CHAPTER 2

Princess Samantha was ordinarily the least royal-like among the Harringtons to her mother's chagrin. She was wild, fierce, and maybe even a bit loose, according to the men of the kingdom, men she paid no attention to. It was always a hassle for the queen to get her daughter to speak with princes of different kingdoms in a bid to strengthen royal bonds. Samantha was hell-bent on ignoring and even sometimes outrightly shooting them away. She believed the royal shenanigans were fake and unnecessary. There was more to life than balls and soirees or boring tea parties with the royal ladies of the land who spent most of their time in the shadows of their husbands, gossiping about everything and everyone.

In America, Samantha woke up with a smile on her face. There was nothing she was grateful for other than waking in the arms of the one she loved. "Rise and shine," she muttered before peppering kisses on her lover's face.

"Rise and shine," he replied still groggy from sleep, his hands gripping her waist.

Her limbs were intertwined with his and couldn't get up from the bed without him rolling over. "Roll over, babe." Even though she wished to stay in arms.

With a grunt, he rolled over to the other side of the bed giving her enough space to stretch out. "Pancakes?" That was the exact question she asked him the night they met at one of the clubs in New York. For some weird reason he was having pancakes in a bar and that amused her. It wasn't long before they hit off and found herself in his bed later that night.

"Of course," he said with a smile.

She waltzed into his grand kitchen to make pancakes. It was something she enjoyed doing, something she didn't get to do at Cunningham. The cooking was left for the kitchen staff, it was her duty to wolf down the dishes served by them.

"Good morning, your majesty," he growled as he hugged her from behind.  Samantha squealed and relished the warmth of his body.

"Richard..." She murmured. Of course, Richard knew that she was a princess, he figured out even before she told him. There was an air around her that screamed royalty even though she tried so hard to mask it while in New York.

Richard had always fantasied about being with a princess and meeting her at the bar that night was too good to be true. At first, he desired to fulfill his fantasies but now he was smitten by her. He liked her wild, carefree nature, she didn't care that he was an American con artist.

She turned around to face him and then ran her hand through his thick, long blonde hair, unlike her brown wild one, his obeyed the control of her hands. His eyes reminded her of the forest surrounding Cunningham castle, a place where back in the days her brothers and she set traps for innocent birds. Those eyes most times were devoid of emotions but during moments like this, she swore she could see light burst from them.

"I. Love. You," she said in-between pecks on his taut lips. When she met him, she was sure that he was a model, his lean, muscular body have off that vibe.

"And I very much love you too." He pushed his mouth against hers and gave a soft, slow kiss.

Before she could withdraw her mind from its far places, his arms were around her, as sure and hard as on the dark road to Tara, so long ago. She felt again the rush of helplessness, the sinking yielding, the surging tide of warmth that left her limp. And the quiet face of Samantha was blurred and drowned to nothingness. He bent back her head across his arm and kissed her, softly at first, and then with a swift gradation of intensity that made her cling to him as the only solid thing in a dizzy swaying world. His insistent mouth was parting her shaking lips, sending wild tremors along her nerves, evoking from her sensations she had never known she was capable of feeling. And before a swimming giddiness spun her round and round, she knew that she was kissing him back.

"I want you", he murmured into her mouth, pulling away from the breathtaking kiss

"Not here", Samantha said waving her hand in disagreement

"Oh!, babe", he said, disappointment showing on his face

"Come here", Samantha said stretching out her hands so he could come in which he did.

"What now?", he asked as she ran her hand through his silky hair

"We might have company in America," she said when pulled away from the warm hug

"What do you mean?"

"My brother. In a few days will be in New York for some weird undercover mission."

"Your brother. As in the 'partial' heir to the throne, brother."

"Both of my brothers are partial heirs to the throne. Which I think is bullshit by the way." She drew circled in his chin and watched as the light which shone from his eyes a few minutes ago, faded out.

"Why is he here?" He said distracted by her hand on his face.

"Some bullshit about investing into businesses and getting a perfect wife  to win an equally bullshit contest with my other brother." She laughed. "I know, some Hollywood fairytale bullshit, sadly my brothers are going to be living in it."

"Interesting..."

"Yes. Even though I think Felix is not really interested in being the king. Anyways, enough about my brothers, the pancakes are getting cold."

Breakfast that morning was filled with kisses than actual eating as Samantha preferred it.

The thought of Prince Felix in New York put some ideas into Richard's head, as a con artist, he was bound to look for opportunities where no one found them. He wasn't going to hurt his lover's brother, of course, but he needed to tell someone about the prince coming into town. It was his chance to prove that he was indeed capable.

Richard wasn't always the coveted handsome man, years ago he was a toddler abandoned by his teenage parents at the door of a foster home. As his foster parent told him, he was sick with a fever the night he was dropped and had to receive medical care immediately. Growing up, he never understood why his parents had abandoned him, was he not good enough?

In the foster care of Sir John, he was taught the harsh ways of life and it was gradually easy to understand why his parents didn't want him. Now, he didn't care for them as he found a father in Sir John. An ordinary person would think he was unfit to raise children but he raised dozens of them. He could be likened to Fagin in Oliver Twist, who taught the children under his care to pickpockets.

"Richard."

"Sir John." He nodded his head in his direction.

Sir John was the owner of various bars in New York and he ran meetings in hidden rooms in those bars. This was the bar Richard had met Samantha.

"I hear you have interesting news for me," Sir John said. He was seated on the only bar stool in the room. "I should probably ring Lu."

"No, there isn't a reason to ring her. We can discuss this without her." Richard was glad Lucrecia wasn't present. Her presence was enough to role him up. "Yes. As we speak now, the heir to the throne of Cunningham Kingdom is planning a trip here, New York. He's coming in to invest into businesses and get a queen for the Cunningham throne."

Sir John's face lit up. Richard loved it when his face lit up with excitement. It indicated that he was doing something right. Even though he was Sir John's right hand, he often felt inadequate, especially when Lu was around.

"I see where this is going. Who it? What is your source?" He asked, unsure about the information.

"My source wants to be kept private." Apart from the fact that none of them knew about Samantha, he could not bring himself to admit that he might be ruining their relationship because he wanted to be in Sir John's good books. Telling them about Samantha was going to be a constant reminder of what he was going to do.

Sir John rubbed his hand in his bald head, showing that he was in deep thought. He wanted to see if the prince was the right victim. "The prince is most likely not a dumb one... We need his weak point."

This was something they did for a living and most times, the weakness of men was beautiful women. A woman that could influence his decision.

Only one woman came to mind.

"We never underestimate the power of a beautiful woman..."

"I see. Lu can do it."

In as much as Richard didn't want Lu to be involved in this as this was his chance to prove to Sir John that he was capable, he had to admit that Lu was really the woman for the job. Richard didn't deny her beauty, her cat-like eyes were her most breathtaking feature. It would have been easier to just after her if she wasn't so annoying and stuck up. In his opinion, he could do a better job than her.

"Yes, Lu. I believe the princes identity should be hidden from her," Richard suggested.

"And why is that?"

"I understand that Lu is one of the best around here but even she could be carried away by seducing a prince. It is for the best that we don't inform her."

"I see... Although I don't totally agree with you."

"Trust me. It'll be easy for us since the prince is also coming in as an undercover. According to my source, he's coming in as Alex, the wealthy and important man."

Sir John rubbed his head faster, pondering about Richard's plan. "True. What is there to lose? I should ring her."

"Sir John, you called," the infamous Lu said. Today like every day she looked breathtaking. The red lipstick which lined her lips enunciated their plumpness. She was dressed in a black leather jacket with over a black camisole, black jeans with also black Chelsea boots. That seemed like her uniform. Her brunette hair was packed in a high bun. "And hello to you, Richard."

Lu knew that she wasn't his best person but she made it an effort to acknowledge his presence.

Richard grunted in response. Just like Richard, Sir John had raised Lu.

"We have a mission. This one, I knew you will enjoy." Sir John gave her a knowing look.

"The plan is for you to seduce a wealthy man from England and strip him of his wealth," Richard informed her.

"Not something strange." Lu shrugged.

"The easiest of missions can be the trickiest. Don't screw this up for us." Don't screw this up for me, Richard meant to say.

"Not to brag or anything, I've never in a million years screwed up a mission and I'm not starting now. Don't screw this up, Richard."

The glare Richard shut her was enough to melt her into a puddle. He wished there was a way to shut her up for good.

"Richard. Lu." Richard broke eye contact first and brought his gaze to Sir John. He hated to see the look on his face. Grim.

"I don't know what's up with you two but you can't go on this way. Richard, you're older, act like it." Sir John jumped off the barstool and gave one last look at Richard before heading out the door. Lu followed suit, leaving Richard alone with his racing thoughts.

He wasn't going to let Lu and her big ego ruin this for him. He needed a plan to knock her off totally. His mind went to Samantha a small smile danced on his lips. He told himself that he wasn't ruining their bond but helping himself to get higher in the ranks.