The Crown Jewels Read online

  Table of Contents

  THE CROWN JEWELS

  COPYRIGHT

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  EPILOGUE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A Present from HONEY PALOMINO

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  EPILOGUE

  ABANDON ALL HOPE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  EPILOGUE

  THE CROWN JEWELS

  BY HONEY PALOMINO

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2016 HONEY PALOMINO

  All Rights Reserved

  Please respect the work of this author. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied without permission. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Any similarities to events or situations is also coincidental.

  Cover Design: © L.J. Anderson, Mayhem Cover Creations

  PROLOGUE

  “Say it,” Will commanded, his breath caressing Julia’s ear, shooting sparks of electric desire running through her quivering body.

  “Will, please,” she shuddered as his fingers slid into her. He pressed her against the wall, his lips searing her neck with feathery kisses as he pushed deeper into her pulsating center.

  “Say it,” he insisted, his fingers sliding out and then in again, smiling at the moan that escaped from her lips. “I need to hear it first.”

  “Will!” she cried. “After all this time, please!”

  “I like it when you beg,” he teased. “But I want to hear you ask for it.”

  His lips found hers and he kissed her deeply, pulling another sultry moan from her.

  “Come on now. Be a good girl. Say the words,” he said, breaking away and staring into her beautiful green eyes.

  “Fine!” she relented. “I want you…”

  “Yessss?” he prodded. “Say the rest.”

  “Damn you!” she cried, hitting his chest with her palm. His fingers found her sex again, sliding in smoothly, melting away every ounce of her resistance. “Fuck me, Will. I want you to fuck me.”

  His smile lit up his handsome face, and he kissed her again.

  “Good girl,” he whispered, bringing his lips back to her ear. “I told you that you’d beg me to fuck you before the night was over.”

  He was right. He had predicted just that, and here she was, begging for it like a starving woman. It was so out of character for the buttoned-up, nerdy art student, Julia Rose, that she couldn’t believe it herself.

  But for the last week, she had been doing a lot of things that weren’t like her. Like going out with Will in the first place. Like skipping school to spend time with him. Like failing her first test in her entire life, because she had literally forgotten to study for it. Forgotten! Julia had never forgotten to do anything ever, let alone something that had to do with school.

  She’d worked hard to get into Brown, determined to get accepted on her own merits, and not because her father was a US Ambassador. And she’d done it.

  And now she was throwing it all away on a guy. A guy that made her feel like nothing she had felt before. A guy that turned her on so much, her body felt like it had been set ablaze. A guy that had somehow managed to turn her steely resolve to stay a virgin for at least another year into a forgotten promise.

  Will had noticed Julia way before she ever noticed him. That’s not a surprise, considering most of her time at school was spent with her nose buried deep in a book. The first time he saw her at the library, he told himself he wouldn’t stop until he was buried inside of her.

  And right now, he was halfway there.

  What had started under the guise of a tutoring session ended up exactly where he had hoped.

  “Say it again, Julia,” he asked, knowing he was pushing it. He didn’t care. He liked to push right up against every boundary in life, until he broke right through it. Besides, he knew Julia was enjoying his little game. He could tell by the way she was soaking his fingers already.

  “Please, Will,” she whispered, her voice slicing through the silence of his huge penthouse. “Fuck me.”

  And with those final two words, he felt her relax, submit, agree. Swiftly, he swept her from her feet and carried her to his bed. She smiled up at him, her auburn hair falling around her head like a halo as she watched him slowly undress in front of her.

  The black suit jacket fell to the floor, followed by his black tie. Un
buttoning each button of his shirt, his massive muscular chest came into view. She bit her lip, her body electric with anticipation.

  It was nothing like she imagined it would be. But maybe that was a good thing. Right now, she didn’t care. All she cared about was feeling Will against her, all she wanted was for him to kiss her, to make love to her, to keep her feeling as alive as she did in this very moment.

  This was a hell of a lot more exciting than anything else she had done, that was for sure. But it was nothing like she expected. And she’d done lots of research, because she was that kind of girl. ‘Be prepared’ was her motto, and she was nowhere near prepared for the hurricane of desire and lust that had flattened her when the Prince walked into her life.

  Her eyes raked across his perfectly sculpted body, her teeth capturing her lip as she watched him slowly unzip his pants, so slowly she thought she would explode with anticipation, before his massive treasure came into view. And then there it was.

  Hard. Huge. Absolutely fucking beautiful.

  She gulped, pushing all thoughts of pain away. She didn’t care if it hurt. She knew what she needed, and she needed it now.

  She reached out for him, but he took a step away, shaking his head.

  “Not yet, darling,” he whispered, throwing his pants in the pile of clothes on the floor. He sat on the bed next to her, his fingers finding the buttons of her silk top, and undoing them, one by one, his watchful eyes drinking in the sight of her heaving breasts rising and falling under her black lace bra.

  “Lift your hips,” he commanded. She obeyed, and he slid her skirt off, leaving her splayed out before him like a feast for the gods, the sight of her black lace bra and panties. A slow smile spread across his face knowing she was wearing them for him.

  He leaned down, inhaling the sweet scent of her sex. She watched him in the dark, her heart pounding with anticipation, eagerly awaiting his instructions.

  If only my feminist friends could see me now, she thought with a private smirk. She was glad that they couldn’t see her submitting to his every demand, going against everything she believed in, about to give up her virginity so eagerly. She pushed the thoughts aside, and pressed her hips up suggestively towards Will.

  He raised an eyebrow at her impatience, and then shook his head.

  “I say when, darling,” he whispered, bringing his lips to hers, kissing her so softly, so slowly, it was maddening. She was ready. She had waited so long. And the fact that he was making her wait even longer was torturous.

  This was what they had agreed upon. She’d asked for it herself, in fact. For his guidance. To show her what she’d been missing. To show her every little delicious pleasure she didn’t even know existed.

  He insisted on a safe word. He’d insisted on her consent. He was more than willing to take charge. He was more than willing to teach her.

  She opened her mouth wider, kissing him back passionately, and wrapped her legs around his hips. His cock twitched against her center, pushing against her until they were rocking against each other, their bodies dancing together. He slid inside smoothly, easily, she was so slick, so ready, there was no resistance. Just smooth flesh gliding against flesh, an electric current running between them that drowned out everything else.

  He was no longer a Prince. She was no longer a naive college student. Instead, they were pure nature. Raw. Unleashed. Savage and beautiful, they moved together like unspoken poetry, joined together in a heaven that only they could feel, racing towards a goal that had become the only thing either of them could see and that they could only achieve as one.

  Everything that they ever wanted was at their fingertips.

  Everything was theirs for the taking.

  CHAPTER ONE

  JEWELS

  My father’s beaming face stood out from the crowd as I approached. As he engulfed me in a huge bear hug, I inhaled the familiar scent of his aftershave. Waves of happiness poured off him, and I couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t looked this happy in a very long time, and it warmed my heart to see him relaxed and smiling again.

  He kissed my cheek, grabbed my carry-on, and guided me through the Stockholm airport.

  “How was your flight?” he asked.

  “Bumpy,” I replied. “I thought we were going to slide right into the terminal coming in.”

  “This winter is brutal. The snow has been falling from the sky non-stop since I returned two weeks ago. I hope you brought a proper coat.”

  “Sure did,” I replied, thinking about the warm puffy coat in my suitcase. I’d had a terrible time packing for this trip, finding myself at a complete loss as to what to bring. In the end, I chose comfort and warmth over fashion.

  “I’m so glad you’re here!” my father said, his face beaming with blissful joy.

  “Me, too,” I replied. “I can’t wait to find out what your big surprise is!”

  “It’s huge, that’s all I can say right now,” he hinted with a mischievous grin. He’d insisted I join in him in Stockholm for the holidays, and told me he had a big surprise for me.

  “Okay, Dad,” I replied. “Whatever is going on certainly agrees with you. I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time.” Not since Mom, I thought to myself. I didn’t have to say, it went unspoken between the two of us. Everything in our lives was ‘before Mom’ or ‘after Mom’ or ‘since Mom’.

  She died after a long, slow, agonizing battle with breast cancer when I was eight years old. It was brutal to watch the person we loved the most suffer. Once she was gone, all we had was each other. And we were both miserable. Neither of us could pretend we weren’t. It was hard to move on, but eventually we did, slowly but surely coming out of our isolation and rejoining the world.

  My father devoted all his spare time to raising me. He was a wonderful, doting father, even if he was incredibly busy with his career as a lawyer as I was growing up. Sure, there were nannies, but he did his best. He was always there for the important stuff, and always present when we were together.

  I loved him with all my heart. Things were a lot different these days, though. I was grown up. Way past grown up, actually. My thirtieth birthday was coming up on New Year’s Eve and I’d made a point of spending every birthday with my dad. Now that he had been appointed by the President to be the US Ambassador to Sweden, I only saw him a few times a year, so I jumped at every chance I got to see him.

  A few weeks in Sweden with him sounded delightful. Especially if he wasn’t working. I wasn’t a big fan of the holidays or the way it had been commercialized into such a crazy shopping season, but the one good thing about it was that I got to spend time with my favorite person.

  Seeing him happy was even better. I knew he was lonely, and a part of me hoped the surprise was that he had found someone to spend time with.

  “So when do I get this big surprise? Do I have to wait till Christmas?” I asked, linking my arm with his as we strode to the baggage claim area.

  “Soon. Tonight, in fact.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yep. I got you a hotel room, so you can have some privacy. You know how small my place is. So, we’ll go check you in and then we’re going to dinner somewhere special. Wear the best dress you brought with you.”

  “Wow. A dress code, huh?” There goes my comfort over fashion approach, I thought.

  “Something like that. It’s a nice place,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to feel underdressed.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I said, beaming up at him.

  He nodded, and pulled me in for a hug.

  “I love you, Jewels,” he said.

  “Julia, Dad. You know I hate it when you call me that.”

  “Okay, Jewels. Whatever you say,” he winked, and then laughed at my groan. Some things never change, I thought to myself.

  ***

  The hotel was magnificent and way too luxurious. Gilded mirrors and white leather couches greeted me when I opened the door to my room.

  “You’ve got to be kidding m
e,” I said to myself. Dad was waiting for me in the hotel bar, and I had to hurry to change clothes for dinner. My room wasn’t just a room, it was a suite of rooms. I walked into the plush bedroom, the thick, white carpet under my feet reminding me of the thick layer of snow that lined the streets on the way here.

  I opened my suitcase on the bed, and pulled out the only two decent dresses I had packed. One was a plain black shift dress, that I usually wore with heavy boots and tights. Not exactly suitable for a nice dinner. The second one was nicer, but I’d packed it to wear for my birthday on New Years Eve. It was red, low cut, sparkly, and short. Very short. I hadn’t thought we’d be going straight to some fancy restaurant, thinking I would have time to settle in, maybe do a little shopping if necessary.

  Now, I felt completely unprepared.

  I’d just have to make do. I changed into the red dress, wrapping its thin, shimmering silk around my newly formed curves. I was a late bloomer and hadn’t started filling out until a few years ago. I smiled now at how different I looked. I was an entirely different woman than the tall, lanky girl that had gotten through college with her nose constantly shoved in a book, with no real attention given to her appearance.

  I’d gotten into Brown on my own merits, refusing to let my father pull any strings. But that meant I had to work my ass off, and I did. Once I got there, I was determined to make the most of it, to show the dean that I deserved my scholarship. I managed to get through those four years with only a few minor bumps…and one major mistake that I’ve tried my damnedest to forget.

  Speaking of that mistake, being in Sweden made me uncomfortable, because I was just a little too close for comfort to the source of it. But I was only here for a little while, so I was hoping I was safe.

  I draped a sweater over my shoulders, put on a pair of black pumps, and pulled on my big, puffy coat. It was bright purple, with a huge hood trimmed in faux fur, and although it made me look like a big purple bear, I didn’t care. I was determined to stay warm while I was out in this ridiculously brutal cold. I grabbed my bag, pushing all thoughts of the past firmly to the back of my mind as I made my way downstairs to find my father.

  He was waiting for me when I got off the elevator, and when we reached his car outside, he opened the car door for me with a dramatic flourish.