Royal Playboy: The Prince's Choice Read online

  Maybe he already had.

  Images of him lost in his orgasm last night filled my mind. I remembered the feel of him inside me, the guttural groans he made as his climax was approaching. He was so sexy in those moments.

  And they were clearly never going to happen again.

  Violet was giggling about something when she jolted me from my mind. “What do you think, Melody?”

  I shook my head, hoping to erase the images. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

  “Prince Richard thinks we should all play games this afternoon. Cards and the like, what do you think? Should we indulge this poor prince?” She was alive with the conversation, sparkling in the presence of the prince.

  My mind was decided about who he should marry.

  If he wanted me to complete our deal, I would tell him.

  “I think the prince is very good at playing games,” I replied. “He would probably cheat in all of them. Maybe it isn’t so wise to play with him.”

  Violet laughed and so did the other women at our table. Rick’s gaze burned as he watched me. I hoped I’d made my point clear to him, there would be no more playing with me.

  Rick stood, re-buttoning his suit jacket. “Well, ladies, it has been a pleasure but I must do the rounds. Enjoy your morning tea.”

  I let out a sigh of relief after he’d left. One of the other girls leaned in to the table. “I heard that a lot of women will be cut today so the number of his choices is smaller. This morning tea will be the last event for most of us. Our last chance to impress.”

  Perfect.

  My way home.

  I doubted Prince Richard would choose me anyway, but I needed to make extra sure of it. I spotted Anna at the tea station and decided to make my move.

  My tea cup was empty anyway so I took it to the station and pretended to peruse the tea selection. We were alone so it only took a moment for her to notice me. “Oh, hello, Melody. How is your morning?”

  “It’s all lovely, thank you. I’m just so worried about things back home that it’s difficult to think of anything else today,” I said sadly, casually enough for her to take the bait.

  “Oh, what’s happening back home?”

  “My ex-boyfriend is having a hard time letting me go. He’s been hassling my parents about my whereabouts. I’m worried he might hurt them.”

  Her eyebrows arched in surprise. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “I was too. They called last night. James thinks he has some claim over me since the pregnancy scare.”

  “Pregnancy?”

  “Yeah, it happened just before I came here. I thought I was pregnant, but thankfully it was only a false alarm. I made the mistake of telling James about it and he was really excited about the prospect of being a dad.”

  “He sounds like a formidable force,” she said.

  “He’s definitely got a mouth on him. But it’s his anger I’m worried about.”

  “I’m sure the police can step in if needed.”

  “I hope so.” I sighed pointedly and chose my flavor of tea.

  “I must return,” Anna said, now a little worried herself. “Enjoy the rest of the morning tea.”

  My mission was complete. There was no way I was going to be invited to the next palace event now. I would be deemed inappropriate and allowed to return home. I could finally return to the life I’d left behind and missed so dearly.

  I would never see Rick again.

  Somehow, that thought didn’t seem as good as it once had.

  The rest of the morning tea passed by in a blur as the women talked around me. I ate, making sure I had enough for a lifetime. When I walked out the palace gates this time, I knew that I would never return.

  Invitations for the next event were discreetly delivered by Anna toward the end of the tea. I watched the girls as they received them, their faces lighting up like they’d won the lotto.

  Violet got one, which I was glad about. Not many other women did. The girl was right, they were severely cutting numbers for Rick’s choice. He would be down to the final one soon.

  When the doors were open so we could leave, I didn’t hesitate. While most of the girls lingered, I made a beeline for the exit.

  The entire walk to the gate was anxious, I kept hoping I wouldn’t see Rick along the way. The last thing I needed was some kind of foolish apology for throwing me to the curb so easily. I knew what he was like, I knew what I was getting into.

  I just didn’t think it would hurt this much.

  The gate opened for me and I was allowed to leave. I caught the bus back to the hotel and could finally stop holding my breath.

  “What are you doing back here?” Aunt Helen asked from her reading perch by the windowsill, her glasses resting on the end of her nose.

  “Packing. We can leave. They made a major cut to the number of women today and I didn’t get another invitation. I’m allowed to go home,” I explained. It was bittersweet leaving like this but I was already looking forward to going back to normal life. This whole thing had felt like a fairytale, only it definitely wasn’t one.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m sure you did everything right, they were just looking for something different.”

  “I’m okay about the decision, really. I’m looking forward to going home.” If she kept looking at me like that, I was going to cry. I didn’t need her sympathy, I wouldn’t allow myself to think that I’d lost something.

  Even if I had.

  Prince Richard would marry Violet and they would have cute children and live happily ever after. She wouldn’t put a step wrong and the tabloids would love her. She would be everything I wasn’t.

  It was for the best.

  Really.

  Helen placed a comforting hand on my arm and turned me toward her. She pulled me into a hug and rested my head on her shoulder. I couldn’t stop the few tears rolling down my cheeks.

  She patted my back. “It’s okay, sweetie. You’ll find your prince one day. You’re still so young. You have your whole life to find that special person that was meant just for you.”

  I’d been foolish enough to entertain the thought that Rick was that man, albeit only briefly. It was a fleeting thought, one I’d never really considered to be true. Crying now was silly, yet I still couldn’t hold back the tears.

  I finally sniffled and pulled myself together again. It would be good seeing my parents, our little family dog, and everyone at work again. It seemed like we’d been gone for ages.

  There was a knock on the door as I returned back to my packing. Aunt Helen answered the door. There were murmurs before she returned with an envelope for me. “This was just delivered, it’s got the royal seal on it.”

  I took it from her with shaking hands, wondering what could possibly be inside. I considered leaving it undone, but knew I couldn’t. This was royal correspondence, and it must be read.

  The parchment was thick and the writing beautiful. The message, however, was not so welcoming.

  Dear Miss Melody Parker,

  You are invited to the palace for games on the lawn with His Royal Highness Prince Richard III. Party to commence at two p.m. Please arrive early for drinks beforehand.

  It was signed by the king and queen. It was a royal order.

  I had received the invitation.

  They didn’t cut me.

  Chapter 9

  Richard

  ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉

  The palace was terribly big when I least wanted it to be. I was late once again and I was going to be ripped to shreds by the women in my life if I didn’t hurry.

  Yet another party.

  More chances for the robots to prance their goods in front of me and push out their chests. It sounded like fun at the beginning but it was starting to turn into a sad joke. The group I was to choose from kept getting smaller and I couldn’t imagine marrying any of them.

  Except one.

  She thought she could go home and forget about me. I was livid when Anna told me she�
��d been cut. Apparently she didn’t think Melody had the image that the palace was looking for in a princess.

  Fuck that.

  If I was to stand next to any woman in a church in front of my peers and declare my life and fidelity to her, I wanted to have a say. I didn’t care who got upset. She had been good enough to receive the initial invitation all those weeks ago and she was good enough to stay now.

  Anna had issued the invitation.

  Finally.

  I don’t know what Melody said to get herself out of the running, but I wasn’t going to let her get out of this so easily.

  The party wasn’t exactly like the club I’d visited the previous night. A few women stood around, another few sat, they each had a glass of orange juice in their hands and were eyeing off the buffet at one side of the garden. Nobody was playing the lawn games laid out.

  I stood on the edge of the garden and took a few breaths, making sure I was presentable enough to mingle with the ladies. My shirt was buttoned, my fly up. Good enough.

  Melody was easy to spot as my gaze travelled over the guests. Anna was trying to convince them to start with the games, only a few were brave enough to volunteer to go first.

  They didn’t matter to me, I made a beeline for the only one I wanted to speak with. She was dressed in a blue playsuit, cinching at her waist with the shorts falling halfway down her thighs. Where all the other women wore pretty dresses, she had stayed true to her style. Or she was just trying to get kicked out, one or the other.

  She looked fucking hot.

  No matter what that woman wore, she seemed to ooze sex appeal. I would have loved to have seen her fully naked in the limo but we didn’t have enough time. Not that I was complaining about fucking her with that dress on, that was something else entirely.

  “Thinking you could get away from me so easily?” I whispered in her ear as I approached. I startled her, Melody turning around quickly to face me.

  Her expression went from surprised to angry in about two seconds. “I thought I was excused from all further palace activities.”

  “I bet you did. So what did you tell my assistant to get yourself cut?”

  “I didn’t say anything,” she replied, pursing her lips together as if she was physically holding in the truth.

  “Liar.”

  “Maybe I told her I had sex with you last night and wasn’t completely satisfied with the experience. Perhaps that’s what did it.”

  Fuck.

  She better not have.

  There was a difference between being sassy and just being stupid. Anna and my mother had lectured me sternly about sexually cavorting with any of the potential brides. They were supposed to be off limits to my cock.

  Strictly forbidden.

  Melody started laughing. “You can stop having a heart attack, I didn’t tell anyone. Your secret is still safe with me.”

  I tried not to make the relief obvious but I don’t think I got away with it. I had to cover it. “I’m glad, because that would have been very stupid.”

  “Glad to know your opinion of our… encounter.” She was definitely angry now. If I had to guess, she was on the verge of exploding. I wasn’t entirely sure what I had done to cause such a reaction.

  “I didn’t give my opinion of our encounter,” I replied.

  It wasn’t the place for us to be having that conversation. Not in the garden, not with Anna watching everything I did so closely. She knew me too well for me to be able to hide anything.

  Melody stood directly in front of me, having to look up to meet my gaze. Even wearing fuck-me heels, she only came up to my chin. “You completely ignored me this morning at the tea. You threw me out of the limo last night like I was a piece of ass that had no value to you. You completely used me and then made me feel guilty about it.”

  “I’m sorry to have offended you,” I said in a hushed voice. “But this isn’t the time or place to discuss it.”

  “Well, we’re going to, because I probably won’t get another invitation back to this place.”

  I pulled her closer to the hedge as subtly as I could without attracting any attention. So far she was keeping her voice low but that could stop at any moment. This scene could only cause scandal.

  “I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. I hadn’t realized I’d done anything to deserve her wrath. Clearly, I was wrong. Just when I thought I’d started to understand women…

  “You’re sorry? That’s all you’ve got to say to me? We had mind-blowing sex in the limousine and all you can say is I’m sorry?”

  “What else do you want me to say?”

  She huffed out a breath and looked around. “I don’t know. You shouldn’t have invited me here. Then you’d never have to talk to me again.”

  “That’s not what I want.” She huffed again, I was saying all the wrong things. I’d never met anyone like her. I lowered my voice. “Last night was fantastic, okay? I truly mean that. But I wasn’t supposed to have sex with any of the women here. If anyone finds out, I’m going to have to explain to my parents how I let them down and I really don’t want to do that. I need this to stay discreet, even if I do feel like telling everyone how much I enjoyed it.”

  “So why ignore me?”

  “Because I’m paranoid. My assistant, Anna, watches me like a hawk. If I’d paid you any extra attention, she would have skinned me alive.”

  “But you were just using me.”

  “No, I wasn’t.” I couldn’t start telling her why I needed to fuck her so badly last night. I wasn’t going to confess everything, she would be able to hold me by the balls then. “We need to talk about this later. Right now, we need to join the party.”

  She looked around as if she only just realized there were other people here. “Okay, fine.” She still wasn’t fine, that was clear in the tone of her voice.

  “We’ve got games to play,” I said as I stepped away from her. I plastered on the smile I had learned very early on in my life and spoke loudly to everyone. “Who wants to play? I’m sure you’re not all here just for the food.”

  All the women laughed.

  Except Melody.

  She was a challenge, that was for sure. I picked up the nearest croquette stick and swung it over my shoulder jovially. Entertaining was something I was good at, this party should have been a breeze.

  Melody stood on the fringe, sipping her juice and eating as she watched on. As time progressed, her mood seemed to lighten. Anna had spoken with her, as had a few of the other women. We were down to eleven now – Melody causing the uneven number, a fact that was probably driving Anna nuts.

  Anna was highly strung.

  She was also scary as all hell.

  “You’re very good with your stick,” one of the girls said, adding a wink for good measure. I couldn’t remember her name, I was about fifty percent certain it started with an M.

  “My stick is my specialty,” I replied, making the group of the women laugh. Puppets. They were all puppets. So desperate to stand out, to adhere themselves to me so I couldn’t shake them off.

  I was pleased to see Violet was amongst those joining in with the games. She seemed shy but a very nice woman. Anna thought she was perfect for me but I wasn’t convinced yet.

  We finished our game as I let a blond girl win. She laughed and clapped with the triumph but I was just happy to get it over with.

  It was time I made Melody hate me just that little bit more. “Miss Melody, how about you join me in the next game?”

  Her eyebrows arched. “I’m fine right here, thank you for the most generous offer, Your Majesty,” she said sarcastically. She didn’t realize that every time she was annoyed by me, it just made my dick throb harder for her.

  “Oh, come on. Do play with me.”

  Everyone was looking at her, she had to be aware of their eyes boring into her. She looked around and finally saw them. “If I must.”

  She placed her plate and glass onto a table and walked down the pathway to get to the flat area o
f the garden. The lawns were thick here, prime for outside games. I’d played here ever since I was a child.

  I considered our options for games and chose checkers. There was a giant cement board in the grounds, also capable of playing chess if we dragged out all the pieces.

  It was a two player game, which ensured none of the other girls would try to muscle into the play. They stood a respectable distance away, but their gaze was still keenly aware of every one of our actions.