Royal Bastard (Instantly Royal 1)

“It’s two in the morning.” He turned toward her, propping his head up on his hand and giving her an excellent view of his drool-worthy chest north of the duvet. “Why not stay?”

Because it was all she wanted at the moment. She’d given in to that feeling before—the thrill of being with someone charismatic who lived the kind of life about which she’d never dreamed. That had resulted in her heartbreak being splashed all over the tabloids whilst all she wanted was to run back to anonymity. That’s why she’d come back to Bowhaven. She’d learned her lesson and wasn’t planning to take a repeat course.

It was past time to get this wildly out-of-control situation back under control. “Mr. Vane—”

He laughed. “You can’t call me that after I’ve made you come twice.”

She couldn’t stop the smile tugging at her lips. “A gentleman doesn’t brag.” Even when he was right.

“Who in the world ever lied to you and said I was a gentleman?” he asked as he traced a line of temptation across her belly.

If she didn’t get out of this bed—his bed—now, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to. So she stood up and swiped her tank top and shorts off the floor. “You’re heir to the earl.”

“So?” He snagged her tank top and pulled it out of her grasp.

God, he was tempting. She could just get back in bed and…well…not sleep. He looked like he was okay with that. The buzz of anticipation in her chest was more than okay with it—which was exactly why she couldn’t. “Spending the night with the earl’s personal secretary isn’t done.”

He sat up, frustration obvious in the tense line of his shoulders and the set of his jaw. “But banging her is?”

“That’s vulgar.” And it made her breasts full and achy for his touch. Shit. She needed to get her tank top back.

“True, but you like it.” His gaze dropped to her stiff nipples. “Nobody else realizes just what a dirty girl you are, do they?”

“Nor will they.” She slid on her shorts and held out her hand for her shirt. “Everyone in Bowhaven talks. The last thing I need is for them to be talking about who I’m sleeping with.”

That was an experience she did not want to go through a second time. There was nothing like having your cheating boyfriend’s face plastered all over every tabloid in the country. The humiliation had been overwhelming. Reporters had even called around to her flat to try to get her reaction, which had amounted to absolute hurt and embarrassment.

Nick held her tank top up but out of her reach. “I do not get why you stay here. You can just walk away without looking back and not have to deal with them again. That’s how I handle it when people are being assholes. Fuck ’em. Life’s too short.”

“This is my home.” When all her supposed friends had left her, more impressed with her ex than her actual mates, the people of Bowhaven had stayed by her side. Even if they’d gossiped about the situation. A lot. “I could never walk away from it or the people here. Is it really that easy for you to do that?”

“Always,” he said, his tone a hard neutral that made his words sound a lot like a lie. “I don’t get tied down. That’s the benefit of being a bastard without family.”

She leaned forward, one palm flat on the mattress near where the duvet lay against Nick’s waist. The position not only put her in close enough to get her shirt, it also put her dangling breasts within his reach. His attention flicked down to her boobs and she ignored the little yay that went up from her horny self and grabbed her tank top from his grasp.

“But you do have family now,” she said. “And a house. And a village that is depending on you. Just give them a chance. They’re good people and I think somewhere underneath all that I-don’t-care-about-anyone facade, I think you do. I think you care quite a bit. You’re a fixer and Bowhaven is a lot like the fireplace you fixed. A little beat-up, a little tired, but so very worth saving. All you have to do is stop looking at it as a burden and see it as the opportunity it is.”

He flopped onto his back and let out a sigh. “You couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Okay, that made her chest ache a bit—exactly what she couldn’t afford to have happen when it came to him. Feelings were verboten—even of the poor-puppy-doesn’t-understand-yet variety. That way led to the kind of trouble she couldn’t afford to have if she was going to keep her mind focused only on bringing Bowhaven back from the edge.

“Give the earl and the village a chance. Your grandfather is cross and controlling, but he has his reasons—especially now.” Ones that weren’t hers to tell.

Nick rolled onto his side again and patted the empty spot beside him. “How about instead you come back to bed and let me curl your toes for a third time tonight.”

While all she wanted to do was say “yes, sir, may I have another orgasm or twelve?” she forced her mouth to form other words as she crossed to the door and opened it. “Good night, Mr. Vane.”

“I like the way you say Nick so much better.”

So did she, but that was neither here nor there. Tonight was an aberration, not the start of something. It was best if they both remembered that. She walked through the connecting door and made sure it clicked shut behind her.

Chapter Fifteen

Nick woke up hard and alone—or at least that was his assumption when he reached toward where his hard cock had tented his boxers imagining it was Brooke’s sweet, warm mouth moving closer.

“Please refrain from gratifying yourself in my company.” The earl’s voice cut through every thread of early-morning lust.

Nick’s eyes snapped open at the same time as he reached for the comforter tangled around his thighs. The old man stood at the end of the bed, a scowl on his face. Nick yanked the comforter up to his neck like a maiden in a pirate movie.