Claimed Princess (Princess Series, #3)

“But. But you - ” She looks to my mouth and then to my eyes.

“From the first fucking day I saw you, Heavenly. The first fucking day.”

I’ve had enough of playing games, and I pull her to follow behind me.

“What are you doing?” she asks as I lead her across the room and to a side door.

“This,” I say, flipping on the light.

I release her wrist and let her step into the room. She looks around and then brings her hand to her lips as she sees exactly what I’ve done.





Chapter Five





Heavenly





I feel the tears run down my cheeks as I see what Carlos has done. I close my eyes and open them again to see if I’m dreaming, because this can’t be real. It’s a dream that’s always been in my heart and one I’ve never really voiced out loud. Except to one person.

“You remembered.” I turn around to look at Carlos, who’s still standing in the doorway. It’s then I realize how disheveled he is. His pants have a small rip in them, and his shirt shows evidence of dirt down the side, which I’m sure is from running through the orchard. I haven’t seen him like this since we were young.

His face is unreadable though, and I watch him swallow hard like he’s trying to hold all his emotions back. He’s on the edge of something, but I don’t know what.

I pull my eyes from him and look back to the room that’s been transformed into a nursery. But it’s not just for one baby, it’s for multiples. And it’s not only decorated for a baby, but toddlers as well. The room is twice the size of Carlos’s own suite, which is like an entire wing of the palace. Cribs, changing tables and small beds decorate the room, surrounded by more toys than most children would know what to do with.

“You said you wanted at least four close together. And that while they were little you wanted them all to share a room so they could be as close as possible.”

“Thick as thieves,” we both say at the same time.

I smile at the memory and turn around to look back at the baby room. It’s more beautiful than any of my dreams could have conjured. It was something I’d talked to him about so long ago that I’m surprised he remembered. After I lost my parents and then my brother disappeared for a little while, I knew I wanted a family that was close. That if something ever happened to me or my husband, I’d know our kids would have each other.

“Our kids,” he whispers right next to my ear. I didn’t even hear him come up behind me. “You were talking about our kids that night. I knew when those words left your lips that I’d give you that.”

Another tear slips free, and I turn around in his arms to look up at him. His thumb brushes my cheek, and I watch a trace of insecurity cross his face. If I didn’t know him as well as I do I wouldn’t have caught it. Then his face hardens a little as if catching himself.

“This is happening,” he growls.

It sounds like thunder in his chest, low and deep. It makes my eyes widen in surprise. I’ve seen Carlos snap at people a lot of times over the years, more so since taking the throne, but never has it been directed at me.

“You will never be with my brother. I don’t give a flying fuck if I have to ban him from this country. Romy will never so much as put a finger on you. Only I deserve your touch, and that’s final.”

He picks me up by my hips suddenly and sits me on a dresser. He knocks baby toys and folded clothes off of it as thick jealousy coats the air around him. It’s then that I notice a picture on the dresser beside me. It’s of the two of us in his office. I’m lying on the floor in front of his desk reading a book, and his eyes are on me. I don’t even know when it was taken. But it’s something we’ve done a thousand times before, something I’ve always been scared of losing.

I feel his eyes on me, so I look back up at him. He towers over me as he steps between my legs. He’s so wide that it forces me to spread them farther apart. My thighs are stretched to the point that I feel the muscles on the inside complain. Jesus, he’s big like this. I don’t know how I never noticed it before, but it’s probably because we’ve never been in this position.

“Carlos.” I say his name, but it’s the only thing that I can manage before he cuts me off with a kiss.

At first I’m shocked and don’t know what to do as his lips move over mine. But after a moment my eyes fall closed and I melt into him. The feel of him is so much better than I imagined, and I savor it. It’s something that I’ve felt like I’ve wanted my whole life. A feeling of coming home washes over me, and all at once everything is right. It’s as if it’s finally as it should be in this moment and not the mess that’s been going on inside my head.

His lips are softer than I thought they would be. Then he slides his tongue into my mouth, giving me a taste of him. His flavor is like cinnamon and desire mixed together. I slide my hands up his body, wrapping them around his neck as his hands tighten on my hips in a possessive hold. The grip tells me he’s never going to let me go. He moans into my mouth, and it feels like it travels down to my core. The need to push my body into his is too strong to ignore, and I try to pull him closer. Kissing is no longer enough, and I’m becoming panicked and rushed. Years of pent-up frustration start to push forward into the kiss, and it grows intense. We’ve become ravenous, and our bodies are trying to burrow into each other so we never have to let go again.

I pull away to catch my breath, and my emotions scatter and surge. Carlos rests his forehead on mine, his breathing even heavier than my own.

“You taste sweeter than I ever imagined. All this time I wondered what you’d taste like. I should have guessed it would be cherries. You eat them by the handful.”

“It’s not like you help my addiction to them,” I tease.