Her Royal Masquerade (Her Royal Romance) Read online

  “I know, but a princess can hope.” Angelina’s smile brightened her face. “I see how your eyes follow him around the room.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She’d been that obvious? “I didn’t mean to be rude.”

  “Not at all. He’s been keeping his eye on you too.” Vittorio’s sister was quite the romantic.

  “Is my sister talking your ear off?” Vittorio was back, standing beside the table looking regal and powerful and sexy. Mia felt a new surge of arousal just like that, her skin tingled and her blood thrummed through her veins.

  “She’s been keeping me company while you attended to your important princely duties.”

  He took Mia’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “I can think of another princely duty I’d like to take care of.”

  “I think that’s my cue to leave,” Angelina said. “It was lovely meeting you, Birgitte, and I hope I’ll see you again soon.”

  “It was nice meeting you too,” Mia said. “Good night.” And then she was alone with

  Vittorio. If she’d had any fear that she was going to change her mind about having sex with him, it was silenced the moment he slid his hand along her cheek, tangled his fingers in her hair, and pulled her lips to meet his.

  His mouth was firm yet teasing as he coaxed her lips apart and stroked his tongue along hers. He pressed his body against her, hot and hard. His scent wound around her like the music that had been in the air all night. Her arms found their way around his neck and she sank into him.

  Just for tonight Mia was going to forget that Vittorio actually wanted to take her cousin to his bed. Just for tonight she was going to enjoy sex with a handsome prince and not think about tomorrow. Just for tonight, she was going to play the princess one last time.

  Vittorio whisked Birgitte up to his rooms in only minutes but it seemed to take hours. Finally. Finally he had her behind closed doors. Away from prying eyes and curious ears and all to himself. Away from family and friends and security and staff. Never more than tonight had he felt the loss of his privacy and the weight of his title.

  When he closed the bedroom door behind them, Vittorio paused to take a deep breath before he turned to face Birgitte. His heart thundered in his chest. His erection throbbed behind his zipper. He couldn’t remember wanting any woman as much as he wanted her. If he didn’t take a moment to cool down, he feared this would be the quickest sexual encounter he’d have since his very first time.

  He slowly turned around and focused his attention on the beautiful princess. She stood in the center of the room, a vision of elegance in that sleek dress and sparkling diamonds. He’d expected her to drop the modest royal demeanor once they were away from the audience, but even now, alone in his chambers, she was still calm and proper. He could almost believe she wasn’t the same woman he’d seen in that London club.

  “Now I don’t have to share you any longer,” he said, slowly crossing the room to stop in front of her. He caught the musky scent of her arousal and the richness of it made him shudder.

  “Now I can say what I want to instead of what I would allow curious eavesdroppers to overhear.”

  “What do you want to say?” she asked, her voice breathy, soft as a whisper. “What do you want to tell me now that we’re alone?”

  “That you are driving me crazy with your soft skin and large blue eyes and pale pink lips.

  That I ache to have you under me and that I will die if I cannot bury myself in your soft body.” He pressed his erection into her hip and shivered from the urgent sensations the pressure sent through his body. “Soon.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulled him tighter against her. “You can’t be aching any more that I am,” she told him.

  He tangled his fingers in her silky hair and drew her mouth to meet his. Birgitte moaned and he caught the rumble with his lips, let it roll over his tongue. Her dress rustled, reminding him that it was all that separated him from her soft, pale skin.

  “I will undress you now.” Vittorio circled around her, until he was standing behind her, eyeing the long zipper that ran from her neck to the base of her spine. He swept her hair out of the way, over her right shoulder. The clasp of the diamond necklace rested against the softness of her nape. He suddenly had an image of Birgitte with nothing on but the necklace. He groaned.

  He didn’t think he could have gotten any harder.

  Vittorio grasped the zipper tab, paused with his fingertips touching her warm skin. He leaned close and brushed his lips along her dainty left ear. “May I?” he whispered.

  “Oh yes.” Her need was clear in her voice and her excitement fed his.

  The zipper opened smoothly. His mouth watered as he slowly revealed the pale skin of her back. No bra straps interrupted the expanse of smooth skin. He dropped kisses down her slender backbone as the fabric parted. The zipper didn’t stop until he reached the top of her delicate white underwear. Vittorio licked his lips.

  He looked over her shoulder then and saw that Birgitte was holding up the bodice of the dress. He pressed into her back, wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands over hers and cupping her breasts. “Are you being modest, cara?” That was unexpected.

  “No. I’m being silly, I guess.” But she didn’t lower her hands.

  Was she playing a game? Did she want her lovers to seduce her? Did she want him to seduce her? Even after she’d told him she ached for him?

  He could play along.

  “I want to see all of you,” he said, placing tiny kisses along the side of her throat. “I want to see you in all your beauty.” He ran his lips along the edge of the necklace, letting his tongue dart out to moisten her skin between the stones. He gently squeezed her hands, her breasts. She trembled. “Let me strip you bare. Let me show you what passion between us can be like.”

  “Yes,” she said on a moan. “Yes. That’s what I want. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She let out a shaky laugh. “I’m not thinking at all. I can’t think when your hands are on me.”

  She dropped her hands from beneath his. Vittorio let his hands remain where they were for a moment longer. Her sweet breasts were a perfect handful and although he knew he could be caressing her bare skin, there was something about the position the two of them were in at this moment, his arousal pressed into her bottom, his lips on her throat, his hands on her breasts, that made him loath to move.

  Birgitte turned her head so that her lips brushed over his. “I thought you wanted to get this dress off.” Her eyes sparkled as bright as the diamonds around her throat.

  “I did. I will.” He groaned, then released her and stepped away. The dress slithered over her slim body and settled on the floor at her feet. He helped her step out of the mound of fabric and she bent over to pick it up. Vittorio turned away from the tempting sight, strode over to his bed and turned down the covers. She straightened with the dress in her arms. “You can set it on the chair in the corner.”

  She draped the gown over the chair, then shimmied out of her panties before she turned to face him. “Do I get to see some skin too?” she asked lightly.

  He couldn’t speak for a moment. The sight of her, just as he’d imagined, naked except for her shoes and jewelry, nearly took his breath away. Her shimmering hair. Wide eyes and full mouth. Slender neck and shoulders. Pert breasts. Slim hips. Long legs. Everything about her was perfect. He swallowed. “Of course. Come here.”

  She kicked her heels off, then joined him beside his bed. Without another word, she undid his tie, stripped it from the collar, and tossed it onto the nightstand. A sudden urgency hit him, and he helped her rid him of the rest of his clothes as quickly as possible.

  A crazy impulse had Vittorio sweeping her up in his arms. She laughed, wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss. “Vittorio.”

  “I like the way my name sounds coming from your lips,” he said.

  “Vittorio. Vittorio. Vittorio.” The laughter bubbled up as she said his name over and over again. He was ama
zed. She brought a lightness to his heart even as his body throbbed with dark desire.

  He smiled and tossed her gently onto his bed. The sight of her bouncing on the mattress was enough to make him pause before joining her there. He cupped her face. Their eyes met, heat flared. Her smile faded at the same time as his. Passion overrode the humor. Need was all that mattered.

  “Oh, cara mia,” he murmured.

  She caught her breath, stared at him, her eyes sparkling.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Say that again.”

  “What? Cara mia?”

  She nodded. “I like the way that sounds coming from your lips.”

  Vittorio joined her on the bed and bent over her, running his mouth along her neck up to her ear. “Cara mia,” he whispered. “You are so lovely. I want you, cara mia.” He covered her sweet body with his. The sensation of flesh against flesh stoked the flames higher within him. One long kiss turned into another, wet and hungry, as they fed off each other. Finally he tore his mouth away from hers, panting, throbbing.

  He caught her gaze for a moment, glazed with passion. Then he lowered his mouth to one of her berry-colored nipples. They tasted as sweet as fruit. He fed on one and then the other. Birgitte arched her body, pressing her breasts closer to his hungry mouth. Her fingers speared through his hair, holding his head in place.

  One of his hands made its way down her body, skimming over her smooth abdomen before finding her tightly trimmed curls at the apex of her thighs. She gasped, spread her legs farther apart. His fingers slipped through her slick flesh. He knew he’d find her ready for him.

  “I can’t wait long this time,” he said, the apology clear in his voice.

  “That’s okay. I want…I want…” She gasped as he played with her sensitive clitoris. She was not calm and proper now.

  “What do you want? Tell me.”

  “I want you.” Her body arched. Her eyes closed. “Fill me, Vittorio. I need you inside me.”

  “One moment, cara mia. One sweet moment. I want to watch you fly first.” He brushed his thumb roughly over her clit. Her eyes flew open and she stared at him as her body came apart beneath him. Vittorio had never seen anything so beautiful. She cried out, first with words he didn’t understand, then his name again and again, like music, like a song she was singing only for him.

  When she stilled, he grabbed protection from the drawer in the nightstand and rolled it on carefully. Then he covered her soft warm body with his once again. She smiled as she opened for him and he sank into her hot slick center. With one long thrust he filled her, claimed her.

  “Oh yes,” she cried. Birgitte wrapped her arms and legs around him, held on tightly as he began to move in her. His thrusts were slow at first, dragging in and out of her, trying to draw out the pleasure. But, just as he’d known, there was no drawing it out this time. He’d been wanting this too much. Soon he was plunging faster, harder, and she was moving with him.

  Riding him. Taking him as much as he was taking her.

  His climax exploded with a burst of sensations stronger than he ever remembered before. He clenched his jaw and grasped her shoulders as he emptied himself with one spasm after another. When he was done, he collapsed, wrung out. At the last minute, he rolled and landed on the mattress beside her rather than crushing her beneath him. He gathered her into his arms and held her close while his heartbeat returned to normal.

  They slumbered in each other’s arms, waking after a short while to indulge in another sweet bout of lovemaking. Vittorio was pleased how well suited they were for one another. How well Birgitte’s passion met his own. He found himself wanting to know more about her. What she liked besides dancing and music. What she was searching for when she haunted the clubs.

  They’d have much to discuss. Perhaps this would not need to be the strictly business arrangement he’d expected to propose. He fell asleep for the last time, planning to discuss marriage with the princess over breakfast.

  But when he woke up in the morning, Birgitte was gone.

  Chapter Four

  Mia shivered with the memory of Vittorio’s body stretched over hers, his weight pressing her into the mattress. Alone in her small kitchen, she wrapped her hands a little more tightly around her mug of morning coffee. Their first sexual encounter had been hot, fast, and incredible. The second time had been slower, softer, but no less amazing.

  She’d been surprised that the prince had taken the time to learn the sensitive places on her body, erotic spots Mia hadn’t even been aware of, like the nape of her neck, the tender spot behind her knees, her ankles. How could she have known a man’s lips on her ankles could drive her insane?

  She’d inspected his body too, his hard muscles and sensitive stomach, thick hair and velvety soft skin. She’d learned the taste of his lips, the scent of his arousal, and the sound of his groans as he climaxed.

  In Vittorio’s arms, Mia had felt so special. So beautiful. She’d never before felt like a sexy woman, not until she met Vittorio. She may have pretended to be Birgitte, but Mia held tight to the knowledge that it was her skin he had been touching. Her ears into which he’d been whispering. Her body he had claimed.

  After taking second place to Birgitte for her entire life, Mia could not regret the deception that had led to that incredible night. It had been the most difficult thing she’d ever done to climb out of his warm bed and walk away.

  Her heart beat wildly as her memories overwhelmed her, as if Vittorio’s hands were still on her this very moment. The howl of the wind outside made a mournful sound, echoing the cry from deep in her soul.

  Mia stared out her window at the graceful silhouettes of snow drifts curling around her small cottage. For a moment, she’d been back in Mezzano and the view outside her window had been a rude awakening. She couldn’t resist closing her eyes again and remembering the caress of the warm Mediterranean air kissing her skin.

  Oh, who was she kidding? She was remembering the caress of Vittorio’s lips kissing her skin. The brush of his fingers tracing lazy circles along her body. She’d never forget the intensity of his gaze or dynamic force of his desire.

  She sighed as she remembered the way her name sounded coming from his lips, cara mia, even though he hadn’t realized he’d been saying her name at all.

  Mia slammed down her coffee cup, sloshing some of the hot liquid onto the table. How could she have been so stupid? How could her heart clench from the thought of a man she’d only known a few hours? A man with whom she had no future.

  So the regret came after all.

  It had only been a couple days since she’d seen him and her body still remembered all too well the amazing way he’d made her feel. The incredible sensations he’d conjured up with his mouth and fingers. She longed for him to fill her again, to make her feel complete. She had never felt so desirable. So wanted. Even reminding herself that he thought she was someone else, didn’t stop the wanting. The grieving.

  She had to stop thinking about him. Had to stop remembering the sound of his laughter.

  The taste of his kiss. She could tell herself that he was arrogant. That he was selfish and demanding. And he was all those things. But then she remembered his concern for his father, his obvious love for his brother, his sister, his country. And she couldn’t deny the thrill that hit all the right places when he’d pushed her up against the palace wall and said he had to have her.

  Stop thinking about him! Mia grabbed a rag to wipe the spilled coffee from the table.

  At least she would be going back to work today. Her young students would keep her busy. Their energy and love of learning would help distract her. She desperately needed something to help keep her mind off deep brown eyes, thick wavy hair and talented fingers lowering the zipper of her gown.

  Mia blinked away the tears before they could fall. There would be no tears. She burned off her frustration on the table that had long since been wiped clean. She’d known what she was getting into when she’d agreed to the c
harade. She’d never been one to waste time worrying about what might have been. It was her own fault that she let the charming prince seduce her into his bed.

  She could understand now the worry Vittorio’s sister, Angelina, had voiced when she said that she feared falling for a man with whom she’d have no future if she dated local young men. Mia liked the young princess, and she wouldn’t wish this hollow ache on her worst enemy, much less on the sweet Angelina.

  It was time to call on that cold-blooded, practical nature her people were famous for. It was only lust she felt for Vittorio. He’d given her the best sex of her life, there was no doubt about that. It was her body that craved him. There had been sexual chemistry between them, yes, but that was all it was.

  Her mind knew that she couldn’t feel anything emotional for Vittorio. It was not possible in those few hours. If he’d made her feel special, it was only because he thought she was Birgitte. He didn’t even know who Mia Holmberg was. He didn’t care. He would be on to his next princess and forget all about their night together.

  But as Mia pulled on her heavy sweater and stepped into her warm boots, she knew she’d forever hear, “Cara mia,” being whispered in her ear.

  “Miss Holmberg,” young Eric said as Mia led her students down the snowy lane from the schoolhouse, “is it true your grandfather is the man who makes all the bread and cookies and cakes?”

  “He is a baker,” Mia said with a smile. “That’s the word for someone who makes bread and cookies and cakes.” Eric nodded and stuck out his tongue to catch the falling snowflakes.

  “And he really said we can come for cookies?” Jennie asked. Her blue eyes were wide above chubby cheeks, red from the cold.

  “Yes. He invited us to stop in today for cookies and hot cocoa.” Once each year, Mia took her class to visit her grandfather’s bakery. She was so grateful he’d agreed to do it this week. She needed to keep busy in order to keep her mind occupied.