by S. E. Rose
“I have reason to believe that The 44 is a much more widespread issue than we had previously thought. I think your staff may still be compromised. It’s not just a single person.”
“How is that possible? We thoroughly vetted everyone.”
“Yes and no.”
“Jack!” I growl in anger.
“It’s not like that, Christian,” he states, using my given name because whatever he’s about to say is serious. He’s methodical in the way he talks to people, and I haven’t missed that. “Your father insisted some of the staff only needed a precursory security check. I warned him against this, but he insisted.”
“Who?”
Jack is silent for a long moment. “Let’s not worry about that yet. I have my people performing a high-level security check on those that were missed last month. Once I know more, we can talk. I have cleared Tessa and the other full-time staff at the Summer Palace since Anna informed me yesterday that was where you would be staying with Mia.”
His choice of words draws my interest. “Why does it matter that it’s where Mia and I are staying? What about everyone else? What about the Royal Palace?”
Jack takes another moment to choose his words. “Everyone is safe, and I’ve put special security in place with them. Right now, I’m more concerned about who has access to Mia. While I don’t condone what she did, the threats she received and the knowledge those individuals had makes me think that others on staff have given out information. What I don’t understand yet is why would they have targeted Mia, and also who those people might be? But if there are other compromised staff, they may not have had your best interest at heart. They may be doing it because they believe in the cause and not because they want to protect someone.”
He means The 44’s cause. I have my own thoughts about a modern-day monarchy but doing what they are doing is flat-out murder. There are legal ways to change a country’s government.
“You have no suspects?” I inquire.
“Not yet. I’ll be in touch. Just…stay on the Summer Palace grounds. There are not many that I trust, and it’s safe there. Anna and Logan are leaving for Montelandia tonight, and August and Kate will be at King Edvard’s estate in the South of France. Your father will be on a goodwill trip to France for two weeks. My goal is to have all of this sorted by then.”
“In two weeks?”
“It’s my goal.”
“So be it. Keep me abreast of any new developments.”
“Of course. And, Christian, be extra careful. Mia poses no threats. I’m sure of this. I managed to get ahold of the phone that was found. Pete wanted to do his own analysis on it. He had sent me one message to analyze, but I really wanted to get ahold of the phone itself, but oddly the phone went missing. Luckily, it ended up in my office.”
“Jack,” I groan as I rub a hand over my face.
“I didn’t want to step on his toes and pull rank. Anyhow, Mia did her best to protect you. Her intel was crap. I’m honestly shocked they didn’t fulfill the threat based on the useless information she provided.”
“I see.” I hear voices in the background.
“I have to go. I’ll be in touch soon.”
And with that, he hangs up, leaving me shell-shocked that we could still have staff that are spying on us with an intent to do harm. And the fact that he said what he said about Mia, has me rethinking everything again.
I need to clear the air. Mia and I are about to have a chat. And this talk could end it all or put us right back where we were three weeks ago.
I’m antsy as I walk to my chambers. Opening the door, I look around. It’s just as I had left it. I glance at the closet secret passage. It’s now or never.
Chapter Thirteen
Mia
I insist on unpacking my bags. After much fussing, Tessa and one of the housemaids finally leave me alone. I sit down on the giant four-poster bed with its embroidered bed coverings and innately carved wood. My hand runs along the fabric, feeling each bump of the threads.
I look around at my belongings. But it’s the balcony that draws my attention. Slowly, I rise and walk toward the double glass doors. As I open one, the cool mountain breeze blows around me. I shiver. It feels ominous. It feels like I’ve just let an enemy enter my room. I force myself to stay there. The gardens below are quiet. I can hear a horse whinny in the distance. It all seems so calm. It’s storm season here and on the horizon, I notice some darkening clouds. I feel a storm coming both literally and figuratively.
What if I hadn’t given out Christian’s schedule? What would have happened? What if I had told him what was going on? Would he have believed me then? I kick at the stone of the balcony.
“Ouch,” I mutter as I reach down, grabbing my foot.
“You should be more careful,” Christian’s voice comes from behind me, and I jump.
“Holy shit! You scared me!” I yelp as I turn my body to face him, my hand clutching my chest. I can feel my heart beating a mile a minute, partly from being startled and partly from Christian being so close to me.
“You really didn’t give them any real intel. Did you?” he states. His eyes search mine as though the answer lies in my pupils.
I frown at first, confused as my mind races to catch up, and when it does, I stop breathing for a moment. Does he believe me now?
I did my best to report very little and nothing that couldn’t be found on the internet. I’d only reported little nuggets of insider information once a week or so, just enough so that they would believe, but again, nothing that revealed anything. But the only way they would truly know that is if…they found the burner phone.
A few weeks ago, when the palace was in a shakedown over the threat of The 44 and the king’s security staff had decided to investigate every member of the royal staff, I had intentionally left it in my closet. I was afraid to carry it around with me for fear someone would find it. And then, I didn’t want to take it with me because I was one hundred percent sure it had a tracker in it. I had quickly sent three days of a schedule, assuming I’d be back at the palace by then. I stupidly thought they wouldn’t know I had left. Ignorance clouded my judgment and now he knows everything.
I search his eyes, but he gives nothing away. I shake my head slowly.
“Why didn’t you tell me every detail?”
Shrugging, I cross my arms behind me, a nervous habit since childhood.
“Mia!” His voice rises a fraction and I look into his eyes.
“Because…” I pause, searching for words. “It didn’t matter. What I did was awful and unforgivable. I should have told you. I should have trusted that you’d protect me and my family. I shouldn’t have kept this from you, but I did.”
“Because you thought you were protecting me,” he adds.
I nod. “I thought I could handle it all myself.”
“And?” he prods.
With a sigh, I run my foot along a seam on the stone floor of the balcony. “I was foolish.” I bring my hands to my face, covering it because I feel like a prize idiot. “I thought if I gave them bad intel, then I’d appease them and keep you safe and I didn’t realize all the connections until they came for me in England. And then, it was too late.”
I feel his hands on mine, pulling them away from my face. He’s so close that I can smell him before my fingers peel away from my eyelids. Opening my eyes, I’m granted an up close and personal view of his perfect face.
“You couldn’t even be treasonous without protecting your king,” he says in a low voice, his hot breath caressing my face. I shiver at the word “king.” I jokingly called him that once because, well, he will be one day, and he can be quite demanding at times. It went from a joke to something more when I used it in the bedroom once, and now…well, I feel it in places I shouldn’t.
“I’d never hurt you,” I say as I try to keep my eyes from looking away from his.
His hand slowly comes up and cups my jaw. This time though, I’m not afraid of his touch. I lean into it, lett
ing my eyelids drift closed for just a moment.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, as one single tear makes its way over my lower eyelid, rolling down my cheek and splashing on his finger. “I was so very wrong. I should have trusted that you would protect my family, me, and yourself.”
His hand presses against my chin, forcing my face to rise. I open my eyes to find his searching mine. “I forgive you. But…” He pauses and I stop breathing at his acceptance of my apology. “Never again, Mia. This will only work if we have zero secrets between us. Do you understand?”
I let air enter my chest as I nod. “Yes,” I whisper.
“Good. Now, there’s just one more thing,” he murmurs as he leans and presses his lips to mine. And just like that, a tidal wave of emotions breaks over me. Tears stream down my cheeks as a sob escapes my lips. But he doesn’t relent. He keeps kissing me, his tongue lapping away my salty tears.
“I-I m-missed you so very much,” I stammer.
He pulls back for a moment, his thumbs wiping away the tears on my cheeks. He takes my hand in his and presses it to his heart. “I was empty in here without you. I’m not complete unless you are by my side. Do not ever run away from me again.”
“Is that an order?” I ask, giving him a coy smile. It’s the first time I’ve smiled in weeks, and I find it bringing more tears to my eyes.
“Yes, that’s an order from ‘your’ king,” he says in a low voice that’s almost a growl before he leans back down, his tongue slipping between my lips, conquering my mouth with each movement.
I throw my arms around his neck, pulling him closer until our bodies are fused. His hands slide around my back, grabbing my ass and pressing me to his groin. I moan as I feel his erection against my stomach. God, I’ve missed him. His strong hands grip my ass tighter as he pulls me up his body. I wrap my legs around his waist. He turns and carries me back inside, laying me on my bed.
I watch him under hooded eyes as he stares down at me, his strong body towering over me. He’s every bit the future king, but right now, he’s all mine. He removes his clothing, piece by piece, and when I reach for the hem of my shirt, his hand slaps mine away.
“Don’t take this away from me. I get to unwrap what’s mine.”
I shiver at his words as his hands slowly and methodically strip me of my shirt, bra, trousers, and panties. When I’m fully bared to him, he stands back up and gazes upon me. I watch him swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, a look of pure hunger on his face.
Without another word, he falls to his knees, grabs my legs, and pulls me to the edge of the bed. His hands pin my thighs, pushing them apart as he leans down and runs his tongue along my slit. Trembling, I reach for his head as he pushes his tongue between my folds and laps at my wetness. My fingers curl around his hair. Fuck, he’s a damned golden god at this.
He knows my body, knows exactly how to work it to the point of ecstasy and he does exactly that. If the Olympics gave out gold medals for oral sex, Christian would most definitely win it. My body starts to climb to that pinnacle it’s trying to reach, and as I’m approaching my climax, he slides one finger inside of me, curling it and stroking me from the inside as his tongue flicks me from the outside.
I cry out incoherent words, my body spasming around his finger as every muscle I have tenses and then relaxes into the bed.
But he’s not through with me, he climbs up between my legs, dragging me back into the middle of the bed. I can feel the head of his cock nudge my opening before he pulls my legs up, placing my feet on his shoulders as he slams inside of me.
We both let out a long breath, neither of us moving for a half second as we stare at each other, our bodies reconnecting along with our minds and souls. And then, it’s like a tidal wave crashing. Our bodies move in a frenzied dance. Christian rubs my clit as he moves in and out of me in long strokes. I reach beneath us, grasping his balls, and he groans. We both know the other’s body and just how to touch them. We don’t need all our senses. No sight is necessary, no sounds, just touch and feel.
“How can it be like this?” Christian asks rhetorically as he pumps inside me.
“Like what?”
He pauses for just a moment as my eyes open to find him staring at me. “From the first damn day of worshipping your body, it’s been an otherworldly experience. The connection is…” He trails off as I swallow and nod.
“Unparalleled?” I finish his thought.
“Supernal.”
I roll my eyes. “Supernal?”
“Empyreal?” he says with a thrust.
“Seraphic?” he suggests on another thrust.
“Transcendent,” I add, my hips elevating to meet his next thrust.
He opens his mouth to speak again, but I squeeze my inner muscles around him, rendering him speechless. He slams harder against me, running his thumb in circles against my clit, and on this third stroke, I come undone beneath him.
“Christian!” I scream, my voice echoing in its vastness as he crashes into me once more before roaring my name.
He rolls over immediately after he comes back to his senses, bringing me with him, our connection, physical and spiritual, not broken. I lay my head on his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat. His hands run in long lines up and down my back.
Neither of us speaks for several minutes as we catch our breaths. The slowing of his chest rising calms me. My breathing syncs with his until we both are taking long, deep breaths.
“What now?” I ask as I run my finger back and forth over a tattoo on his chest. It’s the royal crest. An ironic symbol of his rebellious youth where he couldn’t even fully separate himself from his future duty.
“We start over.”
I turn my head to look at him. “How?” I whisper.
“We are going to take the horses out, and when we are far from prying ears and palace walls, you are going to tell me your life story. Every little insignificant detail. And I’ll tell you mine. And when there are no more secrets between us, we will come back here and call Jack. Because we need to start figuring out what the hell is going on.”
I swallow. “OK,” I say. I sit up on him, his semi-erect cock still inside me. Holding out my hand, I grin. “I’m Mia Elizabeth Edgewater. And”—I lean down so that my hair falls like a curtain around us—“I’m a secret princess.”
Christian’s grin is wide as he takes my hand in his and presses it to his mouth. “It’s nice to meet you, Mia Elizabeth Edgewater. Funny you should mention your royal status because I, myself, am a prince.” He winks and leans up, kissing me with such fervor, I almost tell him to forget the whole horseback riding thing, the only thing I want to ride is him.
Chapter Fourteen
Christian
Zeus nudges my shoulder as I secure the bit in his mouth. I know the stable hands would do all this for me, but I’ve always found it soothing. The methodical routine of prepping my horse for a ride calms me.
Mia’s already in her saddle atop Petunia, one of my sister’s horses and Mia’s favorite one to ride.
I finish my task and pull myself into the saddle as I lead Zeus out to the trail. The trails at the Summer Palace are my favorite. The surrounding property is expansive with woods and outbuildings, including one that the three of us used as a clubhouse of sorts when we were younger. My favorite place is past a field of flowers. It’s a scenic overlook providing a vista of our country.
I can see storm clouds in the distance, but right now, the sky above us is clear with only a few puffy white clouds. I pat Zeus on the neck. I don’t get to ride him nearly enough. It’s one of my favorite pastimes. I glance over at Mia. It seems appropriate I’d share it with her as we start over.
I head straight to the scenic overlook. Mia follows me. She’s been out here enough to know the trails and I’m sure she already is aware of our picnic spot. I let Zeus gallop across the wide-open expanse filled with wildflowers. It’s only a mile long, but it’s big enough to let him stretch his legs. I haven’t been o
ut to ride him in ages. As we get to the edge of the field, I pull on the reins and he comes to a halt as Mia and Petunia pull up next to us.
I jump off Zeus and start setting out the picnic that Tessa has packed for us. Mia jumps down and helps. In a matter of minutes, we’re sitting and eating the sandwiches and fruit.
Taking a swig of the Merlot, I set it down and look over at her. “So, tell me, who is Mia Elizabeth Edgewater?”
She leans back on her elbows and crosses her legs. “She was born in England. Grew up an only child after her mother had complications at birth. She desperately wanted a sibling. Her family is small. Both of her parents are only children, or at least that is what she was told. She only knew her mom’s parents. She collected ladybugs as a girl. She had a pet dog name Rufus who died when she was eighteen. Although, she only saw him on breaks because she was studying in the States. She was sort of a lonely child. The American kids assumed she was snobby purely based on the fact she was at a boarding school and had an English accent, even though she was far from being the wealthiest child at the school.”
I frown. Mia has never told me that. Her English accent is quite muted, but I just assumed that was from spending so many years in the United States. Perhaps, she purposefully changed it because she was bullied. That thought fills me with anger.
Mia lies down on the blanket and crosses her arms beneath her head, staring up at the blue sky. I lie on my side next to her, my head propped on my hand. “What about her dreams? What did she want out of life, this little Mia?”
Mia shrugs. “She wanted to be a lawyer for a long time. And then a doctor. And then an astronaut.” I grin at the last one. “By the time she went to college to study literature, she wasn’t sure what she wanted.”
“And that’s how you ended up interviewing for an assistant job with me?” I ask as I reach out and tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. She turns her head to look at me.
“I’d only just graduated. I had taken this government course with a lord. Lord Harrington was a character. I honestly think he only taught so people would call him Lord Professor.” She giggles and the sound brings a smile to my face. I’ve missed carefree Mia.