Owned By the Prince by Tristan Rivers

Chapter 18

Blair

The Londis School of Economics is not happy. I’m on my third call of the morning with the admissions office. This is very irregular. Do you realize that? Do you not understand how competitive this program is? I let them talk since I’ve already made my decision. I’m going back home. I’m going to move to Boston, of all places, and wait tables until Caleb’s better. While the admissions tutor drones away, a new message alert pops up on my laptop. It’s from the hospital. My heartbeat speeds up as I click to open it:

Dear Ms. Kirkham,

We inform you that your contributions to your nephew’s care are no longer required since a donor has committed to covering all of his past and future care.

What?“Mr. Hansen?” I interrupt. “I’m sorry, I’m going to need to call you back.”

Before he has a chance to say anything, I end the call and dial the number for the hospital.

“Who is this donor?” I ask, as soon as I get a hold of the person who sent the email.

“I’m afraid they wanted to remain anonymous. A very polite gentleman from the UK,” she tells me. And just then, the doorbell rings.

The intercom’s broken so I stick my head out the window. I see a big brown beard, heavy black glasses, and a blue lumberjack shirt. I shake my head, hard, as if I’m trying to reboot my vision. “Max?”

“You’re still here?” There’s relief in his voice.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

He shades his eyes from the sun. “Your colleague said you’d quit.”

“My colleague? What?”

“Blair, I’m not good at shouting in this accent. Can I come up for a moment?”

“Uh. Okay.” I go over to the intercom slowly, press the lock release.

I hear fast, heavy footsteps on the rickety old staircase, then there’s a knock on the apartment door. When I open it, I restrain a gasp. The beard and glasses are gone, and it’s just Max. Prince Maximillion is filling my doorway. He’s more handsome than ever, but there are dark shadows beneath his eyes.

“Blair, you look different—great actually.”

I stare at him stupidly. He’s larger than life, way too big for my tiny apartment.

His brows draw together. “Are you okay?”

I pass the back of my hand across my forehead. “Yeah. This is kind of surreal. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I know. Are you really going back to the States?”

“Did you pay my nephew’s medical bills?” I counter.

He sighs, runs his hand through his already messy brown hair. “Yes, I did. I didn’t want you to find out that it was me, but I knew there was a good chance it would happen.”

“But why? One minute you’re accusing me of spying on you and Freddie is calling me a gold digger, and then you go and do something like this.”

“What I said before, when I saw the article about you, was a snap reaction. You know what I’ve been through with the media—it was all a big shock.”

I bite my lip. “I guess you’re not to blame for that.” I wave my hand. “Please, take a seat. But don’t complain if the couch collapses on you. It’s not the sturdiest.”

His lips curl into a half smile. “Thank you.” He sits down cautiously, the springs groaning beneath his muscular bulk. I perch on a chair opposite, trying to look nonchalant, although my heart is hammering in my chest and my brain is whirling with questions. He rests his elbows on his knees, legs wide apart, and there’s a vulnerability in his eyes that startles me. “You’re not really leaving, are you?”

“Well, it wasn’t my first choice. But the fact is I needed to pay Caleb’s medical bills, and it’s too hard to earn money and study at the same time.”

“Yet you rejected the money I sent you.”

“I didn’t earn it.”

“Blair—yes, you did. You did everything I asked of you. None of this was your fault.”

I shake my head. “Don’t you hate me for lying about my background?”

He gives me that shrewd, intense gaze of his, his irises illuminated by the shaft of sunlight coming through the window. “Of course not. I get it now—you weren’t lying to me. You’d created a more palatable version of your background, and it became the story you told everyone. I was such a hypocrite, spending that amazing day with you in disguise, loving the way you made me feel like a different person, then denying you the right to change your own identity. I’m so sorry for the way I reacted, Blair. I’d do anything to take it back. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

My lips part in a shocked O.

I stare down at the floor, wanting to believe him, but there’s a little gremlin in my stomach, a gremlin which has the face of Freddie.

“What was all that stuff Prince Frederick was saying?” I demand.

Max exhales through his nostrils. “When my mask slipped at the party and you discovered my identity, I knew I had to bring you to the palace for your own protection. It was a quick decision, and at that point I didn’t have a plan.”

“My protection?” I echo.

“I was worried what would happen if you told anyone about me.”

“But if I did, the secret would’ve been out already.”

“The family guards their privacy very jealously, and I don’t even know all the workings of the security team. I do know that your movements have been recorded any time we’re not together.”

I blink several times. “What do you mean?”

“I mean your phone will have a listening and tracking device installed in it.”

I gasp, pull it out of my back pocket. I rarely let it out of my sight. “But how?” Unless— “At the party?”

He nods. “Most likely.”

I cover my mouth with my hand, breathing hard. “So, you were planning to keep me at the palace for a month, and then what?”

“I didn’t have a clear idea. I just knew I needed to act fast. I was hoping that a month would be enough time to convince you to stay—forever.”

I stare at him incredulously. “Like all your other live-in members of staff?”

His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. “Kind of, yes.”

“Max, I’m not your butler, or your dear old nanny. I’m a woman who makes free choices for herself.” I stand up abruptly. “I just need a moment.” I get up, go into the kitchen, and stare out the open window at the train tracks below while gulping in some fresh Londis air.

He gives me a minute or two, then he’s behind me, his deep voice resonating in the small space. “I was trying to protect you the only way I knew how. I thought it could be a mutually enjoyable arrangement. I didn’t bank on you being a virgin. And I certainly didn’t anticipate developing feelings for you.”

I spin around to face him. “But you thought I’d be your lifelong sex slave. A bit on the side?”

He clenches his jaw. “I promise you, whatever happens, Freddie will regret those words. The truth is, I’ve been expected to marry someone for a long time now. It’s purely a matter of convenience, and we’re not interested in each other sexually.”

“So she would be the public figurehead, and I would supply your other needs?” I’m so mad and disgusted that I’m practically hissing.

He holds up his hands. “Yes. Initially, I floated that thought. But then—” he breaks off.

“Then?”

“Then I fell for you, Blair. Right before Freddie appeared in the corridor like the fucking grim reaper, I was thinking about how I was going to tell the family that the marriage was off.”

“What are you saying?”

He tents his fingers against his forehead. “I told you how I felt about you on the bridge. You’re the one I want to be with. There was no way I could contemplate marrying someone other than you.”

I press my lips together. “A trailer-park princess. And the royal family isn’t going to go crazy when they hear this?”

He frowns, his eyes turning stormy. “I don’t want to hear you say anything like that about yourself again.”

“It’s true. I grew up in a trailer park. The youngest of seven kids. My mom died when I was ten, and I don’t even know who my daddy is. We were dirt poor. Even in my poor town, the other kids mocked us for being poor. But I never had sex for money. That part was a lie. I never did anything with a guy until I met you.”

I’m speaking defiantly, hands on hips, but he takes one of my hands and clasps it between his. “You’re the most elegant, smart, sophisticated woman I’ve ever met. You’ve got more class in your little finger than anyone in the family. I don’t care what the family says. I’ve done enough for them. All I want in the world is you. If you’ll still have me.”

He looks so strong, yet so vulnerable, and it melts my heart. “What are you asking me exactly?” I say.

He presses my hand to his lips. “Blair Kirkham, I’ve come here to ask you—will you marry me?”

There’s a rush of blood in my ears and my tiny, cramped kitchen suddenly looks blurry. “But—but, are you serious? I mean, you haven’t known me for very long. I might have all kinds of gross personal habits. I might get real cranky in the mornings.”

He laughs. “You’re the best. The best person I could imagine. And I don’t care if you have a bunch of bad habits. I’m in love with you, Blair. Will you please become my wife?”

I gaze at him. This prince in my kitchen. This incredibly powerful man, who somehow seems to love me. “I will, on one condition,” I say.

“What’s that?”

“That we spend a lot of time together before the engagement gets publicly announced, or whatever’s supposed to happen.”

A huge, boyish grin lights up his face. “You’ve got it. Anything you want, Blair. I’d love that, too. Let’s take a holiday together.”

“And live somewhere other than the palace, at least for a while.”

He laughs. “You can’t imagine how much I’d like that. We can get a place in central Londis, near your university.”

“With no staff?”

“Well, there’ll be a few police outside with machine guns, but…”

“I guess I can handle that.”

He dips his head and kisses me, more tenderly than ever before. “Blair, I’m going to make you the happiest woman alive. I want to make up for everything you’ve suffered or missed out on in life. You deserve the best.”

I lay my hands flat on his chest, feeling the hard press of his pecs. “All I want is you, Max.”

“You want me?” The softness in his eyes sharpens into desire.

I grin. “Yeah.”

“Let’s go to your room.”

I cock an eyebrow. “Really? It’s not much to look at.”

“I want to see your private space. Where you sleep, dream, make plans.”

“Okay.”

He lunges at me and lifts me off my feet into his arms. “Which way?”

“Out of here and second door on the left.”

We giggle as he maneuvers me through the tight corridor of my apartment. “Do you have a roommate?”

“Yup, but he’s a science geek. He’ll be in labs until eight p.m. at least.”

“Perfect.” He growls into my neck, and a shiver runs through my body. He deposits me on my white duvet and looks around the room. “Nice,” he says. It’s tidy at least, as I like to keep my living environment. Probably the result of growing up in a place that was always full of junk and trash.

“The furniture’s not mine,” I say, more defensively than I meant to, thinking that he’s probably never seen a room like this before in his life.

“I can see that. I like what you’ve done with it, though.”

I try to relax as he looks around, and I start to understand that he really is fascinated by my things. He picks up the photo on my nightstand of me holding Caleb. Caleb is tugging on a lock of my hair, and I’m grimacing and laughing at the same time. “Is this your nephew?”

“Yup.”

“He’s a cutie. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Let’s go visit him soon.” He sits down on the bed and reaches for me. “I want to know every single thing about you and your life.”

I hold myself stiffly. “There’s going to be a lot more shit about me in the papers, you know that?”

He shakes his head. “Your background is not shit. You’ve made yourself into the amazing person you are, and you don’t need to be ashamed of it. I’m proud of every single thing about you, Blair. And woe betide anyone who says anything negative about you ever again.”

As he pulls my gray Guns N’ Roses T-shirt over my head, I’m embarrassed that I’m wearing a plain T-shirt bra, but he unclasps it deftly. I tug at his shirt, and in seconds, we’re both naked. I lay back on the pillow, and there’s something in his eyes that I can’t identify as he crouches over me, his cock huge and swollen. “What is it?”

“I don’t know. You suddenly look really innocent. Like a fairytale princess.” He chafes my lower lip with his thumb. “Your hair fanned out on the pillow, and your cheeks and lips all rosy.”

I smile. “Maybe I am innocent, Max.”

He makes that growly sound again, which vibrates all the way to my clit. “You forget I have proof that you’re not. You’re mine. I’ve already possessed every lovely part of you. And I’m going to do it again and again, every single day.”

My breath catches, and the ache in my clit becomes a deep throb, my pussy clenching in little spasms. I reach out for him and pull him on top of me. “Take me, Max. Make me yours.”

With a groan of pure hunger, he enters me fast. He’s so big and thick, but the soreness of my first time has gone, and waves of bliss radiate through me as he fills me up.

“I love you,” he breathes as he thrusts into me. “And you’re mine now, my princess. Forever.”