Protecting Her: A Romance Bundle

I said goodbye one more time, then jogged down to my room and pulled out my backpack and dusted it off. I went through my drawers and stuffed my clothes and shoes into my bag. Then I grabbed the three thousand pounds of lingerie I had hanging in my closet, and tossing it out on the counter in the main area for the girls to pick over. They were waiting for me at the lawyer’s office, and the last thing I wanted to do was get stuck talking to Reg, trying to explain why I was quitting and where I was going.

I pulled the envelope of cash from my drawer that I had been saving, took a couple thousand pounds out, and shoved it in my pocket. The rest, I sealed up and walked to Sveta’s door, smiling as she sang loudly to herself. I pulled my backpack up on my back and slid the envelope under her door, before walking to the exit and taking one last look around. It was crazy that a drunk mom and a crazy backpacking trip brought me here with these people, and now, a real prince and a crazy marriage was taking me out. I wasn’t sad in the least to be leaving the red lights and loud music behind, but the experience was definitely something I would never forget. I kissed my hand and pressed it against the door before closing it and jogging down the steps.

When the bright sunlight hit me in the face, I took in a deep breath, knowing I was about to do something that would change my life for the better. I handed my bag to the driver and looked at the front of the Caspian. Let’s just hope that this new choice would be for the better, with none of the worse.

8

Milos

“Is she upstairs?”

“Yes, sir,” the driver said on the other end of the phone. “She is in her apartment gathering her things, and I am down here waiting for her.”

“Good,” I said. “When you are done, bring her to the lawyer’s office.”

“Yes, sir,” the driver responded.

“Oh, and make sure she changes her clothes,” I said, before hanging up the phone, looking around the suite, and hopping into the elevator.

I had set up an impromptu meeting with the attorneys who were drawing up the paperwork while I was making my way to their office. There were a lot of things to cover, from the amount settled upon and her obligations, to what she couldn’t do while sitting as the princess of Silesia. She would never make it to queen, since her blood was not royal and by the time my mother died, Adriana will be long gone. Either way, I didn’t want to take any chances for confusion. It was important that I handled this meeting completely professionally, showing the attorneys I was serious and showing

Adriana that this was a business agreement, not a romantic tryst or a game to be played. As I walked through the lobby, I held up my hand at the flash from a camera. I looked over at the desk and pointed.

“You,” I shouted. “No media in the building.”

The girl jumped and ran around the desk, shooting the reporter from the premises. I stood inside, waiting until I saw the car pull up, before jogging out and jumping inside, quickly shutting the door. We were only three blocks from the attorneys’ office, but I didn’t want the press following me. So I took the car instead of walking. When I arrived, I was greeted by the head attorney, who sat me down inside a conference room made of glass walls, boasting a large screen television and huge mahogany table in the center. I looked at the secretary. She smiled at me and poured me a cup of coffee. Her legs were long, but her hips were nowhere near as curvy and sexy as the stripper’s.

I looked up as someone walked into the lobby, and I saw that it was Adriana. She smiled, dressed in a plain black dress that came below her knees and tall black heels. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the leftover ringlets from the night before cascaded down her back. She actually looked like a professional, and a sexy one at that. I held the door open for her, watching her ass jiggle as she walked past and had a seat at the table. She looked nervous, but I kept my professional demeanor.

“Miss Jones,” the attorney said as he walked through the doors. “So good to meet you. This won’t take long, and then you two can get on your way.”

The lawyer sat a huge stack of papers down in front of us, and I watched Adriana take in a deep breath, trying to pay attention to what he was saying. As he went over every section, she would stop him, asking specific questions about terminology and definitions. Though I could see his weariness, I actually found it kind of cute. However, by page forty, her eyes had glazed over, and she had resorted to just sticking her hand out and sloppily plopping her name or initial on the line he pointed to. I didn’t blame her, though. This was boring as hell but vital to protecting her, me, and my kingdom. The signed copy would be sealed in their vault and would be the only copy in existence. When the year was over, and she was paid, the contract would be destroyed, allowing me to keep my secrecy.

When the last signature had been made, the attorney thanked us, took my check, and we headed outside to the car. We climbed inside, sitting across from each other, and I pulled out my phone to check the time. We were doing well. We would actually make it to the jet with plenty of time to make it back to the palace by dinner time. I looked across at Adriana as she watched the cars passing out the window. She looked nervous and almost lost in her pretty black dress, sitting in a town car and watching her future zoom forward with no control. I knew exactly how that felt. I went to say something, anything to comfort her, but my phone buzzed in my lap, and I picked it up, grimacing at my mother’s name on the screen.

“Hello, Mother,” I said answering.

“Milos,” she replied angrily. “Why in God’s name would you think it was a good idea to go jetting off to Prague just a week after your father’s funeral? And to top it off, you were photographed being thrown out of two clubs last night. Did nothing I say to you about your father’s wishes sink in at all?”

“Calm down, Mother,” I replied. “I am currently in route to the airport, with my fiancée, and we will be arriving within a few hours.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or wonder if I had finally killed the old lady. She was really smart, and I knew she would have questions about this, but I also knew she really wanted the royal family to stay in one piece. I cleared my throat to break the silence.

“Well,” she said, sounding pleased but suspicious. “That is definitely the best news I’ve gotten in a while. I will have to start planning a wedding then, I suppose. Do you have any requests?”

“No, Mother,” I said, chuckling. “I will leave all the planning of this wedding to you.”

Adriana’s head snapped up as I spoke, a look of discontent on her face. Regardless of what Adriana wanted, my mother was going to insist on a big wedding, and I wasn’t going to disappoint her. If nothing else, it would keep my mother busy and off my back while I was home. When the conversation was over, I hung up, and I realized it had been the first cordial conversation I had with my mother in years. Maybe this marriage thing wasn’t such a bad deal, after all. My mother would be happy, the kingdom would be back in order, and Parliament would stay off my ass.

We pulled into the hangar bay where the jet was parked, and I sighed with relief. Finally, I was going to be able to relax for a bit, and if I had my way, relieve some of the tension in my pants. When we parked, I got out of the car and walked around to escort Adriana onto the plane. I stood in front of the stairs with my arms wide in the air.

“This is my favorite place,” I said enthusiastically. “I do all my best thinking here. No one bothers me while on board, and usually, it is taking me somewhere exciting and new. Come. I’ll show you around.”

Adriana chuckled at my excitement and took my hand as I helped her up the stairs and onto the plane. The stewardess smiled as I passed, reminding me that my hot few hours on the way to Prague with the brunette from Australia should have prompted a staff change. But oh well. It was what it was. I had called ahead to let the captain know of my fiancée’s attendance, and the staff had been lectured on the importance of keeping their thoughts to themselves.

“So, here is the main cabin,” I said, as we stood and looked over the carpeted expanse of the plane. “We have a bar over here to our left, a couch for lounging just over there, and our main seats here to the right.”

Adriana smiled, nodded her head, and lifted her eyebrows. She didn’t seem the least bit impressed, which kind of bothered me. I knew she probably hadn’t seen anything like this before, but understanding that everything was happening so fast, I just took a deep breath and showed her to her seat. We stowed our things away and buckled up.