The Princess and the Bodyguard (15 page)

“Yes, of course.”

“Uh oh,” Peter said.

“Mother, you wouldn’t!” Catharine said.

Alex must have read the intent in her eyes, for his widened, and at the exact moment she gave him a shove, he grabbed her hand and yanked her into the pool after him.

She surfaced the same time he did, and they both laughed so hard they had trouble staying afloat.

“Cannonball!” Jamie’s standard scream echoed seconds before a humongous splash.

Hannah watched as Peter scooped up Rachel, who laughingly threatened bodily harm if he threw her into the pool. Her younger son proved that he’d matured over the years by agreeing not to throw her in—and then stepped in with her still in his arms, instead. Philip and Catharine struggled to see who would toss whom in. And then, the biggest surprise, while Michael’s grinning attention fixed on his brother and Catharine, Sophie snuck up behind him and gave him a push.

“Is that how it is done?” she asked Hannah with a too-innocent bat of her eyes.

“That’s the way.”

Since they were divided equally between male and female, a game of keep away ensued with the huge ball Hannah had bought. It didn’t take any of the royals long to get into the spirit of having fun.

After a half hour, Hannah got out of the water and lit the grill. Peter joined her, toweling off and grabbing a shirt.

“Please tell me you made your potato salad and deviled eggs.”

Hannah chuckled, because she detected more than a hint of begging in his tone. “I did. Do you remember how to grill burgers, or have you been living the lifestyles of the rich and famous too long?”

* * * *

Alex had to admit, this was quality family time. Hard, he mused, to hold on to the formality of the life they’d always lived with everyone wet and playing in a swimming pool. The aroma of the cooking meat teased his senses and made him hungry. Tonight also marked the first time he’d drank beer straight out of the bottle, and he rather enjoyed the feeling it gave him.

They all served themselves, choosing their own buns, taking the meat straight off the grill, sampling the different condiments, scooping spoons of salad onto their plates, before sitting at the table and beginning to eat.

“Do you know how to make these?” Philip asked Catharine when he finally came up for air. He pointed to his plate that still held remnants of salad, hot dog, and hamburger. At her nod, he looked over at Michael. “We may sometimes invite you to dinner. If you play your cards right.”

The banter and laughter lifted his heart. Alex smiled over at Hannah, whose face flushed from her pleasure at all the honest compliments on her food.

She met his eyes, and her expression softened with concern. “So, what is happening with these letters threatening Rachel?”

Sophie chimed in. “Yes, that is what I would like to know. And what happened last night?”

Alex’s first reaction, to regret the loss of the lighthearted mood that surrounded them, only lasted a moment. He understood, then, that something else a family needed just as much as the laughter was to pull together and
be
a family in times of crisis.

“Peter, please fill everyone in on the details.”

He watched the faces of his family, he considered everyone seated there to be his family, as Peter recounted the threat. Philip swore and narrowed his eyes at Peter.

“Go ahead and pop me one. I’ll give you a free shot. That bas—” Alex nearly laughed when Peter stopped and shot a look at Jamie, who listened closely to every word. “That person,” he amended, “should not only have
not
been able to get in, but should never have escaped when we pulled the security net tight. I’ve spent the better part of the day reviewing the security films. Nothing. It’s as if that creep vanished into thin air.”

“Maybe he went down the pirates’ tunnel, Uncle Peter,” Jamie said.

A hush fell over the table.

“My God,” Alex whispered. “I didn’t even think—”

“Years ago, you forbade us to play there. Wasn’t it sealed up?”

“What pirates’ tunnel?”

Alex looked from Michael to Peter, the two questions having come almost at the same time, before answering.

“There existed, under the palace, a series of tunnels, dating back to the seventeen hundreds, emergency escape routes from the original fortress upon which this palace is built. Over the years, most suffered cave-ins in the sections that were away from the building proper. All except one. And no, while I do recall forbidding you children to play in them, I don’t believe I ever ordered them sealed.”

“We could ask Justin,” Michael said.

* * * *

Peter knew as soon as he stepped inside the passageway that this was how Rachel’s stalker had escaped. The tunnel had several entrances, he soon learned, one of them right inside the family salon. The bastard, he mused, had probably watched him rush to Rachel’s rescue,
safely concealed behind the false wall that blocked the entrance to the tunnel.

After consulting with Alex, Peter had his team install cameras and motion alarms at critical points along the passage. He didn’t think the stalker would return, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared.

They’d carefully dusted every entrance for fingerprints, but there hadn’t been any. The tunnel led to a copse of trees that formed a line above the family’s private beach. From the state of the trampled foliage and torn cobwebs, clearly someone had used the exit recently. Tomorrow, in the light of day, his team would comb the area for evidence.

Now, hours later, Peter sat at his desk going over files he’d read a dozen times before, searching for that crucial something he must have missed. There
had
to be a way he could pinpoint the threat, find the bastard threatening Rachel. Finally, rubbing his eyes with a weary hand, he yawned, and closed the folder. Midnight had come and gone, and there wasn’t much more he could accomplish tonight.

His footsteps echoed in the corridor as he made his way to the main staircase. On the second floor, he paused outside Rachel’s door. She’d come upstairs hours before. He considered knocking, but then stopped himself. She’d likely be fast asleep by now.

Nothing he’d like better than to climb into bed next to her. The only time he felt completely relaxed and assured of her safety was when he had her tucked in next to him. But he thought he might be getting a bit greedy. Spending the night without her would probably be good. Stoically, he turned away.

He sensed her presence the instant he opened the door to his own suite. Her scent, a floral, fruity aroma, clung to the air, curious that it would both settle and arouse him at the same time.

He’d been sure after those first few frantic couplings his need for her would taper. Positive that they’d be out of each other’s systems quickly, that it didn’t seem to be so amazed him. In fact, that he needed her more each day alarmed him.

How would he bear it when she tired of him and wanted to move on?

Moving through his suite, he paused at the door to the bedroom. The light on the bedside table cast a soft glow over her. She’d confessed to him that the only time she’d been able to sleep with the light off in the last couple of years were those nights she’d recently spent with him.

Apparently, she needed him, too. Could he make himself so indispensable to her that she would want to stay with him, even after her passion, and her heart, had cooled? And how pathetic was that kind of thinking?

Rachel shifted in the bed, a soft groan whispering from her lips. Concerned, he quickly left the doorway and came to the bed. Dropping his clothes into a heap on the floor, he slid under the blankets beside her and gathered her close.

“Hi.”

“Shhh. Go back to sleep, baby.”

“In a minute. First…”

She crawled on top of him, spread her legs, wiggled her hips, and took him inside her. She purred with pleasure. “Better.”

Peter cursed and hung onto his control with everything he had. “Rachel, I need to put a condom on, honey.” He settled his hands on her hips, as he prepared to lift her off.

“Mmm. Not good enough. ’Kay.”

“What do you mean, ‘Not good enough?’”

“Mmm?”

He lifted her off him, laying her gently onto her back. Rising above her, he looked into her eyes. She blinked owlishly, and he saw the moment she came fully awake.

“What did you mean, not good enough?” he repeated the question and wondered at the embarrassment that flooded her face. When she turned her head to look away, he used one finger on her chin to bring her focus back, front and center, to him. “Rachel?”

“I’m just being silly. Ignore me. I know I’m not fit to be a mother. I’ve made too many mistakes. So I don’t blame you for wanting to make sure—”

Pure male instinct pushed aside all intellectual considerations. His look never left hers as he thrust his hard cock into her again. He fucked her in a slow, steady rhythm. Her eyes widened, her surprise evident for one moment. Then she wrapped her legs around him and began to move her hips in counterpoint to his. He felt the surge of moisture in her pussy, and he shivered in delight as she worked her muscles in a steady, milking motion.

“I’m going to come inside you, sweetheart. I’m going to flood your womb with my seed, and I’m going to hope like hell you
do
get pregnant.”

“Yes, please. Your cock feels so good inside me,
mon
cher
. Come inside me.”

When she stretched up and gave him her mouth, he plundered her there as completely as below. And when he felt her spasm around him, when his cock began to pulse inside her, he held her closer and knew in his heart that he didn’t care if this was entrapment. In that moment, he knew he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe, to keep her happy, and just to
keep
her.

Alex was running out of time.

Only a week and a day remained until Philip and Catharine’s wedding. Hannah planned to go home the day after, on the same return flight to Canada as her eldest son and his family, who would arrive on Sunday.

This next week featured several official festivities in celebration of the royal wedding. The times when he and Hannah would be alone were dwindling to just bedtime. And this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have in bed.

At every event and at every turn since he’d met her, Hannah had shown herself to be not only his perfect mate, but a nurturing, maternal woman, and a woman of grace and poise. Her instincts with his children had been flawless. He’d seen the envy on the faces of his daughters as they’d watched the interaction between Hannah and Catharine. So had she, obviously, for it hadn’t taken her long to take them both under her wing. She exercised with Sophie each morning, and had gone to the Children’s Home twice. She’d spent time with Rachel discussing fashion trends and had even lent a hand with the fitting of the gowns for the wedding. The dinner last Sunday night had been a rousing success. There would be many more family picnics around the pool, and he would encourage her to arrange private family times indoors as well.

In short, whether she realized it or not, Hannah had slid seamlessly into his life, all aspects of it. He could see no reason not to make her presence in it official.

She smiled at him when he entered the music room. She’d been sitting with Helene, listening while his daughter-in-law outlined where guests arriving for the wedding would stay, and the few special evenings of entertainment to be provided.

Alex returned her smile and sent a wink to Helene. His son’s wife had always been quite capable of performing her duties as the chatelaine of the palace, but included Hannah because, being an insightful young woman, she understood his intentions toward her.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Hannah said, getting to her feet as she always managed to do if he entered a room and she wasn’t alone. He would soon see
that
annoying show of protocol ended.

“I decided to play hooky.” He beamed at Hannah. “That is an expression my soon-to-be-grandson explained to me. I didn’t tell him I liked the sound of the word.”

“Did he tell you the punishment for playing hooky?”

“Oh, he assured me that he would never, ever do such a thing as to avoid attending his classes. However, he quite gleefully recounted the adventures of one of his mates, who had indulged and then been caught.”

“Tommy Pierce. The incident is famous. Or rather, infamous.”

“Well, since I am king, I cannot suffer any undue consequences for leaving my desk. I looked out at the roses, and I thought it would be a perfect day for a walk in the garden. Join me?”

The day felt warm, but not too hot, and the air in the garden seemed unusually fresh and fragrant. Alex took this as a good sign. He’d never done anything like this before. He’d met Liana for the first time after the arrangements had been made and the contract for marriage had been signed. He’d been nervous, of course, on his wedding night. Those nerves didn’t compare, however, to the ferocious battle of jitters going on inside him now. When he reached for Hannah’s hand, she gave it. When their fingers twined, he felt steadier.

He believed he wasn’t the only one who knew they belonged together.

“This is so beautiful,” Hannah murmured after they sat on one of the benches placed along the path. “So many different colors of roses, and the mix of green plants and other flowers. And you can hear the gentle rhythm of the surf below. I think this is the most relaxing spot I’ve ever known.”

Alex nodded, then softly cleared his throat. “The days have been speeding by so quickly since you came to my home, Hannah.”

“I know. It doesn’t seem fair that there’s only a handful of days left for us to be together.”

The sadness that drenched her tone lifted Alex’s heart. Surely, she felt like he did, and wouldn’t want to be parted from him any more that he wanted to be parted from her. Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed it.