Princess Tatiana Antropov is a denizen of the sophisticated salons of St. Petersburg, Russia, during the time of Czar Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra. Though her life seems filled with wealth, leisure, and luxury, the princess is so desperate to free herself from her savage and abusive husband that she even follows him to the opium dens and brothels that cater to the city’s wealthy and decadent. But at a moment of crisis, two men enter Tatiana’s life and change it forever. Prince Dimitri Buzek is a darkly handsome Russian with a flare for adventure and a taste for women; Count Klaus von Essena is a German with an almost legendary list of lovers. Together these three set out on a quest to free Tatiana from her husband’s cruelty while discovering the limitless possibilities of passion...
Book One of the Royal Desires series.
Princess Tatiana Antropov is a denizen of the sophisticated salons of St. Petersburg, Russia, during the time of Czar Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra. Though her life seems filled with wealth, leisure, and luxury, the princess is so desperate to free herself from her savage and abusive husband that she even follows him to the opium dens and brothels that cater to the city's wealthy and decadent. But at a moment of crisis, two men enter Tatiana's life and change it forever. Prince Dimitri Buzek is a darkly handsome Russian with a flare for adventure and a taste for women; Count Klaus von Essena is a German with an almost legendary list of lovers. Together these three set out on a quest to free Tatiana from her husband's cruelty while discovering the limitless possibilities of passion....
Excerpt
She closed her eyes for only a second, and whispered into the darkness, "There are things that you don't understand."
"Tell me. Maybe I will understand."
But what could Tatiana say? That she hadn't had sex in more than two years? That she'd had only one lover in her life, and that he was her husband--who was now the terror of her existence? Tatiana knew that these men played at love. Sex, for them, was casual, frequent, and no doubt wildly entertaining. But it was always with transient partners, permanence being anathema in their lives.
Dimitri's voice, low and seductive, touched her like a caress when he said, "Look at me, Tatiana. All I'm asking for is a kiss. Am I that difficult to look at?"
That brought a smile to Tatiana's full-lipped mouth. Prince Dimitri had been born with a staggering over-abundance of all the gifts any demi-god would expect from life. Gorgeous physical beauty, athletic grace, savoir faire and poise, and money.
Tatiana looked at the prince and replied in a whisper, "You're gorgeous...but you've got plenty of debutantes to tell you that." The pink tip of her tongue made a brief attempt to moisten her lips. Though the attempt was unsuccessful--her breath was coming too rapidly to not have a dry mouth--it presented a wickedly erotic image to Dimitri. "I haven't"--she paused a moment, since she had the choice of several words she could accurately use at this moment--"been kissed in more than two years."
She watched as Dimitri's dark eyebrows arched in suspicion.
"I'm serious. I'm being honest with you. I haven't"--she thought of saying 'made love,' but whatever it was her husband did to her, it sure wasn't making love--"had sex in more than two years."
Dimitri angled his face upward, easing his fingers around the back of her neck to pull Tatiana down slightly. "Let me," he whispered, his breath warm and smelling minty from schnapps, "end your personal drought."
Tatiana tried to keep her eyes open. This wasn't the time to get starry-eyed, holding onto childishly romantic notions of the world. But after all that she had been through since her marriage to Vadim, to have Prince Dimitri's warm, moist lips pressing lightly against hers was delicious. His fingertips traced slow, tantalizing circles against the back of her neck, her eyes drifted closed as she uttered the softest of moans. His kiss was heaven itself.
When Dimitri pulled Tatiana closer, his lips pressing more firmly against hers, warning bells began clanging discordantly in her brain. She sat upright instantly, ending the kiss with such swiftness that her head banged against the roof of the hansom cab.
"Prince Dimitri, I think you shouldn't..." Tatiana said under her breath.
She felt his erection beneath her buns. It promised the fulfillment of desires she'd never known. Everything about these men whispered of carnal pleasures beyond Tatiana's limited experience. She wished there was some way she could move so that she wouldn't be constantly reminded of their size and virility, but escape was impossible within the confines of the hansom cab's passenger compartment. When Dimitri continued to caress the back of Tatiana's neck, warm tingles slithered outward from his touch. She waited several seconds because the pleasure was such that she lacked the willpower to take immediate action. Then, finally, she took him by the wrist and removed his hand from her body.
"That was...um...a bit more of a kiss than I had agreed to." She still had one arm around Dimitri's shoulders, but with the other hand she patted her chest as though attempting to slow a heart beating much too quickly.
Klaus cleared his throat, drawing Tatiana's attention. She was suddenly very much aware of where her legs touched his thighs. In the poor light of the passenger compartment, his faint smile was rougish.
"And now it's my turn, my dear," he said, slipping his hand behind Tatiana's neck to pull her closer. With her legs between his thighs, kissing wasn't going to be easy.
Tatiana gave him a sheepish smile. He was bigger than Dimitri, the breadth of his broad shoulders dominating in the confined quarters of the hansom cab. A tiny voice of logic and reason whispered in her brain that she was a married woman--granted, it was a sham of a marriage, but it was still a marriage--and that married women weren't supposed to go around kissing two gorgeous men.
It was with some surprisew that she heard herself say, "Just one kiss" as she reached for Klaus to pull him closer.
He needs a wife. She needs a reason to trust him. He fell for her at first sight. She, not so much.
If you’re into engaging romantic stories with heart and humor, together with complex family dynamics, you’ll love His Practically Perfect Pla
I wrote this novel several years ago, I self published and never had it to sell. I have decided to rewrite it and hope to get it published within a few months for people to be able to buy. I had a few copies and gave them to a few family members and
