Billionaire's Princess: A Standalone Novel (A Royal Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (Billionaires Book 2) Read online

  “Yes,” Emma said with a proud smile. “Those are some of the first photographs I took after I came to work for Lynn.

  “They’re beautiful. Tell me why they seem so different that other photos I’ve seen of the desert.”

  She came over closer to me and I could smell the subtle hint of her perfume. “It’s the lens I used. It gives them almost an abstract appearance, I think.”

  “I think you’re right.” I also thought that she was going to be in my bed very soon. I only hoped there wouldn’t be any distractions like a husband or boyfriend in the picture. I got the feeling I would want this one more than just for a one-night stand. “I love them. Are they for sale?”

  “Not these,” she said, definitively. Obviously, Lynn told her who I was. Most people would jump at the chance to sell anything to a billionaire. The photos either meant a lot to her or money meant little. Either way, I was impressed. “But at Lynn’s annual gala this Friday, I’ll have more like them in the auction. Will you be there?” she continued. I thought I detected hope in her eyes and voice. If I hadn’t already planned on attending, I would have changed my plans on the spot.

  “I will be there,” I told her.

  Her cheeks seemed to flush with color as she said, “Good; I’ll look forward to seeing you.” She turned her back to me and went back into the room. I followed and watched as she sat her bag down and took out her camera. She looked thoughtfully around the room and then back at me with an intensity that almost got her taken right there. “I like the color of that suit,” she said. “It will go with almost any background.”

  I was wearing a gunmetal-gray Armani. I’d chosen it on purpose because it was what my personal shopper told me was one of my power colors. These photos were to be used in the brochures handed out to new employees at all my casinos and bars.

  I was known in Vegas as a fair employer, but I also had a reputation as tough and professional to uphold. I wanted to convey that right off the bat when someone came to work for me.

  While I was having that thought, she was looking me up and down. My vivid imagination had her taking in my naked form. In reality, I think she was contemplating lighting and angles.

  As if reading my mind, she walked over and flipped on a switch for the lights set up around the room. She looked around the room again, and as she did, she twisted a couple of her long, thin fingers in one of the loose tendrils of hair that hung down along the side of her face. I imagined what it would be like to wrap my own fingers up in it and pull her in for a hard kiss.

  “Do you want me on the stool or do you think we should do a full body?” I asked her. I’d love to do her full body, I thought.

  “Let’s do your full body,” she said. “I’m going to have you stand in front of the screen there, and I’ll do the full body shots first and then get closer for the close-ups.” I tried not to smile at the thought of her doing my full body, but my lips twitched. She caught it and a shy smile graced her own face before she cleared her throat and said, “We should get started.”

  I went and stood in front of the screen and she came over to me. Hanging the camera around her neck, she reached up and placed her hands on my upper arms. I automatically flexed like a silly teenager and from the looks of the smile playing at the corner of her lips, she hadn’t missed it.

  I forced myself to relax despite the jolts of electricity her touch was sending racing through me. She arranged my arms and shoulders how she wanted them. It was sexy and intimate, although I’m sure it wasn’t planned that way. When she reached up and put those soft fingers on my chin, I almost lost all composure and bent down to kiss her. Somehow, I fought through it as she tipped my head up and slightly to the side.

  I wondered if she could hear or feel the way I was breathing. I felt like I couldn’t get enough air to my lungs and once again, the blood was all but gone from my brain. I was glad the pants I wore were a little loose in the front and that I’d worn briefs underneath it so I didn’t look like a huge pervert with my erection tenting the front of them.

  “Okay, if you can hold still right there,” she said as she backed away. I had an image of myself wrapping her up in my arms and taking her right there on the floor. What the hell was wrong with me? I didn’t remember ever feeling this kind of attraction before. It felt…almost urgent.

  Thank God I kept my head and let her back up. I’d hate to see those headlines. She was about three feet away from me when she suddenly snapped a few shots. “Turn just your head to the left,” she said. I did as she asked and she snapped a few more. “Good, now to the right. Nice, hold it.” She snapped a few more. “Now, in front.”

  As I looked into the camera, I thought I saw her shudder before she said, “Oh yeah, that’s nice.” She almost moaned it. That didn’t do anything for what I was trying to hide in my pants.

  Then, she came closer, and I was afraid it was all over at that point. She stood so close that if I closed my eyes, I would still be able to feel her presence, and then she held down the shutter release and I heard the camera whirring. She got even closer, and I knew my face had to be filling the camera. I wondered if she could see in my eyes how turned on she was making me.

  I wanted her on a primitive level. Walking out of there without having her was going to be insanely hard. I could feel the sexual energy flowing between us.

  It would be so easy to just take her beautiful face in my hands and capture her lips with mine. I could kiss her with this primal, ravenous hunger I felt in my core. While we kissed, I’d let my hands run down those smooth arms and around to her back. I’d inch her blouse up and work my fingers underneath it, and while I was doing that she’d be unzipping my pants…I felt my cock twitch. Shit. What am I doing?

  “Okay, that’s it,” she said suddenly. I was slightly dazed from the flash in my face and the rapidness of it all. I’d expected it to take a lot longer. She walked over to the other side of the room and sat the camera down before turning back to look at me.

  “Um, that was quick,” I said.

  “Yes, you’re a great subject.”

  A great subject? What does that mean? “Should we try different backgrounds or poses?”

  “Nope, I got everything we need. I can change up the colors and patterns when I edit them.”

  I wasn’t ready to leave. “You’re sure that’s it? I’m not positive I’d be able to find the time to come back…”

  She smiled and parts of me I hadn’t felt in years seemed to come alive again. “You’re such a great model that I’m sure these will work. You missed your calling.” After she said that, her cheeks colored slightly.

  I smiled and said, “Good to know if this casino thing doesn’t work out that I have something to fall back on.” I loved the sound of her laugh.

  “Well,” she said, suddenly looking flustered. “I know you’re busy. so I’ll let you go. I guarantee we got some great shots. You won’t be disappointed.”

  Damn. “Okay then. Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome. I have your email. I’ll email the proofs when they’re ready so you can pick which one you want.”

  I waved a palm at her. “You’re the one with the artistic eye; you choose.”

  “Oh, um…okay.” She began walking toward the door and I followed. As she led me down the hall, I remembered the event coming up.

  “So, I’ll see you at the gala, right?”

  Once again, her face seemed to flush. “Yes, I’ll be there,” she said.

  I took her hand and once again brought it to my lips. I heard her breath catch in her throat. It seemed she wanted me as badly as I wanted her. I kissed it lightly and said, “I’ll see you then.”

  She didn’t say anything out loud, but her pretty, brown eyes were speaking volumes. I was going to have her Friday night. I walked out of there with a ridiculous grin on my face. My driver and bodyguard exchanged a look and I said, “What? Have you two never seen anyone smile before?” My bodyguard was a kid from New York, such a true New York
Italian that he could play a gangster in a movie very convincingly.

  “Nuthin’, boss. It’s good to see you happy.” It had been a long time since I’d smiled for no reason. I had the practiced smile I used in the boardroom when it was called for and for photographs and charity events…but the last time I’d smiled and actually felt it was a long time ago.

  CHAPTER THREE

  EMMA

  I felt like I needed a breathing treatment when that man left. As soon as I could catch my breath, I went over to the laptop in the corner and put the memory card into it. I started looking through his photos and as I did, my mind went back to Hope’s and Miguel in the background watching me.

  Why didn’t he approach me? How long has he been watching me? He scared me, and he was one of the biggest reasons I’d escaped from the palace. If I had stayed, in six more months, I would have been his wife.

  I’d cried when I was fifteen and my father told me. Miguel was already thirty at that time and to me, he was an old man who looked at me with creepy eyes. I begged and pleaded with father, but he wouldn’t relent. He told me I was a princess and princesses didn’t marry for love, they married to unite kingdoms. Even though Miguel didn’t have a kingdom, his father was an important man on our island.

  Once I realized Father had his mind made up, I went to my mother. I knew the chances of her helping me were slim to none, but I had to try. I told her how miserable it made me even to think about it and that I wanted to marry for love. She actually laughed at that and said,

  “Do you think I love your father?”

  “Don’t you?”

  “No. I was promised to him at fifteen, just as you’re promised to Miguel. There was nothing I could do about it, just as there is nothing you can do about your betrothal.” She turned her back on me then to signify the conversation was over.

  That day I discovered two things: My parents had never loved one another, and I was simply another pawn in the games they played for power and money. It intensified my need to get out of there.

  Now, Miguel was here. That meant my parents would know I was here, too. Legally they couldn’t force me to come home, but if they notified the authorities I was here under a false name, it would mean big trouble for me.

  I looked back at the computer and Nicholas’s face was looking back at me. God, he’s a gorgeous man. I haven’t ever been with a man, sexually. I’ve read a lot of books about it and I’ve seen the act take place on television and in the movies, but I’ve never really been touched by a man.

  Growing up, I had always just assumed that was something that only happened after you were married. For the past six years, I’d tried not to think about it at all since I knew Miguel would be the one I’d have to have sex with. It made me almost immune to my sexuality, but the sight of Nicholas today had brought it to life.

  Now as I looked at him and my panties dampened, I wondered if I’d ever be able to do it. Would I be able to have sex with a man I wasn’t married to? I looked into those intense, blue eyes of his looking out at me from the computer and I knew that with him, I absolutely could.

  In one pose, the look on his face was positively smoldering. He looked like he wanted to make love to me right there. It sent little trembles down my spine. I’ve never been attracted to a man like this before. I wondered if it was normal to be so attracted to someone the second you meet them.

  “So, what did you think?” Lynn’s voice startled me out of my thoughts.

  Smiling, I said, “You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

  She tried to look innocent. I think Lynn lost her innocent look thirty years ago. “Did what?”

  “You weren’t busy. You had me take his photos because you’re trying to set me up.” She’d tried before many times. Lynn just couldn’t imagine a woman that doesn’t have to have a man at least on stand-by. I’d never been interested in any of the others. This one was a different story.

  “Did it work?”

  I felt my face go hot. “He’s so attractive.”

  Lynn threw her blonde head back and roared with laughter. “And, you, my love, are still such a princess. You’ve done well losing the accent, but you still haven’t picked up the slang.”

  “So, he’s not attractive?”

  “Yes, he is. But a girl your age here in the States would say hot.”

  I felt my face grow even warmer. He was most definitely hot. I could almost feel the heat emanating from him. “Is he single, Lynn?” Sometimes the lines between married and single got blurred in Lynn’s world. I didn’t want to even think about a married man the way I was thinking about Nicholas.

  “Yes, love, he’s single.”

  “Why?”

  She laughed again. “Good question. He’s hot and young and rich and every woman he meets wants him. I’d have to guess that he just hasn’t found the right one yet. I’m sure a man in his position would have to be careful of the gold diggers.”

  “Gold diggers?”

  “Women that only want him for his money.”

  “Oh, she’d have to be blind if that’s all she wanted him for.” Lynn clapped her hands together and squealed with delight.

  “My little girl is growing up!”

  I shook my head at her. “I’m not marrying the man, or even dating him. I just think that he’s hot.”

  “And from the looks of that picture right there, he thinks the same of you. I’ll bet he asked if you’d be at the gala.”

  “He did, but I think he was just making conversation.”

  She shook her head at me this time. “Baby, look at the desire in those blue eyes. He wants you. Trust me, I know.”

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “Is it normal to feel something so strong that it completely consumes you…right away?”

  “That’s called chemistry, honey. It’s just an unexplainable feeling you get and there’s no denying it because it’s in your DNA.”

  “And, does it mean that he’s feeling the same?”

  “Not always, but like I said, Nicholas wants you. Get yourself all dolled up for that gala Friday night.”

  I made a face. Since I’d been in the States, I’d dressed casual most of the time. It was rare that I went out and only when Lynn didn’t have a man to amuse her. I didn’t have a dress for the gala yet and I hadn’t been overly worried about it until now.

  “You did get a dress, right?”

  “Not yet. I thought I’d just go get one off the rack at Neiman Marcus…”

  Lynn gasped. “What kind of princess are you?”

  I laughed. “One who gave up the crown? Is this thing that fancy?”

  “This thing is being put on by the Vansant Corporation and Nicholas is the guest of honor.”

  “I guess I should go shopping then.”

  Lynn’s face lit up. “I don’t have any appointments the rest of the day. Let’s go over to the Bellagio. We can get you an amazing dress from Amy on the VIP side.”

  “The VIP side?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You have so much to learn, princess. Come on.”

  I grabbed my things and took one last long look at Nicholas Vansant’s photograph on the computer. I felt a fluttering between my thighs and what had to be passion filling my chest with a burning sensation.

  Four days until I see him again…three if you don’t count today. I felt exuberant just thinking about it. Miguel was still on my mind, too, but the excitement over meeting Nicholas had dampened that much more than it probably should have. I told myself at that moment that I wasn’t going to worry about Miguel until tomorrow and tucked him away in the back of my mind.

  ********

  With Lynn, you don’t just go shopping. You’re driven by a chauffeur, and you shop and drink, shop some more, and drink some more, and then you drink some more. By the time she finished introducing me to every bar on the VIP side of the Bellagio, I was a little bit tipsy. She bought me dinner, though, and having food in my belly took
some of the buzz away.

  I was just a little bit tipsy when she dropped me off at my apartment an hour later. Her driver carried my packages up the steps for me, and I dropped everything except for my beautiful new gown on the floor of the living room.

  I took the gown and laid it out on my bed. I was excited about getting dressed up Friday night. Lynn had made hair and nail appointments for us both on Friday afternoon. It had been a long time since I had been pampered. I didn’t want to live that way every day, but it was nice every so often.

  I finally tore myself away from the gown and went into the bathroom to take my shower. I heard the knock at the door. It was already after nine p.m. and I knew Lynn had gone home. I couldn’t imagine who would be coming to see me at that hour. I stepped over the bags of shoes and make-up and undergarments in the living room carefully and when I made it to the door, I looked out the peep-hole.

  Miguel Esparza’s face came into view, and I was looking straight into his black, soulless eyes. I pulled back quickly, wondering if he could see me, if he heard me, or if he watched me come inside. That gave me the creeps. I hated the idea of being watched. I’d never felt so free when I came to the States and no longer had a member of the Royal Guard following me around.

  Miguel knocked again and then confirmed my suspicions by saying, “Ariana, I know you’re there.”

  “My name is Emma. What do you want?”

  “I just want to talk to you, Ana. Everyone back home is so worried about you. I just want to be able to tell them that you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Ana please…”

  “My name is Emma!”

  “Fine, Emma. I’m not going away until you talk to me, so please open the door.”

  I cracked open the door and looked at him. He was dressed in an expensive, tailored suit and his hair was perfect, as usual. I was sure he had bodyguards downstairs waiting for him near the limousine he’d been carried around in. I suddenly found it funny that Nicholas seemed to have all those same things, and yet on him it was attractive. “Miguel, how did you find me?”