A Player for A Princess: Dirty Players Duet #2 (20 page)

She blinks a few times, and I know she’s hearing me. Nothing has changed. She’ll trust whatever I tell her, and I take that responsibility very seriously.

I watch as she’s pulled away from me, into the crowd of dignitaries and debutants, and warm arms surround me from behind. Cal is at my back, his arms around my waist. I’m not the princess in this story. I’m no Cinderella. The good news is, it doesn’t matter. We’ve both found our happily ever after.

Z
elda’s head
is on my shoulder, and our beautiful baby girl is in her arms. Her little head is a halo of blonde hair, and my chest is so fucking full as I hold them both in my arms.

I sit beside Zelda in the hospital bed. Our newborn daughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Isabella Scott Livinia Wilder Tate of Dumaldi, is cleaned, fed, and sleeping, and I’m still trying to get my head around how we started this morning like any other day and ended it as parents.

After the royal wedding, we didn’t waste any time returning to Tortola and our villa. Ximena and Selena were so excited to see Zee. They had a little party with bouquets of hibiscus flowers and the most delicious, savory meal.

Ximena made cornbread cakes and a type of stew with shrimp and peppers, tomatoes and water chestnuts, and what appeared to be okra.

“Callaloo,” she called it.

Zelda had told me about the simple, yet incredibly delicious meals her friend would make for them every night in that wretched camp, but it was my first time experiencing one. Needless to say, she is now our head cook.

The three of them had stayed up chatting late into the night, catching up, while I’d retired early.

These days, I’m Monagasco’s ambassador to the West Indies and pretty much all the Caribbean islands, and as such, my time is spent meeting with local officials. I listen to and observe what is going on around the islands, analyze it, and discuss weekly with my brother.

It would sound like a cushy, made-up job, but after Zelda’s ordeal and the extended search, we decided it doesn’t hurt to have a network of friends in the area. Especially since it appears Totrington is ahead of us in that regard.

Zelda is enrolled in college—when she’s not accompanying me to dinners, charity events, and banquets around the islands. She has always tried to get Ava to get her degree, but I convinced her with her brains and nerves of steel, she should be a CEO somewhere.

She laughed, but I was only half joking.

So our days have fallen into the happy routine of me charming the pants off the dignitaries who’ve been duped into thinking Totrington is the better of our two countries, and Zelda is quietly learning how to conquer the business world.

Naturally, our evenings are spent with loads of hot sex, crack pizza, and our favorite movies. Why, just last night I’d been showing Zee how if she lay on her side and I got behind her at just the right angle, we didn’t even notice how giant our little princess had become as I fucked her sexy mother’s brains out.

Yes, the sex has been a challenge these last few weeks, but now look at us. We’re here in this executive hospital suite with our precious little life-changer in our arms.

“What are you thinking?” Zelda’s voice pulls me from my reflections.

I reach over and touch those pillow lips. “Just wow, look what you did,” I say softly.

She smiles, her blue eyes softening. “You had something to do with it.”

“Hell, I simply laid back and enjoyed the view.” I’m not kidding. Zelda is gorgeous when she’s getting off on me.

“She’s really beautiful, isn’t she?” Zee cuddles our sleeping princess closer against her, and I cover her tiny head with my palm.

“She has your hair. She seems to have your eyes. I can only pray to god she has your sexy lips…” As the words are leaving my mouth, something strange happens in my stomach.

“No,” I say, feeling suddenly angry at the little dick who might dare try to kiss my Belle. “Actually, I hope she looks like
my
mother. Right now. As in, the way my mother looks today.”

“MacCallum Lockwood Tate!” Zee’s voice is sharp, but when she sees my face she bursts into laughter.

“What?” I say, not finding the humor in this situation.

“Oh my god!” She laughs more, and I’m getting a little pissed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Does the over-protective daddy thing kick in that fast?” She’s looking up at me with those sexy blue eyes, and I lean down and cover her mouth with mine, sweeping my tongue inside to silence her sass.

“I guess it does, and I don’t give a shit.”

“She’s going to have to date, Cal.”

A frown pulls my lips. “We can discuss it when she’s thirty.”

“Beautiful Belle,” she smiles, cuddling her closer.

“You went with Belle,” I say, remembering the endless names crossed off and added and crossed off her list.

“She was always my favorite princess,” Zee whispers. “She likes to read.”

“She’s smart,” I agree. “For example, that spot right there on your breast? It’s very comfortable. I’ve slept there a few times myself.”

“Belle also has the sexiest prince.”

“Zelda Scott.” My voice is stern.

“MacCallum Lockwood.” Hers is a tease.

“Thirty,” I say, kissing her again as she giggles.

T
he arrival
of our bundle of joy increased the pressure on Zelda and me to tie the knot. Honestly, I’ve been ready to make her mine since the day I met her more than a year ago.

Finally, once Belle passed the three-month mark, Zee relented to Ava’s constant badgering and my mother’s not so subtle hints about how having a princess out of wedlock is not the Monagasco way…

The queen has no idea the reason we left Monagasco was so we could live as far as possible from my royal baggage. It’s the only reason Zee agreed to marry me in the first place.

God, I love this woman.

Now we’re bracing for the arrival of my family and a weekend of celebration and wedded bliss. Zee’s ready to climb back into her sexy saddle of love, and I’ve been impatiently waiting to have her beautiful body all over me again. Her long curls just grazing her dark, tight nipples…

Sorry. Distracted.

The big day is here. Zelda says it’s bad luck for me to see her before the wedding, so she has spent the last two days with her sister. I only shake my head—we’re so far past such things.

Still, it means Rowan and I have been able to catch up in a way we don’t normally get. We’d spent last night drinking and talking married life. Today, as we’re preparing for the ceremony, he’s more serious.

“I need to discuss something with you,” he says as I stand in front of the mirror, fiddling with the khaki tie Zelda picked out for us to wear.

“Linen wrinkles so fast,” I say looking down at my slacks.

“During the reception, let’s talk.”

I look over my shoulder at him. He’s wearing the same beige linen vest over shirtsleeves as me. But his steel blue eyes are worried.

“Definitely,” I say, giving him a nod.

We head out to the driftwood canopy strewn with white tulle and hibiscus flowers. A local pastor waits in the center, Ro is at my side, and I see Ximena in the front row dotting her eyes and holding our Belle. I give her a wink and she smiles.

The soft sounds of a local steel-drum band indicate it’s time to begin, and my stomach tightens. I haven’t seen my girl in two days, and I can’t imagine what she’s cooked up for me.

Ava precedes her down the aisle. She’s wearing a filmy green dress, strapless and short, and her dark hair swirls in the breeze. She’s very beautiful, and I give Rowan a glance. Yep, he’s transfixed. I do a little chuckle. Good to know.

The song changes, and I feel tightness in my throat. Shit, I’d better not cry like a fucking pussy. Still, I’ve wanted this woman to be mine for so damn long.

It’s sunset. The world is striped in pink, purple, blue, and gold, and Zelda appears at the top of the aisle. Her dress is made out of some kind of filmy material. I don’t even look at it. All I can see is her beautiful hair moving around her face. She has a little headband around her head. Her lips are that soft pink color, and her sexy legs are on full display. She’s a fucking goddess, and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

“Shit,” I whisper, and the pastor laughs.

It’s the only thing that breaks my focus. “Sorry,” I say, giving him a quick glance.

“No worries,” he says with a grin.

And she’s beside me. She’s standing here barefoot, and she seems so small. I don’t know how it’s possible, because Zelda Wilder has always been larger than life to me. She’s looking up at me, and I see the most amazing thing. Her blue eyes are glistening. They’re huge and warm, and so much love is spilling out to me from them. I want to skip all these words we’re supposed to say and pull her to me and kiss her long and hard.

But I control myself.

The friendly island pastor leads us through all the traditional vows. My mother, whom I’ve barely noticed sitting next to Ximena, is satisfied. We exchange our rings. I laugh as I slide the rose-gold wedding band over her prosthetic wooden finger. My pirate wife, Margo Tenenbaum. The band sits perfectly atop the engagement ring I gave her last year.

Finally, he gets to the part where he announces us as husband and wife, and I can kiss my beautiful bride. I hold her for a moment, looking over her face as the wind pushes her hair all around us. My eyes move from that slightly off-center line in her chin to her fuller upper lip I love to bite to those flashing blue eyes. Good god, how did this happen to me?

Holding her cheeks, I kiss her with all the love in my soul. The crowd erupts into applause around us, and we turn to face them. It’s time to party. Ximena has Belle for the night, and I want to love my woman until dawn.

The steel drum band plays “Waiting in Vain,” and I think of our reunion night at Bomba’s, her cute little buzzy self. She’s singing softly in my ear, and I love the sound of her voice. My hands slide over her smooth skin, and I close my eyes, holding her small body, a perfect fit to mine.

The song ends, and she smiles up at me. “You’ve made me so happy, MacCallum.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear, beautiful.” I touch her cheek, and the song changes. It’s another island favorite, and we laugh as our guests surround us to dance. Ava grabs Zee’s waist, and the two of them dance together. I step away to watch the show, and my brother catches my elbow.

“I’m sorry to bother you with this on your wedding day.” His voice is grave, and my military past instinctively triggers.

“What’s happening?”

“Let’s walk,” he says.

Together we stroll down to the enormous pit dug in the sand. A fire glows orange over embers, and several chairs and a canvass-covered sofa are positioned around it.

“I’m pleased with the job you’ve done establishing our position here,” he says. “Wade Paxton spent a lot of time cultivating ways to disappear in this area. I like knowing we’ve exposed all his secrets.”

“We’ve exposed a lot of them,” I correct, thinking of the one Paxton operative who continues to evade discovery.

“This appeared with my mail last week.” He hands a crude scrap of paper to me.

I unroll it, and it’s an old-school style message made up of letters cut from a magazine. It’s unsettling.

W
ade Paxton owed
me twenty million pounds sterling. I want my money. Instructions for delivery are pending. Don’t make me move on your family again. –B.

M
y stomach grows tighter
the more I read. “What the fuck?” I hiss. My muscles tweak, and I’m ready to fight. “Who else knows about this?”

“I’ve shown it to Reggie, Logan, and Freddie.” He looks back over his shoulder, and I follow his gaze. He’s thinking of Ava. “I will not let her be hurt.”

I watch the glowing orange flames dancing over the embers as I think. “Ava is stronger than you realize.” I remember how she found the rat at Occitan. “I’ll find this fucker, and I’ll take care of him. I’ll be sure he remembers every finger he’s ever cut.”

Rowan turns to me and smiles. “I knew you’d want to do the honors. Still, I’d be happy to have a few moments alone with him before you do your worst.”

“Done,” I say. “We’ll get on it tomorrow.”

His large hand covers my shoulder. “Enjoy your honeymoon first. Ava is safe at the palace for now. I just wanted you in the loop.”

I nod. “Have a Presidente—on me.”

He exhales a laugh. “You’re living the charmed life here. Sometimes I envy you.”

“It’s pretty fucking awesome.”

We walk slowly back toward the party. The band is taking a break and the music has changed to a techno dance number. Ava and Zee are holding hands and moving their hips, and they’re without a doubt the hottest sex kittens on the beach. Zee has Belle on her chest, and our little princess is blissfully sleeping through her mother’s celebrations.

The task before us notwithstanding, I’m warmed and happy with the way our story has unfolded. As leaders of a country, there will always be some fucker needing to be handled. So long as I’ve got the most beautiful woman in the world and my little angel at home, I’ll be good.

My player and my princess have made me the luckiest guy in the world.