Royal Bachelor by Trudi Torres Page A

fire from the first. Sinking into her had turned him a little feral—but she was Alice. She had something special that kept him tethered to humanity, his strokes had begun gently but she wouldn’t have that. Surprising and delighting him, she set a brutal pace. She was a goddess.
    Normally, Luke should have forgotten her by now, or the desire should have mellowed, but no. Luke was even more tightly-wound now than when he didn’t know yet how it felt to be deep inside her.
    It didn’t help that Alice seemed to be reacting the way Luke usually did. Alice had grown a little cool, a little detached, and it terrified Luke how much this terrified him. After gasping into each other’s ears as they came, Alice had seemed stricken and had gently pushed him away, squirmed back into the leggings they’d both pushed to her ankles, and gone to her room without a look back.
    She hadn’t been the same since. Or rather, she hadn’t become what Luke had expected her to become—closer to him, not distant.
    “My lord,” Jules said, appearing at Luke’s side. “Miss Martelli’s feet are probably getting cold.”
    “My own feet are freezing,” Luke replied dazedly.
    “No.” Jules sighed. He hated idiomatic expressions in English. For the ease of conversation he lapsed into Elmerean. “Not everyone would jump at being your girlfriend, my lord. Especially not when they think they’re at risk rather than at gain.”
    “At risk?”
    Jules raised an eyebrow. “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately, my lord?”
    “Of course he looks at himself in the mirror daily, you old fart,” said Alfred, arriving on the scene and grimacing at the cold. “Out with it.”
    “And you’re supposedly so worldly-wise, Alfred,” said Jules, enjoying the attention. “My lord, you are a handsome man. Even without your position in the equation, women are naturally wary of handsome men because handsome men find it too easy to replace their women.”
    “Trust me, I’m not about to replace Alice.”
    The vehemence and certainty in Luke’s words startled all three of them. Jules looked pleased. “I suggest you let her know then. Show her by being honest with her.”
    “Jules, I am going to tell her. And yes, I will get to it. So you can stop looking at me like I stole your SpongeBob boxers.”
    “My what, my lord?”
    Alfred left as suddenly as he came. Luke didn’t answer Jules. He was thinking and trying to master himself. Jules was right. Luke had to open himself to Alice in the same way she already had for him. He had seen her hesitation before she’d flicked it away in favor of giving them both what they’d wanted from the beginning. He had an idea of what Alice with her principles and rules must be battling just now and it made him feel worse for his deception.
    *
    He visited her the following day at the Strand. The staff began to recognize him. But when one of them tried to help him find Alice they were at a loss. She was getting more and more difficult to find among the stacks. Luke found it all amusing and a little alarming. Between Jules’ observation and what happened in Nantucket he grew more and more terrified. What if she just simply and quietly stayed away?
    But no, she was maddeningly the sweetest woman he’d ever met. He just couldn’t really tell now if he was special to her because she was nice and charming to everyone, except to people who unluckily inquired about a bad book. Since their return the other day she had been sweet but also dismissive towards Luke. They had made so much progress romantically; Luke had never felt this strongly about any of his lovers. But sex had changed their dynamic and in public she gave him a blank smile and kept her distance. He needed to speak with her privately and she seemed to be purposefully avoiding that.
    Unable to locate her at the Strand, he gave her space all Saturday and then waited at her doorstep on Sunday morning.
    She came out in a black and cream striped