Marisa Chenery: Mate for a King

Feeling more than a little jet lagged, Lexi pushed open the door to the flat she had rented for a month in Norwich, England and wearily dragged her luggage out of the small hallway. After a ten-hour flight from Tampa International Airport in Florida, which included a stopover before landing in Manchester International Airport then another hour flight from Manchester to Norwich International Airport, Lexi was pretty much done in. All she wanted to do was fall into bed and not wake up for a week. The five hour time difference sucked. But she couldn't sleep just yet. She still had to pick up a few necessary items from a grocery store before she crashed. Lexi headed out of the flat that sat above a small bookstore and down the single flight of stairs leading to the building's front entrance then she made her way to the parking lot at the rear of the building where she'd parked her rental car.

As she pulled away, Lexi reminded herself to drive on the left hand side of the road. She headed for the street where she'd seen a grocery store on the drive in. It wouldn't take her long to pick up the small amount of groceries she needed. Feeling more jet-lagged as time went on, once she got to the store, Lexi decided it best to get a few essentials then come back later for the rest of the food she would need for the week.

She was almost back at her flat when she just narrowly missed hitting a car in the oncoming lane. Tires screeched as she and the other driver slammed on their brakes.

Lexi's heart jumped into her throat as she realized how close she had come to being in an accident. She had gone around a corner and stupidly turned into the wrong lane.

Knowing the almost-accident had been entirely her fault didn't help her nerves any. Her first day in England and she almost killed herself. Way to go, dumbass.

Lexi pried her hands off the steering wheel and got out of the car. She felt pretty sure she had stopped in time, but decided she'd better check to make certain there hadn't been any damage. She glanced at the expensive-looking Mercedes, sitting with its front bumper almost touching her rental's. The driver's door opened.

With an apology already formed on her lips, Lexi instead felt her mouth fall open as she watched a very large, very muscular, drop-dead gorgeous man step out and make his way over to where she stood. Unable to look away, she let her gaze run over him. The man was her own personal walking wet dream. Everything about him was a turn-on. He had longish dark blond hair, blue eyes and a body so muscular she bet she wouldn't find an ounce of fat anywhere underneath his tight-fitting blue jeans and black long sleeved t-shirt. She ran her gaze over his square jaw, straight nose and firm lips.

Lexi licked her own lips as her gaze became riveted to his.

When he came to stand in front of her, Lexi had to crane her neck to look up at him. He had to be at least six foot five. He towered over her five foot seven. His brows had been drawn together in displeasure as he had made his way over to her, but now that he stood in front of her, they evened out. Lexi hoped his current expression meant he wasn't too pissed off.

She cleared her throat. "Ah, sorry about that. This is my first time in England, and I still haven't gotten the hang of driving on the left hand side of the road." Lexi swallowed as he looked her up and down. She shifted from foot to foot, not knowing what else to say.

"You're an American?"

Lexi had to bite back a moan at the sound of his deep voice. She even found his British accent attractive. "Yes. Like I said, I apologize. I'm a bit jet-lagged as well."

His nostrils flared slightly as he took a deep breath. "I think we should continue this discussion in the parking lot across the street. We're blocking traffic."

She looked where he indicated and nodded. As she got in her rental car and drove the short distance to the parking lot next to a quaint looking tea house, Lexi took a deep breath to settle her nerves. Her heart raced. She knew her accelerated pulse had more to do with the man who parked his car beside hers than the close call she'd had.

After cutting the engine, she got out and met the man whose mere presence set her body on fire.

Lexi gave him a small smile. "Did I damage your Merc? If I did, I'll pay for any repairs you need to have done."

He shook his head. "There was no damage. I was just concerned because you look a bit unsettled. Are you all right?"

A wave of relief washed through her. "I'm okay. I guess I should have caught up on some sleep before I decided to do some grocery shopping."

"You aren't staying at a hotel?"

"No. I rented a flat not too far from here. I'm here for a month so I figured it would be cheaper in the long run."

"What's your name?"

"Lexi. Lexi Weller." She licked her suddenly dry lips as his gaze settled on her mouth.

He stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Lexi. I'm Raedwald. Raed for short."

Lexi took his outstretched hand. His much larger one closed over hers as he rubbed his thumb back and forth across the top. A shiver of awareness shot through her as she swallowed audibly. "Nice to meet you as well, Raed." She tried to pull her hand away, but Raed kept hold of her.

"Are you free this evening, Lexi?"

"Wh-what?" She couldn't have heard him right. Men who looked like Raed did not usually give her the time of day much less ask her out on a date. If that was what Raed was doing.

Raed gave her a half smile. "I asked if you would be available this evening. Since this is your first time here in Norwich, I would like to take you out for supper and show you around a bit."

Lexi nodded. "Ah, sure." The longer she stayed in Raed's presence the lower her IQ seemed to become. He must think she was an idiot, but she had a hard enough time keeping her mind out of the gutter as it was. Thoughts of stripping Raed naked so she could lick and kiss every inch of his hard body were turning her brain to mush. She blamed it on jet lag and not her overactive imagination. Yeah, right, Lexi. Keep lying to yourself and you might start to believe it.

"Great. I'll pick you up at six this evening. Where's your flat?"

"Six will be fine." She quickly rattled off the flat's address.

Raed lifted their joined hands and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist. His tongue flicked across her skin before he released her. "Then I'll see you at six."

Lexi had to lean against the trunk as she silently watched Raed get in his Mercedes and drive away. Her legs shook as she slowly got back into her car. That one small kiss had been enough to send her body into overdrive. Her nipples were still pebbled beneath her blouse. She squeezed her legs together hoping to alleviate the throbbing ache of arousal pounding in her pussy, but it only seemed to increase the intensity, causing wetness to pool.

Pulling herself together, Lexi left the parking lot and headed back to the flat. She really needed to get some sleep, especially if she didn't want to make an ass of herself this evening. She would show Raed she wasn't this ditzy all the time. Who was she kidding? She would be lucky if she didn't do something completely asinine like ask him to slowly strip naked so she could lick every hard inch of him.

Raed drove to the large manor house where he and his men lived. He shook his head as he thought about Lexi. He had been prepared to blast the driver of the car that had suddenly veered into his lane. His anger soon died away when he realized the other driver was a woman, and it wasn't just because she was a woman. As soon as he clapped eyes on her, his body had come to swift attention. He found her more than pretty with light brown hair hanging loose around her shoulders and her dark blue eyes; add a figure that appeared to be slim and fit under the black dress pants and pale pink blouse she wore, and he found he'd had a hard time tearing his gaze off her.