Royally Screwed Part 16

"Cozy," she murmured. He threw her a smile that she returned. "Do I get a room too or is there a Murphy bed hidden here somewhere."

"You get your own room Kat. No need for us to appear improper."

"But it's okay to act it as long as no one catches us, right?" She had made her way up to the bed, running her hand along the comforter. She was suddenly so tired her bones hurt.

"Right you are exotic American," he teased. "I'll go find Sergei and ask which room they've prepared for you. You can stay here if you want."

Kat was already sprawled out across the bed. "Sounds good. You know where to find me. Dear G.o.d these sheets are heavenly," she murmured.

Sebastian snorted. "Women usually call for a deity from that bed but not about the sheets," she heard him murmur before she fell into a deep sleep.

It must have been hours later when she stirred, the room almost completely black. For a moment she forgot where she was and worried thoughts filled her head. When she remembered, the thoughts spoke louder. She hadn't called to check in with her brother.

"Hey there Sleeping Beauty," a male voice rumbled at her.

Kat turned and saw Sebastian lying beside her. She didn't immediately notice the lecherous glint in his eyes. "Sleeping Beauty had blond hair. You're off the mark."

"I didn't think Rip Van Winkle was appropriate."

"Funnier though," she said, pulling herself into a sitting position and searching her pockets for her phone. She remembered seeing a lamp on the bedside table and groped for it. The drastic change made her blind for a moment.

"You think so?" Sebastian whispered seductively, drawing himself up as well. The blanket slipped slowly across his naked torso as he did so and Kat was distracted. But only for a moment.

"Yeah right Romeo," she laughed, jumping out of bed so quickly he lost his balance and fell against the blankets where she had just been. She yawned, gathering her hair into her hands and knotting it at the nape of her neck. "Haven't we already gone over this today? Show me to my room Casanova so I don't have to fend you off all night."

"Sorry beautiful but you're stuck with me."

She laughed. "What, you're gonna tell me the inn's full for the night?"

"Remember how women like to sneak into my room when I'm not there?"

She remembered. It's how he got her into his room the night they met, how could she forget? "You've got to be kidding me? You want to use me as a tramp s.h.i.+eld?"

At that Sebastian laughed, a chuckle she couldn't help but see start in the chiseled plains of his stomach. "No but I do like that idea. No, it seems that here, you have that problem."

"You're lying. I saw a total of, what, three people on my way into this place. How the heck do I have a 'following' who think they're gonna get lucky? What have you been telling people?"

"Nothing," he promised, hands held up in surrender. "What, you don't believe me? Keeping you mysterious makes me mysterious. Helps maintain my devil may care mystique."

"And what? I'm a mysterious s.l.u.t?"

"They've heard you're beautiful. Here beautiful is enough."

"You're so full of it," Kat said, hands on her hips, tapping her foot in agitation.

"You don't believe me, fine. I'll show you." Sebastian moved to get out of bed and Kat was afforded a view of his bare a.s.s as he stood to slip his pants on.

"You really thought you were going to get lucky like that?" she asked in amus.e.m.e.nt.

He shot her that c.o.c.ky bad boy grin and her knees went just a bit weak. "I wouldn't be James Dean if I didn't try."

She walked past him, shaking her head, before delivering her comeback. "James Dean was gay you know that, right?"

"Enough from you, woman," he barked with a puppy dog smile. He pulled her over to the door and opened it slowly, trying not to make a sound. They both peaked around the doorway. Kat thought they must look like amateur sleuths, new recruits for the s...o...b.. gang, and she couldn't help but smile. It disappeared when she saw what Sebastian was pointing at.

There were three or four men hanging around near a door down the hall. After a moment the door opened and someone came out. A different man made to go in but was stopped. They started to argue in a whisper, lots of hands gesturing, watches being examined. Just as they were about to turn, Sebastian pulled her back into the room and shut the door.

"See."

"What the heck were they doing?"

"Taking turns. It's the only fair way to decide who gets to meet you. They figure you'll come back eventually."

"I can't believe you think this is funny."

"Funny? I love it. How do you think I got to meet the Empress Contessa? Or bed her daughter?"

"You'd just abandon me to the wolves then, would you?"

"Never Kitty Kat. That's why you're here now, isn't it? My own s.e.xual diplomatic immunity."

She sighed, resisting the urge to correct his use of the word Kitty. If he knew how much it annoyed her, he'd never call her anything else. "Fine. My gallant prince. Now where is my luggage I have to get out of these clothes."

"Luggage?" he asked, looking perplexed.

"It's in the other room, isn't it?"

"Yeah . . ." he answered, drawing the word out. He snapped his fingers. "But don't worry. I've got something you can put on."

"If you pull lingerie out of that closet, you'll be wearing it," she said without even turning around. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted her brother a pithy little message, a.s.suring him that she arrived safely and just made like Sleeping Beauty. She bit her lip as she pressed send, worried. She'd never manage to stop worrying about him, even continents away. This was always going to be her life, wasn't it?

"What in the world is that?!"

"It's my official, Royal Petrescu s.h.i.+rt."

She giggled. "It has shoulder pads. And ta.s.sels," she said as he approached.

"I thought you'd like it. I took a chance." He looked studiously at the cream colored fabric, big gold b.u.t.tons, intricate paisley design in gold thread, and the aforementioned red and gold ta.s.seled shoulder pads. "You don't like it?" he inquired with just a hint of vulnerability.

"Ahh, I love it," she murmured before placing a quick peck on his cheek. "This is just what I need. Thank you."

"You know, not a lot of people have had the pleasure of seeing, let alone wearing, that. In fact, I think maybe only me. That's a pretty big honor you know."

"Getting to wear your clothes is that big of a deal around here? I've done it before."

"I definitely remember," he replied, his voice silky and eyes gleaming with desire.. Kat realized all of a sudden that they were standing recklessly close to one another, still a bit drunken with sleep, half-naked and approaching the time of night when bad decisions were always made.

"Go to your couch," she said, having to clear her throat.

He raised an eyebrow and somehow it was seductive; she could feel the question humming along every last one of her nerves. "You like to say you're a prince. Go be princely." He leaned across her, only the thin fabric of his royal s.h.i.+rt sandwiched between them. But he stayed only for a moment, reaching for a pillow on his bed instead of for her.

"I'll be over here. In case you need something," he said, his tone smooth and his stance debonair, walking backwards without taking his eyes off of her. The sultry effect was spoiled when he almost tripped, barely managing to regain his balance. Kat brought a hand up to stifle a laugh and he pointed at her, like Babe Ruth calling a shot. She just shook her head in amus.e.m.e.nt.

Sebastian plopped down onto the couch without a sound. He didn't mind bunking there but he wasn't sure how much sleep he'd actually be getting. That teasing grin and those gorgeous curves across the room still had all of his attention. When night fell he couldn't help but become a vampire, desperately wanting to bite anything warm.

He sat up and stared off towards his bed, about to ask her to turn off the light, but every thought he had dropped right out of his head at the sight of her. Obviously expecting him to act as princely as he promised, Kat hadn't bothered to go to the bathroom to change. Her back was to him as she pulled off her s.h.i.+rt and let it drop lazily to the floor. Her bra went next, showing him a delightfully un.o.bstructed stretch of white skin, not even her hair marring the picture. His hands itched to touch her.

He couldn't look away as she peeled her jeans off, one sinewy leg, then the other. Her underwear, he noticed, was blue and white with yellow daisies. He'd bought her those, one of those inappropriate gifts she'd reamed him for. Wondering if she ever wore the lacy red ones he'd bought her first had him stifling a groan. Watching her slip his s.h.i.+rt over her head was almost his undoing. How was he supposed to get any sleep now, really?

He dropped back down before she caught him and punched the pillow, trying to get comfortable even though he knew it was a fruitless pursuit. Sebastian closed his eyes and tried to picture it, his goal, like he did when he got restless. A throne. The crest of Petrescu at his back. Addressing his people, gorgeous blond supermodel wife at his side, Anton forcing a smile in the background, Violetta blanching with envy. A banknote with his picture on it the Sebi, worth a thousand rubles. Everything he was working for.

But the picture wouldn't come. All he could see tonight was Kat laughing at him on the plane. Kat perched on his windowsill with her bl.u.s.tery smile. Kat on the terrace, beckoning him out. Kat lying in his bed, throwing him her smoldering stare. Kat beneath him, Kat above him. Her hands and lips brus.h.i.+ng his neck, his chest, the plains of his stomach, his thigh . . .

He groaned and threw the pillow over his face, a silent scream of discontent. This was going to be a very long night.

Kat stared up at the ceiling, wide awake. Sebastian had been stirring for the last hour; soft rustles of blankets letting her know he was having just as much trouble finding sleep as she was. No longer tired but with nothing to preoccupy her, Kat kept letting her mind wander to dangerous places.

She thought of her brother how was he doing? Was he getting into trouble? Had she made the right choice? If he was on his meds, Blaze would give her an infuriatingly benign smile if he knew she was worrying about him. If he was off his meds, he wouldn't even realize she was out of the country. Those thoughts were meant to be rea.s.suring but they weren't.

She was always worrying, always fretting, always agonizing over things she couldn't change. Lane told her she had a savior complex, bearing the weight of the world and everyone she knew on her shoulders: taking responsibility for the actions of her brother, her mother, living with only them in mind. Making plans like she could organize life into neat little boxes. It had her wound up in knots, everything in her life so vital and critical until it seemed like every second was life or death.

Until she met Sebastian. He was teasing, sly, lighthearted. He didn't seem to take anything seriously, even the things he probably should. He did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, no restraint or care or consequences. Feeling good, living in the moment; that was all he really cared about. Kat was jealous; all she wanted to do was forget about it all. Throw caution, and her careful plans, to the wind. Adopt a devil may care att.i.tude and feel that way, just good, just for a night. She knew how too.

She slipped silently out of bed and pulled down her hair, letting it fall like a dark chocolate wave down her back. She knew it was probably a mistake, trading one dangerous distraction for another, but she was ent.i.tled to make a mistake every once in a while, wasn't she? Everyone else in her family did. "That bed is cold," she said in a whisper from the end of the couch. He was wide awake too and their gazes clashed. To his credit he didn't smile, didn't tease her, didn't rattle off some suggestive comment. He just raised his hand and beckoned her closer.

Kat dropped down onto her knees, Sebastian coming up to meet her. His lips were hypnotic, pulling her down into a cloud of desire, making her feel like there was nothing he'd rather do for the rest of his life. No one ever paid her that much attention. He sunk his teeth into her bottom lip and she couldn't hold back a soft moan. "Let's see what we can do about warming you up."

Chapter 15.

Sebastian's hands slipped up under her s.h.i.+rt, heating every inch of flesh he touched, as his lips moved slowly down her neck. His touch halted against her ribs and words she couldn't understand brushed against her skin.

"What are you saying?"

"I am cursing this s.h.i.+rt for denying me what I want. Threatening it with a beheading."

Kat rolled her eyes at him and removed her hands from his shoulders. She took a moment to watch the desire seep into his gaze, hands hovering over the b.u.t.tons. "Threatening me with a beheading won't get you what you want either," she said as more Sezynian slipped across his lips.

"Nor what you want." She opened the s.h.i.+rt to him and he placed a slow kiss against every new piece of skin as it came into view. He brushed the fabric away from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, watching the tips harden at the chill in the room. He couldn't hold back a groan at the sight it felt like decades since he'd touched her, relished her softness in all the places that women were supposed to be soft.

He studied her perfection, how long he could resist the allure of her supple skin. She threaded her hands through his hair and arched towards him, leaning her chin against the crown of his head. Her shallow breathing was demanding he touch her, promising the wicked things that usually hid behind his devilish smile.

His tongue darted out to taste her, purposeful strokes laving one breast as his hand stroked the other. The sound that escaped Kat was pure feminine desire and he wanted to bury himself in it. He ran his teeth over her nipple, nipping across her skin, before taking the whole of her in his mouth. He wors.h.i.+pped her, with his tongue, his lips, his teeth, with every breath he had.

"Sebastian," she moaned, her fingers tightening in his hair. A slight thread of pain that made him yearn for more. His hand started its slow descent down her torso, stroking across her ribs, the curve of her hip, the swell of her stomach . . .

Crash. They broke apart at the sound, turning to see the balcony doors wide open, an icy wind dropping the temperature of the room. Kat closed her eyes for a moment and ran a distracted hand through her hair. "So much for keeping warm."

Sebastian straightened and placed a searing kiss against her lips before s.h.i.+fting her aside to rise. Kat couldn't ignore the tightness of his trousers as he moved and grinned she'd barely touched him. "How ya doing there Casanova?"

"Exquisitely Kisa." She laughed but her eyes didn't leave him as he closed the doors. "A fire perhaps?"

"You don't think you're up to the job anymore?"

His eyes danced with amus.e.m.e.nt as he returned to her, a finger under her chin to tip her gaze to his. "I don't want to be interrupted if the weather gets demanding again." He kissed her, a long stroke of his tongue, until she was fairly singed with need. "A fire it is then."

"You know how to start a fire, Prince?"

"A good many kinds." Sebastian missed her blush at that statement, already coaxing the embers back to life. "Even royalty can't live in a snow-capped country without learning a trick or two."

"Maybe I should learn how to start a fire?"

"Kisa," he murmured, turning from the now roaring flames, "it would be my absolute pleasure to stroke any fire you'd like. Personally."

Kat rolled her eyes and turned from him. His ego did not need to see how his come-ons were affecting her; he was already too confident for words most of the time. A sa.s.sy retort was already forming on her lips but she forgot it the second he kneeled behind her, his fingers brus.h.i.+ng against her neck, his lips not far behind.

He slipped the s.h.i.+rt from her shoulders and she s.h.i.+vered, unsure if it was from the chill in the air or the allure of his skin. She didn't want him to know how much she craved his touch and grabbed for the back of the couch instead of him. His fingers splayed low across her stomach and pulled her close, close enough to feel his nakedness now, Sezynian punctuating the trail of kisses raining down along her jaw, neck, shoulder.

His hand slipped lower, caressing her hip, palming her thigh, as the other rose to her hair, running through the chocolate tresses. His fingers lightly stroked the length of her spine, once, then twice, the barest of caresses. She couldn't handle it, this whisper of a caress. It was driving her insane with need, panting his name into the darkness. One solitary finger rubbed across her skin, up the back of her neck, up into her hairline, up onto her . . . scar.

Kat flinched, involuntarily, her whole body screaming in shock at the touch. Sebastian lurched at the reaction, losing his balance and falling to the floor, letting go of her in time so she didn't topple down with him. She turned sheepish eyes towards him, but couldn't help but laugh at the startled look on his face, naked, limbs outstretched as if he getting ready to make a snow angel.

She crawled along the couch and lay down, bringing her face close to his. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think I'm broken."

"Good. You're not good to me broken." Her teasing brought the desire back into his eyes. She reached out a hand, finally touching him, stroking the chiseled planes of his chest. A slow caress, just like he'd given her, a circuitous journey from neck to navel. On her third trip across his skin her groaned and grabbed her.

He brought her hand to his face. A kiss, a nip of his teeth, her finger between his lips, lush tugs with his tongue. Kat bit her lip to stifle a moan but he continued, one finger, then another. His mouth moved higher a lick against her palm, teeth rasping against the pulse in her wrist, a trail of slow kisses up her forearm.

"Tell me about it," he whispered.

"About what?" The words came out on a moan as he sat up and his mouth climbed higher, teeth nipping against the sensitive skin at her elbow. Her fingers curled into his hair, barely resisting pulling his mouth to hers.

"The reason you flinched me onto the floor. The scar." A wave of cold washed away all of the lovely warmth he'd managed to create in an instant. Kat moved her arm away and tried to retreat farther but he wouldn't let her the palm of his hand gently ma.s.saged the nape of her neck as he placed a soft kiss against her shoulder.

"Just an accident," she murmured, turning away.

He threaded his fingers through her hair, tucking the strands behind her ear. "Only an accident? You won't even look at me." His teeth raked across her earlobe and Kat couldn't stop her breath from catching.

"Since when did you become so perceptive?"