Keeping My Prince Charming (3 page)

Chapter Four

Xavier

I watched as Lola slept, and I marveled at how easily I’d come to my decision. She loved me. I’d seen it in her eyes when I’d gone into the bathroom. She loved me and I loved her. She was mine and I was going to risk everything to get my revenge. I was going to risk my heart for power. I’d seen the love that she had for me in her eyes. I knew that she wanted me. I knew that she was intrigued by me. I’d known it from the first time I’d seen her in the gallery. This wasn’t what I’d planned on happening when I’d gone to London, but it felt like poetic justice. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I was going to accept the invitation to the grand ball. I was going to accept it, and I was going to enter the challenge. I was going to become the most powerful man in Europe. I just had to make sure that I didn’t sacrifice Lola’s heart, or my own, for my second chance at power.

Chapter Five

Lola

I arose before the sun and quickly packed up my things. My heart felt heavy as I gazed at a still sleeping Xavier. I was going to leave. I knew that I wasn’t right for his world. I couldn’t keep playing these games with him. I didn’t want to feel used and unappreciated. I didn’t want to be the woman who started accepting unacceptable behavior because I was so consumed by the feelings that exploded in my heart every time he smiled at me or said my name. I was Lola Franklin, for heaven’s sake. I was the girl who had vowed never to let a man change who I was or what I would accept in a relationship. I wanted it all, or nothing at all. I wanted to be loved like nobody had been loved before. I wanted Xavier’s sun to rise and fall with my smile. I wanted to be his world. I wanted him to look at me and feel like he couldn’t go on without me by his side. I wanted to be his everything. The yin to his yang. The light to his darkness. I wanted to be
the one
. My heart ached for the want that struggled to remain silent in my heart. I crept toward the door softly, my brain not thinking about how I would leave the palace. I just needed to leave this room first. My heart raced as I edged closer and closer to the door. My hand reached for the doorknob, and I was about to turn it when I felt a hand on my back.

“Arrgh!” I screamed and turned around, my heart racing. “What are you doing?” I asked him, annoyed that he’d crept up on me. “I didn’t even hear you behind me.”

“I guess I can be quiet as a mouse as well,” he said in a low growl, his eyes narrowed as he stared at me.

“What does that mean?” I squeaked out, my head dropping down his body and staring at him in all his naked glory. I swallowed hard as I took in his tan muscles and manhood. How glorious and perfect his body was. It wasn’t fair. Not only was he handsome and sexy, but he also knew how to use every inch of what he had to make me feel like I was the only woman in the world when he made love to me. “Am I the Tom to your Jerry, or are you the Jerry to my Tom?” I spoke again, feeling nervous as I waited for a response.

“You think this is a game?” There was a lilt to his voice that I hadn’t heard before and I shook my head slowly.

“I don’t think this is a game.”

“What is it you want from me, Lola?” He touched the side of my face softly.

“What is it I want from you? You’re the one that—”

“You were going to leave without saying goodbye?” He frowned and stared at the bag in my hand. His voice was accusing as he stared into my eyes. “You were just going to fuck me and leave me?”

“Xavier.” I blushed at the crudeness of his words.

“Yes?”

“That’s not what was happening.” I frowned and sighed. “Look, I don’t want to do this anymore.” I bit my lower lip. “What you said yesterday, you were right. I don’t want to be in this world. I don’t want to play these games. I don’t want to be used or feel like I’m a pawn in a game you’re playing with your friends and family.”

“You think I’ve been using you as a pawn?” He was angry now, and I swallowed hard.

“I don’t know,” I said softly. “I just don’t know anymore. I guess we can talk–”

“Enough!” His voice was loud and abrupt. “I’m done talking.”

“So what do we do now?” I took a step back and felt the door behind me.

“What do you think?” He took a step toward me and I felt his hardness against my stomach as he leaned into me, his face hovering above mine.

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking,” I said childishly, and his eyes narrowed again. His green eyes surveyed me in annoyance and I found it hard to look away from their sparkling brilliance.

“Now you receive your punishment.” He grabbed my wrists and pulled them above my head and back against the door.

“My punishment?” I swallowed hard and he grabbed my bag from my hand and dropped it onto the ground. “Punishment for what?”

“Trying to leave.” He growled again and I felt his tongue on my neck as his hands slid down the side of my body, stopping at my waist and working their way back up again.

“You’re going to give me a punishment for trying to leave?” I licked my lips as his hands caressed the curve of my breasts.

“Don’t you think you deserve one?” His fingers pinched my nipples and I moaned. Xavier smiled at the sound and leaned down and whispered in my ear.

“Are you ready?” His tone was soft and his breath tickled my inner ear. I moved against him slightly and he held my body more firmly against the door.

“Ready for my punishment?” I whispered, my mind filling with ideas of what he had planned. What would his punishment be? My legs tingled as I thought of all the things he might do to me. I groaned as I realized that I was turned on by the thought of doing some kinky-ass shit with Xavier. All thoughts of leaving right away had fled from my mind.

“Yes, your punishment.”

“Punishment for leaving?” I gazed into his eyes, challenging him. “I can’t leave? Is this a prison? Am I your prisoner? Am I your sex slave, Xavier?”

“What do you think, Lola?” His lips pressed against mine and he kissed me hard. I stood there, still as a statue, doing everything in my power to stop myself from kissing him. He pulled away from me after a few seconds, looking annoyed that I hadn’t kissed him back.

“What are you going to do to me?” I whispered, my mind imagining myself laid out on his bed with my ass in the air as he spanked me. I stifled another groan as I realized that would be a punishment I might be quite fond of.

“I think that’s for me to know...” He grabbed my arms and pulled me against him tight. His arms wrapped around my waist and I felt my breasts crushed against his chest and I could feel his cock wiggling against my stomach.

“Xavier.” I swallowed. “What are you doing?”

“Lola, that’s my question for you. What is it that you think you’re doing? Do you think I’m just going to let you walk out of here?” He stepped back from me suddenly and I felt bereft without his warm touch next to me.

“I just thought it would be better if I left before you woke up.”

“Better in what way?” He shook his head. “Do you think that the guard wouldn’t call me as soon as you walked downstairs? Did you really think you could just leave and never see me again?” His eyes searched my face. “And more importantly, is that what you wanted?”

“I...Xavier...I…” My voice croaked as I stared at him in confusion.

“I love you, Lola. I love you.” He grabbed my face and kissed me softly. “Don’t you understand that that’s why I don’t want you to leave? Don’t you understand that that’s why I need you to be with me?”

“You love me?” I said in shock and shook my head. “You’re just saying that.”

“I never just say anything.” He shook his head. “I love you and I’m going to show you exactly what that means. I’m going to show you exactly what it means to be mine.”

“What are you going to do to me, Xavier?” I said anxiously, my knees weakening at his words. He pulled me back away from the door and toward the bed, and I watched as he pulled out some candles from a drawer and lit them and placed them around the room. And then suddenly, I could hear the sounds of jazz playing from hidden speakers in the corners of the room.

“Xavier, what are you going to do?” I gasped, wondering what was going to happen next.

“What am I not going to do?” He grabbed my wrists and spun me around. “I’m going to show every inch of you exactly who I am and why I do what I do. I’m going to make every fiber of your body wonder where I’ve been all of your life. And I’m going to show you through words and actions just how much I love you.”

“You can try to do that, I suppose,” I said flippantly, my stomach churning in excitement. I could hardly believe that this moment was real. It was something I’d never expected to happen.

“Oh, I’m going to do more than try.” His voice dropped. “I’m Xavier Van Romerius. I’m the Crown Prince of Romerius and I’m going to make sure that you never forget that.”

“Or what?” I said softly, my heart racing as I saw the handcuffs suddenly appear in his hands.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” His green eyes danced as he placed one of the metal cuffs over my right wrist. My breath caught as his eyes darkened and he leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “ "No one leaves me, Lola, no one. You were going to try to leave earlier, but I’m glad that I woke up before you left. I’m going to show you exactly what a prince does to his lady-love, in the privacy of his room.”

“I didn’t leave.” I swallowed hard. “You caught me before I left.”

“And?” His eyes darkened.

“Is this...” I stumbled on the words as I spoke. I didn’t know how to ask him if this was about love or sex. Did he really love me or did he just want my body? Was I just a possession to him?

“Is there something you want to ask me, Lola?” Xavier pushed me back onto the bed and sat down. His naked tanned chest teased me with its sexiness and I swallowed hard as I stared up at him.

“No, why would you think I wanted to ask you something?”

“I sense your emotions. I sense how you feel.” And then he laughed. “And you were just about to ask me something. What are you feeling, Lola?”

“I’m not feeling anything,” I lied.

“I want to tell you something. I need to tell you that there is no such thing as true love, Lola. People come and go from your life. You can’t count on anyone being true to you, other than you.” His eyes burned into mine. “So you must always speak your mind and live for the here and now. You never know what will happen in life.”

“That’s sad that you feel that way, Xavier.” I spoke softly, my heart breaking at his words. “I believe in true love. I believe in one person loving another so much that they won’t let anything get in their way.” I licked my lips as he lay down next to me. “So what, then, do your words of love mean? Do you love me for me, or do you just want something from me?”

“Don’t be a fool. Look around you, Lola. Everyone wants something. No one does anything just to be nice. No one loves someone for no reason at all.”

“I do,” I said, my heart breaking as I gazed at him. “I love you simply because you are you.”

He stared at me then, his green eyes darkening at the look on my face. I could tell that I’d unnerved him. I could tell that that wasn’t the response he’d wanted or expected to hear.

“I’m not good enough for you, Lola. I can’t give you what you need and deserve.” His voice broke as he spoke. “The path I’m on isn’t for someone like you. I wish that it wasn't true, but it is. I do not deserve you.” He jumped off of the bed and looked at me in anguish.

“What path is that?”

“The path of absolution.” His gaze darkened. “The path of change.”

“Who do you want to change?”

“I want to change the roles royals play in Europe. I want to create a new history.”

“You think you can change the royal families of Europe?” I gazed at him, somewhat confused at what this had to do with his loving me and not believing in happily ever after.

“I have to change them,” he said softly. “It’s a dark history we have. If I could tell you stories of truth, if I could tell you things that people have done in the name of power…if I could tell you, then you would understand.”

“What things, Xavier?”

“Rapes, murders, slavery.” He leaned forward. “Casper’s line has a history of evil.”

“Isn’t Casper’s family related to yours, though?” I frowned.

“Not by blood.” He shook his head and his eyes darkened with anger as he thought of his cousin. “I hate him for what he tried to do to you. When he had you in that room, Lola, I was so scared. I thought he was going to do something bad, something horrible. Something that would have made me kill him.”

“What did you think he was going to do?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He shook his head. “It isn’t something I want you to think about.”

“Did you think he was going to rape me? Or did you think I would assent to his advances?” My voice was soft. “And which one would have been worse to you?”

Xavier glowered at me and ignored my question as he continued talking. “He wants to initiate Tarquin into his world and into the parties.”

“I thought only the oldest brothers could attend those parties?”

“Casper makes the rules. He can change them as he pleases.”

“What does he want to initiate Tarquin into?”

“The Society of Brothers,” Xavier said and rubbed his forehead. He grimaced as he looked at me. “I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”

“I’m glad you’re telling me,” I said softly. “Do you really love me, Xavier?”

“I do.” He nodded and groaned. “I’m a fool, but I do.”

“Do you trust me?” I said slowly, my eyes not leaving his.

“I do.” He nodded again and my heart flipped over as he sat on the bed again and grabbed my hand. “I trust you with my heart.”

“Then tell me what you want to do. Tell me how you want to make this change,” I said softly. “Let me be a part of this.”

“We’ll have to go to another party. A grander ball. A darker ball. You’ll be introduced to a world of games and glitter.” His eyes glanced down at me. “I don’t know...” His voice trailed off.