When a God Loves a Princess

When I stepped into the immense foyer, like a dork, I called out to no one, "Honey, I'm home."

The voice from behind me made me jump, and it hurt my shoulder.

"Hi, honey. How was your day."

Her voice was pure Yorkshire gold.

"Hello, Princess," I said without turning around. My shoulder was in searing pain. I needed my painkillers and to lay down.

I felt her arm around my waist. "You're hurting. I can hear it in your voice. Come on, your room is here on the main floor."

She led me to a large bedroom with an ensuite bathroom. It was nearly as large as my apartment.

The king-sized bed framed the center of the masculine room. Mounted fish and deer heads made the room a hunter's delight, along with the various bows and rifles decorating the walls.

"We'll, this place is...uh...charming," I remarked.

She laughed, "Mr. Carlton, this place is exactly how my father decorated it, himself."

"Oh?" I asked. "I wasn't aware this was your family's home."

She smirked, "Technically it's not. My father and a couple of his friends have a network of safe houses all over the world. When they need the use of one, the group makes sure that it isn't one that can be traced back to that person."

"Must be hell to be a billionaire," I said.

"Mr. Carlton, this sort of thing is always at the back of our minds. Kidnapping, ransom, fanaticism, you name it; they are all risks we have to face that you generally don't have to worry about."

"Andrew," I said as I sat on the bed.

"Who?" She asked.

"No, I'm Andrew. You keep calling me Mr. Carlton. Please call me Andrew."

She smiled, "Only if you call me Jen."

"Deal," I said. "So, you were a nurse?"

"For a while. I had just a year in at the hospital when I met Frederick."

She frowned and I saw a tear slide down her cheek.

"You really loved him, didn't you?"

She glared at me and growled, "Of course, I did."

"Easy, Jen," I said putting my hand out in front of me. "I didn't mean anything by it. It just seems to me that sometimes royal marriages aren't based on love."

"Well, I loved my husband! And I'll have you know..."

"Princess, could I have something for the pain now?"

She paled. "I'm so sorry, Andrew. I completely forgot. Here...lay down and I'll get your pills and some water."

I didn't mean to piss her off with my tabloid fueled assumptions of British royal family dynamics. I certainly didn't mean to get caught staring at her perfect heart-shaped butt as she walked away either—but I did. She saw and smirked as she left the room.

***

I woke to the sound of Prince Walter crying. It was odd having the next in line to the throne crying in the next room. That would take getting used to, I thought.

I made my way to the great room from where the crying was coming.

I saw the boy who would be king standing in a playpen reaching for me with both hands. His cute little fingers opening and closing expecting me to free him from his prison.

I knelt before him, stuck out my finger, and heard, "Don't." The gruff voice came from the corner of the room.

I turned and saw a security guard pointing his gun at my head.

"I wasn't going to pick him up, I swear," I said in a panic. "I don't think I physically can, anyway." I hoped to not get shot, he was menacing.

"Please step away from the prince. You're allowed in the house, but not allowed to touch him."

I slowly stood and the guard lowered his weapon.

"I'm sorry. I meant no harm," I said.

"It's best to stay away from him, sir. I'd hate to shoot you."

"If I wanted the little prince harmed, I wouldn't have saved his life the other day."

He walked closer and put his arm on my good shoulder.

"I'm James, sir. My only responsibility here is to protect the child. His life is priority above all else."

"Surely not above the princess?" I asked in shock.

"Yes, sir. That boy is the future king."

"It's true, Andrew," Jen said walking into the room. "My son's life is far more important than mine."

"He's just a child. Who would take care of him if something happened to you?" I asked shocked.

She laughed, "Dear, man. That child will never want for anything. If I'm gone, his aunt and uncle would take him in. His Uncle Steven is also his Regent if he ascends to the throne before he becomes eighteen. It's all set in stone."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Jen. I was only going to give him my finger in support while he was crying. He clearly wanted out of his little cell there."

She patted my arm and smiled. "James," she said, "let everyone know, Andrew is allowed full access my son."

"Yes, m

um," he said as he nodded and walked into the hallway. He didn't look happy.

"You didn't have to do that," I said.

"Sure, I did. The security staff doesn't change diapers and a mother can always use help with that."

She laughed as she lifted Prince Walter out of his playpen and put him in some kind of seat.

The whole thing took off as his chubby legs pushed him along the hardwood floor. He was a blur bouncing off couches and shelves along the outside of the room.

"What's that thing?" I asked as Jen giggled.

"It's an exersaucer. Clearly, you don't have children or young family members." She laughed again.

"Nope. You met my only brother. He doesn't have kids yet."

"What about you?" She asked. I almost thought she was feeling me out.

I shook my head. "No kids yet. I was engaged until recently, but she and I had different ideas about monogamy."

"Sorry," she frowned.

"It is what it is."

***

Later, we were watching the BBC news channel and they were talking about the terrorist threats to the monarchy.

"Why are they going after you?" I asked.

"I think they feel like the royal family merely exists to live off of the public breast. As if we don't serve any real purpose. There's a lot of talk about dissolving the monarchy eventually. Maybe my son will be the one to do that when he takes over."

"Still," I said, "assassinating your husband and trying to kill you and your son is ridiculous."

"You won't get an argument from me. We're high profile and it's a great feather in any terrorist group's cap to kill us, I suppose."

"Are you afraid, Jen? You seem to be managing this all so well."

"Honestly, I'm a nervous wreck. But if there is one thing we're trained to be, it's calm in the face of the storm. Stiff upper lip, and all that, my boy." The last part she said in a stuffy Nigel Bruce style accent.

"What do you like to eat, Andrew?"

"I generally like to eat healthy."

"I can tell," she whispered and looked at her hands.

"Huh? I didn't hear you," I lied, enjoying her blush.

"Nothing. I like to eat healthy as well. The freezer is stocked with lean meats, and we have plenty of fruit and vegetables."

"Sounds good. Does this place come with a chef?"

She laughed, "Yes, yours truly. I'll be our chef, maid, and your nurse while we're here."

"That's surprising," I smirked.

She became annoyed. "Why, so?"

"Sorry, it's just with you being a princess, I didn't expect you to get your hands dirty."

She stood and said, "I wasn't always a princess."

"No," I said, "but you're the daughter of a billionaire financier, as well."

She started walking away and stopped. She said without looking back. "I can't decide if you have a knack for saying the wrong things, or if you're just a bloody jerk."

I wished I could keep my foot out of my mouth.

***

I hadn't realized I fell asleep until I was shaken awake by Jen.

"Come on, Andrew, time for dinner."

Somewhat groggy, I answered, "Did I miss tea?"

I don't know why but she found that funny and giggled. I was serious. I thought people from England had tea and cookies in the afternoon.

"We certainly could have had tea, but that's formal and generally it's when we have a late dinner. I thought you might prefer an earlier dinner. Although, I suppose some do call their evening meal tea."

"You're right, I do like to eat at this time of the night," I said, gingerly standing.

I sat at the dinner table and saw a delicious looking stew placed before me.

"Smells great," I said.

"Thanks. It's my mum's recipe. She was an amazing cook."

Before I could open my mouth to ask about her mom and not a cook making meals for her, she put her finger to my lips.

"Think about what you're going to say before you do, please," she said sadly.

I said, "I was only going to ask you to pass the pepper."

"It doesn't need any pepper. It's perfect, now eat up."

I did as I was told but took a moment to admire Her Royal Highnesses perfect posterior. I got caught again. She smirked.

I took a spoonful of her stew and let out a sigh of contentment. "Damn, this is good."

"Don't talk with your mouthful," she chastised, "but, thank you. I'll let mum know you approve."

"May I ask why you're here, Jen?"

She looked away and asked, "Would you prefer me to be somewhere else?"

"No, but it seems you haven't left my side since the hotel incident. Well, except for Milwaukee."

She smirked.

"Ah! You were there as well?" I asked. It must've been when I was sleeping. That explained the police presence and heavy guard.

She nodded. "Andrew, may I ask why you threw yourself in front of those bullets for me?"

"I don't know," I said, "it seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"Well, thank you for it. To answer your question, it was the right thing for me to do, as well."

I nodded and let it go.

***

A week went by, and I was able to go without the sling for large chunks of the day. Jen was quiet, but I caught her looking at me every now and again. We were getting along well and would have lengthy discussions about ourselves, politics, and just life in general. I couldn't tell if she was being polite, if she was becoming a friend, or if she was interested in me romantically, so I tried not to flirt too much. I was also doing a better job of keeping my foot out of my mouth and I'm sure she was glad for it.

Price Walter took to me pretty quickly and I found myself feeding him a few times. Jen puréed much of his food fresh, and most times it was green slop, but the kid ate it up with no problems as he was being weaned off bottles.

We hadn't heard any updates about the terrorists, and it was disconcerting. The royal family was still on lockdown in the UK, and we were stuck in our cabin. Jen had some obligations that she tended to over the internet and was in her wing of the house for large parts of the day on video calls.

I was getting stir crazy, but if one has to go mad, it might as well be with one of the most beautiful women in the world, while Jen didn't seem to mind the seclusion. When I thought about it, I realized that her life was a non-stop roller coaster of activity. I realized she must've needed the break from public life.

"How's the shoulder?" I heard from behind as I watched the local news. Jen walked in and sat in the recliner across from me. Prince Walter zoomed into the room seated in his wheeled seat shortly after.

"Better, thanks. I haven't needed a painkiller today, but I think I will once I start the exercises."

She nodded, "Take one before you start them. It'll kick in by the time you're done."

"Thanks, I'll do that," I said. "Jen, I'm sorry about the stupid things that came out of my mouth when we first arrived. I feel like we are getting along better, but I've made you uncomfortable."

She gave me an odd look. It wasn't a frown, or a smirk, it was just odd.

"Well," she said looking directly into my eyes, I swear I felt her gazing into my soul, "I might have overreacted some. I'm sorry, but I'm always on guard. It's a force of habit."

"I imagine you have to be," I said. "Can we start over and become friends? I'd rather us get along if we're going to be here for a while."

She smiled brightly, "I'd like that very much."

***

After dinner, I took a shower and was trying to decide whether to watch TV or read, when I heard 'The Immigrant Song' playing in the great room.

"Fuck," I said to the empty room. I knew she was watching the Thor movie. That song played during a couple of the action scenes.

I walked into the great room and her eyes were glued to the screen as Thor beat the crap out of a group of bad guys.

"Look what's on the tele," she smirked as I sat down.

"Wonderful," I said as the prince crawled over to me.

I picked him up and tickled him as she said, "It's really uncanny. Your hair, your beard," she paused for a moment and looked at me as if I were a pork chop, "and your muscles."

I wondered if she was interested in me because of the way she was looking me up and down. I was wearing a tank top and mesh shorts, but she seemed to be looking through my clothes.

Her tongue brushed her upper lip slightly and she seemed to catch herself and snapped out of her obvious lustful haze before she full-on licked her lips.

I smiled inwardly and pretended to not notice as I bounced her son on my knee.

"Would you like a drink," she asked. "I'm going to pour myself a glass of Port."

"I'd love some, thanks. I was wondering if I'd have to go without wine while we were here."

She giggled, "Oh, dear boy, we can get whatever we want. You obviously haven't checked out the house."

I shook my head no.

She smiled, "There's a world class wine cellar and the bar in the library has an amazing Scotch collection."

I resolved to take a tour of the house. I hadn't been in any rooms other than my bedroom, the great room, and the dining room.

"Wait!" I said. "We have a library?"

She laughed and walked away.

***

Another week went by, and we were getting along better. We began to have an after-dinner drink or two and she loosened up. We never talked about our personal lives, and she was mostly on her side of the house except for meals and after dinner, but we were making progress.

I found out that I wasn't allowed in her wing of the house when I took my tour. I thought that was odd, but she deserved her privacy, so I didn't question it.

I found the wine cellar and was suitably impressed. I loved wine and considered it a bit of a hobby, so I was lost in the cellar for hours looking at the various bottles and using the iPad they gave me to get info about the ones I didn't know.

It wasn't my cellar, of course, but out of curiosity and boredom, I began to catalog the wines into an app. It took a week to complete it, but I enjoyed the time spent out of bed and away from the TV.

I decided to take a big chance and asked one of the security guards to do me a favor.

He agreed, and said, "I don't think you have anything to worry about, sir," he smirked.

I hoped he was right.

I walked into the dining room for dinner and saw that we were having salmon, roasted baby potatoes, and asparagus. It looked amazing, and I told Jen so.

"Thank you, Thor," she said with a smirk. It was the first time she used my dreaded nickname, and it took me by surprise.

"So, I'm Thor now, am I?"

She blushed and said, "Sorry, I've been watching the Avenger movies. You'd probably be shocked to know; I hadn't seen most of them."

"No," I said. "I imagine it's difficult for you to find the time to sit down for movie watching."

She frowned, "You have no idea."

"Jen, you do all of the cooking, and I appreciate it, but I'd like to cook dinner for you on Friday."

"Oh, really?" She asked with a grin. "You can cook?"

"Of course, I can cook. I can't stay in shape eating out every meal."

She looked at my chest and arms when I said that. I felt like a pork chop again.

"All right. You can make dinner on Friday."

I smiled and hoped what I was planning worked out.

***

Friday afternoon, my delivery came. I had asked for a good beef tenderloin that I could cut into filet mignon, large potatoes for baking, and the fixings for Caesar salad. Along with that I asked for sport jacket and slacks. I knew I couldn't get my suits from my apartment, but I hoped the security staff would come through for me, and they did.

I used the grill to cook the steaks and when done, I covered them to rest, decanted a bottle of Bordeaux from the cellar, and changed my clothes.

Since I couldn't go to Jen's room to get her, I asked her security to let her know dinner was ready.

The look of shock on her face and the hunger in her eyes, when she walked into the dining room, told me I made the right decision.

"What's all this?" She asked.

I pulled out her chair and said, "I'm hoping it's our first date."

I felt nervous all of a sudden when she didn't sit, and I wondered if I messed up. She looked at me from head to toe and said, "I seem to be under dressed, may I correct that?"

"Nope. You look beautiful as you are."

She looked horrified, but I didn't care that she was wearing a long sweater over leggings. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail as it normally was, and she had no makeup on.

"Jen, I am more attracted to you as you are now, than when you're made up and dressed to the nines."

She kissed my cheek and sat.

She sipped the wine and asked, "So, this is our first date, is it?"

I answered, "I'd like it to be. I know you're a princess, I'm a lowly commoner, and you will probably be going back home soon, but I figured I'd take a shot anyway."

She ate a piece of steak while I languished. She seemed to enjoy creating uncomfortable silences. It unnerved me, much to her delight.

"Yes," she finally spoke, "I'm afraid I will have to go back eventually. Dating you, while it would be lovely, is probably not in the cards, I'm afraid."

I nodded and cut into my steak. I knew it was a long shot, but I could see that she was attracted to me, and she knew I found her attractive, based on how many times she caught me looking at her butt. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

"The steak is amazing, Andrew. You're quite a good cook."

"Thanks," I smiled. "You know, next week is Thanksgiving. Do you think we could have a nice dinner? Turkey, stuffing, cranberries..."

"Pumpkin pie?" She asked.

"Of course. I didn't think you had Thanksgiving over there."

"We don't, but we have Harvest Festival, where we eat similar foods that you have for your Thanksgiving. I'll have the boys pick us up what we'll need."

Just then, the baby monitor squawked. The prince was crying about something.

"Excuse me, Andrew. I'm sorry."

"No worries," I said and got caught looking at her butt again as she walked away. I couldn't help it. She was always wearing yoga pants or leggings, I'm not sure what they are called, but they were skintight.

I heard Jen coo and sing to the child as I topped off our glasses. She was a great mom, but at first I was surprised she didn't have a nanny. I never asked about it because I didn't want to upset her with my assumptions again, so I chalked it up to her not needing one and left it alone.

A few minutes later she returned.

"You didn't have to wait," she said.

"It's fine. I could wait forever for you."

I didn't mean to say something so corny. She seemed to appreciate it based on her smile.

***

After dinner, we sat in the great room, and I lit a fire. It seemed so cliche, but we sat on a plush rug and drank our wine in front of the comfortable warmth of the fireplace.

"Did you finish all of the Avengers movies?" I asked.

She giggled. "I did. You really do look like..."

"I know," I said cutting her off.

"You don't have to be embarrassed by that. He's quite a good-looking man," she teased.

"I'm sure he is," I said. "I'm not really embarrassed by it. Some of my friends take it to a worse level though. They don't call me Thor anymore; they call me God. That's the name I hate the most."

"God?" She asked.