Discovered

It was late when they arrived at the hotel. As was his habit, Lance flicked on television news.

Gabby was coming out of the bathroom when she saw her own face on the screen. “Mon Dieu!”

Lance glanced up. Seeing what caught her eye, he turned up the volume.

“It has been months since Princess Gabriella disappeared from the luxury hotel where she...” the newsman was saying.

Snatching up the phone, Lance dialed JC’s room.

JC had just crawled comfortably into bed when the phone rang. “Yeah?” he growled into the receiver. Who in the hell would call at this hour?

“You need to see this,” came Lance’s low voice.

“What?”

“CNN. Turn on the TV,” Lance told him, then hung up.

Climbing out of bed, JC found the remote. He was yawning when a picture of Gabby flashed on the screen. At least, she looked like Gabby, but he had never seen her with her hair up so primly with a tiara perched atop of it.

“Princess Gabriella du Gautier has been missing several months. What has disturbed the royal family the most is the fact no ransom note was found.”

“This has been a most difficult time for Ella’s family and myself, “ a dark, arrogantly handsome man was saying. “We would make this plea to those who hold here: please, contact us and let us know Ella is alive.”

That was the man her father wanted her to marry? JC stared at the screen. Not his little Gabby! The man had a cruel look about him. A knock on the door made him swear. He wanted to watch the rest of the broadcast. Jerking open the door, he barked, “Who in the hell!...” He stopped in mid-tirade when he saw Gabby. She looked tiny and worried in a tee shirt she had taken from him.

“I thought you might wish to speak with me,” she murmured.

“Damn straight. Come in.” He stepped back, allowing her in before closing the door.

“I am so sorry, Josh. I had wished to tell you...” She kept her back to him, twisting her fingers together nervously. “But how does one confess such a thing?”

“If I hadn’t seen it myself, I don’t know if I would have believed it.”

“Are you not angry?”

“No, baby. Shocked, stunned, not angry.”

She turned to face him then, tears trickling down here pale cheeks. “I know some might find life as a royal ideal. It is not. It is boring, tiring and gives one no chance to enjoy the small things. It is horribly restrictive.”

JC stroked one tear-stained cheek. “A pretty bird in a gilded cage.”

“Oui.”

“And Alfred?”

“He is a horrid, cruel man. He is handsome and many people see only his face.” She sighed heavily. “He is well-known in our circles for his vicious temper.”

JC nodded. “I thought as much.”

It was Gabby’s turn to be startled. “You did?”

He shrugged. “Something about him...”

“Will you forgive me for not telling you?” She looked up beseechingly.

Wrapping his arms around her, he said, “There’s nothing to forgive, baby girl.”

JC was very good at closeness, Gabby thought. He seemed to understand the need to be held, to make emotional situations more bearable.

“Gabby, I think you need to call and tell them you’re okay.”

“I left a note for my brother.”

“That is not the way it sounded. Alfred made it sound like kidnapping.

“To flush me out, no doubt. To make the people with me give me out...” She knew it wasn’t the right word...

“Sell you out?” JC offered.

“Oui. They would descend like locust.”

“Call them on my cell. It’ll be harder to trace.”

She looked into his eyes. “Then I might stay?”

“The guys’ll have to vote on it; but as far as I’m concerned, nothing has to change.”

Gabby rose upon her toes, bringing her lips a mere fraction of an inch from his. “Nothing?”

Oh God! She knew exactly what that did to him!

“Not one damn thing changes for me.”

It had been weeks since he’d had her in his bed and he craved her. Just the slightest taste of or touch and he was like a junkie in need of a fix. Gabby was his addiction.

“Will you plead my case with the others?” Her warm breath whispered over his lips.

“I don’t think it’ll take all that much.”

“Joshua?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Might I stay here tonight?”

“I’d like that a lot, Gabby. I didn’t want you to move out in the first place.”

“I did not want us to be about sex.”

“We aren’t,” he promised.

“Tonight I do not even care. I want to be in your arms, in your bed.”

“I want that too.” JC closed the distance between their lips.

Their mouths crashed together. Gabby’s arms went around his neck as he lifted her from the floor. Tongues dueled and mated as he lowered them to the bed. Instinctively, she parted her legs to make room for him, cradling his hardening manhood so close to the haven it sought.

“Baby, I missed the taste of you,” JC panted as he lifted his lips from hers to trail along her jaw to her ear. The tip of his tongue followed the shell of her ear before he tugged and sucked at the lobe.

“I have missed the wonderful things you do to me,” she confessed breathlessly.

“I’ll do them all to you tonight,” he promised as his lips moved to nibble the soft, vulnerable spot on her neck, the one that made here weak with desire.

“Josh-u-a...”

“Let’s lose this” with her willing assistance, the teeshirt she wore was removed and tossed to the floor. Her small, firm breasts bounced into sight and JC felt himself grow even harder. “Damn, you’re so perfect...”

“You said I was spoiled,” she taunted. “So, I cannot be perfect.”

“You have a perfect little body just made for me to love,” he amended with a grin.

“And you do it so well,” she purred, running her hands up his bare chest, loving the feel of hard muscle and crinkled chest hair on her palms and sensitive breasts.

He gave a low chuckle. He’d never had a lover be so free with her compliments. As spoiled as she had seemed, she always managed to show her appreciation to whomever did something for her.

Dove gray eyes met deep blue – and the rough eagerness faded into tenderness.

“Gabby...baby...” JC whispered against her lips.

She stroked back the tumble of curls at his forehead. “What’s wrong, Josh?”

He shook his head, not knowing what to say. “I just missed you baby.”

“You see me everyday.”

It wasn’t the same. How could he explain that? That when they didn’t share a bed some part of the bond was missing, beyond the fantastic sex. Sharing the last moments before sleep and the first upon waking drew them closer to each other’s hearts. “Seeing you – even kissing you – it’s not the same.”

“Show me.”

And he did.

JC woke with Gabby curled against him. He had to smile. The nights they shared were rare and wonderful. Something about being with her, beyond the sex, that eased an ache deep inside. In his heart of hearts, he knew exactly what it was – and he confessed it only to himself in moments of true candor. As much as he had once complained about her being spoiled and unable to accomplish the most mundane of tasks, she had drawn him like iron shavings to a magnet. The others had recovered from their infatuations with Gabby. His had grown into something deeper and richer, something akin to love. He had entertained the idea – Now, with this revelation of who she really was, he didn’t know how to proceed. Could he love a real princess?

“If you’re determined not to sleep, mon cheri, perhaps you should take your shower,” Gabby suggested on a yawn. She had been awakened by the almost physical presence of his thoughts.

“Pretty soon,” JC muttered.

He looked a little sad. She knew she would hurt him once the truth came to light.

“I should not have stayed.”

“What’s your real name?” he asked abruptly.

“Princess Gabriella Celestine Marie du Gautier de La Rosa.”

“That’s a mouthful.”

“Europeans tend to want to acknowledge everyone in the bloodlines.”

“I guess!”

Gabby leaned up on one elbow, studying his face. He certainly was a lovely male.

“I thought my life gets kinda restrictive. Yours must be even worse.”

“You mean you would not enjoy having to change your clothes for every meal plus tea time? Or, perhaps, having your every waking hour planned so you can be the representative for the king or crowned prince in places they choose not to go?”

“Shit,” JC grumbled.

“Go to every party they are invited to attend even if they choose not to – and still have no say over your own future.”

“Baby, just don’t go back.”

She shook her head. “I must see what happens now.”

“I won’t let them just take you,” he promised fiercely.

“Sweet, brave words, mon ami, but unless you perhaps know someone in your White House...”

“I’ll think of something.”

Gabby leaned to kiss him softly. Before she could pull back, his hands tangled in her hair to hold her still for more. As he tugged her down on top of him, she parted her thighs. Lifting her hips, she impaled herself on his most eager manhood.

“Damn, baby! You are so ready...”

She wanted to tell him she was always ready for him, because she loved him. That would be unfair of her. He might say he loved her as well – and though she wanted to with all her heart, she couldn’t stay. Instead, she would give him everything until she was forced to leave him behind. She would have to be content with memories of what could be. With that, she rode them to heaven.

Gabby punched in the number for her brother’s cell phone. As she waited for him to answer, she bit her lower lip nervously.

“It’ll be okay,” JC told her.

“Allo,” came the warmest voice of Gabby’s childhood.

“Allo, Etienne. It is Ella.”

“Ella!”

“I was not kidnapped as you well know. I do wish father and Alfred would not go on so.”

“It is time for you to cease playing your childish game of hide and seek, Princess,” her brother announced sternly. “”Both of them have been quite upset over this.”

“Yes. How thoughtless of me!” she jeered. “As thoughtless as our father was when he never bothered to tell me of my betrothal?”

“Ella, it was not your decision to make.”

“I am the one who would be made to bed the pig!”

JC frowned. Her conversation might have been on French, but by the tone of her voice, it didn’t sound as if it was going well.

“I am not ready to return,” she announced. “And I shall never be ready to marry Alfred Von Hatten.”

“Most women fawn for his attentions.”

“Then let him marry one of those empty headed twits. I have no desire for it. He is a self-centered, self-serving, arrogant, mean-spirited...”

“Enough!” Etienne’s tone was stony. “I forbid you to continue this.”

“Of course, your highness. I shall perhaps call another time.” Calmly, Gabby rang off – but then she looked at JC, her large, soft eyes swimming in tears.

“Aww, baby...” JC held here close, rocking her against him as she cried, trying to soothe her.

“He–he would not listen,” she sobbed into his shirtfront. “He was my only friend.”

“Hey, that’s not true. We’re all your friends, Gabby.”

“Not when I return.”

“Can you go back?”

“I was just commanded to do so.”

“Commanded?”

“Oui. It seems my father and Alfred have won Etienne over to their way of thinking.”

“You don’t have to go.”

“I can be deported. They can revoke my visa.”

“Would they?”

She sighed tiredly, “I do not know.”

Pulling away, Gabby said, “Merci beaucoup.”

“You’re welcome.”

She was heading for the door when JC’s voice halted her. “Where are you going?”

“To my room.”

“No, that’s Lance’s room. Your bed is here with me.” He went to take her hand. “Stay, baby.”

“But last night...”

“Was fantastic. Stay.”

“But my clothes...”

“I’ll give you a tee shirt to sleep in.”

“Is that wise? I tend to keep things.” Her smile was soft and teasing.

He answered with a grin. “I’ll just make sure it isn’t one of my favorites.”

More seriously, Gabby searched his eyes. “Why, Josh? Why do you wish me to stay?”

“This is where you belong.”

She shook her head.

“Yes, you do.”

“Josh–“

”Stay,” he whispered against her lips before he took them hungrily with his own. “Please.”

Gabby was lost. “Oh, Joshua...”

After a moment, she pulled back from his mouth. “Oui,” she murmured, then led him to bed.

JC was grateful for back-to-back shows. It meant downtime. Downtime meant lingering in bed with Gabby. They woke to make love leisurely, then ordered breakfast from room service. After breakfast, they lounged on the big bed, in no particular hurry to dress and start the day. JC decided to teach Gabby how to play a game on Gameboy. She was a miserable failure but didn’t seem upset about it.

“Zut alor!” she grumbled.

“You suck!” JC laughed as she wiped out one more time.

“Pah! Moronic little machine to entertain little boys,” she scoffed.

“And you seriously suck at it!” he cheered gleefully.

She tossed it at him, smacking him in the chest.

“Hey!” he growled. Grabbing her, he tickled her ribs as she squealed with laughter. “Say uncle.”

“Tante!” she cried.

“Come on, baby, say uncle.”

“Frair!”

“Gabby, say—“

A disturbance in the hall stopped his torture. “What the?...” Rising he tossed her a robe to cover the tee shirt she wore. “Put it on.”

Opening the door, he saw several suited men facing off with NSYNC’s security team.

“We demand the return of Princess Gabriella.” JC recognized the arrogant man from television. Alfred Von Hatten.

“We don’t have no princess here. Only crew,” Lonnie told the man.

Gabby dared a peek over JC’s shoulder. “Mon Dieu!” she gasped.

Before JC could block her from view, the man spotted her. “Ella!”

Gabby transformed before their very eyes. Though all she wore was JC’s tee shirt and robe, she held her head up high and became Princess Gabriella. “You can tell my father I have no intention of returning anywhere with you, Alfred Von Hatten,” she stated haughtily.

Von Hatten looked at her attire, then to JC wearing only pajama pants – first shock, then anger exploded across his handsome face. “Whore!” he accused.

JC stepped forward to defend Gabby, but she restrained him. “His opinion of me means less than nothing, mon cheri,” she assured him.

Before anyone could react, Von Hatten slapped her across the face.

“Damn!” A haze of red anger dropped over JC’s eyes – then he saw the blood on Gabby’s face. He lunged at the other man. “I want a piece of you!”

NSYNC security grabbed him. “Be cool, JC. We’ll just escort these men out. You get some ice for Gabby,” Lonnie told him.

“I demand Gabriella go with me,” Von Hatten blustered.

“You just split that little girl’s lip, buddy,” Lonnie growled. “You ain’t in no position to demand squat.” He shoved the man none-to-gently towards the elevator.

JC turned his attention to Gabby. Tears welled in her big eyes as blood dripped off her chin, but she refused to cry until the elevator doors closed.

“Aww...baby,” he crooned as his arms went around her. His tender voice broke the floodgates and she sobbed brokenly. “Somebody get that ice.”

Leading her back into his room, he indicated she should sit on the bed while he got a cold, damp washcloth to bathe her abused lip.

“I’m so sorry, baby.”

“You did not hit me,” she mumbled.

“I should have seen it coming.”

“How could you? You know nothing of Alfred.” She looked into tortured blue eyes. “Josh, this is not your fault. How could it possibly be?”

“Here’s the ice,” Lance announced as he entered. He had a hotel ice bucket in hand.

“Thanks, dude,” JC murmured.

Lance sat on the other side of Gabby. Taking her chin in hand, he inspected the now puffy, purplish bottom lip. “That looks nasty,” he grumbled. “Hurt?”

Gabby nodded meekly.

“Lean against JC and I’ll hold ice on it. We’ll get that swelling down.”

With her head on JC’s shoulder and his arms around her, Gabby closed her eyes, stoically letting Lance put the stinging ice on her lip.

“Alfred isn’t a nice guy,” Lance commented.

“Cowardly bastard.” JC added.

“Yeah. Where I come from real men don’t slap little girls around.”

“She said he had a nasty temper. Guess now we know what that means.”

“I talked to the others. They agree that we keep her under our protection.”

“Damned straight.”

They were talking around her, but Gabby particularly didn’t care. JC’s protective, tender embrace and the low rumble of Lance’s calm voice lulled her into releasing herself into the dark oblivion of unconsciousness. “It hurts,” she whispered before nothingness claimed her.

“She’s fainted,” JC announced as Gabby went slack.

“Poor baby.” Lance murmured.

“The way her head snapped back...Dude, he didn’t pull that punch. That was some impact.”

“For being a spoiled little princess, the kid has grit.”

“She’s not spoiled.” JC stroked her hair back from her forehead to brush his lips across it. He gently laid her back on the pillows as Lance rose.

“You know you love her, C,” Lance said quietly.

“I don’t want to. I don’t think she’d accept it.”

“Why not? You’re a hellava lot better for her than Von Hatten.”

“She thinks she has to go back.”

“Not if you give her a reason to stay.”

That statement gave JC something to consider. Would she be able to love him back?

Lance inspected Gabby’s lip. “Looks like the ice did the trick.” The swelling had gone down considerably. “It looks a lot better. I’ll leave the ice bucket here in case she wakes up.”

“Thanks, dude.” JC said as the other man made to leave.

“I love Gabby, too – just not the way you do,” Lance said in parting.

Gabby could be dammed lovable – despite her sometime uppity ways. She was sweet, vulnerable and in need of a keeper. JC was up for the job.

JC was the first thing Gabby saw when she opened her eyes. His deep blue eyes were so serious as he hovered at her side. “Joshua?”

“How do you feel?”

“Like a bully hit me.” Touching her delicate lip with fingers, she said, “If I were a man, I would hunt him down and beat him to a bloody pulp.”

“Blood thirsty little princess, aren’t you,” he teased lightly.

“He would deserve it.”

“Oh, yeah, it was my first reaction.”

“I know.” Gabby smiled drowsily. “You are very much my white knight, mon cheri.” She reached a hand behind his neck. “Kiss me but be gentle,” she whispered.

“You don’t even have to ask.” He lowered his head, taking her uninjured upper lip between his. He kissed her repeatedly in soft, clinging caresses. His tongue stroked the vulnerable skin inside her lips.

“Josh...” She arched against him.

“Baby–“

JC’s cell phone chimed and he grabbed it up from the bedside stand. “JC.”

“Is this the despoiler of my daughter?” a haughty, heavily accented male voice demanded.

“I’m JC. Can I help you?”

“You have not answered my question.”

“I have no intention of answering.”

“I must speak with my daughter.”

“And who are you?” JC questioned tauntingly.

A muttered oath of outrage was followed by, “This is King Theodore.”

“And your daughter would be?…”

“The Princess Gabriella.”

“Oh…Gabby? Just a sec.” JC held the phone so her father could hear him. “Gabby baby, don’t forget to tell dear ole daddy that the good for nothing sonofabitch Alfred split your lip.”

“Joshua!” Mortified, Gabby snatched the phone dangling from his fingers. Didn’t he realize what he was doing? Taunting the King? “Allo, your highness.”

“You must return to the palace at once. You have disgraced yourself and spoiled any chance with Alfred. Perhaps I can make another match yet.”

“I do not wish to go home.”

“That was an order, not a request. You have no choice. If you do not, I will have you deported as an undesirable.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“I expect you at the embassy the day after tomorrow.”

“Yes, your highness.” Ringing off, she handed the phone to JC and rose from the bed.

“What is it, Gabby?” JC demanded. Rolling to his feet, he stood directly behind her.

“I am to be at the embassy, then I am being sent home,” she murmured softly, her heart breaking.

“What!” JC was incredulous.

“I was told if I did not go on my own, he would have me deported as an undesirable.”

“Undesirable?”

“Criminal.”

“That’s bullshit. He’d have to have proof.”

She shook her head. “I have no means to defy him.”

“But you wanna stay – don’t you?”

Gabby nodded. “Father was very angry. He wanted an alliance with the House of Von Hatten. I am used goods, a disgrace.”

“Used good? You aren’t property.”

“I am a royal female in a monarchy where women cannot take the throne unless all male heirs are dead. I am property. Daughters are only as good as their market value – and I have less being over twenty-one and no longer a virgin.”

“Baby, what’ll happen?”

“My father will find a suitor who does not care about my virginity. He will be a far less desirable mate, I fear.”

From what JC had seen of von Hatten, he shuddered to think who would be less desirable! “Marry me,” he blurted before he considered the consequences.

Gabby spun around to face him. Her eyes went wide with hope, then she shook her head when reality set in. “I could not do that to you, Josh. The offer is very generous.”

JC should have been relieved she had let him of the hook; instead anger bubbled to the surface. “What? I’m good enough to fuck but not to marry, Princess?” he jeered.

She wrapped her arms around his lean waist. “You are too good for me, I think, Joshua,” she replied softly. “You do not truly want to marry me.” Or he would have said he loved her.

To be honest, no, he hadn’t wanted to marry her – yet. He wanted her love first. “We could get married until you’re safe.”

“You would do this for me?”

“Yes.”

“It must be made public.”

“We’ll deal with it.”

“Are you very certain you want to do this?”

“I am. Hey, not every guy can marry a real live princess.”

Her arms moved up to go around his neck. “All right, Josh. When?”

“Tomorrow. I’ll find a flight to someplace with no waiting period. There won’t be a honeymoon.”

Lifting to her toes she kissed him gingerly. “Oh, there will be a honeymoon, mon cheri.”