The Prince's Unwilling Lover (The Royals of Monaco, #1) (8 page)

“Can we be expecting a grandson?” the queen asked. Macee's jaw dropped open. The queen laughed at her reaction. “I know, I am too eager,” she said.

“You can be,” the prince replied with a smile. Macee had to force one. There was no point in them all getting their hopes too high.

The four of them sat together and talked as the king updated the prince on what he had missed while he was gone. Macee was bored out of her mind. She wanted to slip out of the room but she had to sit there smiling. She was so glad when it was finally time to leave. As soon as they walked out of the room, Macee was already trying to part ways. The prince wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back.

“And where do you think you are going?” he asked her.

“To my chambers, of course.”

“No, ma cherie. How quickly you forget that it is our chambers now.”

Macee let out a cry of complaint and hung her head. She was really looking forward to not doing that any longer. Now, he was telling her that it was still going to happen to keep up appearances. Macee groaned as they walked to their chambers. The worst part of it all was that she knew the prince was enjoying it.

A
s soon as she had the chance, Macee called Liane. She dismissed her maids so that they did not listen in on the conversation. “Macee, how are you sweetheart?” Liane said as soon as she answered the phone.

“Annie, it was terrible,” Macee quickly told her everything that happened on the trip including the things he said. Liane chuckled. “This isn’t funny.”

“You might like him if you try.”

“No trying, I really want the annulment.”

“Oh Mace that was a joke. You cannot get one of those, they're close to impossible.”

“What do you mean?” Her sister had just shattered her last bit of hope. Macee was already starting to panic. “There has to be some way.” 

“Justification. You need a very good reason and from what you’ve said, I don’t think there’s enough there.”

“Okay, let's change the subject for now. This is making me nauseous.”

“Don't worry sweetheart, something will work out.”

After speaking to Liane, Macee stayed in their quarters. She was sure she had some duties to attend to but she had no idea what they were. Later that week, Katherine spoke to her about hiring an assistant. Macee definitely thought that would be helpful, as she needed someone to remind her of things.

“Your highness, the crown prince has requested your audience,” one of the maids said.

“Can I not go?” Macee asked jokingly. The maid stared at her wide-eyed. She looked terrified. Macee laughed. “That was a joke. Where is he?”

“This way, your highness,” the maid said as she led Macee out to the palace gardens.

Macee walked up to him and stood there with her arms across her chest. He looked down at her. “What do you want?” she asked him. He held his hand out and waited for her to place her hand in his palm. Macee looked at it and then back at him. He still waited for her. Macee reluctantly put her hand in his before he gently pulled her hand to his mouth and pressed a small kiss to the back of her hand. She did not know how to react to him. She smiled awkwardly and tried to snatch her hand back, but he tightened his grip.

“Come for a walk with me,” he said to her and started walking. Macee sighed and followed.

This was her first time in the palace gardens and Macee immediately felt at ease. As she took a deep breath, she picked up on the varying scents of the flowers, as they followed a path around a series of fountains. She couldn’t wait to bring her paints out here.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Macee said.

“You like it?”

“Very much so.” As they walked, Macee was suddenly curious. “What do you actually do for fun?” she asked him.

“Plenty of things, ma cherie.”

“Yes, like what?” Macee frowned when she realised that he called her ma cherie quite a lot. She never understood if he meant it or if it was sarcasm. 

Prince Louis laughed before he replied. “So now you want to know about me but when I enquired about you, you chose not to tell me.”

“Well that is different.”

“Is it?”

Macee sighed. “Fine, what is it that you wish to know?”

The prince turned around and faced her. His gaze instantly made her feel uncomfortable. He studied her from head to toe. Macee looked to the side and started walking. “Did you know I was working on a science degree?” she asked. She had to take control of the situation quickly, as he made her too uncomfortable.

“Is that so?” The prince walked behind her. She bent down to smell the flowers. He found himself staring at her bottom.

“Yes.” Macee sprung back up to her feet. “I love painting, sports and baking,” she added.

“You bake?” He was surprised. She did not seem like the domestic type.

“Yes, why are you surprised?”

“Just that you do not seem like the domestic type.”

“Then what type do I seem?”

“The type of woman who does not indulge in domestic duties.”

Macee frowned at him. She wanted to know what she appeared like in his eyes but he gave nothing away. She stopped and gasped when they came upon some white cabanas at the other end of the garden. She wanted to run up to one and throw herself onto the daybed but she had to restrain herself.

“You like?” he asked her. Macee nodded. He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked with her toward the cabanas. He lay down and patted the mattress for Macee to join him. She took her shoes off and climbed on.

“This has become my favourite place,” Macee said. She could definitely see herself coming out here often.

“I am glad that you like something around here,” the prince said. Macee laughed and for once, it was not a sarcastic laugh.

“Just because I do not like you does not mean I do not like everything else.”

Prince Louis jerked up and supported himself on his elbow. He looked down at Macee. “Seriously, what is it that you dislike about me so much?”

“Well for starters, I barely know you. I had hoped that I would know a great deal about the person I would marry, but there are times I feel like we are from entirely different worlds. Put that aside, you expect me to fall all over you simply because you are the crown prince. I do not work that way.”

“So you have been saying since day one.”

“You're quite pretentious too.”

The prince laughed. “I am a man of looks, intelligence and the future king. Should I not be?”

Macee narrowed her gaze at him. “That is the reason you and I cannot be together. You are too different. I despise vanity in a person.”

“What to do, ma cherie. We are stuck together until death do us part.” His tone was quite sardonic. Macee leaned toward him. 

“You can help me with the annulment.”

The prince raised an eyebrow. Was she out of her mind? Why on earth would he do that? However she must have come to realise that the only way for her to get the annulment was if he agreed to it.

“And then what happens next?”

“You can remarry, hopefully this time to a woman who worships the ground you walk on.” Macee rolled her eyes. Such materialistic opportunists annoyed her. Before the prince could reply, one of the maids came with refreshments and placed the tray on a small table next to the cabana. The prince sat up and reached for a drink.

“Why can you not be that for me?” Prince Louis asked Macee. She frowned at him as he laughed. “I was jesting.”

“Who uses the word jesting?” Macee asked and laughed.

“You make fun of my speech,” he did not seem offended.

“Another reason why we do not match. We speak like we are from different times.”

“You focus too much energy on finding reasons as to why we do not match.”

“I am trying to convince you to see my point,” clearly it was not working. He shrugged his shoulders. Macee took the drink from the prince's hand and took a few sips. He raised his eyebrows. “It was too far for me to get my own glass,” she said as she handed it back to him.

“Shall I get you a drink then?”

“No, my thirst has been quenched,” she said with a grin. 

Prince Louis laughed as he placed his drink down and lay next to Macee. “You smell nice,” he said to her.
Random,
Macee thought to herself. Prince Louis found himself looking at her flat stomach. He reached his hand out and started caressing it. Macee's eyes flew open.

“You're touching me,” she said. This time she was able to speak.

“I am touching my wife.” he replied.

T
his was the first time that he had ever referred to her as his wife. As much as she thought she wanted to object to him touching her, she didn’t want him to stop. She turned to face him. This time he was not smirking. He had a different look on his face. He pulled her closer to him as he slipped his hand underneath her top to touch her skin.

“You let me touch you but you won't let me make love to you,” he said. Macee's face immediately turned red. How was she supposed to reply to him? She stared at his chest unable to look him in the eye.

Prince Louis caressed her face with the back of his hand. He lifted her chin with his index finger and pulled her face toward his. He started kissing her. Macee hated to admit to herself that she was waiting for that kiss. She felt too shy to initiate it and if she kissed him first, she would be betraying herself by doing so. She said too many times that she was not interested in him and she was not going give him a reason to think otherwise. Except that her body was continually betraying her.

His kiss was as gentle as before. He caressed her neck as he kissed her while his other hand remained under her top stroking her back. Macee was grateful that she was lying down because had she been standing up, then her legs would have given way. Her hands found their way to his chest as she kissed him back.

He moved closer to her and started kissing her neck. He took his time on each spot as Macee let out a sigh of pleasure. Even though the prince was hopeless at modesty, he was good at this. He knew exactly where to touch and kiss her. His hand came around and cupped her breast as his thumb brushed across her nipple.

The prince wanted to rip her clothes off and take her right there but he was determined to restrain himself. He had to keep going slow and not rush her into anything she did not want.

“I have to stop touching you,” Prince Louis said. He kissed her once more before stopping. Macee sat up and adjusted her top. This was the second time he had gotten her all hot and bothered, and then stopped. It was frustrating.

“Then why start?” Macee mumbled.

Prince Louis laughed softly. “You are angry, ma cherie.”

“No, I am not.”

“I told you, I will not make love to you until you ask me to.”

Macee got up and rushed back to her quarters. Prince Louis groaned in frustration after Macee left. He was full of mixed emotions. She was not the kind of woman he wanted to marry but he was married to her anyway. He wanted her to want him the way every woman wanted him but she simply did not. He wanted to make love to her for reasons he could not understand but she still did not let him. He wanted her to say it, tell him how much she wanted him.

*                                                                     *                                                                            *

M
acee woke up to chaos in the palace. Her maids were panicked and whispering amongst themselves. She asked them what the issue was. They were reluctant to tell her. Macee frowned. “What is it?” she demanded. One of them switched on the television for Macee to see for herself. Her jaw dropped open when she saw what was on the news. It was a story about her. They were saying that she was unsuitable to the crown prince. There were pictures of her from parties. Macee wondered how they had gotten a hold of everything.

It was even worse that she was on the front page of the newspapers. The article was suggesting that she was promiscuous and she was not meant to be the crown princess. Macee did not want to be the crown princess but she did not want it to end like this. She was not promiscuous; she had never slept with any man. It bothered her that someone would go to great lengths to tar her image. She went to search for the crown prince and found him in his office.

“It's not true,” she said as soon as she walked into his office. She did not know why she went to him first but she did.

“I know,” he said as he stood up from his desk and came to her. He could see that Macee was upset. He held her shoulders as he searched her eyes. “It's okay,” he said to her.

“It's not okay.” 

He pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back. He believed her; he knew she was not promiscuous. Every time he touched her, he could see how nervous and inexperienced she was. There was no way she was this promiscuous woman the media had painted her to be.

Macee wanted to cry so badly but she held it in, as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. She could imagine how her mother was reacting. She probably had fainted by now. Macee was scared of how the king and queen were going to react. They were probably raging at the shame she had brought to the family. The prince released her from his embrace. He kissed her forehead and told her that he had things to take care of and then he left to see his parents.

Just as he had assumed, his parents were angry, especially his mother. “How could something like this happen?” his mother asked. She was fanning herself, as the anger was making her temperature rise.

“I knew we should not have trusted that family,” Bridgette said. She was sitting there with a smug I-told-you-so look on her face.

“All of that is false,” the prince said.

“And how do you know?” the king asked him.

“I know her character.” He did not know much about Macee but the one thing he knew without a shadow of doubt was her innocence. She was not that kind of person. There was no way on earth.

“There is no smoke without a fire,” Bridgette said.

“She is the crown princess of this country. Of course, there will be some malicious people who want to destroy her image. By becoming a royal, she has automatically made some enemies.”