The Controversial Princess (The Smoke & Mirrors Duology #1)(122)
Josh laughs, and I frown at him. “She’d better write that down for you.” He picks up a pen and places it in my hand, pulling a piece of paper forward. I scribble down my code for Tammy and then relax back into the warmth of Josh’s body.
“So,” I say perkily, “have you figured out how you’re going to deal with my delightful family?”
My question prompts a few smiles from around the table, all genuine, one woman looking a little star-struck. “I can’t believe I’m sitting at a table with Princess Adeline of England.”
Tammy throws her a scornful look, and I smile at her. “I’m not as important as they make out I am, believe me.”
“You’re third in line to the British throne, ma’am,” Tammy reminds me. “That makes you pretty important to us mere mortals.”
“Speak for yourself,” Josh kids, bumping me on his knee. “To me, she is simply my girlfriend and the woman I love, and I’m tired of keeping that under wraps. So what now?”
I smile on the inside, snuggling deeper into him.
Tammy looks almost grave. “We go public before we go to them,” she says, pushing some notes toward me. “A press release. Once it’s out there, it’s out there. There’s nothing the Royals can do. It’ll be our words, not those of a journalist. Just a simple statement telling the world you’re dating.”
“Just dating?” I ask, pressing my lips together cheekily. “Because … ouch!” I jump on Josh’s lap when he pokes me in a rib, and everyone around the table laughs. It makes me feel somewhat better surrounded by normal people. People who haven’t got sticks buried in their arses. “Okay, dating,” I relent. “If you must insist.”
Josh chuckles, burying his nose in my hair. “I love you.”
“Stop. You’re making everyone blush.”
He corrects his position, straight and focused. “When is this statement being released?”
“Tomorrow,” Tammy answers promptly.
“Why not now?” I counter immediately, tomorrow feeling like eons away. The royal aides will be hatching a plan as we speak. The less time we give them to do that the better.
Tammy casts her eyes around the table, a Mexican wave-type shrug thing going on. “So we send it out tonight,” she agrees.
“You sure?” Josh asks me, encouraging me around on his lap. Looking straight into my eyes, he speaks clearly and concisely. Determinedly. “I’m ready, Adeline. I’d be out on the street this very second shouting it to everyone I see, but I need to know you’re ready, too.”
Where’s this doubt come from? Haven’t I proven my commitment? “I’ve been ready for weeks.”
He nods, sharp and final, as he breathes in, keeping his eyes on mine. “Send it out as soon as it’s ready,” he orders Tammy, standing from his chair and encouraging me with him. “And if we’re done, I’d like some privacy, please.” He dips and throws me up over his shoulder, and I squeal, shocked.
“Josh!”
“Goodbye, everyone,” he calls, slapping my arse as he hauls me to a bedroom. I brace my arms into his lower back and look up through my wet strands, my face flaming. Tammy looks utterly exasperated, and the rest of Josh’s team are just laughing to themselves, as if their expression of amusement might be chastised by Josh’s publicist. With all eyes on me, I shrug as best I can in my upside-down position and mouth a sorry as I’m carted away. I’m not sorry at all. I’ve been waiting for this reunion for weeks.
“I don’t think Tammy approves,” I say to his arse, my feeling palms making the most of their position.
“Fuck Tammy.” I’m catapulted onto the bed, the feeling of the luxurious bedding only enhancing the sensation of being back in the clouds. “Fuck the Royals.” Josh comes into sight after I’ve brushed my wet tresses from my face, his T-shirt halfway up his torso. “Fuck the public.” It’s cast aside, and his stare, weighted with too much longing for me to comprehend, lands on mine. “And now you are going to fuck me, Your Highness.”
Bang!
That was my heart. And my body. And my mind. Everything, blown. Standing before me is home. The first place in my life where I feel I actually belong. Biting my lip, I watch as Josh slowly strips down until my breath is robbed of me, the unfathomable perfection of him bared. My robe is slowly tugged open, the skin of my stomach delicately stroked.
“Ever wanted something so badly you’d kill for it?” he asks, helping my arms out of the sleeves. I nod, and Josh smiles, his eyes dragging up my legs to my hips. He kisses the sensitive dip there, smiling through his bite of my flesh. Light pecks journey up my tummy to my boobs, and he strokes my nipples with his tongue in turn. “You have completely derailed me, Adeline. I struggle to think past you.”
My body slowly bows, my eyes closing in utter bliss, Josh all over me. It’s true. Everything pales when we’re together. There are no issues, no problems, nothing to be fixed. It’s just us, our feelings, our devotion … our love. Fast, solid love. Nothing can break that. It is literally him and me against the world.
I reach for his hair and stroke through his dark strands, pushing my flesh into his mouth. I’m floating on air. As free as I have ever felt. Nothing could rival these feelings. No amount of money and no amount of power. This. This is what life is about. These feelings, the feeling of your soul entwining with another’s, melding, blending, coming to together to make one stronger being.