Royal Arrangement

V

Annie

“I am a bastard and you’ll do right to remember that..”

Daniel’s harsh words echo in my mind as my eyes flutter open. The lavish room is filled with sunlight so I assume it to be the morning. I stretch my legs and wince at the soreness then it all comes back, the s*x, the orgasms, everything. My face flames and I hide it in the crook of my arm. I reach beside me absentmindedly and search for the warmth Daniel provided. I frown when I realize he's no longer beside me. With a sigh, I push myself off the bed, the sheets fall of my body and expose my naked breasts.

I search around the room for something to cover my naked body. My dress is nowhere to be seen and I frown. I open up a drawer and take out one of Daniel’s pain grey T-shirt’s. I pull it over my head and it falls just above my knees. I look at the clock beside the bed. 8:30 am. I didn’t sleep in that much. Good.

My bare feet pad across the plush carpet as I explore. The scent of bacon floods my nostrils and I walk toward the kitchen. Daniel's there, in his boxers, cooking on the small stove. “Good morning my little American,” he greets me with a smile that makes my heart skip a beat. So warm. So welcoming. So... not real. “How are you feeling?”

I blush. “A little sore.”

“Good.” He sounds pleased as he scoops a portion of bacon and eggs on a plate and slides it toward me on the counter. The same counter that I was sitting on last night when he ate me out. He smirks knowingly, obviously having the same thought. “Eat.”

I nod and sit down at the counter. “So, what’s on the princely agenda today?” I ask, swirling my fork in the air before bringing it to my lips. Daniel's a good cook. The eggs are perfect and the bacon's crunchy.

He shrugs. “I figured we’d go out.”

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t been here very long, so I was going to show you around.” He brings his fork up to his lips and takes a bit of his breakfast. After he's done chewing his eyes lock on to mine. “And it would be a great PR opportunity.” He shrugs again.

I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes. Of course that’s all he cared about, the stupid media.

He doesn’t care about you, remember that Annie.

You’re just a pawn in his master plan.

After the year’s up, get your million dollars and get the hell out while your heart’s still in tact.

“I’m full.” My voice sounds cold and distant.

Daniel’s brows rise and he searches my face for any causes of my sudden outburst. Yeah, good luck buddy. You aren’t going to find the answers you’re looking for. “You’ve barely eaten.”

“I’m not hungry. I’m going to take a shower.”

I leave the table. I know I have no real right to be angry at Daniel, but I can’t help it. I have feelings and I'm trying so hard not to feel anything. I'm trying not to get hurt, but it's hard when he's acting so kind, so gentle and caring towards me. I need him to be a bastard. I need him to be a sadistic asshole because if he isn’t, I’m afraid I might fall for him. And I can’t. I can’t fall in love with Daniel Windsor because he doesn’t feel the same and he never will. And when I have to leave him, I want it to be a clean break.

The more I think about this arrangement, the angrier I become. I’m angry, but not at Daniel, I’m angry at myself. How could I take his deal and sign his contract? Sure, he blackmailed me, but I could’ve said no. Couldn’t I have? How could I agree to giving him and heir, remaining his doting wife for a year in a palace, and then leaving it all behind? How can I live with myself? How can I leave Daniel?

As I step into the shower, I feel between my legs and I’m mortified to feel dried semen. How can I leave Daniel? How can I leave the innocent child in all this?

Oh my god. I completely forgot.

Suddenly the fear of having to leave Daniel is replaced by a dark feeling of despair.

How can I abandon my own child?

What kind of person am I? I shamefully wash away the evidence of last night from the body and let the hot water cleanse my skin. I suck in a breath as it hits my slightly sore ass and I am reminded of Daniel’s cruelty.

I feel angry tears fall from eyes and mix with the hot water from the shower. I can’t believe it. I want to hate him. I need to hate him because right now I hate myself.

I splay my hand over my belly. There could be a child growing inside me. There could be a helpless infant waiting to be born, ready to be brought into a loving family, to be cared for and cherished, not used to gain royal status.

I feel sick to my stomach as I turn off the water and step out of the large glass shower. I dry myself off with a large fluffy towel, my mind going crazy. I swipe the condensation off the large mirror with my hands and grab a comb off the counter. It must be Daniel’s. I comb through my blonde hair as I stare at myself in the mirror. My eyes are puffy and red with the residue of tears. I frown. Daniel is definitely going to be able to tell that I’ve been crying. My hands are shaking as I repeat the motion until I’m satisfied that my hair is tangle free. I wrap the towel tightly around my body and exit the bathroom.

When I get out of the shower, Daniel is waiting for me, sitting on the bed with his arms crossed. He looks like an angry parent. I ignore him and move to pick up my discarded clothes. I put them in the hamper and move over to the closet on my side of the room. I'm not surprised to find my clothes there. Daniel said they would be brought over. I feel his eyes on the back of my neck as he watches me intensely. He doesn’t say a word as I gather fresh clothes. Verilia is warm for April, so I pick out a plain light blue sundress. He finally speaks up when I'm about to head back into the bathroom to change. “Talk to me.” It wasn’t a request.

I roll my eyes, knowing he can’t see me. There is no way in hell I'm going to tell him. Instead, I plant a fake smile on my face and turn around. “I’m sorry about earlier. I wasn’t feeling well.”

His blue eyes narrow. He's once again searching my face for any clues. “Are you sure?” I nod. “Okay,” Daniel says hesitantly, rising from the bed. “If you’re sure?”

I nod again and hold the towel tighter to my body. “Yes. I’m sure. I feel better now. I think the shower helped.” I smile warmly again. It was somewhat true. The shower did help to clear my feelings. I decide to change the subject. “So, where are you taking me?”

He smirks, seemingly forgetting my earlier episode, and stands up. He walks toward me and I feel like prey being stalked by a predator. “Oh, I want to take you everywhere.” His voice is deep and silky and I don’t miss the innuendo.

Blood rushes to my face and I continue to step away as Daniel steps toward me until my back makes contact with the bathroom door. “T-that’s not what I meant.”

He leans down until his lips are merely inches from mine. I shiver when I feel the heat radiating off his body. His erection pokes into my belly and I feel my breath catch in my throat. My heart begins to beat faster in my chest and my face is on fire. He grins and I shut my eyes tightly in anticipation. He chuckles and it rumbles throughout my body. Suddenly, the heat of his body and his erection disappears. “You should get dressed.”

With that, he's gone. 

~~~

Daniel

Ever since this morning, Annie seems to be in a better mood but I can still sense that there is something wrong. She’s quieter than she usually is and more reserved and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. I guess I’m just paranoid but it seems like something happened to make her feel this way. Was it something someone said to her last night at court? Did Vanessa say something? Oh god, the last thing I need is for Vanessa to ruin the only good thing I have in my life. I’m starting to enjoy Annie’s company, and not just the s*x. She’s witty and a bit sarcastic and I genuinely enjoy our conversations.

The s*x is great too.

I can’t help but think about the future. In a year, if all goes well, I’ll be king and a father, and Annie will be a million dollars richer and a mother.

Fuck.

She’s going to be the mother to my child. And then she’s going to walk out of my life.

No.

It has to be this way. I don’t understand what I am feeling, but it stops now. I will entertain those thoughts no more.

I push those thoughts away and focus on my Little American. Her wide blue eyes are trained on the window as she intensely stares out at the passing buildings and people. I chuckle to myself as I catch small glimpses of her trying her hardest not to sit on her sore backside. She’s balancing herself above the seat by her arms. I shake my head and push down on her shoulder, making her wince as her full weight lands on her ass. She stares at me with narrowed eyes. “You earned that punishment. Now you need to face the consequences.” I say simply.

Annie huffs and turns to the window again.

I decided to take her into the heart of the capital. Verilia has great shopping and I think she would like that. Plus, it’s a popular area and there'll most definitely be news crews after I leaked our social outing. Normally, I would avoid the media like the plague, but I need some good publicity to balance out all the bad, and my Little American screams good publicity. She’s pretty, and impressed with my country, and she’s wearing my ring. And most importantly, she’s mine.

I make it to the Main Street and park my Audi in front of a jewelry store. Annie shifts in her seat and then turns to me. “Where are we?”

“Plaza de estropia. It’s a Main Street for shopping. Famous tourist spot.” I say simply and grab her hand, giving it a gentile squeeze. She's a little reserved ever since this morning and I'm struggling to find out why.

She frowns. “I didn’t bring any money.” She pulls her hand from my grasp and crosses her arms over her chest. “You should’ve told me.”

Aw. How cute.

“You don’t need money.”

She raises a brow and narrows her eyes in suspicion. “I don’t?”

I shake my head. “Not when you have a rich fiance.” She rolls her eyes and pushes me away, staring out the window. I clear my throat and she returns her gaze to me. “That was disrespectful.”

It takes her a second to comprehend what I am referring to. I can see the exact moment that she realizes what she’s done. Annie’s doe eyes widen and her face turns a light pink. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—I mean I meant to but I—”

She begins to trip and stumble over her words and I can’t help but chuckle at her flustered state. “Don’t worry my Little American. You will be punished later.” Her pretty little mouth flies open in protest but she quickly shuts it. Annie clearly doesn’t like that idea but she is smart enough not to argue.

Good girl.

I open my door and exit the car. She does the same before I’m halfway around the front bumper waiting to open it for her. I shake my head with a smile. She’s so cute. I’ll have to teach her proper etiquette later. She stares at me in confusion for a moment. She genuinely doesn’t see what she did wrong. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Come.” I hold out my hand and she takes it. “This way.”

I lead her down the street with her small hand in my large palm. As I pass the jewelry store I make a mental note to stop there one day when I don’t have Annie with me. I want to get Annie something special. Maybe a nice pair of blue earrings to match her eyes like the ones she wore last night? Yes. I think that will do nicely. I smile warmly at Annie as she practically drags me through the streets, stopping in the window of every store with a look of pure awe on her face. She gasps when she sees a beautiful black dress in the window. Throughout the day I make mental notes of all the things Annie takes a liking to so I can buy them for her later. Even though I told her she has an unlimited budget, Annie doesn’t so much as spend a single cent except to give money to a few street performers. I don’t know if she’s too shy to tell me what she likes or if she is scared of me, but she doesn’t buy a single thing.

I can’t help but frown. It would look better for the cameras if I was actually buying my pretty fiance gifts. I can’t do that if she outright refuses. “Do you want those?” I ask her mid afternoon as she stares at a pair of gold heels in the window of a random designer store that I don’t care to remember.

She turns back to me and flashes a small smile. “No. I just like to look.” Is her simple reply. She turns back to the shoes for a few seconds and then she moves on. I can barely keep up with her as she walks the streets like a kid in a candy store.

“Wow!” Annie exclaims as she runs toward an older street performer with an electric guitar. “He’s amazing!” She taps her foot and nods her head to the classic AC/DC song. The performer isn’t singing the words but she quietly fills in for him. I stare in a mix of amusement and surprise. Her voice is quiet but pretty, like a little songbird. She hits the notes perfectly as her small voice rises and falls to the melody.

I chuckle. “I didn’t know you could sing.”

Her face flushes and she stops. I frown in disappointment. “I can’t.”

I don’t want to push the subject but I can’t have her demeaning herself and her skills. I can see that she doesn’t want me to bring it up again so I don’t. “Well, I think you can. I also didn’t know you liked classic rock.” I never expected that my Little American would be interested in the same music I found pleasing. I smirked to myself. Looks like I chose well.

Annie’s eyes light up and she nods enthusiastically. “Oh yes! I love classic rock. Back home I used to listen to all the old rock songs... with my dad.” A look of sadness flashes in her eyes for a second. It's so fast that I almost don’t catch it. She's missing her parents and her home. I’ll have to bring them over for a visit. That would really surprise her. I can just picture the look on her face. Her eyes all wide, her plump lips showing a wide grin. It’d be adorable.

Yes.

It’s settled. I’ll have her parents visit as a surprise. I think it will make her happy.

The unfamiliar smile on my face falls. Why am I smiling so much? Genuine smiles, not just cheeky grins. I frown. That’s better. I’ve been smiling all day and my jaw feels weird. This isn’t normal. Why have I been smiling so damn much? I look down at the perky little blonde beside me. She’s singing again and dancing this time. Her blue eyes are bright and she looks up at me and grins.

Fuck.

That’s why.

Annie. My songbird. My Little American. My fake fiance.

It’s physically painful for me to pull my eyes away from her. I run my hand through my dark hair. s**t. Annie’s doing things to me. I’ve never felt this way. My attraction for her is blooming into a full blown obsession. She occupies my mind every waking moment of the day and her tight little body haunts my dreams. Even as I slept beside her last night I still longed to be inside her and just standing a foot away from her feels too far away. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and draw her close. Annie tenses up. She looks up at me quizzically and I can see a hundred questions running through her mind. She tears her eyes off mine for a second and looks to the right just out of my line of sight. Her eyes widen slightly and she plasters a false smile on her lips and relaxes her once tense body.

What?

Why is she acting this way?

Annie’s smile isn’t the genuine smile that I’ve seen on her face all day. I felt a sudden pain in my chest that I don’t quite understand. I looked down at her and she smiles wider, grabbing my hand in her own and leaning closer. Annie hops up on the balls of her feet like a small child and gives me a small peck on my cheek. She goes back down on her heels and rests her head on my shoulder while she watches the street performer. How odd. My Little American is acting strange. She never shows this much affection and I'm shocked to come to the realization that it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I hold her close and plant a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Click.

I'm so lost in thought over why the hell I just did that, that I barely register the unmistakable sound of a camera click. I turn to where Annie looked earlier and feel a strange surge of disappointment. Oh. Annie was acting up for the cameras. She must’ve seen them and stepped into the loving fiancé role.

Damn. She didn’t do it on purpose, I tell myself, it didn’t mean anything. I don’t know why I am suddenly struggling to breathe. It feels like there’s a large weight pushing on my chest and I have no idea why. This obsession of mine is crushing me.

She looks up at me again. “Sorry,” She whispers. “I should’ve told you. Paparazzi.”

I smile even though I am feeling anything but happy. “It’s fine. Good job.”

She beams and the weight lifts. Her smile travels to her bright blue eyes. This is genuine. This is real and I f*****g love it. I long to see that smile again. That’s why I will shower her with gifts. Everything she looked at today will be in her closet by the end of the week. I can tell she isn’t materialistic, but I have no idea what else would make her happy. I’m not used to this. What would she want? A necklace? Earrings? New dresses?

No.

My Little American clearly doesn’t care for flashy things.

Dammit.

Why do I care about making her happy? All she’s supposed to do is pretend and give me an heir. I don’t have to keep her happy, that’s not part of the agreement.

Then why am I planning to do everything in my power to keep that smile on her face?