“You two getting along?” Britni said as she came back into the kitchen. “My two boys?”
“I'm not your boy.” I gritted my teeth. “What are you doing here, Britni?”
“And that's my cue to take a look at this beautiful house.” Jeremy drained the last of his wine and walked out of the room.
“All right,” I said as Jeremy disappeared. “Talk to me.”
“Can't a girl just want to see her ex-husband?” Britni gave me wide, innocent eyes.
I raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want me to replay the night I told you it was over?”
Her expression tightened for a moment, then relaxed. “I've had time to think about what happened between us and I want us to be friends.”
“Friends?” I echoed. This had to be a dream. Some sort of weird, abstract dream.
“Of course.” She moved in close, backing me against the counter before I knew what was happening. “Friends with benefits.” She put her hand on my chest and slid it down between us.
I jumped to the side as she cupped my cock through my pants. “What the hell, Britni?!”
“Jeremy's parents want the same thing yours did. An heir. And as I'm sure you've already figured out, I'm not exactly his type.”
“So get artificially inseminated,” I snapped. “Because I'm not an option.”
Britni gave me one of her pouts. “Come on, Reed. You can't say that we didn't have fun together.”
“Fun?” I raised an eyebrow. “I don't know what your definition of fun is, but nothing I experienced during our marriage was fun.”
She reached for the zipper at the front of her shirt and pulled it down, exposing bare skin. “You didn't have any fun? That's disappointing.” She opened her shirt and flashed her breasts. “What do you say we try again?”
“Zip up your shirt and tell me what the hell you're really doing here, because I know it's not because you want to fuck.”
“Actually,” Britni said. “It is.” She walked towards me. “I want a baby. Your baby.”
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. I hadn't heard much about the Michaels family since Brock went to jail, but what had happened couldn't have had a positive effect on their finances. Pieces fell into place, but I was hoping I was wrong. I didn't want to think Britni could be that manipulative and cold, but it made sense. If I got her pregnant, she could claim that the two of us had some sort of random night of passion. A simple paternity test and I'd be paying a hefty amount of child support. And she knew I wouldn't argue with it because I would never let a kid suffer.
“I think you need to leave.”
She yanked up her zipper. “Are you fucking kidding me? After what you did to me? You owe me.”
“I owe you? I signed the divorce papers and gave you more than the prenup allotted.” My temper was rising and I fought to keep it down. “We're done, Britni. In fact, I'm done with this whole fucking thing.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I'm leaving,” I snapped. “Everyone in this town is fucking crazy.” So much for my carefully thought out plan to reveal my plans only after I was going. Oh, well. In for a penny... “I'm leaving Philadelphia, and once I'm gone, I'm not coming back.”
She laughed, a shrill, brittle sound. “Sure you are. Everything you know is here. You're not going anywhere.”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “I am. “I've made all the arrangements. I'm just waiting on a call and then I'm gone.”
“Darling.” Jeremy spoke from the doorway. “I hate to be a bother, but my parents are expecting us so we can make the official family announcement.”
Britni glared at me for a moment longer before fixing a fake smile on her face and beaming it at Jeremy. Based on his expression, he wasn't fooled. I had a moment to wonder what he was going to get out of this marriage. It wasn't like he really had to worry about getting outed. Being LGBT friendly was quite popular among our social circle and I hadn't heard that his family was overly religious.
“Let's go. I'm done here.” Britni gave me another dirty look before stalking out of the room.
I followed them to the door to make sure they left and when it closed, I stayed there, resting my forehead against the door for a moment. If I hadn't been certain that I was going to leave Philadelphia and not look back, what had just happened clinched things for me.
I really hoped someone found Nami soon, because if I had to stay here much longer, I was going to go crazy.
Chapter 8
Reed
I looked down at her as she kissed her way down my body, her mouth leaving a hot trail across my skin. They were wet, open-mouthed kisses, teeth and tongue alternating to sting and soothe. When she dipped her tongue in my bellybutton, I laughed and was immediately rewarded with a nip to my stomach.
I groaned. “You're killing me here, Princess.”
Her hands slid up my thighs, fingers massaging the tight muscles there. I wondered how it was physically possible to feel tense and relaxed at the same time. Then again, it seemed like it was only during sex that it happened, and so many impossible things were possible when two people came together.
“Stay still,” she whispered as she moved her head lower. She put her hand on my stomach and my muscles bunched and jumped under her palm.
How the hell did she expect me to stay still when her touch was like electricity? Whenever I was near her, it felt like every cell was trying to find a matching one in her body, its other half. The pull was beyond magnetic, beyond anything I'd ever felt before.
I sucked in a sharp breath as her tongue darted out to taste me. Her fingers danced over my swollen flesh and it twitched in response. My eyes wanted to close so I could focus solely on the sensation of her hot breath as she lowered her head. I forced them to stay open, wanting to watch her take me in her mouth.
Her lips slowly closed around the tip and I felt her tongue tease the skin there. I reached down and put my hand on her head. Her hair was like silk between my fingers and I wondered what it would feel like long, how the curls would brush against my thighs when she went down on me. Maybe I could talk her into growing it out.
My cock slid over her tongue as she took more and more of me. Her lips stretched impossibly wide as she neared the base. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked up at me as the head of my dick bumped against the back of her throat. I waited for her to gag, withdraw, and use her hand as she took the first couple inches again. Instead, she took a slow breath and let me slide down her throat.
“Fuck!” My back arched and it took all of my self-control not to thrust harder into her mouth. One hand tightened in her hair and the other grabbed on to the sheets.
Her nose brushed against my pelvic bone and she stayed there, my cock engulfed in the soft wet of her mouth. One hand moved beneath me, cupping my balls, then rolling them in her hand. After what felt like years, she raised her head and my cock fell out of her mouth with a near obscene plop. She used her free hand to stroke me as she ran her tongue along the underside of my shaft.
“Nami,” I moaned her name as she took one of my balls into her mouth. The hand on my cock didn't miss a single stroke and I could feel my orgasm building deep inside.. I was so close. Her hands and mouth were doing such wonderful things that I never wanted her to stop, but the end was coming...
I jerked awake, disoriented for a moment as I tried to remember where I was and what I was doing. Right. I was at home. Or, at least, at the house on Chestnut Hill. That was home for now.
My phone rang again and I realized that's what had woken me. I fumbled for it, my brain and body still thick with sleep. I managed to get it just before it went to voicemail.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Stirling?”
I frowned at the familiar voice. I should know it, but couldn't quite place it. “Yes?”
“It's Louis.”
Right, my former assistant. “Of course. Good morning.” There was a reason he was calling me, but I couldn't for the life of me figure ou
t what it was.
“You asked me to look into finding someone for you.”
I sat up, all traces of sleep gone. “Did you find her?”
“I spent the weekend working with your PI like you asked and I'm pretty sure we found her.”
My heart was pounding so hard against my chest that I thought Louis might be able to hear it. This was it.
“You said her name was Nami Carr, correct? And her parents were Raj and Mara, King and Queen of some country you didn't know.”
“That's right.”
“What we found is a Princess Namisa Carrmoni, daughter of a King Amir Rajada Carrmoni and Queen Persephone Mara Carrmoni.”
I crossed my legs and rested my elbows on my knees. She hadn’t given me a complete alias in an attempt to make it impossible for me to find her after all.
“From what Mr. Stiles and I found, the Carrmonis are the royal family of a small island country called Saja. The family name has changed over the years since it seems like they don't follow a traditional monarchy of the eldest son taking the throne...”
“I don't want a history lesson, Louis,” I said dryly. It took a great amount of self-control not to just yell at him to tell me how to get to Saja.
There was a moment of silence before Louis continued. “I've emailed you a picture of Princess Namisa. I'm confident this is the young woman of whom you spoke.”
“And you said the name of the country is Saja?”
“It is.”
“How do I get there?” I climbed out of bed and headed into the living room where I'd left my laptop on the table.
“I've included those instructions in your email as well, Sir,” Louis said. “I took the liberty of finding several flight possibilities.”
“Thank you, Louis,” I said, sincerely grateful. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“No problem,” he said. There was a pause, and then he spoke again. “You're not coming back are you, Mr. Stirling?”
“No.” I didn't want it to become public knowledge yet, but I owed Louis at least this much. “Are the Atwoods treating people well?”
“Yes,” he answered. “But you are missed, Sir.”
“I'm not your boss anymore,” I said as I turned on my laptop. “Call me Reed.”
“This is good-bye then.”
“It is,” I said. “If you ever need anything, you call me. Money, a reference, a call to some connection. Anything.” I fully intended to send him a nice check for the work he'd done, but I wasn't going to tell him that. He'd argue.
“I'll do that.”
I could almost hear the smile.
“Good luck with your young lady, Mr. Stir – Reed.”
“Thank you, Louis.”
I had a lump in my throat when I ended the call. Louis and I hadn't been close friends, but he'd been one of the few people I'd always been able to count on. I hadn't realized just how much until now. I'd already made my peace with leaving my family, but saying good-bye to Louis somehow made things seem more final.
I pulled up the email he'd sent and opened the attachment. My heart did a strange twist when I saw her. She was dressed formally, but there was no doubt in my mind who she was. “Princess Namisa returns from European vacation.” The caption put the picture as having been taken shortly after she'd left me. She had a smile on her face, but even in a picture, I could tell it was forced. I'd smiled like that before, after all. I'd worn it for my engagement announcement. My wedding. Pretty much every public appearance with Britni. I could tell Nami was miserable.
I tore myself away from the picture and scrolled down to the travel information Louis had sent. It seemed there were only three airports in the entire world that flew to Saja and none of them were in the US. The one in Italy had the shortest flight time, but there were also flights out of an airport in India and one in Switzerland. Louis had already made calls and, if I was lucky, I could get on a flight to the Swiss airport today, then fly out of Switzerland and make it to Saja by tomorrow evening.
It wasn't even a question.
I called the airline and made the arrangements as I grabbed something to eat from the kitchen. It was going to be a long flight and airplane food wasn't exactly my favorite thing in the world.
Once I finished, I collected my laptop and went into my bedroom to pack. Two suitcases and a carry-on were all I planned on taking with me, which meant anything I left behind, I wouldn't see again. Fortunately, I'd already figured out which things I wanted and what I could live without, which turned out to be almost everything.
I quickly packed what clothes I could into the suitcases, then put my laptop in my carry-on with a few other necessities as well as the paperwork I'd done yesterday. Everything was set up, but I wanted to have the papers with me in case some question came up. I'd been serious when I'd said that I wasn't planning on coming back.
I looked at the clock once I'd finished. Twenty minutes before I needed to leave. I could've called my parents or sister, let them know I was leaving, but I had no way of knowing the conversation would end when I needed it to. Better to send off an email right before I got onto the plane. After that, I could turn off my cell phone and not have to worry about returning their calls until I was waiting for my plane in Switzerland.
I picked up my bags and headed out to the town car I'd called. No point in leaving a car at the airport when my ticket was one-way. Plus, I'd already sold mine. As I got into the car, I looked up at the house, expecting to feel a twinge of regret or of sadness. Instead, all I felt was exhilaration. I was going to see Nami and start a new life. The old life fell away and I didn't look back as the town car pulled away from the house. Out with the old and in with the new. No matter what happened from here on out, my life at least would be driven by what I wanted rather than my parents. My life was mine again.
Chapter 9
Reed
I wasn't entirely sure what I'd been expecting when I walked out of the tiny airport, but I was positive it hadn't been this. The sun was on its way down, but the air was still warm for the first week in June. Saja didn't look like Sicily or any of the other European tourist islands I'd been to over the years. It didn't look like Hawaii either, despite the beach I could see from where I stood.
Taxi cabs lined the space in front of the airport and I quickly grabbed one. The driver accepted the Euro I gave him, then shot me a sharp look when I asked him to take me to the palace.
“Why you want to go there?” His English was more heavily accented than Nami's had been, but I could immediately tell they were the same.
I gave him my best charming smile. “I'm an American tourist. We don't have palaces in America.”
That seemed to ease his suspicions, but I still got the impression that he wasn't sure how he felt about my request. They didn't seem to have many visitors here, I observed as we drove into the capital. I hesitated to call it a city. I'd grown up in Philadelphia, spent a lot of time in New York and DC for business, traveled to LA, Dallas, Chicago and Miami. Those were cities. This looked more like a town.
Still, it was a nice little place. I saw businesses that had signs in both English and the native language. A couple bookstores and electronics stores. One or two furniture places. Half a dozen clothing stores. I even saw a law firm and a hospital. Granted, they were a fraction of the size of anything in Philly, but it seemed that the little I'd been able to find on Saja had been right. They were fairly self-sufficient.
The car pulled up in front of a pair of massive iron gates. Beyond them, nearly hidden from view by trees, was a massive house that couldn't be anything but the palace. I paid the driver and told him not to wait. It wasn't until I had my suitcases and carry-on on the sidewalk next to me that I realized I hadn't entirely thought this out.
I couldn't exactly walk up to the gate, knock and ask for Nami. Aside from the fact that what I was about to do was most likely against royal protocol, I doubted she'd told her parents anything about me. If I showed up saying that I'd met N
ami in Paris, I could get her in trouble, and I still didn't know for certain what that would mean. Saja seemed like a fairly modern place, but when it came to things like the princess's virginity, I wasn't about to take any chances. Not with Nami.
I needed to figure out a way inside without attracting attention. I was at least lucky that I didn't stand out physically from the people of Saja. While the majority of the people seemed to have darker complexions and hair, there had been enough people with fair skin and lighter hair that I didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Passing for a native, or at least a resident, however, wouldn't be enough.
I took my luggage and headed down the sidewalk, circling around the side of the massive fence as soon as it curved away from the sidewalk. The path next to the fence was worn, as if walked often. The fence was overgrown with something that resembled ivy, shielding the view, but it also provided me a place to hide my suitcases and bag.
I felt like an idiot, but I knew I had to see Nami before her parents met me, and that meant I needed to sneak in and find her. I couldn't do that while carrying my things around and I didn't want to waste my time checking into a hotel. It'd be night before I'd be able to make it back here. I couldn't wait that long. The need I'd had for Nami had gotten stronger the closer I'd gotten to her. I had to see her, needed to know that she'd missed me as badly as I'd missed her, that she still wanted me.
I covered my things and looked around to make sure I'd be able to find them again. Satisfied that I'd recognize the hiding spot again, I walked a little further down the path, looking for a place I could sneak in. I had a vague recollection of making fun of the scene in Romeo and Juliet where he snuck into the Capulet garden to see Juliet, and smiled to myself. I was probably too old to be making romantic gestures like that, but I was considering this to be more practical than romantic. Or at least that was what I told myself as I found a place where the ivy was thinner, offering me a better look at the grounds.
I was near some sort of service entrance and, as I watched, a smaller gate swung open and a small cart pulled out. I flattened myself against the fence and hoped the ivy would cover me. The cart went the opposite way and I decided to take a chance and quickly slipped through the gate just before it closed behind me.