Page 23

Ava

“A lright, I wasn’t planning on playing the ‘by order of the princess card,’ but I’m getting very close.”

Standing in the middle of the garage, dozens of gorgeous cars of all make and model around us, my mind raced with the possibilities. Luc, on the other hand, was less enthused.

“I’m still against us going out. But if you insist on it, then we need to take something non-descript. How about this Tesla? Perfectly fine car.”

“Come on ,” I replied. “I’m from Seattle—you throw a rock out a window and it’ll bounce off like five of these. No, I’ve got something a little more fun in mind, something a little sportier.”

Luc sighed, running his hand through his thick, silver-tinged hair. “Such a bad idea. Not to mention that you’re going to be missing dinner with your father.”

“Please. He’s missed more dinners with me than he’s been to. And when he does bother to show up for them, he barely says a word.”

Luc said nothing, and I could sense that he wasn’t going to speak an ill word about the king.

“If he asks, just tell him that I commanded you to take me out of the castle. Put it all on me.”

“Putting the blame on someone else, and lying in the process, isn’t something I’m used to doing. But if you want to spend some time in your city, I suppose it can be arranged.”

“Arranged? It’s already done. All I’m worried about now is finding some way to get you to take the stick out of your ass and let me pick out one of the nicer cars.” I grinned, a thought occurring to me. “Let me ask you this—which car do you like?”

“Doesn’t matter; none of them are mine.”

“But they’re mine , kind of, and I’m giving you permission to pick.”

Luc sighed, as if realizing that he wasn’t getting out of this. When he finally accepted it, a small smile formed on his lips.

“This way.”

He stepped away from me, making his way down the rows of cars. I followed, eager to find out which one was his favorite, which one we’d be taking out for the night. Eventually we came to a stop at a forest green luxury car, one that was a little older than most of the automobiles there.

“This is a 1990 Jaguar XJS V12 convertible.” His voice was tinged with awe. “Back when I was a kid, this was the height of luxury to me. And it’s not just nice-looking; this thing’s a beast under the hood.”

“It’s perfect,” I said with a smile. “You ever taken it out?”

“Just once, many years ago. One night, back when we were both a little older than you, the king had a little too much wine. He wanted me to take him into town for a bite to eat, and he said that I could drive any car I wanted. Naturally, I picked this one.”

“Well, now’s your second chance.”

He nodded. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

Luc went over to the pegboard on the wall where all of the keys were hung, taking a few moments to locate the set for the Jag. Seconds later he was opening the passenger side door for me. I slid into the car, an “oh, wow,” coming from my mouth as I took in the interior. The seat was plush, brown leather, the dashboard all analog, no fancy iPads or electric readouts to be found.

Luc eased into the driver’s seat, and I could sense he was savoring each moment. He wrapped his fingers slowly around the steering wheel, the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“So ready.”

With that, he slipped the key into the ignition and turned. The engine growled to life, the vibration so deep that I could feel my bones shake. Luc expertly pulled the car out of its parking space, driving down the lane toward the garage door. The door opened before us, the wild sunset filling our vision.

Luc gunned the engine as we pulled out of the building, catching the attention of the castle staff that happened to be nearby.

“This is amazing!” I said, unable to hold back the big grin on my face. “I can see why you like this car so much!”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he replied, putting on his best American accent.

He pulled through the gates of the royal palace, the guards waving us past, all of them regarding me with curious expressions on their faces. So much for keeping a low profile. Luc gunned the engine again, taking us out onto the highway that overlooked the city. As we drove, he pressed a button on the dash that retracted the roof. Wind rushed through the car, the feeling totally exhilarating.

I couldn’t help it. I threw my hands up into the air and let out a woo hoo !

“You know,” Luc said. “I never understood why American women love saying woo hoo so much.”

I laughed. “It’s our way of letting you know that we’re very, very happy. So, where to?” I had to raise my voice over the rushing wind.

“I’ll show you.”

We drove, Luc speeding down the highway, the sun still setting to the west. He took an exit that led to a small town in the shadows of the Alps. Soon we reached a small, winding road that went up along the side of the mountain. Eventually, we arrived at a small clearing off the side of the road that afforded a sweeping view of Lausanne and the countryside around it, the sunset having turned the entire sky orange and red. Luc turned off the engine, a peaceful silence coming over us. A bit of heat came from the vents, just enough to offset the chilly autumn air around us.

“This is beautiful.” I allowed myself a moment to take in the view.

“This is where I used to come to be alone when I was younger. One of the nice things about Edoria is that it’s not hard to find solitude when you want it, even if you do live in the royal palace. It’s something that I don’t take advantage of enough.”

“I know what you mean. There is this park in my neighborhood where you can look out over the ocean. It’s amazing, and totally necessary when you’ve had a particularly rough day at the food truck.”

Silence fell once more as we looked out at the sunset.

“I’ve missed—”

“I’m sorry for—”

We spoke at the same time, tripping over one another’s words and laughing.

“Mind if I go first?” he asked. “I’m the one who did you wrong, after all.”

“I’ll never turn down an opportunity to hear someone tell me I was right.” I followed this up with a little smirk and a wink.

“Well, in this case, you are. Regardless of what your father might’ve ordered me to do, I shouldn’t have simply cut you out like that. It’s not considerate behavior.”

My smirk faded. “Yeah. It hurt, Luc. I thought that we were at least OK being open with one another.”

“We were, we are . It’s just that… the truth of the matter is that being around you is hard.”

“Hard?”

“A temptation. After what we did together, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to be with you again. But I knew that was impossible—the first time was a mistake; a second time simply couldn’t happen.”

“And why not?”

He laughed. “Because you’re the princess. Because you’re my best friend’s daughter. Because you’re almost half my age .”

A tension formed between my legs. “You know, all of those reasons should make me not want to do it again. But…”

“The opposite happens.” He said the words with the tone of someone who’d been doing some serious thinking about it. “Everything about it is forbidden. But…”

I reached over and took his hand. “But only adds fuel to the fire.”

He said nothing, his eyes on my hand.

“It’s tough,” he said. “I’m not sure what to do.”

“Hm. How about this— do what you want to do, instead of what you’re supposed to do.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “You say that like it’s the easiest thing in the world. Life in the palace is all about those I serve.”

“Not right now, it isn’t. Right now, I’m not a princess. Right now, I’m just a girl sitting in the car with you, asking you what you want.”

He turned toward me, passion burning in his eyes.

“I want you, Ava.”

“Then take me.”

That was the end of the discussion. Luc brought his hand from mine to my cheek as he leaned over to kiss me. The moment his lips touched mine I realized how intensely I’d been longing for him, how desperate I’d been for his touch, his scent, his nearness. His tongue sought out mine and we kissed long and deep, his hand moving from my face to my breasts to between my thighs.

“Touch me,” I begged. “Touch me the way that only you can.”

Without a word, he opened the button and zipper of my jeans and slipped his hand underneath my panties. I moaned, closing my eyes and focusing on the warmth of his hand as he teased me, making slow circles around my clit with his fingertip, causing the pleasure to rise inside of me.

Luc kissed me on the slope of my neck, tingles breaking out across my body as he coaxed the orgasm that grew closer and stronger by the moment. I moaned while grinding into his hand, the intensity of his touch causing the tension that had been building in me for the last two weeks to reach a breaking point.

The orgasm hit, my eyes going wide as I came hard, the hot delight rushing through me. When it was done, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted more. Lucky for me, the look in his eyes—hungry and eager—let me know that he felt the same way.

“I love watching you come.” His voice was a low growl. “And you’re going to do it again for me.”

I reached over to return the favor. With a quick opening of his belt buckle and an unzip of his pants, I soon had his cock out and in my hand.

I stroked him slowly, my palm caressing his length. I watched with a smile as he leaned his head back, closing his eyes and savoring my touch. He was so smooth, so wonderful to feel. I let my fingers dance over his length, using what I’d learned the first time with Luc. I slowly dragged my fingertips over his head, paying special attention to the ridge.

He growled, opening his eyes and regarding me with a hunger that made my heart skip a beat.

“Come here.”Luc adjusted the seat as far back as it would go then reached over, grabbed me by the hips and lifted me over top of him. Once I was seated in his lap, facing forward, he peeled my jeans and panties off then said, “Reach down and take hold.” Seeming to sense my hesitation at the new position he added, “And do what you’ve done before.”

“OK.”

I reached behind and between my legs, grabbing him by the base. His manhood in hand, I lowered myself down slowly until his head pushed apart my lips. I moaned at the sensation—his head against my clit felt amazing. As I touched myself with him, Luc took my shirt hem into his hands and pulled it up and over my head. Once that was gone, he undid the clasp of my bra, my breasts falling out and into his hands.

“This feels so good,” I said, still rubbing my clit with his tip.

“Then don’t stop. I’m more than enjoying the view.”

He rubbed my tits slowly, teasing my nipples with his thumbs until they went hard against his touch. The pleasure increased, another orgasm building until I couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Oh… Oh my Go— “

I shuddered and shook on top of him, closing my eyes and focusing on the sensations of his head against my clit, his hands on my breasts. The second orgasm felt like it might rip me apart, the intensity almost too much to bear. I quivered over top of him, making sure to keep his head right where it made me feel so good.

As the orgasm faded, it became apparent that Luc could take no more teasing. He grabbed me by the hips, twisting them ever so slightly, hinting that he wanted me to turn around and face him. Once we were facing each other, Luc kissed me deeply as he lowered me down, impaling me on his thickness. I whimpered with pleasure as I took one inch of him into me after another, my walls stretching as I devoured him. When I was completely full of him, I leaned forward, putting my hands on his shoulders and letting my tits hang in his face. Luc took advantage of the opportunity, licking and sucking my nipples.

“You’re in more control like this.”

“I like it.” I began rocking back and forth, feeling him rubbing inside of me. “A lot.”

He guided me with his hands on my ass, pleasure enveloping me. I arched my back as his touch moved all over my body—from my rear to my hips, up my back, around to my breasts. I loved the way he touched me, as if he didn’t want a single square inch to go unattended.

Curious to try something, I sat up straight and placed my hands on his powerful, muscular thighs. Once I was in position, I began moving up and down instead of back and forth.

“Oh-my-God-oh-my-God.” The words shot out of me, the feeling of him pushing up into me over and over again felt so incredible. I grabbed onto his shoulders as hard as I could, groans beginning to sound from him as we both drew closer and closer to climax.

“Come for me.”

With those magic words I released, and so did he. His cock throbbed as I came, hot spurts of his seed shooting straight up inside of me. I savored the feeling, savored his hands on my ass, savored his deep, masculine grunts as he exploded. I came harder than I ever had before, my body white-hot with pleasure.

When we both came down from the intensity of our orgasms, all I could do was collapse on top of him. Luc wrapped his arms around me, holding me in just the way I wanted. Silence, aside from the softly blowing wind, fell over us.

In those moments, I knew I was losing myself in him. The thought was both terrifying and thrilling all at once. Whatever was happening between us, we were going to go through it together. Part of me couldn’t wait. Another was more scared than I’d ever been in my life.