Playboy Prince: A Royal Romance (The Brothers of Ocauria Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Epilogue (Gwen)

  Cover Page

  Sneak Peek

  Gwen

  Carter

  Coming Soon…

  Playboy Prince

  A Royal Romance

  Margot Winter

  Contents

  Cover Page

  Sneak Peek

  1. Gwen

  2. Carter

  3. Gwen

  4. Carter

  5. Gwen

  6. Carter

  7. Gwen

  8. Carter

  9. Gwen

  10. Carter

  11. Gwen

  12. Carter

  13. Gwen

  14. Carter

  15. Gwen

  16. Carter

  17. Gwen

  18. Carter

  19. Gwen

  20. Carter

  21. Gwen

  22. Carter

  Epilogue (Gwen)

  Coming Soon…

  Copyright © 2017 by Margot Winter

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This short story is a work of fiction, and all characters, names, and places are imaginary or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover Image: gpointstudio/Depositphotos.com

  PLAYBOY PRINCE

  A Royal Romance

  Brothers of Ocauria: Book 1

  Margot Winter

  Sneak Peek

  Being in a foreign land was an incredibly liberating experience, and I felt like I could be as naughty as I wanted to. As no one said ever, “What happens in Ocauria stays in Ocauria.”

  “What?” Carter asked. “What’s so funny?”

  His fingers grazed my waist and he slipped his hand over my lower back.

  “Nothing.” I must have been grinning like a fool. “I’m just being weird.”

  “Hey…wait. Stop right here. I want you to look up.”

  We were almost back at the hotel, and Carter leaned in close next to me. I looked up at his handsome face and then further up at the night sky. “Oh, wow…”

  It was stark black and dappled with distant stars. The crescent moon, a thin sliver of white, practically pierced through the dark canvas.

  Carter pulled my body close to his. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, his hand moving up my back. I felt his fingers at the nape of my neck, and then he began to run them through my hair. “I love New York, but every so often, it’s good to be away from the craziness.”

  “I agree,” I said softly. I was almost afraid to move a muscle. Part of me wished that I could stay here forever, shivering in my little black dress, my feet aching, just so that I could have Carter’s fingers in my hair and his sexy voice in my ear.

  Caught up in the moment, I spun towards him and craned my neck to plant a quick kiss on his lips.

  He smirked. “That’s not a real kiss.”

  “Show me a real kiss, then,” I said playfully…

  1

  Gwen

  The second my alarm went off, my hand violently shot out from under the covers, eager to silence the reminder that a new day had arrived. I wasn’t exactly a morning person. But the second I attempted to punch the clock into silent submission, I heard a man’s low voice growl, “Ouch!”

  Hmm. That didn’t feel like an alarm clock. It felt a little more like someone’s face.

  Nah…it couldn’t have been a flesh-and-blood human. Seriously, who would I have brought home from the bar last night? I never had strangers come over to my crappy little apartment.

  Rubbing my eyes, I slowly lifted my head from the pillow. I wanted to believe that I was only imagining things. Maybe this was a dream-within-a-dream kind of situation. There couldn’t be a man in my bed. I never woke up with strange men — ever!

  Cautiously, I turned to the right. I saw the sun streaming in through the window of my tiny studio in Queens. So far, so good. Seemed like a normal day.

  I held my breath and turned to the left. Holy shit. Never mind — not a normal day at all.

  It wasn’t just the fact that there was a guy in my bed that fully freaked me out. My shocked reaction had just as much, if not more, to do with the fact that he was the most gorgeous creature I’d ever seen in my whole damn life.

  I wished my best friend Anna were here to give me a high-five. This dude was a definite score. He had the chiseled features of a male model and dark, wavy hair. I gently lowered the bed sheet to expose his muscular torso, stopping just short of what I assumed to be six-pack abs. I figured he must have nice abs, since his biceps were no joke. And beneath the covers, I could only assume that he was…completely naked.

  Should I peek? No. No, I definitely shouldn’t. I had to draw the line somewhere.

  Stifling a scream, I rolled over and tried to process everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I vaguely remembered getting fed up with my job search, having sent out dozens of applications this week only to hear nothing in response. Frustrated, I called Anna around seven o’clock to see what she was up to, and we met up at a bar in Manhattan.

  The more I tried to recall the night before, the more vivid it all became in my mind. Ah, yes…the real trouble started when my friend and I parted ways. She must have said something to me about relaxing or chilling out. Offended by her suggestion that I was too uptight, I wandered into some smokey dive, determined to let loose and enjoy myself for once. It had been two months since I was laid off from my job as a gallery assistant. Even worse, it had been eight months since I broke up with my last boyfriend. I was tired of waiting around for someone new to take his place. After a couple shots of bottom-shelf whiskey, I decided that I was going to do something I never, ever did: have a one-night stand.

  Anna would have told me it was a terrible idea, but the cute bartender with the punk rock hair told me to go for it. And then he must have turned me down, because I remembered leaving that bar as fast as I could, walking a few blocks away, and entering some other bar. This one was a little swankier. I dug a little deeper into my memories to retrieve the necessary details. Ah, yes…ritzy people. Clinking wine glasses. Delicate piano music. And the most handsome man I’d ever seen in my entire life.

  He must have been even drunker than I was. Why would I assume that? Because I was wearing an ugly old sweater and he still approached me with a cheesy pickup line: he told me I was a bad girl trapped in a good girl’s body. (I probably would have said that I was a good girl trapped in her grandmother’s wardrobe.) I argued that his pickup line would never work on anyone with half a working brain, and immediately proceeded to let him buy me a drink.

  And then…the good part began. We got into a taxi and started making out. My toes curled in remembrance, and I quickly stole another glance at the stranger’s body in my bed before visualizing what happened next. The second we entered my apartment, he pushed me against the wall and told me he was going to have his way with me.

  I loved his roughness, his scent, the way he bit my lip hard. Clothes came off instantly, and we found our way to my rickety old bed. He pinned me down and had his way with me until we were both satisfied. This guy was dominant in all the right ways. I remembered being more than happy to lie back and let him do whatever he wanted to me, since he seemed to know my body even better than I did. We were just two people u
sing each other for please. We both came hard last night.

  But now it was the morning after, and for reasons I couldn’t quite fathom, the man was still here. If he’d slipped off into the night, I wouldn’t have questioned his motives. I was boring old Gwen Beckett, and he was a fucking Adonis. Why would he want to sleep over?

  At that moment, the man’s eyes fluttered open. They were the bluest eyes I’d ever seen, two profound pools. Half-closed, they only opened fully when he caught a glimpse of the naked woman lying beside him.

  I almost expected him to scream in terror, the way I’d wanted to. Instead, his sexy lips smiled and I heard his deep voice mumble lazily, “Good morning, gorgeous.”

  “Good morning…you,” I replied with a nervous giggle.

  He pressed his warm body closer to mine, and although he couldn’t see my face, I was trying my best not to crack up. I seriously hoped he wasn’t a male prostitute. If he asked me for a few hundred bucks before leaving my place, everything would make so much more sense. This dude was way, way out of my league. He was literally in the stratosphere, while I was a mere earthling.

  After a couple minutes of spooning, the guy grunted and sat up in bed, stretching his arms out. Entranced, I watched his muscles strain against his flesh as he stretched and flexed, ready to start a new day.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked me.

  “Um…no. Nothing’s wrong.” My voice emerged as a faint rasp. From the expression on his face (a mixture of amusement and confusion), I sensed that I must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights. How the hell had I managed to be a sexy vixen for this man last night?

  “Sorry I slept over. I usually don’t do that. But I guess your bed was pretty comfy,” he said, chuckling. He was kidding about the bed…right? “I’ll get out of your hair now, beautiful.”

  I watched him stand up slowly and turn around, giving me a great view of ass. He bent down next to the bed and found his clothes and underwear. “Did I put my wallet somewhere?” he asked me.

  “I have no idea,” I said, struggling to climb out of bed. I snatched a dirty dress out of my laundry basket and shoved it over my head. “I’ll help you find it!”

  “Never mind!” He reached slightly under my bed and pulled out a black leather wallet. “Got it.”

  Now that we were both dressed, I wondered what I was supposed to be doing. I never had strangers sleep over. Was this the part when I offered to make him breakfast, or would that be perceived as too needy? Should I get his number? He seemed determined to leave as quickly as possible, so I was a little afraid to distract him from his mission, whatever that may be.

  “What’s your name?” I asked suddenly.

  The man fixed his eyes on mine. “You don’t even remember my name? After you screamed it out all night long?”

  “Ha!” I slapped my knee. “I was kidding. Of course I know your name…John.”

  He smirked. “Not even close, babe.” Then he turned to face the full-length mirror on my wall and began to fix his hair. I wondered why he was wasting his time, since he had bedhead in the best possible way. The guy was practically ready for a photo shoot, with his sexily ruffled hair and immaculate five o’clock shadow.

  “Oh, yeah? Do you have any idea what my name is?” I asked, my eyes narrowing. Two could play this game.

  He crossed his arms. “Gwen.”

  Shit. “You win,” I muttered.

  “Just so you know, my name’s Carter. It’s a pleasure to meet you for real, Gwen. But I really have to get going.”

  I had to think fast. I wondered what Anna would tell me to do in this scenario. She was the one who had cute guys over on the regular. Not in a million years would I have anticipated waking up next to anyone this attractive. And it wasn’t just the fact that he was so good-looking that made the situation feel so urgent. The sex had been incredible; we were like two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly, at least in the bedroom. I had two choices: either I let this guy slip away forever, or I try to find a way to see him again.

  Luckily, my mouth moved even faster than my mind. “Before you go…let me give you my number.”

  2

  Carter

  I could think of no better way to celebrate the end of civilian life than by having a one-night stand with a gorgeous woman. My life was about to change in a big way, so I figured that I should make the most of my last night in the Big Apple, a place I had called home for a long time.

  And even though Gwen was acting all innocent this morning, the whiskey shots hadn’t completely erased my memories of last night. This seemingly sweet, naïve girl was acting like she’d never brought a guy home before. But the Gwen I met at the bar was almost aggressively sexual, with a certain swagger that seemed to have evaporated now that the sun was up. Then again, I tended to have that effect on a lot of women. I could turn a shy librarian into a crazy party girl. Not to sound cocky, but I was accustomed to using my looks to get what I wanted. And if that didn’t suffice, I had plenty of money to help seal the deal.

  I was something of a player. Or, as others liked to call me, a playboy.

  When I told Gwen that I had to leave, her expression changed. I could tell her hungover brain was working overtime to figure out what to do next. If she suggested sex, I wouldn’t turn her down.

  “Before you go…let me give you my number.”

  The look on my face must have given her pause. I opened my mouth to respond, but she continued.

  “I mean, if you ever want to, like, do this again…or something…” She bit her lower lip in the most adorable way. “Not necessarily sex. Maybe drinks? Or…” Gwen gave up trying to explain herself. “Ugh. This isn’t coming out right, is it?”

  I always had the best stories to convince women that they should steer clear of me, but this time, I didn’t actually need a fake excuse. I was literally leaving the country. For the first time, I felt a little guilty about telling a one-night stand that we couldn’t see each other again. There was something about this girl that intrigued me. I still couldn’t decide if she was a nice, proper young lady or a low-key seductress with a penchant for late night adventures.

  “I wish I could, but I don’t know when I’ll be back in the U.S. I need to go back home and work for my dad. It’s…kind of a complicated situation.”

  In this case, the truth was stranger than fiction. I decided to leave it at that, hoping that she would believe me.

  Disappointment clouded her crystal clear eyes. “Oh, wow. In that case, good luck! I hope you have a nice trip. Where are you headed, by the way?”

  “Thanks,” I said sheepishly. “You ever hear of Ocauria? It’s a tiny country in central Europe.”

  She must have thought I was talking out of my ass. Her eyes narrowed skeptically. “Sounds vaguely familiar. That’s a real place?”

  “Believe it or not, yes. Population 90,000,” I said. “Most beautiful, untouched scenery in the world. A lot of villages that your average tourist has never even heard of. I highly recommend visiting.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” Gwen laughed. She lowered her eyes, her dark lashes fluttering. “In that case, maybe I’ll visit you someday.”

  “Maybe,” I replied. In a last-ditch effort to save face, I added, “Could I get your email? It might be easier to keep in touch that way.”

  I handed her my phone and she added her information. Then, after checking to make sure I had all my things, I wrapped my arms around her.

  “Thanks for the fun night,” I murmured.

  “You too,” she mumbled indistinctly into my shoulder.

  Gwen opened her apartment door for me and I headed out quickly, almost afraid to look back at her. I rounded the corner and caught the elevator, taking a deep breath as the doors closed.

  I knew she must have thought I was just another jerk who lost interest the second he got intimate with a woman. And if that’s what she assumed, she wouldn’t be completely wrong. In the past, I probably would have slipped out
of Gwen’s apartment before she even woke up. However, the older I got, the more I realized that I couldn’t be a callous playboy forever.

  Once outside the building, I shielded my eyes from the intense mid-morning sunlight. I began to think about just how much my life was about to change. For years, I had hoped that I would never need to return to the kingdom of Ocauria. My dream was to spend the rest of my life enjoying my freedom as an ordinary (yet privileged) civilian. Now, however, I had been summoned to return to my home country and I had no choice but to go.

  I chuckled to myself as I headed down to the subway. Poor Gwen would have never believed me if I told her who I really was.

  She had no clue that Carter, the random guy she brought home from the bar for a night of fun, was actually Carter Alliston II, the Crown Prince of Ocauria.

  3

  Gwen

  “Gwen, Gwen…my sweet, innocent Gwendolyn…I don’t know how to say this.”

  Just say it already! I wanted to scream at my friend, but I refrained from shouting at her.

  Anna smiled at me sympathetically. “The dude’s just not that into you.”

  After listening to my whole story about that wild night with Carter and the strange morning after, that was everything my best friend had to say? I’d come to her hoping to receive pearls of wisdom. Instead, in a single sentence, she’d managed to completely crush my dreams of ever seeing Carter again.

  “Even though he took my number and my email?” I asked in despair. “Does that mean nothing?”

  Anna pointed her finger at me in an accusatory manner. “See? This is why I told you to stay away from guys in bars. You’re way too nice, and you’ll fall for their bullshit every time!” she cried. “Excuse me for a moment…I need to help a customer.”