“Xavier.” I gasped as I wrapped my legs around his waist. “We can’t do this.”

“Why not?” He grinned and pulled my panties down. “We can do whatever we want.”

“The sales girl is waiting on us.”

“Who cares?”

“Xavier.” I pushed him away. “No.”

“You say that word entirely too much.”

“I say it because you deserve to hear it.”

“I’d rather hear yes.”

“I’d rather say yes, but that doesn’t mean anything. If you don’t give me a reason to say yes, I won’t.”

“I give you a million reasons to say yes.” He groaned and stepped back as my feet found the ground. “Get dressed. I’m going to take you to a museum.”

“What about my dress for that party?”

“I’ll have twenty dresses shipped over for you in your size. You can choose your favorite when we get in.”

“That’s too much money. You can’t do that!”

“I’m a Prince. I can do what I want.”

“Whatever.” I shook my head. “I’m going to change back into my own clothes now, if that’s okay with you?”

“I’d rather you change back into nothing, but you’re not really listening to what I say, are you?”

“Xavier, I don’t know what power you have over other women, but you really don’t have that power over me.” I laughed at the annoyed look on his face. “I’m not just going to drop my panties when you say so.”

“Pity.”

“Yeah, it’s a pity for you. I’m not impressed by your Prince status. I know what an ass**le you really are.”

“You hurt my feelings, Lola.” He clutched his heart. “How shall I ever survive?”

“Funny.” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Was that not a joke?” He grinned and then winked at me. “You seem to be full of jokes.”

“Get out please.” I pushed him towards the door. “I want to change now and no, I don’t want you in the room.”

“Fine. I shall go out and pout while I wait for you, like a temperamental little girl.”

“Are you calling yourself a girl? Is there something you want to tell me?” I smiled widely at him. “First you were talking about wearing dresses and now you’re using little girl expressions. Are you trying to tell me you’re about to make a change?”

“A change?” He frowned at me and then I saw as his eyes changed and he got my joke. “I should take you over my knee and spank you.”

“No thanks. You’d like that too much.” I laughed.

“I think it is you that will like it too much.” He grinned. “And the day is young, there is still plenty of time tonight for you to find out how much you like being spanked.”

“Yeah.” I walked over to him and tilted my head up and him. “Let me tell you this. If you spank me, I will be spanking you too.”

“Oh?” Xavier licked his lips and he leaned in towards me and whispered in my ear. “I like it when you talk dirty to me, Lola. It turns me on.”

“What doesn’t turn you on?” I answered him lightly and he laughed.

“Touché.” He nodded. “When it comes to you, there isn’t much that doesn’t turn me on.” He winked at me again and walked out of the room. I leaned back against the door and sighed. I was in way over my head. I had no idea what I was going to do. If I was smart, I’d tell him that I wasn’t going to be a part of this anymore. I’d tell him I needed to go back to London right now. This very instant. I didn’t even care if I didn’t get my bags. If I was smart I wouldn’t let another hour go by in his company. There was something so hypnotizing about him and I was grappling internally over my lust for him and my worry for my own self-preservation. I just didn’t see how this could work out for me. In any way. I didn’t want to experience heartache, but a part of me wondered if it wasn’t a small price to pay to have one of the most magical summers of my life. I just didn’t know if the pleasure was going to be worth the inevitable pain I knew was coming.

***

The chiffon dress fit me perfectly and I stared at my reflection in amazement. My hair was being obedient for once and looked silky and smooth. My makeup looked perfect and I grinned as I spun around the room. I felt like a princess. Even if I was a fake one. My heart beat fast as I wondered what Xavier was going to say. He’d never seen me dressed up like this. I hoped he would be impressed, though I was sure he’d been with plenty of beautiful women in his life. I heard the door opening and I paused as he walked in. He stopped as he gazed at me. His eyes narrowed as he looked me over and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking from the expression on his face.

“Are you ready?” He said finally and turned away from me.

“Yes.” I answered him, feeling disappointed. Did he think I looked bad?

“Okay, we need to go down in a few minutes.” His voice sounded angry. “There are a lot of people you’ll be meeting tonight. Do not worry if you don’t remember their names, these are not people you’ll be meeting many times.”

“Okay, that’s good to know.” I mumbled and stared at him.

“Do you need anything before we go down?” He gave me another quick glance and I shook my head. Why was he acting like this? “Good, dinner won’t be too long.”