THEIR_VIRGIN_PRINCESS (21 page)

He flushed, his skin going the sweetest pink. His cock
immediately stood and saluted. “I want you, too, baby. Are you sure?”

Even swimming with them among nature had made her realize
how much she longed to do everything that felt natural to her now. “I’m past
ready.”

Landon glanced over his shoulder, looking back to the pond
as if looking for Cooper. “Uhm, well… This isn’t the way we planned it.”

Of course they had a plan. But she was tired of following
other peoples’ plans. She got to her feet. Lan’s hesitation suddenly made her
feel her nudity. They’d spent so much time praising her beauty and telling her
that they wanted her. Why was Lan hesitating now?

Those nasty voices from her nightmare in Colombia started
circling in her head again, vultures eager to gnaw on her confidence. Still,
she refused to jump to conclusions. Maybe Lan hesitated because Dane hadn’t
arrived yet?

“Why does this have to be planned? I want to be spontaneous.
I want to enjoy being with you”

Lan sighed and looked up, like he was trying to gather his
thoughts or his patience. “Are you really sure? I think we should talk about
this.”

She’d thought they would just fall on her the minute she
said yes, that sex would be easy. Alea had mentally prepared herself not to
freak out if she found herself underneath one of their big, hard bodies. They
claimed to want her. They were together in paradise. So what was the problem?

At times, she’d behaved wretchedly to them. And they’d been
so patient. She would bet these men didn’t take crap off anyone, but they’d
taken it from her. They claimed to be crazy about her, and she’d begun to
believe it, but…Landon wasn’t exactly jumping on her offer.

Alea wrapped her arms around her middle. “What is there to
say?”

Lan hesitated, like he had something to confess that he’d
rather keep to himself. Her heart twisted. Maybe it had nothing to do with a
lack of desire for her.

But what else could it be?

She turned away to find the bra and panties she’d discarded
earlier when she’d been sure this afternoon would be idyllic and perfect.
“Never mind. Forget I said anything. I’ll find my way back to the beach.”

Landon grabbed her arm, and when she flinched and jerked
away, he held up his hands. “Alea...”

She needed to get her clothes on and she needed to do it
now. But Landon had scooped them up first and was holding them to his chest.

“I need my clothes, Landon. Could I have them, please?” She
was fighting off that horrible panic that came from knowing just how foolish
she looked.

Cooper surfaced in the pool, his gaze bouncing between her
and Lan. “Lea? What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She took a deep breath as the truth of that
statement hit her. There was nothing going on at all. It appeared that nothing
ever would. And she’d made a mistake hoping otherwise.

* * * *

“Dude, what the hell happened?” Cooper barked as he climbed
out of the pool and stood expectantly.

If anyone had told Lan years back that he’d be comfortable
standing naked with other naked dudes, he would have told them they were crazy,
but there wasn’t a whole bunch of privacy in the Army. And nudity was even
easier here in paradise. He’d become pretty comfortable seeing everyone walking
around with their junk hanging out.

“Alea said that she’s ready.” To move forward. To accept
them.
Thank God.

Cooper’s eyes widened. “Are you shitting me?”

“Nope. But there are a few problems with that scenario.”

Coop looked down the empty trail leading from the beach.
“Besides…the plan?”

“Yeah. I need to tell Alea something, and she didn’t let me
get it out before she decided…I don’t know. That she was ugly or I didn’t want
her or some other bullshit.”

Lan kept his eyes on Alea. She was so fucking gorgeous. The
sun kissed her skin, and he could just about swear she glowed.

Cooper frowned. “Not want you? Lea, his cock is so hard
it’s, like, halfway up his nose. Mine’s not any softer. How can you say that?
What are you thinking?”

Okay, halfway up his nose was an exaggeration, but not by
much. It sure wanted to crawl toward her and work its way inside her. “Of
course I want you.”

In fact, he really wanted to jump on her and spread her legs
and get inside her before she could have a second thought. When she’d said she
wanted him, his whole body had flashed hot. All he’d been able to imagine was
her naked and under him as he fucked her until they were both sated, spent, and
he had emptied everything he had inside her.

Then the big problem had whacked him in the face with a
two-by-four of
duh
!

“Fine. Tell me what the problem is.” Alea stared at him,
arms crossed over those luscious breasts.

When she turned that arrogant frown on him, he totally
understood why Dane wanted to lay her out and smack her ass until she begged
for mercy. Then he would let her suck his cock in apology. Lan smiled at the
image.

“I only lost one piece of luggage during my swim from the
plane to the shore. I’ve dived out there twenty times looking for it.” He
scrubbed a hand down his face. “I think the current swept it away.”

Cooper’s jaw dropped. “No. Tell me you didn’t lose the
condoms, man.”

He should have mentioned it before now. “Our stash of
condoms is probably growing algae on the bottom of the sea floor. Darlin’, I
have no way to protect you. None of us do.”

And that didn’t make a damn bit of difference to him. He
still wanted her. Actually, the idea of fucking her with no latex between them
made him crazy, primal. He could mark her. He could fill her up and know that
something of him lingered inside her. He stared at her and his heart stopped a
little when the sweetest smile stretched across her face.

She flushed a pretty pink. A gorgeous light glowed in her
eyes. God, he loved her eyes. They were a mystery to him always, but he never
loved them more than when he saw them lit as though she had a fire deep inside.
It was banked most of the time, but Lan got the feeling that if he could just
crack that shell of hers, she could warm them all for a lifetime. “So you still
want me?”

The question nearly brought him to his knees. “Always.”

She stepped toward him. “Then don’t go. I still want you,
too.”

“Good.” He swallowed, trying to hold it together. “I’m not worried
about disease. Not at all. We’ve all had physicals and none of us have touched
a woman since we hired on at the palace, but you could get pregnant, Lea. We
could try to pull out, but…” This was probably a dumb move, but he wanted her
to understand what she meant to him. “When the time was right, we were going to
ask you to marry us anyway. I have no hesitation making love to you without
birth control. I can’t wait for a future with you, if you’ll have us. I would
love to look at your rounding belly and feel the life underneath kick my palm.
Fuck, I’d love that.”

“Really?” Her lips parted in surprise. Her eyes softened.

Cooper scrubbed a hand through his hair. “We all feel that
way, baby. We’re committed to this, to you.”

A pink flush crept up her cheeks. “I… That’s so sweet.”

She walked toward Lan then, arms outstretched, and he let
himself look at her glorious body. First, the curves of her breasts. A
heartbeat later, his gaze dropped to her nipples. So fucking pretty. Her curvy
waist. Her oh-so-fuckable hips and that mound he couldn’t stop staring at. Her
pussy. He wanted to taste it. Coop had licked at that pussy. He’d rubbed it
across his face, and Lan was pretty sure he hadn’t washed his fucking face for
days so he could still smell her.

God, his cock was killing him. His heart ached, too. He
started toward her, determined to meet her halfway.

“This isn’t just sex for you?” she whispered.

Lan took her in his arms. “I love you.”

“I second that.” Cooper kissed her temple and caressed her
back.

Tears spilled down her face as she planted her hands on the
sides of his face. “Be sure. I’m trouble. I’m difficult. I don’t want to be,
and the three of you make me want to heal and be better. So I need you to be
sure.”

“
You
be sure. If
we do this, we don’t know what the future will bring…but we know the
possibilities. I’ll never be as smart as Dane and Coop, but—”

“You’re wrong.” She shook her head, more tears flowing.
“You’re wonderful. The future used to scare me, but not now. I see it with you
and me, Dane, and Coop. I don’t care about the condoms. I don’t care about
anything right now except you. Kiss me. Love me. I need you.”

Amazing that he could give her what she needed. A real
princess and an illegitimate punk from Texas should have nothing in common, but
his heart had damn sure spoken. He needed her, too.

Lan swooped her against his chest and devoured her lips.
With her was where he’d wanted to be for fucking months. Years. All his goddamn
life. He hadn’t always known her, but he’d been looking for Alea, for the woman
who could make him whole.

He fastened his hands on her hips, loving the way her
velvety skin felt under his fingertips. He gripped her tighter, pulling her
into the cradle of his body as he eased her lips open under his and his tongue
invaded. She’d given him permission. She didn’t care about condoms? Fuck. He
could fill her up about a hundred times over. Everything he had belonged to
her, especially his heart.

As his hands caressed their way down, he cupped that
gloriously juicy ass. It was so fucking sexy. When she’d turned earlier and
flashed those cheeks to him, he’d thought he might die. Again, he slanted his
mouth over hers, going as deep as he could. This was heaven. His cock was
nestled against her belly, the heat of her threatening to make him blow before
his time, but it wouldn’t matter. He’d just get hard again. She was the one.
She made his heart soft.

Alea was goddamn everything to him.

Along with Dane and Coop, he’d worked for days to make her
comfortable with his flesh against hers. Now, he pulled her even closer. She
didn’t shrink back. In fact, she melted right into him, and Lan smiled. Her
arms wound around his neck and she kissed him back, her tongue tangling with
his.
So good. So right.
His cock
pulsed against her belly. He could feel her nipples brushing against his chest.

He rubbed his tongue against her, showing her what he wanted
to do with his cock. In and out. In and out. The way she clung to him, giving
him breathy little moans, was so fucking perfect. She pressed those breasts
close, and he knew damn well that this was the time. And he was her man.

“Tell me you want me,” she whispered.

That was an easy request. “More than I want my next breath.”

“I want you, Landon. Be my first. Cooper, will you help us?”
Her head turned slightly, looking at his friend.

“Do I get a turn?” Cooper sounded tight, like he was damn
close to the end of his rope.

A brilliant smile broke across her face. “Yes, I want to
make love with you, too. We’re going to have to work on your sweet nothings,
Coop. I want all my men. But you guys do all the camp work tomorrow because I
have a feeling I’m going to be sore.”

“Deal!” Coop assured.

Lan laughed. He’d just carry her wherever she needed to go.
In fact, he would prefer it that way.

He bent and thrust his right arm under her knees, hauling
her to his chest. He wanted to make love to Lea in the soft grass. He wanted to
watch every moment. He wanted to memorize it.

She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and smiled into his
eyes, making him feel like the fucking king of the world. He carried her to the
grass. It was buttery soft and would suit his purpose.

When he set her on her feet, Lan immediately shoved his nose
in her hair. She smelled clean and tangy and sweet. Heavenly. Like the home he’d
been looking for all of his life. She might wake up someday and decide that he
was all wrong for her, and he would need these memories to get him through the
next fifty years or so. But right now, she wanted him and was embracing the
idea of their tomorrows.

With a coy smile, she wrapped her hands around the sides of
his chest. He struggled not to shiver as she caressed her way lower. He kissed
her again, then backed off as he felt Cooper moving in behind Alea, his arms
around her waist.

“Is this okay?” Cooper asked, pushing her hair to the side
so he could kiss her neck.

“It’s wonderful.” One of Alea’s hands trailed back and found
Cooper’s hip.

She was no longer the woman who flinched every time one of
them touched her. Landon had started to think that crashing and finding this
island was the best thing that could have happened to them. If they had been in
Sydney, they would never have made this much progress with her so quickly. Tal
and the others would have found her, and she would have had a million and one
distractions. Even though she’d meant this trip to be a vacation, she would
have had responsibilities and pressure.

Here, they had nothing to do except focus on each other.

Lan watched as Cooper turned her head slightly and covered
her lips with his own. It was hot to watch his buddy kiss their girl. Cooper’s
hands cupped her breasts and offered them up to Lan. Yeah, he would take those.
He got to his knees and licked at one nipple. Firm and ripe, he traced the
areola with the tip of his tongue. Alea whimpered a little and thrust her
breasts out, begging for more.

A succulent scent wafted up. Her arousal. Sweet and
exotically spicy. She wanted him. Them.

He sucked at her nipples, drawing the first one into his
mouth before moving to the second and suckling with abandon.

He let his fingers drift lower, slipping across her mound
and splitting her labia. She was wet, a soft, sweet heat he couldn’t wait to
sink into, but he would have to because she wasn’t a quick lay. No. He was
going to let her take all the time she needed.