The Crown Jewels (12 page)

And that necklace? I should never have let him put it on me.

I knew it was wrong. But nothing in my life had ever felt so right.

He was arrogant. He was dangerous. He was bad news.

He was everything I was supposed to resist.

He was practically devouring me with his mouth.

And I had never wanted him more. My flesh quivered under his touch, our bodies pressing against each other sensually as we kissed. His fingers wrapped around the back of my neck, kissing me deeper and deeper as he throbbed against me. His touch electrified me, setting fire to my body and my common sense all at the same time.

His hand trailed down my neck, cupping my breast as his thumb slid over my hardened nipple. I whimpered as the heat of his palm slid over my torso, around my waist and then cupped my ass as he pressed me into his hardness.

“Jewels,” he whispered, his voice a gruff cocktail of desire and lust, “Do you feel that? What you do to me? I can’t take this any longer. I have to have you.”

I closed my eyes, letting my head fall back against the brick wall of the vault, speechless, breathless, lost. So lost.

“Tell me you want it, beg me for it, like you used to,” he whispered, his breath hot on my ear as his hand cupped my sex over my dress. The words shot through me like a bullet, reminding me of that first night together, the first time I submitted to him, the first time he made me beg him for it, the first time I put my pleasure in his hands.

And then, like an uninvited guest, the pain of everything else that happened after that rushed back into my consciousness, reminding me of the heartbreak, the agony, the sheer cruelty I’d been subjected to by him.

I pulled back and slapped him. Hard.

The look of pain and confusion that flashed on his face is one I’ll never forget. Like a bucket of ice water, it surprised us both.

But once I realized what I’d done, something inside of me snapped.

“No!” I yelled, frozen in my spot, frozen in the moment, frozen in the pure shock of what I had done. “Will,” I murmured, “we can’t…”

He opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped himself. Instead, he smirked, shook his head, his eyes filled with disappointment. And then he just turned and walked out.

Leaving me alone, once again. Alone - with my desire for him, with my confusion, with my tears.

I looked around at the sparkling jewels surrounding me, representing hundreds of years of extravagance and riches, and I knew deep in my heart that I didn’t belong here.

Nothing about this place was comfortable, including the big ball of anguish that was settling in my stomach.

Will had never been good for me, and he never would.

It was time to face that fact head on. And apparently, the only way I could keep him at arm’s length was with thousands of miles between us.

I waited till I was sure he was gone, and I ran to my room, the sound of my heels carrying me down the hallway, out into the cold dark night and then back into the castle. I ran up the grand staircase and down another long corridor until I found my room, thankful that I’d been lucky enough not to run into anyone along the way.

I threw myself on the bed, my skin still tingling from Will’s touch, tears streaming down my face as I plotted my escape.

Tomorrow. I’d leave tomorrow.

There was no other way to deal with this incredibly fucked up situation, because I knew if I stayed, we’d surely wind up in bed together.

And fucking my step-brother was not something I ever wanted to have to explain to anyone ever.

WILL

From my balcony, I watched as Jewel’s threw herself on her bed. I was wracked with guilt.

I was a total asshole. Why couldn’t I just leave her alone?

Every ounce of my being wanted to go and comfort her, to apologize, to hold her, to sooth her.

But how could I do that when I was the one that made her cry? I wasn’t a prince, I was nothing but a fucking toad. A cad. A Grade-A piece of royal shit.

The last thing Jewel needed was someone like me ruining her life. Like an old skipping record, once again I vowed to leave her alone.

Willy looked up at me from his bed on the floor and wagged his tail.

“I don’t need to hear anything from you. I know what you think,” I said to him. He whimpered, and put his head down.

The party was still going on downstairs, and I knew my mother would be furious that I had disappeared. Grudgingly, I straightened my hair and my tuxedo and left Willy to sleep in front of the fire as I went to rejoin the party, totally jealous of the dog’s commitment-free life. The last thing I wanted to do was go back down to the boring party, but I had to, or I’d never hear the end of it.

There was just one quick thing I needed to take care of first.

JEWELS

I opened my eyes to escape the images that had haunted my dreams. The emerald necklace lay on the bedside table, serving as an extravagant reminder of how ungrateful I was. Had I even thanked him for the necklace? Or had I only led him on, let him kiss me, before slapping him and pushing him away?

He’d given me a priceless gift and I’d given him nothing but a pair of blue-balls to go with his blue-blood.

It’s not that I didn’t want him. Quite the opposite, in fact. My body was yearning for him, aching for him by now. All this build up and to what? To nothing.

To one big fat, empty nothing.

When I thought of all the ways last night could have ended, I hated that I was the one that made it end in disappointment and unfulfilled desires. And I never should have slapped him, for fuck’s sake. He didn’t deserve that.

He was trying to mend things, and I wasn’t letting that happen. I didn’t want to be mad at him anymore. The energy it took to sustain that anger had left me exhausted for years. I wanted to let it go.

I wanted to move on. Seeing him after all these years had made me realize that the truth was that I wasn’t really mad at him, I just missed him.

It was time I changed my attitude. But first, I needed to apologize.

After showering and dressing, I left the necklace lying on the bedside table and headed out of my room to find Will. It was still really early, and I went to the dining room, hoping to find a moment alone with Will before breakfast.

When I got there, I found Bertolf, who was serving what looked like a freshly cooked steak and eggs to Willy.

“Bertolf,” I asked. “Do you know where Will is?”

“The entire Royal Family is in a meeting, Madam Rose,” he replied.

“A meeting? Do you know when he will be out?”

“I do not, Madam. Shall I tell the Prince you’re searching for him?”

“No, that’s okay, thank you.”

“Would you like some breakfast, Madam?”

I looked at the huge table, filled with heaping bowls of fruits and breads and pastries, and realized I was starving. Aunt Ora was the only one sitting there, quietly nibbling on a croissant.

“Yes, please,” I replied, sitting at the table. “Hello,” I said to her. She smiled serenely and nodded.

“Are you enjoying your stay, Madam?” Bertolf asked as he began to pour orange juice into a sparkling crystal and gold trimmed glass.

“Yes,” I lied. What was I going to say? No? I was tormented every second, and completely torn from one minute to the next on which way to turn? That if I felt Will’s lips on my neck one more time, I was going to bow down and devour every inch of him?

None of that seemed anywhere near appropriate, so I kept my mouth shut.

“You should visit the palace theatre while you’re here, it’s quite lovely.”

“Thank you, Bertolf,” I replied.

“If you’d like I can arrange for one of the staff to escort you there later,” he said. Going anywhere with one of the staff felt more uncomfortable than anything.

“I’m sure Will can show me later,” I replied. “Or Catherine,” I added.

“Perhaps, Madam. I anticipate the Royal Family will be very preoccupied today, however.”

Willy finished his breakfast and ran over to me. He put his paw up on my knee, and I remembered how Will had taught him to shake hands for his first trick. I reached out and he put his paw in my hand.

“Good boy, Willy,” I whispered, petting him. Bertolf retreated to the kitchen again, leaving Willy and I alone with Aunt Ora. Willy laid at my feet and put his head on the ground.

It felt weird sitting there all by myself with her.

“So you kissed a toad,” she said, her voice so soft and broken I could barely understand her.

“A toad?”

“Yes, last night. In the snow, darling.”

“Oh, well…,” my voice trailed off. “A toad, ma’am?”

“Prince Will is still a toad. Someday your prince will come.”

I nodded, completely bewildered as to what she was trying to say. Instead of asking, I just smiled.

After that, she just smiled off into space.

Bertolf had filled my plate with croisants, fruit, eggs and sausage. It was all so delicious, and my discomfort soon disappeared. Before I knew it, I’d forgotten all about Aunt Ora and I was lost in far away memories. Memories of a happier time. Memories of a time that was long gone, but seemed to still be able to conjure up feelings that I rarely indulged in.

I was walking out of the cafeteria the first time I heard his voice.

“Excuse me? Are you Julia?”

Besides Sally, nobody ever talked to me. Somedays I was convinced I was invisible at Brown, but I liked it that way. I was there to study, not socialize. I couldn’t say the same thing about my classmates.

When I turned towards the voice to reply, I stumbled when I saw him. He wasn’t just handsome, although that was certainly the case, there was something more about him, something worldly, an air of confidence that oozed off him. He stood there smiling at me like we were already best friends.

“Julia, right?”

“Yes,” I replied, my voice cracking.

“I thought so! You’re a tutor, right? I saw your flyer on the library community billboard. Physics? Calculus?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” I replied. I’d put that flyer up weeks ago, hoping to make a little extra money, but nobody had responded.

“I’m Will,” he said, holding out his hand. I reached out automatically, his warm hand enclosing mine. His blue eyes felt like they were peering into my soul. “I go to RISD.”

“Nice to meet you,” I replied.

“You, too. I’m in the Film department.” I nodded, and the wondering began. Why was he talking to me? How did he know I was the same person who posted that flyer? We stood outside the doors of the cafeteria as I tried to figure out why this insanely beautiful creature was speaking to me.

“I can’t believe I have to take calculus for a film degree,” he continued, running his long, slender fingers through his light brown hair, pushing it away from his piercing blue eyes. I’d never seen eyes that blue before and he used them like a weapon. Hypnotizing me, rendering me speechless.

“It’s not my strongest area,” he was still talking. I couldn’t help but stare at him, watching his long, black, fringy eyelashes wave at me with every other word he spoke. “I could use some help.”

After a moment, I realized he had stopped talking. He looked at me expectantly, his face a study in sensuality. His strong square jaw was sprinkled with stubble, his lips full and inviting. When I realized I was staring at them, I tore my eyes away quickly.

“I’m sorry, did you ask me something?”

“Tutoring? Are you still available?”

“Oh, right. Really?” I managed to squeak out. “Me?”

“Yours was the only flyer that offered calculus tutoring.”

“Of course, right. Sure, okay,” I responded. I couldn’t think of a way out of this, and with lips like that I was sure to screw it all up. But there I was, agreeing to tutor Will.

Will. It was so simple that day, when all he was was Will-the-film-student, and I was just Julia-the-calculus-nerd. Before I knew who he was.
Before we started dating. Before we made love. Before he broke my heart. Before our parents decided to force our lives together again. Before I slapped him.

As soon as Sally heard I was tutoring him, she filled me in quickly. She knew all kinds of things about my new tutee, and she gave me every detail about his life. After our initial tutoring session, which took place at his loft in the Jewelry District of Providence, she demanded I tell her everything he had said and describe every piece of furniture in his loft. Not that there was much to tell.

Will lived sparsely, explaining that he loved the minimalistic look because it was the exact opposite of where he’d been raised. By then, I already knew who he was, and in between moments of trying to get him to focus on calculus, I asked him to tell me stories about life in Sweden.

Nothing he told me could have prepared me for the extreme opulence of the palace he grew up in.

Sally warned me not to get involved with him. Once she saw that I was falling for him, she warned me about his reputation. But nothing she said could have prepared me for everything that happened. How could have anyone predicted that?

He got under my skin quickly and easily, turning me on with just one look, making me laugh like a schoolgirl at every turn, making my stomach flutter with just a wink. When he asked me out, I thought I was dreaming.

“Here it’s asking us to make a rough sketch of the derivative of the function graphed below…”

“Go on a date with me.”

“Huh?” I asked, certain I was hearing things. He’d been staring at me intently since I’d arrived for our third tutoring session, and we were sitting next to each other on his couch. I was trying to ignore the heat of his gaze, but it was next to impossible. His thigh was pressed against mine, and I had been doing my best to ignore it.

The thing was he didn’t act like a Prince, and that’s what I liked about him. He dressed casually, he was down-to-earth and funny. Besides his Jaguar, he didn’t have a lot of material possessions that I had seen so far.