Sovalon Royals: The Complete Series Read online

  The crowd began to clear out, and Edward’s father approached him. Edward knew he couldn’t avoid this interaction, so he took a deep breath and prepared to defend his position.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, son.” His father’s dark eyes, ones that matched his own, bore into him. “This little pet project doesn’t exactly align with our plans for rejuvenating the kingdom.”

  “It can, Father,” Edward argued. “We can have a thriving business here between the bed-and-breakfast, the museum and gift shop and even a café.”

  The king pursed his lips, looking unconvinced. “It certainly makes us look good with the historical society. Maybe it will get them off our back.”

  Edward nodded. “They definitely seemed to approve of the project.”

  “I’ll allow it,” King Hansen said, then glanced sideways at Clementine, who was standing with her back to them, talking to members of the historical society. “But in the future, make sure you’re making decisions based on what’s best for Sovalon, regardless of the influences of a pretty woman.”

  Edward bit his lip, wanting to defend Clem, to tell his father that she was more than just a pretty woman. That she had a master’s in architecture and was a smart, savvy historian. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and watched his father and brothers walk away.

  When it was just him and Clementine left on the grounds, they spent over an hour walking the property, discussing ideas for improvements. When they were clearly alone, she approached him.

  “Thank you.” She took his hand and heat laced up his arm. “I know it took a lot for you to stand up to your father that way.”

  “I did what I thought was right,” he said.

  She smiled, her cheeks pink. “I appreciate the risk you’re taking here. But I really think it’s going to be amazing.”

  “I believe it will be.”

  Clem inched into him until her hips were touching his. “Let’s celebrate.” She grinned coyly up at him, and his mouth watered with longing.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “Follow me,” she told him, her voice husky and laced with desire.

  And he did.

  Clem was already unbuttoning her shirt as she walked toward the blanket she’d laid out for them on the banks of the pond before the press conference. She’d hoped he would agree to stay for an hour to have a picnic lunch with her after the meeting. She hadn’t planned on making this bold of a move, but watching Edward talk about the beauty of the old mill to the crowd of press, something stirred in her. She wanted him.

  Knowing he was as ready as she was made it easy to slip out of her shirt and step out of her jeans. The sun bit her shoulders as she unhooked her bra and let her breasts fall free then met his eyes. He gazed at her, his eyes wide with unabashed appreciation.

  “Up for a swim?” she asked then eased her silk underwear down her long, tanned legs.

  Edward swallowed. “I am.” His words were coated with need that he’d struggled against for weeks of working together. Clem licked her lips then turned from him and strode into the pond.

  Once he’d shed his clothing, he followed her into the cool water. She noticed him shiver when he got waist deep and splashed him.

  “Too cold for you?” she teased.

  “I’m pretty hot right now,” he said, meeting her flirtation head on. He slipped his arms around her waist, and Clem let out a sigh of pleasure at the feel of his solid body against hers. She wrapped a leg around his backside and pulled him into her. His hardness spoke to just how much he wanted her.

  Without another word, Edward’s lips crushed hers. His wet hands were in her hair, his tongue exploring her mouth. She wanted to feel him everywhere—his hands, his lips. He turned her around and pulled her back into his chest, cradling her breasts with his hands. She gasped as he nibbled at her earlobe and kissed the back of her neck, his thumbs drawing circles over her hard nipples. She raised her arms high and curled them back around him as she leaned into him, letting his touch perform magic on her skin until she could stand it no longer. The aching inside of her was too strong.

  Pulling away from him, Clem took his hand and led him from the pond to the blanket. They fell together, their wet bodies sizzling with fiery craving for one another. Edward slid his body next to hers and gazed into her eyes.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  She threw her head back and let out a throaty laugh. “Are you kidding me?” Angling her body into him, she moaned as he caressed her backside and the tops of her thighs. She parted her legs, inviting him to go further. His fingers danced over the tender nerves between her legs then slid inside of her, pulsing the core of pleasure that ached for more than just his fingers.

  “I need you now, Edward,” she said, and he wasted no time before pushing inside of her. She clung to him, pushing him deeper until they came together, their blissful cries in sync, their lustful appetites at last sated.

  9

  Edward lay belly down on the picnic blanket, propped up on one elbow, staring dreamily at Clem who was still naked except for the unbuttoned dress shirt of his that she’d shrugged into.

  “If I’d known this would be your way of thanking me, I’d have obliged you sooner,” he said, and she laughed. Her hair hung in golden waves around her crimson cheeks, which were red and roughened from the brush of his face against hers. Her blue eyes looked soft, filled with an expression of satisfaction.

  “Seriously, Clem,” he said. “That was pretty amazing.”

  She leaned into him, exposing the perfect flesh on her long white neck and half-exposed breasts. “I’ve been wanting to get closer to you for a long time,” she admitted. “It’s just that we always seemed to be on such different ends of the spectrum about things.” She gazed at him and spoke quietly. “Today just felt right.”

  “For me too,” he said. “I’m sorry if I seem stubborn when it comes to your work on the castle or the demolition projects. For a long time, I’ve been so caught up in my father’s way of doing things, I think I’ve forgotten how to form my own opinions.” He picked a blade of grass and twirled it between his fingers. “Your passion gave me the confidence to stand up to my father about the mill.”

  “I’m proud of you, Edward,” she said and sat straight up. His shirt fell open, exposing all of her, but she didn’t seem to notice. He couldn’t help but stare. “You were brilliant in front of the press today.”

  He let out a sigh. “Want to know a secret?”

  She grinned and ran fingernails through the tuft of hair on his chest. “Of course I do.”

  “I detest public speaking,” he admitted. “It’s my absolute biggest fear. A phobia!”

  “Well, you nailed it today, Prince Edward,” she said and leaned forward to kiss him. His hands went to her waist, and he pulled her close, leaning into the kiss.

  When their lips parted, Clem pulled her head back enough to speak again. “Why do you let your father push you around?” she asked.

  “He doesn’t push me around,” Edward explained. “It’s just that ever since I was small, he’s held me to certain standards. He’s set on an image of what is and isn’t acceptable as part of the crown. As a child, even my friendships were scrutinized. If the friend didn’t fit the image, the friendship had to end.”

  “That’s harsh,” Clem said and gently caressed Edward’s thigh.

  “As I got older, it just got to be a habit, aligning my life and my choices with what he’d want,” he said. “If I’m honest…” Edward’s words trailed off before he finally gathered himself to say, “You know, you’re the only person I’ve ever admitted this to, but, if I’m honest, I’m afraid to fail.”

  “What?” Her eyes were incredulous. “Fail who? Your father?”

  He nodded. “My father, the kingdom,” he said. “It’s a lot of pressure. And as much as I want to be my own person and pursue my own dreams, I don’t want to let down my family or the people of Sovalon.”

  Clem was silent for a mome
nt, leaving him worried that perhaps he’d said too much. Finally, she took his hand and met his eyes.

  “I completely get it,” she said.

  “You do?”

  “Ever since Mom left, I’ve felt like I’m the one who has to hold things together with Uncle Stoddard and Dad—at home and at the shop,” she said.

  His heart went out to her. “How painful to have been abandoned by your mother, especially for a young girl.”

  “I think that she’s the reason I work so hard to preserve beautiful things.” Clem stared wistfully off to the right. “I watched my parents’ marriage disintegrate so quickly,” she said. “Beautiful things can easily be lost forever if you don’t take care of them.”

  This shed so much light on Clem’s personality and her appreciation of antiquities. “How old were you when your mom left?” he asked,

  “Only seven,” Clem said. “But I remember her. I remember her and Dad fighting constantly at home. Every day was a battle. ”

  “That’s awful.”

  “Yes, it really was. Their inability to get along was the reason she left. It’s also the reason I’m so careful about who I get into a relationship with,” Clem said. “My parents were complete opposites, too different to coexist. I don’t want to end up struggling like they did.”

  “I can understand that,” Edward said. “But not every relationship will be like your parents’.”

  “I know.” She ran a hand through her tangled hair. “Anyway, now it’s just me, Dad and Uncle Stoddard. I’m a musketeer—one of the three. The only way to manage is for all of us to work together. I have to succeed in my part of the business, because if one of us jumps ship, the others sink. I understand the pressure.”

  “I guess you do.” He hated for her to have to deal with so much stress and wanted nothing more than to protect her from anything negative. Clem was the most precious thing of beauty he’d come across in a long time, maybe ever. He wanted to take care of her. He took her face in his hands and drew her to him, his lips closing in on hers in a sweet kiss.

  For the rest of the afternoon, Edward made it his personal mission to take care of Clem. As the sun sank low in the sky, they basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking behind the old mill, a place they both agreed was beautiful enough to work hard to preserve.

  The next morning, Clem sat across from Edward in the dining room of the old castle, eating sweet rolls for breakfast and staring out the bay window at the breathtaking grounds. Edward was looking over paperwork of some kind, but Clem was taking a quiet moment to appreciate the beauty of the castle yards.

  Edward placed his hand on top of hers. “You look lovely when you’re daydreaming.” He grinned. “What are you looking at?”

  She nodded at the window. “I bet that garden used to be spectacular,” she remarked. Even though the fenced-off space outside the window was overgrown, she could see by the rusted metal stakes and the whitewashed fence enclosure that it used to be a garden. “Do you remember it at all from the summers you spent here?”

  Edward looked up from his stack of papers and scratched his head. “I remember a gardener, maybe, but I’m not sure. I don’t know that I’d have noticed a garden.”

  Clem smiled wistfully. Gardening was one of her most-loved pastimes. When she had time, she loved to get her hands in the dirt. Flowers were her favorite thing to grow, especially sunflowers, but she loved her vegetable garden in the summer as well. The patch of garden she could see from this window was just about perfect for any season.

  “How peaceful would it be to just sit here over breakfast in the winter and watch the snow fall over the heather field, Edward?”

  Edward huffed but didn’t look up from his work. “Let’s hope we’re not here when the snow falls,” he said. “We need to be finished by end of October. By then, I’ll be more than ready to get back to my condo, and I’m sure you’ll be itching to move back home.”

  “You won’t stay on here after we’re finished?” Clem couldn’t imagine leaving this splendor if she didn’t have to. Sure, she missed seeing her dad on a daily basis, but there was something so special about being enveloped in the history of these walls.

  Edward looked at her like she had three heads. “Why would I stay on, Clem? You do realize that this is a restoration job, nothing more. I may have learned to appreciate the beauty of old things because of you, but I don’t want to live in this old castle. I much prefer modern living.”

  Clem sighed. Perhaps Edward’s passion for the old mill site had made her too optimistic. She hadn’t realized he was so disinterested in the project.

  “I’m in no hurry, actually. I’m growing really fond of this place.”

  He shook his head. “You can’t get too attached, Clem. I hired you for your expertise, not so you could get emotional about this old castle.”

  “Well, I guess I’ve become emotionally attached on several levels here, Edward.” She eyed him defiantly. “I can’t help it that I put my heart into my work.”

  He held a hand up. “And that’s probably what makes you so damn good at what you do, but it’s not healthy. When this project is finished, we’ll move on to something else.”

  “We?”

  “I, for one, am in no hurry to stop working with you. I think you know that by now,” he said. “Think about how great it will be for your family business, financially, to leave this job behind and move onto the next thing.”

  She couldn’t argue with him that Wicke Salvage could certainly use the business, but somehow it felt funny to imagine this place, in its newfound splendor that they’d created together, without Edward living inside its walls.

  “I guess you’re right,” she conceded. There was no use arguing with him. Her living arrangements here were temporary, so why should she worry about his?

  “Speaking of future projects,” she began. “We’re getting close to finishing here. What’s coming up on the agenda for you? What do you want to do next?”

  Edward touched Clem’s cheek, his fingers gently caressing the side of her face. “I know what I want to do next.” He gazed at her with hungry eyes, and she felt herself blush.

  “I have a lot of work to get done today, Prince Edward.” She grinned at him, loving that she could tease him like this. “But if you really need me, you’ll find me.” She stood from the breakfast table and winked at him. She could feel his eyes burning into her backside as she sauntered away.

  10

  Later that afternoon, Edward found Clem working in the master suite. The master bath was in poor condition and needed serious renovation. Clem’s arms were covered in tile debris. It was even in her hair.

  “Hey,” she said and smiled at him. He couldn’t resist the urge to kiss the white-dusted tip of her nose.

  “You’re an adorable mess,” he said, the memory of their heated afternoon at the old mill fresh in his mind.

  “Thanks. That’s why you hired me, right?” she joked. “You needed somebody who could still look good while they were covered in muck?”

  “Absolutely.” He laughed. And damn, she looked good. “Hey, do you want to have dinner with me tonight?” he asked.

  She placed a hand on her hip and challenged him with her eyes. “By dinner, do you mean sushi while we work, or do I actually have to change out of my overalls?”

  “I was thinking we could eat at my penthouse,” he said, feeling almost shy about inviting her to his private residence. After what they’d shared yesterday, he probably shouldn’t feel that way, but he did. “I thought maybe you’d like to see where I live.”

  She looked at him for a moment, not revealing any emotion. Was she going to refuse?

  “So, I can wear my overalls then?”

  God, she was something. Clem brought laughter and ease into his life. He hadn’t before realized how formal and stilted his life had become. She made it so easy to enjoy life and not be so serious.

  “Great,” he said and beamed at her. “I’ll pick you up here at seven.”<
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  Clem hadn’t expected him to be this rich.

  But Edward was a prince. Maybe she should have anticipated it.

  His penthouse was stocked with every bell and whistle from its smart-home capabilities that seemed to anticipate a person’s every need to its state-of-the-art appliances and sound system. Clem knew the kitchen itself must have cost millions.

  Edward had no photos on his walls, only art.

  “I’ve been collecting art for the last few years,” he explained.

  His idea of art wasn’t exactly in accordance with hers, but to each their own. The splashy, brightly-colored piece looked like someone had spilled vats of primary school art supplies onto canvases then used a rake to spread it around. She couldn’t imagine what he’d paid for them.

  “They’re… interesting,” she said. She had to admit they did seem to fit with the style of his home—all sleek stainless steel with track lighting and solid white walls. He was a minimalist, with no decoration except for the art. She could never live here. His home felt cold and devoid of feeling. His aesthetics were just so different from hers.

  But.

  The man could cook.

  “This pasta is to die for,” she said.

  “When I was a kid, I hung around the palace kitchens. A chef there taught me to cook,” he said. “Killer, isn’t it?”

  “Delicious,” she said and took a sip of an equally luscious Cabernet that he’d opened.

  “Thanks for coming over,” he said.

  “Thanks for inviting me.”

  They cleared the table together and sat on the white leather couch in Edward’s sunken living room.

  “Reese, light the fire.” He spoke the words to the air, and the fireplace turned on.

  “Why Reese?” Clem asked.

  “It was the name of a tabby cat I had as a child,” he said. “She was my favorite pet.”