J. Cooper - Finding My Prince Charming

“Oh, my.” I made a face at him.

“One says, ‘weekend tryst for the playboy Prince of Europe.’”

“But this isn’t a tryst,” I cried out, ignoring the fact that we had nearly made love again. “We came for a class project.”

“They don’t know that.” He frowned.

“We should tell them.”

“How do we explain the fact that we’re staying in the same room? How do we explain that the room service came in as I was pleasuring you?”

“Oh,” I bit my lower lip. “We’re screwed.”

“I can’t have another scandal like this,” he sighed. “My parents are not happy. They think I’m shining a bad light on Romerius.”

“I guess that’s what happens when you’re a man whore.” I shrugged.

“We’ll have to pretend we’re dating.”

“What?” I exclaimed. “No way.”

“It’s the only way we both come out unscathed!” He stood up and walked to the window and pulled the curtain to the side. “There must be at least thirty paparazzi out there waiting for us.”

“Oh my gosh.” I sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t believe this.”

“We’ll go to Romerius tomorrow.”

“What?” My jaw dropped. “We have to go back to London! We have class on Monday.”

“My mother is insistent. This is an international incident. We have to go to show my parents and the country that we are in a relationship.”

“But we are not in a relationship.”

“I need you to give me a week.” He looked at me. “One week and then we can break up. Doesn’t that sound fair to you?”

“No, it doesn’t!” I jumped up. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Would you rather be known as the American floozie who went to Paris with her professor for a weekend of hot sex?” He paused and then smiled, a small evil smile. “Or would you rather be known as the American that went on a romantic trip with her boyfriend and went to meet his family?”

“I’d rather not be known at all.” I made a face and then groaned. “How did this happen?”

“You got drunk and held onto my arm last night. Then this morning we started kissing because we could no longer resist our passion and ...”

“I don’t need an explanation as to what happened.” I jumped up and pointed at him. “This is all your fault.” I groaned. “And what does Sebastian think?” I buried my face in my hands. “He must think I’m a tart.”

“Why do you care what he thinks?” He stepped towards me and frowned. “Do you wish you were with him?”

“Of course not.” I looked away from him. “Though he is preferable to you.”

“Really?” He grabbed my arms and pulled me towards him. “Shall I show you how much pleasure I can give you?” His lips pressed against mine as his hands circled my waist. “Do I need to have you screaming my name for you to know what I can do to you?”

“Xavier.” I breathed out slowly. “Don’t.” I groaned as his fingers ran along my ass. “This isn’t the time.”

“Then when is the time?”

“I just want to ...” He cut me off by pushing his tongue into my mouth. I sucked on his tongue instinctively. I couldn’t get enough of his taste. I wanted to feel him inside of me, but he was such an ass that part of me felt like I’d be letting him win if I made love to him again. I pulled away then and started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” He looked down at me with narrowed eyes.

“You.” I pointed at him. “Most women dream of meeting their Prince Charming and you’re an actual prince, but there isn’t a charming bone in your body.”

“You don’t think I’m charming?” He cocked his head and ran his finger down my cheek.

“You heard me correctly.” I stared back at him, not backing down. “No one could ever call you charming.”

“I’ll have to fix that then.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “I can’t have you coming to Romerius thinking and acting like you think I’m an ass.”

“Uh huh.” I laughed. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea for us to go, is it?”

“We’re going.” The smile left his face. “You have no choice.”

“But class!”

“I’ll assign a museum assignment for next week.” He shrugged. “The students will be happy to step away from the theoretical.”

“But Anna will ...”

“What about her? I’m sure she will be excited for you. She seems the sort that would be happy to join me for a week.” He shrugged. “I’m sure she’d be packed already.”

“Whatever.” I tried not to grin. He knew Anna well. She wouldn’t hesitate twice, if she was in my shoes.

“She can come over next weekend with Sebastian, if you want.”

“I don’t want to go myself.” I frowned.

“Well, the offer is on the table if you want her to come.”

“I thought this was for one week?”

“It will be.” He nodded. “You can leave at the end of the weekend with Anna, in a heat of rage. I’ll have to leave the class, of course, but that’s a small price to pay to save your reputation.”

“Save my reputation? What about your reputation?” I gasped indignantly.

“I’ll get over it.” He laughed. “Trust me.”

“I’m sure you will.”

“Just like I’ll get over you.” His words were soft, and I looked up at him with a frown.

“Excuse me?”

“For what?”

“What did you just say?”

“I said, are you ready to visit Monet’s gardens?” He turned away from me. “I’ll think you’ll like seeing the lily ponds in person. It adds a whole new dimension to the paintings.”

“That’s not what you said.” I sighed. Why did he need to get over me? What was going on here? What was his problem?

“Don’t be difficult, Lola.”

“What?” My voice rose. “I know you’re not calling me difficult.”

“Would you rather me call you easy?” His voice dropped and we had a stare off.

“Let’s go.” I grabbed a cardigan from my bag.

“Want to get breakfast first?”

“I am human.” I rolled my eyes. “I need food to survive,” I paused and held my hand up, “but wait, don’t tell me. Your supermodel girlfriends eat air for breakfast.” My face grew red as I continued talking. I could see the smirk on his face, but I couldn’t stop myself. “Wait, don’t tell me. Air for breakfast and a side helping of a celery if they get hungry.”

“They don’t get hungry,” he answered with a wide smile.

“Of course they don’t,” I rolled my eyes. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not a supermodel. I’d like bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and a baguette please.”

“And some pastries, no?” He grinned at me.

“Yup, chocolate croissants and coffee. And I have milk and three sugars in my coffee.”

“Only three?” He tilted his head and I glared at him.

“Fine, more like five.” I responded and he burst out laughing.

“Come, Lola. I think we’ll have a great day.”

“Even with the paparazzi following us?” I made a face.

“You’ll soon forget them in the beauty of the day.” He smiled gently and took my arm. “Wait until you see the gardens, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back in time. You’ll feel like you’re standing next to Monet himself.”

“It sounds magical.” I couldn’t keep the excitement out if my voice.

“It will be.” He held my hands and his face turned serious. “Thank you for being so good about this. I want to apologize for turning your world upside down like this. Most people would not have been able to handle it.”

“It’s okay, you can’t help being a prince,” I shrugged. He laughed so hard that I could see tears in his eyes.

“You’re so refreshing, Lola. Most women love that the most about me.”