Page 5 of Royally Tempted
“The floor you’re on is special. No one can access it or go through it. We have to go down to take another elevator.” He opens the door at the bottom and takes a right, holding my hand like we’ve known each other for years. We reach another elevator, and he swipes us in. “This elevator is special too, it’s not regular access, so you don’t have to worry about someone seeing you. The garden is usually closed at this time too, so we’ll have it all to ourselves.”
“Do you work here at the hotel?” He’s got to be security or something to know all these details. I follow him into the elevator, the small space reflecting our images. He towers over me and meets my eyes in the mirrored wall.
He smiles. “Something like that.” He steps closer to me, brushing his hands over my arms. “You’re beautiful,” he says, his voice low. “I don’t want to be that guy, but you took my breath away up there.”
“That was just my elbow.”
He smirks again, taking my hand as the doors slide open. The hallway we enter is dark and he tightens his fingers on mine, tugging me along. We come to another door and his magic pass lights up the panel. Pushing the door open with one hand, his other hand drifts to the small of my back. He’s not touching me, but I can feel the warm heat radiating from him and I practically float through the doorway.
“After you, my lady.”
I step into paradise. I’m not sure what I expected, but this lush garden full of trees and flowers wasn’t it. I’d never guess I’m on the hotel roof. I spin in a small circle, warmth enveloping me, and I tip my face to the sun. It smells amazing. I draw a deep breath feeling goosebumps raise on my skin. I don’t think I realized how cold I was until now.
“Is this to your liking?” he asks, an indulgent smile on his face.
“It’s perfect.” I’ve never stepped outside the lines before. Sure, I’ve pushed the boundaries but generally speaking, I’ve always been the good girl he pegged me as. My mother’s exploits were well-known, and my father expected more from me. I know my duty and I’ve always committed to it fully. Kept my head down. Ignored the comments. Stayed behind the walls. Pretend I’m not terrified to marry a stranger. I smile and dance to the tune of my family but my exposure to men has been pretty limited, and they always see my crown before they see me.
Until now.
This place feels magical, like I can do anything and get away with it, and what I want most of all is to experience a kiss from this gorgeous man with the wicked grin who called me beautiful and whisked me to this oasis. I should be suspicious, but there’s something in his gaze, in the warmth of his touch that feels right.
Who would ever know? He’s clearly some kind of security person, likely with the hotel itself, so I’ll never see him again after this trip. A dark foreboding steals over me. After this trip, I’ll be a married woman. Married to some stranger who traded themselves for a connection to a crown.
I’m nothing but a commodity.
“You’re stunning,” he says when I finally stop spinning to take in all the various jewels in the garden.
My throat tightens. His false flattery makes me uncomfortable. He must notice my unease because he comes to stand near me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I sigh. “It’s just that you don’t have to say those things to me.”
His brows draw together. “What things?”
I look away, focusing on a small patch of white flowers with bright yellow centers. I start as strong fingers press against my jaw, turning my face back to him. No one touches me like that, and it makes my heart race.
“What things, Addy?”
I lift my chin. “You don’t need to comment on my appearance.”
He presses his full lips together. “And why not? I’m nothing if not a truthful man.”
A rueful laugh escapes me. “I know what I look like. I don’t really turn heads.” At least not for my beauty.
“Have you been around blind people your entire life?”
“Pardon me?”
“You turned my head.” He slides his fingers from my jaw to my ear, lifting a lock of my hair. “Your hair is like silk and your eyes are an incredible gold color. And this dress… I don’t want to be too bold, but it makes you look like a gift I’d like to unwrap.” His other hand reaches out to playfully tug at the ribbon that sits at my waist.
“A large gift,” I mutter.
His head rears back. “Oh, I see. Youhavebeen around blind people if you don’t realize how beautiful you are. You think your curves take away your beauty?” He steps closer, gliding both of his hands over me as they come to rest on my hips. His touch is hot and possessive and my body blooms in response. He leans down, his breath on my neck. “They don’t. They’re like a map directing me to the scenic route so that I can take in the magnificent natural beauty before me, one slow bend and turn at a time. A ride I’d surely remember more than any other. His hands skate lightly along the curves of my body. Up. Down. Around. As if he’s sculpting me and I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s transformational.
I think I’ve melted into a puddle of longing. Here in the sunshine, with this gorgeous man who is making me feel things I’ve only ever let myself experience alone, in my room, in the dark. My hands move slowly up his chest allowing me to explore the soft, rich fabric of his shirt that does nothing to hide the hard muscles under my fingers. I’m not certain I even have the words to express the desires inside me and even if I did, there’s no way I could say them out loud, but I want more of this breathless anticipation, this hot, heavy longing making my body ache and my mind forget all the reasons I shouldn’t be here at all.
He pulls me closer, his hands coming up my back, his fingers sensually winding themselves again through the strands of my hair. Then, gently tightening his grasp and with just the right amount of force, tugs down on the hair he’s wrapped around his hand, causing my head to list back. It takes everything in me to not moan out loud, but inside I am lit up by little explosions of need he’s igniting. His lips brush the sensitive skin of my ear. “Your curves make me want to strip that gossamer dress from you and worship you like the goddess you are. I want to taste every single inch of this gorgeous body.”
Vander’s phone buzzes inside his jacket and he curses, pulling away to shrug his jacket off and toss it on a nearby seat, before reaching for me again. “Addy, you can tell me to slow down, or hell, even to stop.”
I look up into his face, the desperate heat in his eyes. Whatever this attraction is, this insane heat between us, he feels it too. I should stop. I should run away and tuck this moment into my heart to keep me warm on those nights when I’ll have to welcome a stranger into my bed.
Into my body.
I swallow my panic. If I have to marry a stranger, at least I deserve these few stolen moments withthisstranger. A man I just met who makes me feel like no one I’ve ever encountered before.
“I don’t want you to stop,” I whisper.
