't mind the little goose bumps that popped up on my arms. Besides, I had a jacket if I needed one, packed away in my suitcase along with jeans, t-shirts, a sweater, and one nice outfit in case Mom wanted to take her mystery man and me out for dinner, which sounded like something she would do. I hoped she would at least let her date pay for the meal. I hated the thought of someone freeloading off of her.

About forty-five minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of my mom's house and parked carefully next to Mom's beat-up old minivan. There was a little scratch on the back sliding door where I had clipped a mailbox as a teenager. Fondly, I ran my finger along it, then grabbed my bag out of my car. Mom had left the door unlocked for me.

Almost as soon as I stepped into the hall, there was a cat winding around my ankles. I couldn't pet Fred with my hands full, so I nudged him away and called out for Mom. No answer. Probably out gardening. I was surprised she hadn't heard me pull in. My car wasn't exactly the quietest on the road. I nearly tripped over the cat going up the stairs as he raced up ahead of me and stopped at the top to watch as I hauled my suitcase up behind me one step at a time and down the hall into my old bedroom.

Mom had cleaned it after I moved out, and of course, I took all my things with me, but it didn't look much different. My old dresser and mirror, both too big to fit in my new bedroom, hadn't been moved, and neither had my old bed, which was too small to bother taking. At least Mom had put away my old—and rather embarrassing at this point—Disney sheets and put a far more neutral bedspread on the bed. I hoisted my bag onto the bed, which was immediately inspected by a very curious Fred. I left him to his own devices while I went back downstairs to find Mom.

As I thought, she was out in the back garden. She hadn't had much of a green thumb when she started after the divorce, but Mom wasn't the kind of person to give up easily. I used to help her when I was little, but sadly, I never really got the hang of it. That didn't stop her from putting me to work pulling weeds, though. There was even an extra pair of gloves waiting for me in her tool bucket. I slid them on and flexed my fingers, then walked over to the flower bed where she worked.