The Controversial Princess (The Smoke & Mirrors Duology #1)(40)

“Hey, y’all,” he croons, his strong southern accent drawling, and so very different to Josh’s smooth, almost dulcet tone.

“Pops.” Josh definitely sighs through his greeting.

“Good morning, Senator Jameson,” I say politely.

“Your Highness.” He bows his head. “What a pleasure. I didn’t get the opportunity to speak with you at your garden party.” He eyes his son atop Stan with interest, and I look to Josh to find he is no longer looking cocky, and his lips are firmly shut.

“Heading out for a hack?” I ask Senator Jameson, wondering what has made Josh so quiet all of a sudden.

“Yes.” Josh’s father mounts Bob and gets himself comfortably and expertly into position. “I don’t ride nearly as much as I want to these days.”

All that’s missing from him is his cowboy hat, but then, as if by magic, it appears from a saddlebag and he pops it on his head. “Back to my roots on the ranch.” He winks, nodding to his son. “What’s my lovely boy roped you into?”

Roped? I flick Josh a nervous look, and, of course, he’s now sporting a devilish smirk. “A few riding lessons,” I reply.

“Lessons?” Senator Jameson belly laughs, looking at Josh with a shake of his head. “You ass.”

I frown and look at Josh, getting a sheepish disposition in return. And then it hits me. “You bugger,” I exclaim, smacking his leg. “You know perfectly well how to ride a horse.”

“Thanks, Pops,” Josh mutters, flipping off Stan in a swift, acrobatic move. “I thought you were already out in the fields.”

“On my way now, son.” He directs a warning glare Josh’s way before he clicks Bob on. “Have fun.”

I turn my narrowed eyes onto Josh. “You fraud.”

He laughs through a shrug. “I can’t help it. I like playing with you.”

“Lesson over,” I declare indignantly, marching on my way with Stan in tow.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Josh claims my arm and pulls me to a stop. “I’m not finished playing yet.”

“Well, I am.”

“C’mon, Adeline. Stop being so stuffy. Let’s ride together.” He lowers his chin when I deepen my scowl. “On Stan, I mean, of course.”

When he says ride together, I sense he does not mean him on one horse, me on another. I’m just about to declare it impossible for us to ride double due to Stan’s size, but, of course, I can’t now that I know Josh has an expansive equestrian knowledge. Any horse enthusiast would look at Stan’s sturdy frame and know he will carry both of us with ease. “I don’t think so.”

“I do.” He starts to unfasten Stan’s saddle, his motions quick and confident.

“You are surely not suggesting that we ride bareback?”

Josh bursts out laughing, and I cringe, wanting to grab the words and stuff them back into my stupid mouth. I know what is coming as he continues to strip Stan of his saddle, chuckling his way through his task. “I hope one day we can.” All this horse business is making being around Josh Jameson even harder. “You offering to take care of birth control?”

I balk at him. I honestly don’t think I have ever met such an arrogant male in my life. “You are assuming there will be another encounter.”

“Oh, I know there’ll be another encounter.” He unhooks Stan’s side reins from the D-rings and pulls his saddle off, pushing it into my hands. “We’re going for a romantic ride together, Your Highness. Go get a pillion saddle.”

I pout. Romantic? I would say it’d be impossible for Josh Jameson to be romantic, but I remember him cuddling into me last night after he had screwed me mindless, and I remember him wanting to fetch me water. Silly, but still. It was nice. And then I remember everything that came before that small window of affection. The dominance. The control he took with such ease. How much I loved surrendering to him. My heart flutters and those flutters work their way down to my tummy. “I think I’ll pass,” I say, stepping back. Josh Jameson is about as far from grace as I could fall. And, worse, I want to fall. Or throw myself off the edge. It is obscene for me to think that way, because I know it will result in an agonizing crash to the ground. I like him. Way too much for a princess to like a man like him. Because I will never be able to have him.

“What are you afraid of, Adeline?” Josh asks, his features softening. “Having real fun instead of the manufactured fun you claim maintains your free will?”

“I have fun,” I counter quietly. Unconvincingly.

He huffs a little bout of amusement, and then breathes in deeply, reaching for my cheek and stroking down my skin with the pad of his thumb. I close my eyes and relish his gentle touch, forgetting everything in that moment except for him. “I’m in London for a week. I like hangin’ out with you. Let’s make the most of it, yeah?”

I’m having the most fun that I’ve had in … forever. With someone I rather enjoy spending time with. What harm can a week do? “Yeah,” I breathe easily.

“Go get the pillion saddle,” he orders again, this time gently.

I back away and do what comes instinctively to me where Josh is concerned: what I’m told. Trekking to the stables, I hand Stan’s saddle to one of the stable girls and request a pillion one instead, then spend the few minutes it takes her to deliver it trying not to think about the potential deeper trouble I’m about to get myself into. A week. We are just hangin’ out, as he says.