Forbidden Desire (Maid for the Billionaire Prince) (7 page)

This is making me uncomfortable. Is she trying to bribe me? No wonder she didn’t want Jasper here. I’m aware that I shouldn’t embarrass her by saying no in front of all the shop girls, and yet I’m aware that this may be a test – she might want to gauge if I would deceive Alex in any way.

Oh, my head hurts!

I grip my fists and take a deep breath. Any move I make will probably be construed wrongly anyway, so I might as well be true to myself.

I try to make my voice as impartial as I can. “Claire, this is your family’s money and you can do what you like with it. I’m not going to go out of my way to say anything to your brother, but if he or your mother asks me, I would probably have to tell them the truth.”

There. She’s going to hate me forever now. But she already hates me, so what the heck.

Claire’s face is like a rock. She appears stunned, at least momentarily. I take it that no one aside from her mother has ever said no to her before. Anyway, I didn’t really say no. I just put the ball back on her court and maintained my position.

Her eyes narrow. She puts her fork down on the side table.

“I see. So that’s your stance.” Her mouth compresses in a flat, ugly line.

I nod. My heart is thudding hard against my ribs. Confrontation is always so hard for me.

“I won’t lie to your family, Claire. Not for anyone. Not even for your brother if he asked me to, and I don’t think he ever will.”

Silence. The women in the room exchange uncomfortable glances with each other and shift on their feet.

“Fine then.” Claire gets up. She stalks off and heads for the exit. She turns. “But don’t count on me to get your back next time.”

I don’t say anything.

As soon as she vanishes, a palpable cloud lifts from the room. The atmosphere lightens considerably.

Eve says in a low voice, “She’s not a good enemy to make,
ma cherie
.”

I sigh. “None of them are, but they already hate my guts anyway.”

She seems to ponder this, and then she brightens. “Come, let’s pick out something for you. A whole new trousseau, shall we? What do you say we begin with some suitable clothes to be photographed in?”

This is a cheery prospect. I can’t help smiling again despite everything.

“OK. But I insist on only one thing.”

“What is it?”

I wave my hand at the food spread. “Seeing as I’m not going to be eating all this alone, why don’t we all have a little bit of breakfast?”

The girls all eye each other in delight. I think they must have been up since five preparing all this for me.

“Are you sure?” Eva asks me, creasing her brow. “It has never been . . .
done
.”

“I’m pretty sure. There’s no one to spy on us anyway.”

A sprinkling of laughter and chatter now permeates the solemn room. I smile as the girls make a line for the buffet.

8

It’s a good thing I decided to wear one of the two piece suits I bought on Alex’s tab. It’s a cream-colored cashmere number, extremely well cut and a lot like something Kate Middleton would wear at a function (I think), only pricier.

“You have to find your own style,” Eva advises. “I’m here to guide you.”

She’s talking as if I’m a princess-in-waiting already.

I toss a laugh. “It’s too early to find my own style. Besides, I don’t know how this whole thing will pan out. You know . . . with Claire and her mother . . . ”

Eva nods. “Say no more. I completely understand. The royals may be a handful at times. Some of them are extremely spoilt. I daresay they need a little shakeup in their ranks because they are starting to lose touch with the common people. You are the breath of fresh air they need.”

“They don’t see it that way.”

“They should.”

I need to call Jasper to bring the car around, but I realize I don’t have his number because I wasn’t in the right mind to take it down before Claire sent him away.

“Don’t worry,” Eva says. “I’ll call him.”

She whips out her cellphone and dials. I can hear the distant ringing tone that emits from her phone.

“Mr. Jasper? Yes, she’s ready for her pickup. I’ll help her with the bags. Yes.” She beams at me. “You can go down to where he dropped you.”

I have bought enough clothes to fit into twelve large bags. Four of the girls – now well-fed and contented – volunteer to accompany Eva and me down the elevator.

We crowd into the small space. When we reach the basement, the elevator doors open to reveal Jasper, his expression as disdainful as always.

“I trust you have had a fruitful trip,” he says.

“Where’s Claire?” I ask.

“Is she not with you?”

“No.”

“I’m certain she has hitched another ride somewhere else, so I wouldn’t worry about her. Come.” He gestures to the Merc, which is rolling slowly towards us.

I take a step towards it, two large bags in either hand.

Everything happens so fast that Jasper and Eva are every bit as sucker punched as I am. There comes the sudden sound of two car doors opening. Two photographers rush out of a parked car on our right and begin snapping photos of us.

Jasper rushes in front to shield me, but it’s too late.

9

Woebegone, I stare at the front page headline of
Mundi
, the main newspaper of Moldolvia. It is in French, but the photo splashed there is of me, flanked by Eva and the four girls with all the paper bags – all clearly displaying the logos of Versace and Fendi and Jimmy Choo and everything else.

I can’t read French, but I know the headlines state:

“Mystery Woman Revealed to be a Maid. Goes on a shopping spree on taxpayer’s money.”

I’m shocked that they found out so much in such a short period of time. If I peruse the article further, I know the Google translation would reveal the phrases:

“Hotel maid”

“Poor”

“Using the prince’s money”

“Gold-digger”

“Trying to trap a prince”.

Oh shit.

Alex puts his arms around me from behind. “You can’t stop people from printing whatever they want. The trick is not to care.”

I sniffle. “You have to care about
some
headlines.”

I’m trying not to care, but I do. God help me, but I do.

“Well, some, but not every one. I’ve learned to tune it all out.” He turns me to face him. “Hey, why are you crying? There’s no need to cry.”

I can’t help the tears from spilling down my cheeks. We are in his bedroom, a tastefully decorated suite without the humungous walk-in closet.

“Alex, you don’t think I’m with you because of who you are, do you?” My voice trembles.

“Of course not.” He sounds indignant. “I was the one who made you come with me in the first place when you didn’t want to have anything else to do with me. I was the one who insisted you went shopping on my expense account. And it’s not the taxpayer’s money. I earn my own director fees and I have salary stipends like everyone else.”

I want to ask him something very, very badly, but I’m afraid of the answer. I wipe my tears off. No, it’s not the answer I’m afraid of, but of making him
lie
to me.

I ask it anyway because I’m a masochist.

“Alex . . . have you ever said ‘I love you’ to any other woman? Like . . . Tatiana, for instance?”

I quail inwardly, afraid to hear his reply.

His handsome forehead frowns. “No. Never. I would never say that to Tatiana. We weren’t even technically going out together. Why would you think that?”

I want so much to believe him and I
do
believe him. I shouldn’t have even let the doubt creep into my mind.

He presses me to him. His body is hard and his arms wrap themselves around me.

“You’re the only woman I’ve ever said those words to, and I’m being completely honest. We’re in this together, Liz, no matter what anyone says and how much they want to us to be apart. It’s not going to be easy.”

I bury my head against his chest. He’s got that right.

“Now tell me . . . who said that to you about Tatiana?” His voice is a comforting vibration within his chest.

I shake my head. I’m not a rat, despite of how cruel Claire has been to me.

Alex tips my chin up so that I can look at his face. “We’re going to show everyone that although we come from two different worlds, we can love each other and we can be together. Are you in this with me?”

His shining blue-green eyes regard mine. In the daylight filtering through his balcony doors, lighting his tousled hair into highlights, he has never looked more beautiful.

“Yes,” I say.

Oh yes. This is a man worth forging through the prejudices and heartache and bad press and conflicts. Because I love everything about him deeply. I love him for who he is and
in spite
of who he is.

“Good,” he says, smiling, “because we have one hell of a ride ahead of us.”

WORKS BY ARTEMIS HUNT

EROTIC ROMANCES

The ‘Inhumanly Handsome, Humanly Flawed Alpha Male’ series

A Virgin Enslaved

The ‘Maid for the Billionaire Prince’ series

Mysterious Desire

Forbidden Desire

ROMANCES

The Body Snatcher Wears Lipstick

Snow White and the Alien

EROTICA BY APHRODITE HUNT

The ‘Initiation’ series

Open Your Legs for Me

Blindfolded and Spread-eagled

Thighs Wide Apart

Teacher, Please Spread my Pussy

The Final Initiation

The Initiation: A Bundle of 5 Stories

The ‘Initiation 2’ series

Open Your Legs for my Family

Bend Over for my Family

Publicly Display Yourself for Me

Sex Slave at Sea

Paraded before the Billionaires

Sex Slave at the Auction

‘
The Royal Captive’ series

Prince Miro’s Capture

Prince Miro’s Submission

Prince Miro’s Enslavement

Prince Miro’s Punishment

Prince Miro’s Escape

Prince Miro’s Final Confrontation

The Royal Captive: Vol 1 to 3

The Royal Captive: Vol 4 to 6

The ‘Naughty Nymphomaniac’ series

I was a Naughty Nymphomaniac

Officer, Please Spread and Cuff Me

Gang Banged by the Chain Gang

Tempting the Hot Navy SEAL

The ‘Delicate Piercings’ series

Her First Clit Ring

Her First Clit Ring 2: Menage

The ‘Undercover’ series

Undercover: Exposing the Bad Doctor

Undercover: Stealing from the Sexy CEO

The ‘Alien’ series

Trapped with Sex-Starved Aliens

Trapped with Sex-Starved Aliens 2

Hot, Wet and Steamy
(individual stories)

When He’s Inside You

My Stepson is a Naughty Stripper

The Gorgeous Naked Man in my Storm Shelter (Erotic Suspense)

Dear reader, as this list is not always comprehensive due to more stories being churned out after this point in publishing, please visit
http://artemishunt.blogspot.com/
and
http://aphroditehunt.blogspot.com/
for more stories and updates. I write as Artemis Hunt for erotic romances and Aphrodite Hunt for pure erotica. So please be aware of what you’re getting into, dear reader, when you read one of my stories. Thank you so much for your support.

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ‘A VIRGIN ENSLAVED’, AN EROTIC ROMANCE NOVEL

I need this job.

I
really,
really need this job.

I sit on one of the plush leather seats across from the personal assistant’s desk. There’s no one behind this desk. However, the monitor hums with bright reproach and the desk is scattered with documents and folders as thick as my fist. A multicolored monogrammed Louis Vuitton tote bag sits on one side next to a bright vermillion thermos flask.