The Naughty Princess: A Sexy Royals Novella Read online

“And you’re on medicine.” Joss shot me a heavy stare. “You know better than to mix things like that with alcohol.”

  “Fuck.” I brought my hands to my face and wiped at my eyes. I’d completely forgotten that I’d taken the medicine the doctor had given me for the sinus infection I no longer had. It had been my last day of taking it. “How could I not remember spending the night with Benjamin-bloody-Drake?”

  “How indeed?” Joss sighed as she sat on the edge of my bed. “You must have made a good impression though.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “His people called me an hour ago. He wants you to accompany him to a gala next week.”

  “Me?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why me? I don’t even like public appearances.”

  Joss had been working as my personal secretary for a short time. So far, hiring her was the best decision I’d ever made. We’d gone to an all-girls college together. Before that, we attended an all-girls high school. We’d known each other since we were born—technically before that since our mothers were pregnant at the same time. As lifelong best friends themselves, they’d proclaimed our friendship fate and were thrilled to see it come to fruition the way it did. I’d be lost without Joss.

  That didn’t mean I agreed with her about this particular thing. I only made a handful of public appearances because they always resulted in one thing or another. The last event I’d attended on behalf of the Crown had been with my sister-in-law, Adeline, the queen. I’d fallen on my ass walking down a set of stairs. It was morbidly embarrassing to say the least.

  Adeline, being the natural that she was, sat beside me and played it off as if we were looking for a lost earring. That was the snap the paparazzi took—two women looking for a family heirloom. It was fine until my mother gave us a lecture on how irresponsible that looked and reminded us how queens and princesses were never meant to be on the floor, etcetera, etcetera.

  I looked up and found Joss staring down at her phone with a frown on her face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Your brother is an idiot. That’s what’s wrong.”

  “Which one?”

  “Aramis.” She shot me an exasperated look. “He’s once again in the headlines. I don’t know how Elias is going to handle the stress of the throne and your brother’s missteps.”

  “Who cares?” I yawned. “Aramis has his own secretary to do damage control.”

  “Ha. You mean the one who quit this morning?”

  “What?” I blinked. “George quit?”

  “He did indeed.” She shook her head, tossing the phone onto the bed. “That makes three secretaries in three weeks. Like I said, he’s an idiot.”

  “Poor George. I liked him.”

  “Me too.” Joss stood up. “Anyway, get up. We have things to talk about and galas to get dresses for.”

  “What? No. I’m not going to that with Ben. Tell him I’m flattered, but I can’t make it.”

  “You’re going to say no to Benjamin Drake? The man you’ve lusted after for five years? The guy you just spent the night with and can’t even remember a single second of?”

  “Don’t remind me.” I reached for the sheet and pulled it over my head. “Tell him I don’t make appearances.”

  “It’s for a good cause. It’ll be good for the Crown. It’ll take the spotlight away from Aramis and in turn, Elias and Adeline, and give them a moment’s reprieve.”

  I’d gotten used to living under a microscope. Sometimes, I absolutely hated it, but I was the sister of the newest King of France. Living under scrutiny was to be expected. My father’s passing had garnered all of us even more attention from the press, especially Addie and Elias. The paparazzi loved them, but it had gotten to be too much. They couldn’t even walk the Gardens at Versailles without having photos snapped, so I understood when Joss said that this would help to give them a break while they figured things out.

  “When is this gala?” I asked, still trying to wrap my head around Benjamin Drake asking me to go with him, and the fact that I’d spent the night with him and didn’t remember it.

  “Two days.”

  “Two days?” I sat up in bed. I was wearing my pajamas so I found it difficult to believe Ben and I had done much together. I frowned at that. “Have I heard of the organization?”

  “It’s the Drake Foundation.” She picked up her phone and scrolled on the screen, reading a text or an email. “They open schools and fund after-school activities for underprivileged children.”

  “So he wants me to go with him to his own foundation’s gala?” I asked. “Wasn’t he dating an actress?”

  “Yes. Sophia Deneuve. They broke things off recently.”

  “Oh.”

  Joss walked out of the room, leaving me thinking about Benjamin and Sophia. Was that the kind of woman he liked? I’d run into them together once or twice and always thought they were an odd pair. Not because they weren’t gorgeous, but because Ben looked as if he could snap Sophia in half. She was tiny and delicate, and he was rough and muscular with tattoos on seemingly every inch of his perfectly toned body. My face heated. Had I touched his perfect six-pack? The tips of my fingers tingled at the thought. Had I explored his body? Had he explored mine? Oh God. I shut my eyes again and groaned. Leave it to me to spend the night with the most perfect specimen on the planet and not remember a second of it.

  Chapter Two

  Pilar

  I reached up and knocked on the door two times, loudly, and then lowered my hand, wiping my palm on my jeans. I was so nervous. Joss had left earlier, taking a plane back to Paris to deal with the matter of helping Aramis hire a new secretary, leaving me here alone. Well, alone with a handful of guards—one of which was standing nearby. The door opened, and I swore my heart stopped. Seeing Benjamin Drake on television with his shirt off after a game was one thing, but experiencing it in real life? I had no words for this.

  He wore shorts that hung low on his hips and a cocky grin on his face that made my heart pump in overdrive. I licked my lips. I was a princess, damn it. I’d met all kinds of people from all different backgrounds. We’d hosted the entire rugby team last year at the palace. We’d had the football team over as well. Still, none of them made me want to rip my clothes off the way Benjamin Drake did.

  “Hey.” He kept smiling. “What brings you down here?”

  “Down here?” I frowned, looking up and down the strip of small cottages.

  “Down from your place all the way up on the hill to where the peasants live.” He smiled broader as he said the words, and there was nothing condescending about his tone. Still, I felt my frown deepen.

  “My villa looks just like yours, and you would know since apparently you spent the night in it. Just so we’re clear, I don’t remember anything that happened.” I felt my face heat but continued. “I was really drunk. And I’d taken medication because I have a cold I haven’t been able to get rid of, so don’t let whatever I did or said last night go to your head.” I turned around quickly and began walking away.

  “Wait.” Ben stepped outside and grabbed my arm, turning me toward him, confusion marring his otherwise hard features. “Nothing happened.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing happened between us last night.” He let go of my arm and lifted his hand to brush back his unruly curls, letting out a sigh as he dropped his arm again. “I took you home. That was it.”

  “The chef said he saw you leave at like five this morning.” I licked my lips, hating that my face felt so hot when I spoke.

  “That’s because I managed to get you out of the club at four-thirty.” He raised an eyebrow. “Ask your guards. They were there. You didn’t want to leave when they asked you to. I facilitated it happening.”

  “Facilitated how?” I eyed him warily.

  “I carried you.” His lips spread into a wide, flirty grin. One that I swore would rip me to pieces. I blinked, trying to process what he’d said.

  “You carried me o
ut of the club?”

  “Yep.” He was still smiling.

  “Why are there no pictures of that happening?” I eyed him suspiciously, then turned my attention to Amir who stood within earshot. “Is that true?”

  “It’s true.” Amir gave a nod, smiling a little. “No photographers allowed, remember?”

  “Right.”

  It was the reason I’d come here to begin with. I didn’t want to go to Marbella like my brothers did every summer. I’d chosen Ibiza because it was an island, and this time of year, even though famous people flocked to it along with big-time DJs, paparazzi were not permitted. At least not on the side of the isle we were on.

  “So, I’ll see you at the gala?” Ben said.

  “Yes, I guess you will.” I raised my head and walked away, leaving him looking a little more amused than I cared for.

  Ben had attended my mother’s famed Sunday dinners a few times, invited by my brothers. Mom welcomed him. Despite that, and the fact that we bumped shoulders often, we hadn’t gotten to know each other well. Not really, anyway. Unless you counted the time we were both waiting for our coats while everyone else was outside enjoying the fireworks. We spoke few words, but they were enough to fuel my crush on him. Not that it needed any help. To me, he was a mystery. He showed the world just enough to hypnotize them, but nothing sufficient to let us think we really knew him. In that sense, he was a lot like my family. In every other way, not so much. We weren’t far apart in age, but in experience, we may as well have twenty lifetimes between us.

  Chapter Three

  Ben

  I genuinely hadn’t been this excited to take a woman out in a long time. I dated plenty. All the time. The tabloids labeled me a playboy, and I took it in stride even though I didn’t feel I was a playboy at all. I liked women, I was single, rich, and a hell of a football player. None of those things defined me as a person though. There was more to me that the world didn’t know because I made it a point not to show them. I liked the fact that they only saw a smiling, carefree man when they looked at me. It made it less likely for them to dig deeper. So, I dated women who took the limelight off me because they were famous in their own right.

  Pilar was the exception though. Not because she wasn’t famous. She was a damn princess, but she was never the center of attention. You couldn’t find photographs of her doing crazy things. You didn’t catch whispers about her or hear rumors. Being seen with Pilar would mean that the paparazzi would eye me a little closer and wonder why she’d leave her sheltered life to step out with me. It was risky, especially since I didn’t want them digging. As far as I was concerned, my past and personal life were not up for public debate. My manager had advised against inviting her as my date. My friends counseled against it. My ex, whom I was still close friends with and who stayed out of my business, warned against it.

  A part of me knew I should listen to them. A bigger part of me couldn’t. Probably the same bit that donned a hard-on every time the princess walked into a room, that I had used to pleasure myself, the image of her riding me hard and fast. The piece I needed to cool the fuck off if I was going to treat her like the royalty she was. Though, even without her title, she would never be some random hookup.

  Something about Pilar captivated me. Maybe it was her innocence or the way she carried herself as if she were trying to keep her composure in any given situation. Except last night. Last night, she was wild—dancing on the tables, singing loudly, letting her hair down. A completely different Pilar from the prim and proper one I’d met countless times before. I’d heard from a lot of our mutual connections that she had a crush on me, but she never made it obvious. Every time she saw me, she smiled politely, small-talked, and then moved on to the next person. I hated when she left.

  “Everything all right, boss?”

  I looked up at David and nodded. My agent had hired David to keep an eye on me when I first came into the league. I was rash back then. Too young, too stupid, and was handed too much money for my own good. It was a careless time for me. Freedom had been given to me quickly, which was another luxury I didn’t have back home. And so, the league complained, and my agent got involved and hired David to babysit me.

  At first, I was upset. I hated David. He was too prim and proper in his Gentleman’s Quarterly suits and shiny loafers. A complete contrast to my heavily tattooed body and designer trainers. It took me a year to warm up to him, which was the norm for me. I didn’t trust easily. I did everything in my power to push him away, and he just kept coming back. He said the money was too good to give up. Most people laughed, but I knew he wasn’t joking. So, David stayed, and I learned to trust him. He taught me that not everyone who comes into your life is looking for ways to destroy it.

  “Pilar came by the villa,” I said after a while.

  “Oh? To accept or decline the invitation?”

  “Neither.” I shot him a look. “She did accept though.”

  “I figured she would.” He smiled slightly. “She’s always had a crush on you.”

  “She came by because she thought we slept together.”

  “Why would she think that?” His eyebrows pulled together. “I’m gone a week and you…you didn’t, did you?”

  “Of course, I didn’t. I helped her get home after a night of partying. That’s it.”

  “You said you wouldn’t touch her. That was the deal.”

  “I’m well aware.”

  “If her brothers find out you hooked up with their baby sister, I don’t even want to think about the kinds of things they’ll do to the team,” David continued. “The only reason you’re taking her to the gala is because they know it’ll cheer her up. It’s been a year since her father’s death, and she hasn’t gotten back on her feet. One night out with the star of Le Bleus, her crush. But they know you’d never touch her because you’re much older, much wiser, and have other women on your mind.”

  “David, shut the fuck up. I’m not going to sleep with the princess.” I sighed, exasperated. “I don’t need anyone to remind me of that, and I don’t need you babysitting me.”

  “I know you don’t. You know you don’t. But you like having me around. I keep you grounded.”

  “You annoy me.”

  “Comes with the territory.” He shrugged a shoulder, picking up the mimosa he’d been sipping. “Anyway, your tuxedo came in. You should try it on tonight in case you need any last-minute alterations. I’ll catch up with you later.” He drained his mimosa as he stood and set the empty flute on the table. “I have a date tonight.”

  With that, he left, leaving me to pay the bill and think about what he’d said. He wasn’t wrong. Even though I really wanted Pilar in my bed, there were myriad reasons it shouldn’t happen.

  The only problem was that I wasn’t great at following the rules.

  Chapter Four

  Pilar

  “I feel like my breasts are going to pop out of this dress.” I inhaled and held my breath as the designer, Katrina, zipped me up.

  “You look gorgeous, honey.”

  “Your dress is stunning. I look like I’m not supposed to be wearing it.” I eyed the form-fitting black gown.

  “Nonsense. The minute I finish zipping you up, you’ll exhale and see it fits you like a glove.”

  I didn’t want to tell her the glove was too small because I didn’t want to offend her, but it sure felt that way. The mere act of breathing made it feel like my ribs would pop out of the dress. When she dropped her hands and stepped back, I exhaled slowly. It was still tight, but…okay.

  “Walk around.” Katrina waved a hand. “Get comfortable.”

  “Comfortable?” I wasn’t sure that was a word I’d use while wearing this gown, but I started to walk anyway out of fear that Katrina might slap my bottom if I didn’t.

  She had a grandmotherly air about her, despite being younger than my mother. It was the way her eyes assessed things, not dissimilar to the look I found in Benjamin Drake’s eyes when I peered into them. He seem
ed wise beyond his age, but he was older than my twenty-four years. Of course, I’d met women who were my age and already seemed to have life figured out. Some were married and beginning families. Others were starting careers. I had been coddled for so long, and under such a strict thumb, that I barely knew how to pick out what I wanted to eat at a restaurant when I went out for dinner. It was pathetic, really. It also made me nervous to go out with Benjamin without Joss to take the lead on such matters, but I needed to grow up sometime, and who better than Benjamin Drake to show me the ropes? I smiled at the thought.

  “You love it, don’t you?” Katrina said.

  “Yes, I do. And it fits perfectly.” I faced her with a smile.

  “I told you it would.” She smiled and nodded once. “Now for the shoes.”

  “Pilly, we need to—” Joss stopped talking and looked up from her phone as she walked into the room. “Oh my God, that dress is everything on you.”

  “It’s pretty, right?”

  “It’s perfect.” She eyed me up and down. “Ben won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”

  “You think?” I asked, a squeal in my voice as I shimmied my shoulders and looked in the mirror again.

  I would absolutely, positively die if Ben put the moves on me. I’d imagined it for so long that I was sure the reality would never live up to the fantasy. But there was only one way to find out.

  * * * *

  “You look...stunning.” Ben’s gaze raked over me ever so slowly, making me feel the heat of it over every inch of my body.

  “Thank you.” I smiled. “You look pretty great yourself.”

  Great was an understatement for Ben Drake in a tuxedo, but my vocabulary was weak when it came to such matters—which was jarring to me, considering I spoke several languages.

  We must have stood there for a full three minutes before he chuckled and looked at the floor. He slowly brought his face up and stared through thick, dark lashes while flashing me a sexy smile. I thought my heart might stop pumping blood right then and there. Wondered if I might die before I went on a formal date with the Benjamin Drake. I would die happy though.