Possessive Prince: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 66) Read online

  Because I can see by looking at her how much she’d actually appreciate it. Heck, I bet she’s so well mannered she wouldn’t even accept it. Yes, I can tell all of that just by the way she carries herself and her body language.

  “I just got here yesterday,” she says. “I’m here for three days and then I have to go home unfortunately.”

  “Only three days?”

  “Yeah. Coming here was well above my budget. I actually had to apply for a few credit cards before I got one and as soon as I did I booked the flight and the room and as soon as I arrived I...attended to matters that needed attending to…and that’s when you found me.”

  “Attended to matters that needed attending to?”

  “Yeah…um. To check out the sea. To work on my tan...you know,” she says, but I can tell by her eyes she’s hiding something. There’s a certain sorrow to them. A bit of pain, but I won’t press for more information. I can see she’s not ready to talk about it.

  But I’m ready to learn so much more about her. I want to know everything. But I know my handlers will be looking for me. Surely they saw us come ashore and will be sending some guys down within minutes.

  I have to get us out of here.

  “What are you doing now?” I ask.

  She smiles and does it ever hit me hard. She’s even more beautiful than she already is when she smiles. The way her nose scrunches up and how the corners of her eyes rise. It’s a real smile, not a forced one at all and it makes me want to grab her right now and kiss her hard and never let go.

  Make her mine just as sure as we’re sitting here right now on this sandy beach on one of the most beautiful island in the world…the most beautiful if you ask me, only surpassed in its beauty by her.

  “Well…right now I don’t have plans. I wasn’t expecting to be in this secret cove area,” she says looking to her left and right and then above, “with such a handsome Spanish guy.” She pauses. “You are Spanish, right?”

  Is she joking? She doesn’t even know who I am? This makes what I’m feeling even more perfect. Even more real. And I know it’s not some act to get access to the palace. We have reporters trying weird tricks all the time, but this girl is genuine. I can see it.

  But I know palace security won’t. They never take chances, which is why my life can be so boring at times.

  But not today. Not now. She’s already given me that spark that I’ve never had and I want to live today. To experience life in a different way. In a spontaneous carefree way.

  “Can you climb?”

  “Like these rocks? I used to climb trees with the boys in my neighborhood when I was a kid.”

  “Perfect. It’s similar,” I say. “Let’s go.”

  “Where?” she asks as she flashes that smile again.

  “This way,” I say, taking her by the hand and feeling an electricity shoot from her hand into mine and all the way up my arm. “Here, I can carry that for you,” I say reaching out for her vase.

  “It’s okay,” she says as she pulls her arm back. “I should…I need to watch out for this myself.”

  “Okay. I know a way up that you can climb with one hand. It’s not difficult, but we have to hurry.”

  “Are you in trouble or something?”

  “No,” I say as I lead her up the path. Technically there’s no climbing, just a few places where she’ll need to reach out for the exposed branches of the trees to pull herself up, but it’s easily done with one hand. “But you are?”

  “I’m in trouble?” she says, raising her eyebrows.

  “Yes, because you met me and now you’re going to have a partner in crime for life.”

  “A partner in crime?” she giggles. “I don’t do bad things.”

  “Well now’s the time to start. We’re going to get into all the mischief we can today. How does that sound to you?”

  “I don’t want to get into trouble,” she says.

  “It’s way too late for that.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Lily

  I’m not sure if this guy’s a little off his rocker or what, but he’s just what I need right now. I was pretty emotional out there in the water when I spread my mom’s ashes and I need a distraction from that. Not to mention I practically drown right after! And he saved me.

  I really don’t want to sit in my hotel room and be sad for three days…and then be even more sad at the end of the month when my credit card bill arrives and I struggle to make the minimum payment.

  With this guy’s excitement and energy at least I can have a fun few days, a distraction from my real life, before all the stress returns once I get back on that plane.

  Not to mention this guy is the hottest guy I’ve ever talked to let alone hung out with…if hanging out is what you call this.

  He seems pretty intense with some of his words. I’m not sure if he’s just joking or serious, but either way it’s attractive. He makes my heart beat from all the excitement he conjures up not to mention all those muscles.

  He must be about six foot fiveish and if I had to guess well over two hundred pounds. Two twenty-five maybe? But then again I’m terrible with numbers. All that matters is he’s big and full of muscles, but in a natural way. He doesn’t look like a stiff bodybuilder type. He looks like a guy who just does stuff and stays really fit that way. Sure he probably goes to the gym, but not obsessively.

  And his face. Oh my lord. I read in the in-flight magazine that Mallorca and Ibiza are famous for Spanish and European movie stars. He definitely has that look, that’s for sure.

  And right now he’s staring in a whole other kind of naughty movie that’s playing in my head. The way he looked at me down in that cove was like he was thinking what I was quickly starting to think…time for a little holiday romance down by the sea.

  But I’d never do that. I’ve been saving myself for Mr. Right and I’m not going to just throw that all away for Mr. Right Now with some hot guy on the beach of Mallorca, although it does sound very memorable and I may never get another chance with a guy as attractive and fit as this guy is.

  His hand locks on my upper arm as he guides me up the small path between the rocks and up the hill. There’s technically no climbing, but I think that might be because he’s helping me so much. His grasp is firm. It doesn’t hurt me or anything like that, but I certainly know he’s there. But there’s something more to it.

  It’s more than just a “I’m holding you so you don’t slip and fall” grasp. There’s a certain…possessiveness to it that says “I’m holding you so you don’t slip and fall from my life” grasp. From my world. And I have no idea what his world is like until we get to the top and realize his world is much, much different than mine.

  “Whoa. Your hotel is really nice.”

  “My…” he lets it trail off like it’s some sort of question. “Oh right,” he says. “Yeah, this hotel…well, the housecleaning is making the rounds this time of day so we have to stay out of the inside for a couple hours…which is perfect. We can go for a ride.”

  “A ride?”

  “On a Vespa, you know?”

  “Yeah. I always wanted to try one of those,” I say. “But I need to put this somewhere…somewhere safe,” I say looking down at the urn.

  “Did you want me to put some flowers in it? I can leave it with…the reception real quick.”

  “Um…no,” I say, not sure what to say next. He thinks it’s a vase, which is actually good. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer right now. I love my mom and will never forget her, but bringing up the reason I’m here to a bunch of people who are on holiday isn’t a nice thing. I came here on a mission, but most everyone else is here to enjoy. The last thing I want to do is try and spoil other people’s holidays with my sadness. Plus this guy is really helping me feel better and I want that to continue.

  I’d rather celebrate my mom’s life anyways, right? She always wanted to come to Spain and enjoy it and have the time of her life. Well, I’m here now and I may never get the chance to co
me back. I know she’d want me to do all the things she wanted to do. And I have a pretty good idea this Spanish man knows a thing or two about the island and can show me a good time.

  “Maybe we can drop it off back at my hotel?” I ask.

  “Or if it’s valuable or a souvenir for someone we can get some bubble wrap and put in in the seat of the Vespa. It’s safe in there and meant for storing things. It won’t be harmed.”

  “Let’s swing by the hotel super quick. Plus it will give me a chance to put on some better clothes for the town. I don’t think it’s appropriate to walk around in my swimsuit.”

  I watch as in the blink of an eye he scans my body and I see a look in his own eye that’s more feral and more hungry than I’ve ever seen from a guy before.

  I work in the kitchen of a restaurant back home so the few guys I do see on a daily basis are covered in white aprons and we’re all so busy getting orders ready that we rarely make eye contact to begin with. Once my shift is over it takes all the energy I have left just to get home and make a bowl of soup before I pass out and do it all again the next day.

  Having a man actually look at me like this makes me feel things I’ve never really felt before. I mean, sure, I have the Internet and I watch things from time to time, but that’s just online. It’s not real. This is real. This is really happening. And he’s really attractive, nice, and unless I missed it he’s really interested in something more.

  Me.

  “Deal,” he says. “This way,” his hand comes back toward me, but this time he doesn’t grab me by the back of my arm. His large fingers find my far shoulder as he wraps his arm around me, pulling my body in closer to his. I feel his oblique muscles against the side of my body and something inside me just clicks as I switch the urn to my far hand and try to wrap my arm around his midsection. Oh my god his rock hard midsection.

  I feel like I should be paying for these touches. Like I’m onstage at a Chippendale’s concert and I should be tucking bills into his swimsuit. I’ve never put my hands on a body this good and the last thing I want to do is let go.

  But as much as his physique is blowing me away, there’s something more. It’s his energy. His excitement. And some sort of secret that he seems to have. It’s like he doesn’t want me to know about his place or…wait. He doesn’t want his friends and family to know about me?

  A wave of disappointment washes over me realizing that might be the case. My pace slows and I start to second-guess everything.

  “Don’t you have to get back to your friends and family?” I ask. “Maybe it’s better. I can see the island by myself.”

  “No! We will see it together,” and I feel his grip on my shoulder tighten just after I being to turn my body back around.

  He’s not exactly controlling me, but he’s definitely not leaving me to my own choices right about now. There might be reason to panic or scream, but strangely enough there’s something about what he’s doing that I like. In a world of wishy-washy boys who can’t make decisions to save their lives this guy is the refreshing opposite. He wants me here, for reasons I’m still not sure of, but maybe I should just relax and go with it.

  He’s interested. He’s decisive. He’s committed to having fun.

  I pause for a second weighing the pros and cons and think back to my mom. Have all the fun here that she always wanted to have, but never got the chance to. I need to stick with that.

  “Where is your scooter parked?”

  Before the last word is out of my mouth he’s already guiding me towards a building which I’m guessing is the hotel parking lot.

  CHAPTER 5

  Leo

  She thinks I’m staying in a hotel. This is perfect. She’s perfect. She really doesn’t know.

  All the women in my country are angling to get with me with all their tricks and maneuvers that I can see right through them and here she is with no idea about me. No preconceived notions. No agenda.

  She’s honest. She’s beautiful. She is the one.

  I’m going to make this girl mine.

  There’s no way my family is going to approve, especially considering the timeline or lack thereof, but I don’t care.

  When you know, you know. And I know she’s meant for me.

  I don’t have a type, but if I did it would be her and her alone. She’s turning me on in ways I’ve never been turned on before, and still I’m hungry for more.

  “Where are you staying?” I ask as I hand her a helmet.

  “Really close by. In the harbor,” she says.

  That explains how she drifted over to the private beach of the Marivent Palace.

  “What’s the name of your hotel?”

  “I doesn’t really have a name, but if you can take me to the place that’s like the big WalMart I can point it out.”

  “Walmart?”

  “Yeah. I think you guys call it Care Four?”

  “Ahhh,” I say smiling. “Carrefour.”

  “Yeah! That’s the one.”

  Her accent is so cute and her attempt to pronounce European words is admirable. I can only imagine how fun it’s going to be to hear her Spanish, unless…

  “Do you speak Spanish?” I ask as we take off down the cobblestone road on our Vespa. Luckily there was one parked beside the garage. There are usually a couple there for our guests, and thankfully the one that was there had a couple of helmets with tinted face shields so the guard didn’t even recognize me, let alone hassle us. He probably thought we were with the catering staff or something. This life is so much more fun.

  “Un poquito,” she says.

  “Muy bien!” I say.

  “Gracias,” she says.

  Her accent is a bit off and so are my bearings as I feel her hand wrap around me from behind giving me a half hug. She’s still clutching that vase with the other hand and I’m getting more and more curious to know it’s significance. I like that she has mysteries that she values and keeps to herself. It’s the sign of a person you can trust.

  Sometimes I just feel like an old guy. Even at only thirty-three. These days everyone posts everything about their lives on social media. Even the royal family has social media accounts, but we just have a team that handles all that PR stuff. My account is the worst. I don’t like sharing things about myself. I feel like my private life should be mine, even though the public wants unlimited access.

  I need to keep personal things personal, and private things private.

  And that includes her. Not because I don’t want people to know the prince is out and about on the island just like anyone else, and he’s out with a tourist, but because I don’t want anyone else trying to corrupt her innocence. Once they start taking all kinds of pictures, and asking questions, and then digging into your background it just becomes way too much.

  She didn’t sign up for this…at least not yet. I just want to show her the fun side, before I show her just how serious I am.

  And am I ever serious about her…about us.

  CHAPTER 6

  Lily

  I consider telling him he can just wait at the Carrefour store while I run to my tiny hotel room, but decide I don’t really care. I know there are so many nice places here on the island and his hotel is incredible, even though I only saw it from the outside, but if he wants to spend the day with me then he should know now that I’m on a budget. No point in pretending I’m someone I’m not.

  Plus I’ve never been a fake person before so why start now?

  But when I come out of the shared bathroom from down the hall after changing and walk inside my room I see he’s doing something strange.

  “What are you doing?” I ask. I’m expecting him to be surprised, like I caught him in the act, but he doesn’t react at all.

  He just walks through the room and goes to the window, opening it.

  “Um…hello?”

  He just ignores me, sticking his head out the window and then looking back like he’s inspecting it.

  He makes some sort of gr
unt like he’s unsatisfied and then leaves the window area moving towards the wall, which he taps on. The sound is very thin and weak, letting us both know the walls are pretty much just a divider between my room and the next, not that I need much more or expect anything extravagant.

  “What are you doing?” I ask him after I carefully put the urn inside the dresser and lock it with the lock I brought with me.

  “Do they have any rooms on the second floor?” he asks.