Casey
After the formal announcement of our engagement, Erik and I barely saw each other. Between my mother and Aunt Kari, I was always on the go, dealing with preparations. Erik was involved in a lot of it, but most of it fell to me, and I was enjoying it more than I’d thought I would. I’d never been overly girlie, far too involved in my music to think about clothes and accessories, but this was different. I enjoyed dressing up and looking pretty as long as it didn’t take too much effort, and since both my mother and Aunt Kari knew that, they were pulling out all the stops to make it as easy for me as possible.
The dress, however, had to be perfect and our search wasn’t yielding results I was happy with. Jade was flying in to help with plans in general, and I was on my way to pick her up at the airport when my phone rang. I was surprised to see Nick’s number on the screen—we hadn’t spoken since that last time in Limaj—and answered quickly.
“Hey!”
“I hear you’re getting married,” he said without preamble.
“I’m knocked up too.”
He burst out laughing. “That didn’t take long.”
“No, it didn’t.” I laughed too. We’d been friends since we were in diapers and I was glad for our camaraderie. I’d been worried he wouldn’t be happy since we’d been lovers on and off for more than three years before Erik and I got together.
“Are you happy?”
“I am. Really, really happy.”
“I’m glad. I’ve missed talking to you, but I didn’t want to interrupt since you told me you guys were bouncing around Europe.”
“You’re one of my best friends, Nick. That’s not going to change because I’m getting married.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I mean, obviously, we’re not going to sleep together anymore, but that was never the basis for our friendship.” I paused. “Was it?”
“No, silly. The basis for our friendship was causing our parents as much grief as possible through our teenage years.”
“There was that.”
“So tell me everything.”
As much as I loved Erik, I’d been a little sequestered from my regular life since we’d gotten together, and suddenly everything poured out, from our epic vacation in Europe to seeing Liz to my worries that Erik would regret walking away from the turmoil in his country.
“Erik was born into that life,” Nick pointed out. “If he’s ready to walk away, he must have a good reason.”
“But what if it’s because of me and then he resents me for it?”
“Why would he walk away because of you?” Nick sounded genuinely confused.
“Oh, Nick, come on. I’m in a rock band. I play guitar. I never went to college. I’ve got manners and stuff, but I’m not the kind of girl you bring into a royal family.”
“I think you’re wrong, and if he loves you the way he should, he sees everything that’s wonderful and perfect about you.”
“Sometimes I can’t figure out why he even wants to be with me. I mean, I’m pretty enough, and I’m not dumb or anything, but don’t guys like him usually go for really sophisticated, educated women?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think that’s how love works, you know? I mean, I’ve never been in love—not the kind you have with Erik—but I don’t think sophisticated and educated are adjectives I’m looking for in a life partner. I want someone who makes me happy, who likes me even when I’m a jerk, who understands what makes me tick. Is that what you guys have?”
I was thoughtful. “Yeah, I think it is. We’re really in tune to each other’s moods and needs. I mean, we’ve done everything at warp speed, but it feels like we’ve been together forever. I have zero doubts.”
“Then what else do you need? And if you’re really feeling insecure about it, talk to him. The worst thing you can do is keep it bottled up.”
“You’re right, of course.”
I sighed happily on the inside. It was so good to talk to someone who understood me at this level. Erik did, of course, but Nick was different because Erik and I were still so new. Nick had known me forever and we had a bond that was more like family than friends or lovers. Our families had always been baffled because they’d been sure we would end up together, and though we’d hooked up while touring, it wasn’t that kind of relationship. We were truly the best of friends and it was good to be talking again after the way we’d left things at the end of the tour.
We talked for a little longer, until Jade came running out of the airport and jumped in the car.
“Gotta go,” I told him. “I’ll call you soon.”
“Take care, hon.”
“Bye.” I hung up and looked at Jade with a grin. “I have a thousand things to tell you.”
“I know!” She put her sunglasses on and grinned back at me. “And I can’t wait to meet your hunky royal.”
I put the car in gear. “Let’s do it.”
With Jade in town, Erik and I had even less time together, because by the time we went to bed at night I was exhausted and usually fell right to sleep. I’d found a dress, though, as well as dresses for the bridesmaids, and by the time Jade flew back to New York four days later, I had a handle on the wedding. The wedding planner my mother and Aunt Kari hired seemed to have the details under control, and with the dress chosen, color scheme picked out, and our basic wishes sketched out for her, we could finally sit back and relax.
Today, Erik and I weren’t going anywhere or doing anything. In fact, I’d arranged for breakfast to be delivered to our suite. My plans included food, sex, and just being together. Though we were living together and saw each other every day, I missed spending time together without an agenda. The wedding was taking up far too much time and with my hormones running amok, I needed his arms around me more than anything else.
“Good morning.” His eyes opened sleepily as I softly kissed the underside of his jaw.
“Good morning.” He reached for me. “What time is it?”
“A little after eight.”
“Do we have somewhere to be?”
“Yup. Right here.”
“In bed?” His eyes darkened into glittering emerald orbs, his chest rising and falling a tiny bit faster as he spoke.
“Yup. Naomi’s bringing breakfast at nine, so we have time for…whatever.”
“Whatever?” He pulled me on top of him, holding me firmly in place. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
“We can call it whatever we want.” I laughed, leaning down to meet his mouth. God, I loved the way he kissed me. Even kissing was always a spiritual experience with him. We didn’t have to make love for my world to be complete; he needed only to be close to me. I kept thinking it would wear off, especially now that we were living together and navigating unfamiliar waters, but he was fantastically perfect. Maybe not literally, because no one was, but for me he came damn close.
His tongue stroked mine lovingly but with a sexy determination that made my body tremble with wanting him. He ran strong hands down my back, over the curve of my ass, the backs of my thighs, my hips…as if he couldn’t get enough of me the same way I couldn’t get enough of his touch. Would it always be this way? I fucking hoped so, because this man had become my world in a very short time.
He slid my top up and over my head, flinging it aside so he could lick a trail down my chest to my breasts. He took one nipple between his supple lips and sucked more gently than usual because pregnancy had made them tender and he seemed to sense exactly how much pressure was enough. A few flicks of his tongue had me squirming, and the addition of a hand in my panties gave me a lady boner. His fingers were lust-filled magic, and I wiggled out of my undies to give him better access. Jade told me she’d had zero interest in sex while she was pregnant, but that didn’t seem to be the case here. In fact, I was getting impatient.
“Erik…” I protested when his lips left my chest.
“What, baby? What do you want?”
“You,” I gasped. “But I don’t want you—I fucking need you.”
“I’ll take care of that.” He flipped us over, settling between my legs and sliding into me with one firm thrust.
“Shit, that’s good.” My eyes closed and there was nothing but us. This. Togetherness. It was corny as hell, but everything disappeared when we were together like this. This kind of intimacy transcended time and emotion and even air. I could just breathe him in as he glided in and out of me, attached in every way possible, as close to being one person as humanly possible.
“Jesus, baby, you’re so fucking tight.” He moved faster, and I arched my hips up to take all of him.
“Harder,” I whispered. “More.”
He gave me more. Hell, I’m pretty sure he gave me everything, because when my orgasm exploded out of me, I screamed like a woman possessed. He drowned my cries with his mouth, muffling his own growl of pleasure.
It took a good ten minutes for either of us to speak. That had been more than sex, and I had no words for it. Apparently, he didn’t either. He was still on top of me, though, and getting heavy, so I gave a little push at his chest.
“Can we flip?”
“Sorry.” He turned onto his back and I nestled into his side, my head resting in the hollow of his shoulder.
“What just happened?” I asked with a soft chuckle. “I feel like we left earth for a minute there.”
“Something like that.” His arms tightened. “It’s always like that when we touch.”
“Sometimes I worry that this has been too fast,” I said. “But I can’t even conceive of my life without you now.”
“Nor can I.”
We lay like that until my stomach growled and I realized we’d been having sex when Naomi had probably come to deliver breakfast. Oops.
“I’m sure she heard us and just kept going,” he said, reading my mind. “I’ll call downstairs and have her bring it back up.”
“Sorry.” I laughed and rolled over, getting to my feet so I could use the bathroom.
We got dressed and Erik went to get the door as I settled into one of the chairs by the window. Naomi brought in breakfast, nothing in her demeanor signifying that she’d heard our earlier passion or knew what we’d been up to. She merely smiled and poured coffee for Erik, tea for me, and departed.
“I was thinking we should start looking for a house,” Erik said as he sat across from me.
“We can and we will, but I wanted to talk about something first.”
“Of course. What is it?”
“I sense a restlessness in you that worries me.”
“Honey, I’m fine. What are you talking about?”
“I think you’re worried. About your family, your people, your country. And I’m afraid you’re not doing anything about it because of me.”
“What? No. I don’t have any power. You know that.”
“No. Listen. You have influence over your uncle. He asked you to take a role in Parliament and maybe that’s something you should do… I mean, I don’t want to live there full-time, and I’m definitely having my baby here in Vegas, but there’s no reason you can’t have a small role helping the king with whatever it is that you do as a member of Parliament.”
“I said no to that offer because I didn’t want to work with Anwar. That hasn’t changed.”
“But he’s not king yet. Uncle Isak is what—fifty-five? Sixty? There are wonderful new treatments for MS, so he could be king for a long time and that means you have time to help him see the error of his ways when it comes to Anwar. I see how conflicted you are, and I hate it for you. If you want to do this, do it. I love you, Erik. And that means I love all of you, including the part of you that was born to rule, in whatever capacity you can take on based on your circumstances.”