THEIR_VIRGIN_PRINCESS (11 page)

It was the absolute worst outcome. Dane, Cooper, and Landon
would be on her case twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And now they
had no reason to be nice about it. They would watch and hover, silent and
unsmiling, a constant reminder of how awful she’d been. “Are you sure?”

“Oliver overheard them. You know he’s always been dreadfully
concerned about your welfare. It’s very difficult for me to forget that he was
interested in you before he was interested in me.”

And this was why she didn’t spend much time with Yas
anymore. Her cousin was never content to merely talk. She had to find a way to
turn the conversation to herself, usually about how terribly she was being
treated. It wasn’t that Yasmin was a bad person. She’d simply always felt like
a lesser relation because her parents hadn’t lived in the palace. “We’re just
friends, Yas. He married you.”

“I know.” Her eyes turned down. “I just always wonder if he
regrets not marrying the real princess.”

Not that again. “Yas, I only have the title because our
uncles legally adopted me, and they only did that to protect me. They were
still my aunt and uncles. That’s what I called them, not mom and dad. They made
certain I didn’t forget my real parents.”

“Still, you’re referred to as a princess and you have the
trust fund to go with it. Most men would be interested in marrying into that.”

“Well, it’s Bezakistan. Even as a ‘princess’ who isn’t in
line to ascend, if I marry, I’ll be expected to take at least three husbands.
Our country is modern compared to some of its neighbors, but it’s still steeped
in tradition. Be grateful you got a choice to marry exactly who you want and
love.”

Three husbands. Big and broad men who could protect her and
care for her if she would only let them. Dane, Coop, and Landon’s faces swam
through her thoughts.

Yasmin frowned, turning away slightly. “You might be
surprised. Sometimes I think Oliver and his brothers would have been happier
with the Bezakistani way of life. But that is neither here nor there. I didn’t
come here to talk about my problems. I came to help solve one of yours.”

Alea wasn’t sure how any of her problems could be solved,
but Piper’s advice was still fresh in her mind. If she was ever going to have a
life, she had to at least try not to shut her loved ones out. “Which problem
are you talking about?”

“You need a vacation. I can’t imagine how stressful it is
for you here.”

It would be just as stressful in London, and now, thanks to
Tal, a big chunk of the problems she was trying to escape—three big ones—would
be on her heels. “I don’t think I want to go to London right now, Yasmin. I
appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I would make great company.”

“Oliver and I were talking. He’s always the voice of reason.
I think you’re right. The last thing you need is to be surrounded by people.
But what if you could get away on your own, all alone for a while? Oliver and I
were supposed to leave tomorrow morning in our plane for Sydney.” Yas shrugged.
“A little alone time before the baby comes.”

“That sounds lovely.” But she wasn’t sure what it had to do
with her. She didn’t want to intrude on their babymoon.

A weary look crossed Yasmin’s face. “But the thought of
getting on another plane makes me sick. I’d already decided to tell Oliver that
I would rather stay here at the palace for a few weeks when he suggested a
change of plans. Everything is ready to go at the apartment in Sydney. It’s
private. It’s well protected. And no one would know who or where you are.
Oliver’s brother already hired security for us. They can just protect you
instead.”

No one
would know?
Not Tal? Not Dane or any of the others? If she could pull that off, she would
be totally alone, without anyone’s expectations weighing her down. Despite what
the press suggested, she wasn’t a prisoner at the palace. For just for a few
days, she could pretend she was normal and maybe she could sort out her thoughts,
find a little peace. With that much tranquility, maybe she could figure out
what to do next. It sounded heavenly, but… “I don’t know. Tal would be
furious.”

“Oh, it’s only for a short while. Oliver and I won’t say
anything. So Tal won’t have any idea where you’ve gone. If anyone asks about
the plane, I’ll simply tell them that we sent it along with notes and supplies
for the Reaching Across Cultures’ Sydney office. We’d planned a vacation, but I
was hoping to squeeze in just a little bit of work. I really do need to send
some things there, so it’s not a total lie. You wouldn’t mind dropping them
off, would you?”

If it meant she got to escape all the censure and pressure
here, if she truly got to be alone to sift through the rubble of her life, she
wouldn’t mind. “Just leave me instructions, and I’ll take whatever you need.
Oh, Yas, do you really think it could work?”

A bright smile curved up her cousin’s lips. “Oliver is very
smart. Trust my husband. He always tries to do the right thing for his family.”

Alea nodded, and they started to make plans. By this time
tomorrow, she would be far, far away.

* * * *

Landon couldn’t sleep. The events of the evening kept
playing out in his head over and over again. He shouldn’t have risen to Alea’s
bait and been so hard on her. His first instinct had been to reach out to her,
to hold her and try to coddle her back to reality.

But he’d been doing a version of that for over a year and it
simply didn’t work. She was farther from them than ever before.

He stepped out of the quarters he shared with the full-time
guards. Tal had offered all three of them rooms in the palace, but Lan had
turned him down. He wouldn’t know what to do with the space. Dane and Coop had
made their apartments look something like homes, but Lan felt more comfortable
out here with the help. He looked up at the palace, and his stare inevitably
drifted to her room.

What was it about this one female that made him so fucking
crazy? He’d seen more beautiful women before, but none of them moved him the way
Alea did. It wasn’t just her tragic past. He wasn’t chasing her for the
challenge. It was like…his heart recognized her. God, that sounded dumb and
girly. Maybe he was a masochist who only craved what he couldn’t have.

The trouble was, he’d seen the soft woman under all that
armor. He caught glimpses of her when she was working with children or visiting
the hospital. He loved to go on those duties with her because somehow she
managed to shove aside her own pain to help others. And that’s when he saw her
most genuine smiles.

“Lan? Is that you?”

Landon sighed and touched his right side. Cooper had done a
number on his kidney. He would be lucky if he wasn’t pissing blood for a week.
“Yeah, Coop, it’s me.”

Cooper rounded the corner, and Landon noticed he was carrying
his medical kit. “Hey, I was just coming to see you. I thought I should
probably check you out since I was the one who damaged you.”

“You barely managed to hit me.” Lan rolled his eyes.

Cooper laughed a little. “Well, I’ll feel better if I check you
out. Amuse me.”

“Fine.” Lan looked up at the palace one last time before
turning and leading Coop back into the barracks.

Cooper looked around at the large, mostly antiseptic
building. There were twenty small rooms, each with a single bed, closet space,
and a desk unit. Cooper followed Landon into the room that belonged to him.
“You know you left the Army, right?”

Lan was deeply aware of the fact that his room had no
personal elements. Cooper had pictures of his brothers and his parents on his
walls. Dane had decorated his apartment with paintings and books and other
things he picked up in his travels. Lan had only had his grandmother, and she’d
never let him forget that his mother had dropped him on her doorstep on her way
out to her next party and never come back. There were no pictures of his
childhood, no family photos with smiling faces. “I like to keep things simple.”

“You keep things spartan.” Cooper set his kit on the bed and
opened it with a flick of his wrist. “Are all your parts still working?”

“I don’t know. Strangely enough, I haven’t had a chance to
use my balls since you decided to shove them halfway up my ass.”

Cooper chuckled. “Well, you were trying to kill me at the
time. How about we just call it even?”

That was fine by him. “I guess we all made mistakes
tonight.”

A calculated expression crossed Cooper’s face. “Or we all
did the right thing, and we were just wrong because we didn’t do it together. I
think I was onto something tonight. She was interested. Maybe not in me in
particular, but she was curious about sex. She needs to experiment. We need to
set ourselves up in some intimate situations with her.”

“What? Like walking in on her while she’s buck naked?”

“Hey, I didn’t plan that. I really was trying to check on
her.”

Lan shrugged. “Maybe I’m just jealous. So she really did
respond? I was a little surprised she let you see her naked. Did she fight
you?”

Coop shook his head as he pulled out a couple of bottles and
some washcloths. “Not really. She gave me a weak ‘go away’ before things got
really heated. I know what a woman looks like when she’s aroused. She wasn’t
afraid. She was inquisitive and hot. And she enjoyed having her pussy loved
on.”

God, he really was jealous of Cooper now. “So she
responded.”

“Yes, she was moaning and shoving her cunt at me. She wasn’t
scared, not until I wrapped my arms around her. That’s when she screamed. I
wasn’t hurting her, Lan. I was trying to get closer.”

Damn it.
He hated
being a reasonable man. He slapped at Coop’s arm, a brotherly show of
affection. “You probably didn’t do anything I wouldn’t have in your situation.
If I had the chance to get my mouth on her, I would. It just makes me worry
that she’s never going to be ready for what we want to give her. And if she
can’t handle one man, what about three? If you holding her was too much, how
the hell will she ever handle Dane?”

A part of the submission Dane needed fell squarely into the
bondage category. Lan had watched Dane with more than one submissive. He took
their needs very seriously, but those women had always needed what Dane had to
offer. Alea would be terrified.

“I think the key is to experiment,” Coop went on. “We need
to retrain her. Her captors did a number on her. But she can never have a
normal life if she can’t accept love and affection, or enjoy sex. Are you
willing to let her live that way just because you’re squeamish?”

Put like that, it seemed like a cowardly thing to do. “I get
what you’re saying, man. I just don’t know that she wants me.”

Cooper groaned, his eyes rolling. “You have got to get over
the insecurity thing. She wants all of us. She wants the whole ménage thing, or
at least she did when she was a kid. I was doing a sweep of the palace the
other day and I wound up in the library. Did you know Talib still keeps
everything the way his fathers left it? Including the pictures taped to the
wall. One of them is Alea’s. I would bet she was about eight or nine when she
drew it. It’s of a woman with dark hair and three men. And the title of the
picture is ‘my three husbands.’ I think we could be those men for her.”

“I’m in.” Lan didn’t hesitate.

Cooper was right. If they loved Alea, they had to be willing
to risk everything to make sure she could enjoy life again, even whatever shot
they had at a relationship with her. “So how do we get ourselves into…what did
you call it? Intimate situations?”

It would be damn near impossible here. The palace was filled
to the brim with people and would be for weeks to come because of the
coronation. Between family, friends, and visiting dignitaries, Lan wasn’t sure
when they would get more than two moments alone with her.

There was a short knock on the door, then it opened. Dane’s
large frame filled the doorway. “Hey, I came to check on Lan.”

“Jeez, guys, my balls still work.” He hadn’t gotten hit that
hard. Not that he’d admit, anyway.

The corners of Dane’s mouth curled up wryly. It was good to
see him smile for once.

“I’m glad because, unfortunately, your balls are important
to my plan. But once we put the plan in motion, we all need to watch our balls,
guys.”

Thank god he was joking. After what happened earlier, Lan
had been worried Dane would turn into a morose asshole, and there was only room
for one of those on the team. He’d taken that place a long time ago and he
wasn’t giving it up. “Does this mean I’m not fired?”

Dane nodded. “You know I hate paperwork, man.”

“Excellent. Now, when can I use my still fully functional
balls on our girl? Because the way I see it, it’s going to be a long while
before we can get her alone.”

Dane held up the folder he’d been carrying. “That’s where
you might be wrong. This is the flight list for tomorrow out of the palace’s
private airstrip. I get a daily update and something odd happened.”

“Shit,” Coop said. “How many more people do we have to vet?
Tell Tal to stop with all the coronation celebrations. Slap a tiara on Piper’s
head and call her a queen, damn it.”

Lan didn’t understand the need for all the ceremony, either.
Spending a ton of money didn’t make Piper any more official. It just created
more work for them. He hated running background checks. He would rather just
shoot people. “How many are there?”

“It isn’t the people coming in who caught my eye. It’s the
people leaving, or rather the person leaving. Oliver and Yasmin Thurston-Hughes
changed their plans. They’ve decided to stay in Bezakistan for the next few
weeks. They were planning on heading for Sydney tomorrow, but now they’re only
sending their personal assistant.”

And that affected them how? “So?”