Chapter Five
Alexander
The room was suffocating as Vittorio stepped in, that same cocky grin plastered on his gorgeous face. His confidence practically radiated from him. I couldn’t decide if it was infuriating or intoxicating—probably both.
“Good evening, Mr….” I pretended to look at his name in my notes, as if I needed to. “Leonardo Francesco Vittorio.”
“Wow, no one has called me by my full name since the last time my mother got on my case.” He chuckled with an impossibly sexy, side-looped smile.
I didn’t let it move me,–-in the outside—“I thought I told you we were done talking.”
“No, you said, and I quote: Next time you need to approach me, make an appointment,” Vittorio said, walking toward me. There was that smirk again, like he knew something I didn’t. “So, here I am, obeying every rule like a good boy.”
Good boy, my ass — I didn’t say anything. Just watched him. He was too calm, too assured in a way that grated on me. And yet... I wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier,” he continued, his tone casual, as if he hadn’t just spent the last few hours making my life miserable in front of the entire world. “I was out of line. I shouldn’t have spoken so harshly.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t say.”
He didn’t flinch. Instead, he leaned against the edge of my desk, making himself comfortable. “But let’s be honest here, Your Highness.” His tone almost mocking my title. “You can’t really deny that I raised some valid points.”
I clenched my jaw. “I’m not interested in your opinion, Mr. Vittorio.”
He leaned even closer, his eyes glinting with something dangerous. “Oh, I think you are. After all, you’ve been replaying my words in your head for hours, haven’t you? Feeling my touch….”
I could feel my pulse quicken, my body betraying me despite the anger still simmering. Damn him. I wasn’t about to let him get under my skin again. “What do you want, Mr. Vittorio?”
He smiled, the same teasing grin that made my stomach twist in a way I didn’t like. “I just wanted to clear the air. Maybe... find out if there’s more to you than meets the eye.”
My heart slammed against my chest. “I don’t give a damn whether or not you think there is.” I stood up, stepping away from him, needing distance. Stay calm, Alexander. Don’t let him do this to you again.
“Ya, ya… But, is there?” He approached me slowly. “I think there is…. I see fire, fear….”
“I’m not afraid of anything, especially of you!” I defended myself, unable to break eye contact.
Stepping into my very small bubble, he got in my face. “I think you are afraid of many things, Alex, especially of me, because you know we just met and I can already see right through you.”
“You know nothing about me.” I corrected him, defiant. But then he did something that stopped me in my tracks. He reached out, gently brushing his fingers against my cheek, his touch sending a jolt of heat through me.
“I know you feel the same attraction I’m feeling right now. I can almost hear your heart from here, Your Highness.” His hand lowered slowly down my neck until he reached my heart, stopping there: his palm resting on my chest.
I gasped inside, feeling my entire body tremble, afraid that he might be able to feel it too. And for a fraction of a second, I almost let myself believe there was something more to this... something real.
But I didn’t. I pulled away, my voice sharp. “I’m not interested in whatever you’re offering, Mr. Vittorio.”
He laughed, the sound low and maddening. “And how could you possibly know what I’m offering? I doubt any of your royal acquaintances has ever offered you what I offer.
Somehow, I believed him. “And what exactly would that be?” Curiosity was killing the cat.
“I thought you weren’t interested,” he mocked and oh, my God, I wanted to smack him.
“Humor me.”
Stepping closer once more, he encased me against the wall with one quick move. “Maybe I’m just trying to get to know the real you, prince Charming.”
My breathing got heavier as I felt his warm, minty breath so close to my lips that I could almost taste his masculine scent. “Don’t call me that,” I managed to say almost in a whisper.
“The man beyond the royal mask. The man who wants this.” He ran his tongue over his lower lip, challenging me.
The royal mask. Was that what I was? Just a mask? And did I really want this?
“After all,” he continued. “I have you pinned against a wall, and all you have objected at is me calling you names….”
I should push him away; that’s what I should do… But there I was, partially hypnotized by a total jester. “That went without saying, Mr. Vittorio-”
“Oh, c’mon, Your Highness, I rather be called Leo by the guys I kiss,” he cut me off, running his fingers back to my jawline.
“You can be as familiar as you please with those you do, then,” I unexpectedly responded and, why the hell was I not moving?
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Pressing his hard body against mine, he pulled me closer by my nape and took my mouth in his with a bruising kiss. Shocked, I froze in place, letting his tongue search for mine before he bit on my lower lip, releasing me from the sudden assault.
I could feel his hard on grinding against my crotch, as my puzzled brain tried to make sense of what had just happened. “What the f-”
“You challenged me, Alex,” he responded before I could finish my question.
I pushed him away, wiping my mouth in disbelieve and burning with shame and something unknown I was not willing to explore further. Regaining my composure, I turned away. “You’ve said, and done, enough for one day. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
He didn’t argue, just flashed that devilish smile at me, once more. “I’ll leave you to it, Alex. But don’t be too surprised if I show up in your thoughts again.”
I watched him walk out, shaking and trying to ignore every trace of him still lingering in the air. I watched him walk out, shaking, trying to ignore every trace of him still lingering in the air. But deep down, I knew it was hopeless.
Later that evening, I found myself alone in the palace observatory, gazing at the stars. The world outside looked so small, so distant, like it had nothing to do with me—and yet everything to do with me. I felt like a stranger to myself.
Sometimes I wish I could ditch the royal etiquette lessons, throw on a hoodie, and just… be. Like any other 24-year-old figuring out life—maybe watch terrible rom-coms at 3 a.m. or eat pizza on the sofa without a bodyguard scolding me for “tarnishing the royal image.” I’d kill for just one night where I could slip out, grab a drink with random friends, and not worry about a hundred cameras snapping my every move.
But here I am. A prince—someone who’s supposed to have it all together. The stars above twinkled in silent judgment, and I wondered if they could tell how clueless I felt.
It wasn’t that I hated my life; I just hated feeling like I was living it for everyone else. And that lingering question—'When the cameras are off, and you’re just Alexander, what do you really believe in?'—echoed in my head, along with the memory of the one who’d asked it.
Leonardo Vittorio. Damn him.
I clenched my fists, trying to suppress the feeling building inside me. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way he looked at me, like I was something to be unraveled. And, holy shit, did I let him kiss me?
How the fuck did I let this condescending prick kiss me?
In the one day I’ve known this guy, I’ve already made a fool of myself publicly and privately—and it was infuriating. But it was also... something else. Something I wasn’t ready to admit.