Royally Lost (9 page)

“Oh.” Becca laid out the bread and then went to work slicing the cheese. Her mouth watered at the savory aroma. She tried to get her head around the idea of a team of people surrounding Nikolai’s every move. “Are they looking for you now?”

“I’ve kind of created a mess. I didn’t intend to. I just needed to escape the insanity for a while. I can’t live my life the way they want me to. They are so wrapped up in hundred-year-old traditions that they can’t see the present.”

He popped a strawberry into his mouth. “I called my little sister, Alexi, the other day. Poor kid. She had wanted me to bring her with me.”

“How old is she?” Becca knew what it was like to idolize a big brother. Dylan, while often bossy and difficult, was always there when she needed him.

“Fifteen. She asked me to check in while I was gone. Of course, the second she answered her phone, they traced the call to Melk. I didn’t realize a cell phone could be traced like that.”

“Come on, you’re Jason Bourne, you should know that.” She placed a slice of cheese on the bread and took a bite. Combined with the beautiful lake setting and great company, the food tasted like paradise.

“Alexi said that everyone’s having a fit about all my missed appearances, not to mention the security breach. Which is ridiculous. It’s not exactly like there’s someone out there trying to shoot me.”

“Are you sure?” She looked around at their secluded location. A sharpshooter could easily hide in the thick foliage. Were these the kinds of things he really had to worry about?

“Relax. I’m sure. I’m more likely to be shot by a long-lens camera than a gun-toting madman. And that was part of my holdup in Melk. Someone spotted me there and tipped off the press. Between my impounded motorbike and the paparazzi, I had trouble getting out. So you can blame them that I missed our rendezvous in Passau.”

“I may have to write them a strongly worded letter.” She handed Nikolai a slice of bread with cheese.

“Thanks. I didn’t think I’d have much press trouble. I just wanted to send my parents the message that I’m not going to be the perfect, obedient son anymore doing everything they expect. I’m not going to be another generation that soaks our people of tax dollars so I can live a pampered life of decadence disguised under the purpose of community service. It’s a travesty.”

“So you’re going to change history?”

He picked at his piece of bread. “I don’t know. I talk big, but I don’t know what I can possibly do to make them change. I have a few ideas on ways to give back to the people and lessen their tax burden, but my father never listens to me. My parents are stuck in the Dark Ages. All I know is that the longer I’m away, the more I don’t want to go back.”

“Are you saying that you don’t want to be king?”

He paused thoughtfully. “I don’t know.”

They snacked on the small feast Nikolai provided. The flavors of the juicy strawberries popped in her mouth while the creamy cheese seemed to melt on her tongue. “I think this is the best food I’ve tasted the whole trip.”

“Sure hits the spot,” he said.

The hot sun burned down; Becca ran her hand over her leg, marred by a long scrape from the bike accident. “The lake is so clear I can see all the way to the bottom. I’d like to wash some of this road burn off. I wish I wore my swimsuit.”

“You could . . . you know,” he said suggestively, looking at her shirt.

“I am
not
skinny-dipping, so you can wipe that idea from your mind right now.”

“Look who’s jumping to conclusions. I wasn’t suggesting you skinny-dip.” He delivered a sly grin. “What I was about to say is that you could swim in your underwear.”

“Oh, but—”

“Ut.” He held up a finger. “Let me finish. Your underwear probably covers you more than your bathing suit anyway.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but then changed her mind. She knew he was secretly laughing at her.

“What? It’s a great idea.” He smiled devilishly.

“So, you’re saying you’d strip down to your undies, right here, in broad daylight.”

Nikolai stood and reached between his shoulders, pulled his T-shirt over his head, and dropped it at her feet. “You Americans are so uptight about your bodies.”

Becca stared at his strong arms, lean physique, and flat stomach. He began to unbutton his shorts.

Her jaw opened. She wanted to tell him to stop, but even more, she wanted to see if he’d actually drop trou in front of her.

He did.

15

“I
guess that answers the question of boxers or briefs,” she said in disbelief as Nikolai stood before her in nothing but his navy blue underwear. They looked a bit like bike shorts.

“So, you uptight American commoner, are you going to join me or stay on this rock and bake like a turtle in the sun?”

“Well, them there sounds like fighting words where I come from.” She exaggerated a hillbilly twang and tried not to look in the region of his skin-hugging underwear.

He laughed.

“You think this American hick hasn’t got the guts to show off her lily-white skin?”

“No, actually, I don’t.” He crossed his arms.

Becca slowly rose to her feet, focusing on Nikolai, whose eyes widened just a little bit at her movement. Was it shock or excitement that she might take his challenge?

She tried to remember which bra and panties she’d put on this morning.
Please don’t let it be a thong.

Keeping her eyes glued to his, she undid the button on her shorts, lowered the zipper, and edged them off her hips until they dropped to her feet. She stepped out of them without breaking eye contact.

“You know, a gentleman would look the other way when a lady disrobes,” she said.

He smirked. “Who says I’m a gentleman?”

Aw hell.
No words would come and she couldn’t back down.

She lifted the edge of her tank top and whipped it off fast.

Nikolai broke eye contact and stared at her lavender bra and pink leopard-print panties.

Becca felt her blush deepen, so in a final act of false bravado she stepped casually past him and jumped off the rock, saving her scream of terror until she was underwater.

“Oh my God, oh my God, that’s cold,” she yelled the instant she surfaced. “Well, are you coming in or not?”

Without a moment’s hesitation he grinned and cannonballed off the rock, splash-landing a couple of feet away.

“
Szent szar, ez a hideg!
You weren’t kidding.” He swam over. “I guess you aren’t an uptight American after all.”

She splashed him, trying to pretend that swimming in her underwear was normal and not an exciting new sensation. “What did you just say?”

He bobbed in the water and grinned. “Holy shit, this is cold.”

Becca laughed. “What language was that before?”

“Hungarian.”

Nikolai swam closer and put his hands around her waist. She felt exposed and naughty in her underwear and bra, yet her bikini actually would have been more revealing.

“How many languages do you speak?” she asked, floating beside him.

“A lot.” Water dripped from his eyelashes, and his smile gleamed in the sunlight. He was so good-looking, but of course, he was a prince. It was hard not to feel like a total toad next to him.

“How many?”

“Five.”

“Five! Sheesh, now I really do feel like a stupid American.”

“Excuse me, that’s
uptight American commoner
.” He sent a small splash in her direction.

“Sorry, I forgot. I don’t know how you learned all those. I barely passed high school Spanish.”

“You don’t learn languages in grade school?”

“I think we had a three-week unit on Spanish and French in the fifth grade.”

He shook his head. “Now that is the problem with America. They were so busy trying to be a unified country, apart from the rest of the world, that they lost all the languages and traditions from their countries of origin.”

“I don’t know about that, but I do know that I could never learn so many languages. What all do you speak?”

“Slovak, German, Russian, Hungarian, and French.”

“You left out English.”

“I guess that makes six then.”

“You don’t speak Spanish?”

“Not fluently.”

“Oh, of course not. I think I’ll just float away now, back to my homeland of ignorant commoners.”

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re staying right here.” He pulled her into his arms while still treading water. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

“Okay, Prince Charming, stop with the pickup lines,” she said even though his words sent her insides tingling.

“Can’t a guy tell a girl he thinks she’s beautiful?”

“Not when it’s a line of bull. You just don’t want me to feel bad because next to you I’m pretty uneducated. I couldn’t even manage learning one language other than English.”

“Hey. I don’t give a shit about that. Really. Speaking a bunch of languages doesn’t make someone a better person. It just means it was crammed down their throat from the time they could speak. It’s not every day I meet a girl like you. Someone grounded, who knows what’s important to her. You speak your mind. You stand up for what you believe in. That’s a lot more noble than what I do.”

“This said from a guy swimming in his underwear.”

He spit water at her.

Becca dunked him and they splashed each other. They climbed out and decided to try dives into the clear, deep water. Becca went first. She popped up after her dive. “Oh my God!”

“What?” He leaned forward from the rock ledge, his hands on his knees.

She didn’t want to tell him what had happened, but she couldn’t exactly get out of the water this way either. “My bottoms came off when I dove in.”

Nikolai covered his mouth with his hand.

“It’s not funny! What am I going to do?” She wanted to curl up in a shell and hide.

“I’ll have to go on a diving expedition,” he said with more enthusiasm than she liked.

“Stop looking so happy.” She wanted to smack the grin off his face, but was too busy praying the water wasn’t so clear that he could see her bare bottom.

Nikolai entered the water like an award-winning diver. If a person could die of embarrassment, she’d be floating facedown. He popped up, sucked in some air, and went back to look some more for her leopard-print panties. She thought about trying to swim for the shore and run for cover before he came up again. Instead, she tried to cover herself while treading water.

“Got ’em!” he yelled as he sprang up, his hand held high like a synchronized swimmer, the tiny scrap of fabric in his clutches.

Relieved, she still wanted to hide. “Please, just hand them over.”

Triton the sea god swam over with his coveted prize. “What do I get for saving your panties?”

Becca tried not to laugh. “Please.” It seemed the safest response.

“You can do better than that,” he teased, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

“What did you have in mind?” she asked, afraid of what he might say.

“A kiss.”

As Nikolai came nearer, her heart raced. She treaded water nervously. Nikolai floated closer and kissed her gently. Becca had never felt so alive.

When their lips parted, he held her gaze and handed back her panties. She tried to play it cool as she scrambled into them while trying to keep her head above water. With her bottoms back on, they swam to shore and climbed the rocks, tired from swimming in the cool water.

Cold and shivering, Becca lay on the smooth, sun-warmed rock, letting the heat permeate her skin. “Oh, that feels good,” she sighed, wanting to put her embarrassment behind her.

Nikolai lay a few inches away. “It does.”

The sun beat down, drying their skin. “I could just close my eyes and sleep.”

“I won’t argue with you there,” Nikolai answered, his lids closing.

Nikolai opened his eyes, chilled, as a cloud blocked out the sun. Next to him, Becca slept, her hand curled in his. She smiled in relaxed slumber.

He gently released her hand and looked around. A couple of people lounged on the distant beach and a lone man sat on the sand with a camera aimed straight at Nikolai. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

He turned his back to the beach and nudged her. “Becca!”

“Hmm?” She stirred.

“There’s a guy on the beach and I’m pretty sure he’s taking our picture.”

Her eyes sprang open. “What?” She sat up and spotted the man. “You think he’s paparazzi?”

“It sure isn’t a random tourist aiming a long lens at us. How the hell did he know I was here?” Nikolai slid on his shorts.

“Oh crud.” Becca grabbed her clothes and quickly pulled them on. “You think he’s been taking pictures of us sleeping?”

“That and more. Lord only knows how long he’s been here.” He didn’t notice him when they were in the water, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been lurking in the trees, snapping pictures.

Nikolai stuffed their leftover lunch items into his backpack. How did this camera-wielding jerk find him? Nikolai had been zigzagging up and down the Danube since he left Melk yesterday afternoon.

Dressed, with everything packed up, they headed for the motorbike. Their path unfortunately forced them to pass the creep with the camera. Nikolai pulled his baseball cap low and hid behind his sunglasses. He led the way with his head down and Becca’s hand firmly in his.

“Prince Nikolai, why did you run from the palace?” The photographer, a short, heavyset man with cameras strapped across his chest, snapped pictures and moved closer.

Nikolai picked up the pace, but the man stayed with them, walking backward and taking pictures. This was no official appearance where Nikolai owed the press a friendly smile and kind word.

“Do your parents know where you are?”

He ignored him.

“Your friend is beautiful. Is she the reason you fled? What’s her name?”

Nikolai bristled and fought the urge to shove the man to the ground and bust his camera. He glanced at Becca, her face pink with embarrassment. She didn’t need to be targeted by this oily loser.

“Have you heard that your sister, Princess Alexi, has gone missing?”

Nikolai hesitated for an instant, but then hurried on. The man was lying. He was sure of it, and he wouldn’t let this vile intruder ruin their day.

They reached the bike. He hurried and strapped on the pack and hopped on. Becca climbed up, hugging him from behind. Nikolai liked the feel of her body secure against his. It made him feel better able to protect her.

The photographer kept snapping pictures and wouldn’t back off. “There are rumors that you have renounced the throne,” he baited.

Nikolai stiffened, but didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction. He started the engine.

“Where are you going next?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Nikolai grinned, revved the engine, and spun gravel as they raced away.