Prologue
Sex. Love. Lies. Secrets. Money. That’s my world now. That’s the world I’ve found myself in. I feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland, spinning around and discombobulated. Up is down and down is up. Nothing makes sense and yet it all makes absolute sense. I never would have believed that I, Lola Franklin, would have found myself in a world of fairytales. Maybe that’s because I didn’t believe they existed. And I wasn’t wrong. At least, not the fairytales that Disney spins us. They don’t exist completely. However, one thing is true: I did meet my Prince Charming. My very own imperfect Prince Charming.
Every woman wants to meet her Prince Charming. She wants a man who will sweep her off of her feet. She wants a man who will love her above everyone else. She wants a man who will love her as if he couldn’t live without her. She wants a man who can think of no one but her. Yes, every woman wants a Prince Charming. The real question is: how do you find, tame and keep him? That is the question that we all want answered. Finding a great guy is only part of the battle. It’s the taming and the keeping of the guy that’re the real challenge. And it’s an even bigger challenge if that man is Xavier Van Romerius.
Chapter One
Lola
“Let me touch you. Let me stir the passions in your soul until they became a storm of desire. I want your waves to crash down all over me. I want your rain to pour in my mouth. I want to feel your body move to the earthquake inside. I want to make your volcano erupt on top of me so that I don’t even remember where I end and you begin.” Casper stepped toward me with a threatening smile, his hands outstretched,and I blanched at his gaze. What was I doing here, in this room, with this man—this man whose words made a mockery of the beauty of lovemaking?
There was a stirring in my stomach as I stood in the cold, poorly lit room. I could hear the sounds of music playing in other parts of the palace. There were bursts of laughter, and all I could wonder was if they were laughing at me. Lola Franklin, the American slut fiancée of Prince Xavier of Romerius. My cheeks burned in shame as I stared at Casper, his handsome face gazing at me as if I were his Sunday dinner and he was very, very hungry.
There’s always a moment in life that makes you question your sanity. Sometimes it lasts longer than others. Sometimes it’s gone in a blip of time. Often, that moment seems to stop time. Like now. I felt like time had stopped as I stood there with Casper and the traitor.
“So, what do you say?” Casper looked at me with dark eyes full of desire. “I promise we can give you more pleasure than you’ve ever experienced.” His voice was melodic and sensual, as if trying to seduce me with its sound alone. The sound was calming to my body and I felt a tingling between my legs as I stared at his virile body, so obviously wanting me. His arms were strong and muscular and, for a brief second, I imagined him on top of me, pinning my arms back as he took me roughly. Casper was a man who would dominate me and take what he wanted with precision. “Are you thinking of how much pleasure I can give you, Lola?” He stepped forward again, his fingers lightly brushing my hair off of my shoulder as he bent down and kissed the skin next to my collarbone softly. His lips were warm and firm, and I froze. Everything about this moment was so wrong, but my body was expectant, waiting, and defiant. My body wanted to let him take me so I could get back at Xavier. I felt like this was my chance to make him hurt as he had hurt me.
“We can make this the best night of your life.” Casper gazed into my eyes expectantly and then leaned toward my ear and blew gently. His breath tickled my ear and I felt a thrill of excitement run through my body unexpectedly. My body was reacting to him, even though my brain wanted nothing to do with him. Then I felt the tip of his tongue running down my neck. He licked back up and I felt his tongue on my lips. I gasped as he smirked at me, his eyes sparkling into mine as he dared me to let him continue. “I can give you more pleasure than you believed possible. Let me take you on a journey. Let us take you on a journey,” he said huskily and I jumped back suddenly. His words broke me out of my reverie and I looked past him to the figure by the door.
“No, no, and no.” My voice was loud as I answered his questions, but faced right. “And you, Tarquin, how could you?” My voice caught as I stared at Xavier’s cousin. “I thought we were friends?”
“We are friends. I want to be more than friends, though.” He licked his lips and I shivered as he stepped toward me with a glint in his eyes. “Don’t you think I’m handsome?”
“Tarquin!” I chastised him. “Where is this coming from? You know I’m engaged to Xavier.”
“Yeah, right.” He laughed and then looked at Casper uncertainly. I looked at Casper, whose face had changed to a grimace and I knew he was responsible for Tarquin’s entrance into the room.
“What game are you playing?” My voice was tight as I stared at him. “Why are you here, Tarquin?”
“My brother asked me to—”
“Your brother?” My jaw dropped. “Casper is your brother?”
“Yes.” He nodded, looking more and more unsure of himself.
“So Casper is Xavier’s cousin as well?”
“You’re smarter than you look.” Casper gazed at me with a sneer.
“Excuse me?” I frowned at his tone.
“Casper.” Tarquin spoke up. “That was rude. Lola doesn’t deserve to be talked to like that.”
“Tarquin,” Casper said, turning to him, “you’re lucky that you’re even here. You know, technically, it’s against the rules for you to be here.”