A Prince of a Guy (Red Hot Royals #1)(36)

If she stopped to think about what would happen after tonight, she’d lose it, but she still had this, she had right now. And right now he was deep inside her, pulsing, hard as steel, with his hands all over her.

“Carly,” she whispered, choking back a sob. “I want to be Carly.”

“Carly,” he said thickly, withdrawing from her slowly only to plunge back inside.

He kept touching her, everywhere, and her insides started a deep trembling she couldn’t control. Unbelievably, she was going to come again. Her eyelids fluttered, but she forced them open so she could meet his gaze and see everything he felt, let him see everything she felt.

Another slow, purposeful stroke, and she was lost. She was always lost with him.

And when she was with him, she was found.





12




SHE WENT TO BED alone and woke up alone.

Princess Carlyne Fortier had definitely outstayed her welcome. Maybe Carly Fortune never would have, but that was a moot point now, wasn’t it?

Sean had learned the truth, and he’d clearly decided that not only couldn’t she be trusted, but she was far more trouble than she was worth.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all, no one in her life had ever wanted her just for her. Why should now be any different?

Getting out of bed and back into the shower reminded her of Sean. In fact, she thought, gliding the soap over her body, she might never have another shower without remembering how he’d taken her the night before, how he’d touched and kissed her as if his life depended on it.

Hers certainly had.

But afterward, he’d still refused to talk. He’d sent her to bed and hadn’t come back to her.

Carly hadn’t expected to sleep, but she had. And now the house was awfully quiet. Too quiet.

She threw on clothes, raced down the hallway and came to a skidding halt in the kitchen. At the back door, with a big bag on one shoulder and Melissa in his other arm, stood Sean.

“You changed your hair!” Melissa cried, pointing. “It’s yellow and all cut off!”

Sean said nothing, his eyes cool and distant.

Carly fingered her short blond bob. She’d never colored her hair and always went for the low-maintenance type of cut, because fussing with it was a low priority. Not to mention she hated wasting time at the salon.

Most would be shocked at that fact, expecting her to enjoy the pampering.

“Pretty,” Melissa said. “You coming?”

“Where are you going?”

“Work,” Sean said curtly.

One more minute upstairs and she would have missed them.

“I get to go today.” Melissa beamed. “If I don’t touch anything.”

“I thought you’d be going back,” Sean said. “So I’ll take her with me.”

Her heart had dropped to her toes. “Back?”

“To your life,” he said. “After all, the game is over, isn’t it?”

She struggled with her composure and failed. “It was never a game. You’d know that if you would let me talk to you.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got to go.” He opened the door, but at the last minute turned back.

Her heart returned to its proper place because he was going to change his mind. They were going to talk.

“Bye, Carlyne,” he said quietly.

“Carly,” she whispered, but he was gone.

As always, she was left alone, all because of who she was.

When would she learn?

Lifting her chin, she went to her room for her purse. She didn’t want Carly’s things. They could stay. She’d come to prove she could make it in the real world, but instead she’d learned an important life lesson.

She was on her own.

And she’d survive.



NIKKI STARED at Melissa as Sean walked into his office. “Where’s the sexpot nanny?”

“Watch your language,” Sean said, and set down the wriggling Melissa. “And she wasn’t a sexpot.”

“Uh-huh.”

Sean looked at Nikki in exasperation. “She wore huge, baggy, shapeless clothing, long hair that hid her face and too much makeup. How is that a sexpot?”

“Because you couldn’t keep your eyes off her.”

Hard to argue the truth, so he turned away from his too-knowing assistant and looked for Melissa, who for a little thing had disappeared awfully quickly.

“Quick,” Nikki warned, pointing at the blond head bobbing its way across the room. “Never mind, I’ve got her.”

Melissa was zeroing in on the candy jar on Nikki’s desk.

Nikki beat her to it. With a triumphant smile, she set the jar in her desk drawer and turned the lock. “Not anywhere near my desk, you don’t.”

Melissa folded her arms and stuck out her lower lip.

“Try it on someone who falls for the act, kid. So…” Nikki looked at Sean. “Where is she? Parking the car, right? She’ll be here any second to take over—”

When Sean shook his head, Nikki groaned. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Everything,” he added miserably.

“See?” she cried. “This is why messing around with co-workers is such a bad idea.”

“Tell me about it.”