Bearly Royal_Corbin

by Ally Summers

  I shook my head. “Hard to believe.” I stared at the lights on the shore. We all had great views, but Alaric’s was phenomenal.

  The letter was still pressed inside my jacket. I had every chance to tell him, but his news crushed it. The timing was off. I couldn’t bring it up on a night like this.

  He chewed the end of his cigar. “Married. Baby. King. Who the fuck am I?” He turned to me.

  “All those things now.” I hated that I came home to so much change. I had missed my big brother’s wedding.

  “You think it takes the pressure off for you?” he asked.

  “Not being next in line?” I twirled the cigar. “I never thought about it to be honest. I’ve never been heir material.”

  “I want you to be…” he stopped. “If something happens. And I’ll make sure this is covered in whatever damn paperwork or royal decree Wallace comes up with. If anything happens to us…” Alaric inhaled. “Will you raise our child?”

  I huffed. “You can’t be serious. I’m the drunk uncle.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re my brother. And Galona is as much yours as it is mine. I need to know someone will help him or her rule. You were dealt a rough hand, brother. And you’ve fought like hell to come out on the other side. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have complete faith that you’re going to keep fighting. Will you be there? Will you be that person? Can you teach my son how to face his bear and humanity if that time comes?”

  “Alaric, if this is some kind of psychological hook to keep me from drinking again, it doesn’t work like that. You can’t dangle something like your child’s life in front of me and think that will make the difference.” I swallowed. He didn’t know what the thing was that made me crave sobriety more than I craved whiskey.

  “It’s not,” he hissed. “I need to know that if I drop dead like Dad did, that my wife and child will be safe. That you’ll take care of them. That I’m not leaving them alone to defend themselves in front of the court or the country. I need that. I need to know my mate and cub are safe. Forever.”

  We never talked about him. We never talked about his death. But I understood the fear that ran through my brother now. Alaric was fearless. What did death matter when there was no one to leave behind? But with a pregnant wife, death had suddenly become the only thing he could think about.

  I knew that feeling.

  Our father had died so unexpectedly, it had left its mark on all of us. We were bound to be scarred in some way for the rest of our lives.

  I clasped my hand on his shoulder. “I will take care of them. I’d be honored.”

  He let out a long breath. “Good.”

  “But really, I’m just going to hand the kid off to Juliette.”

  We laughed. Why was she still in Spain?

  We turned to the shore again. “It’s good to be home.”

  “I told Elena to start the schedule light. She knows how to ease you back into things, but I didn’t want her to have pressure from the crown.”

  Oh shit. I needed to get back to my apartments. Elena was waiting. A flash of her legs was the first thing I thought of.

  I tossed the two-hundred dollar cigar in a nearby flower pot. “I’ll tell Eden thank you for dinner on my way out.”

  “You can stay. Catch up.”

  “It’s been a long day. I woke up in rehab and I’m going to bed in the palace. I need to wrap my head around that.”

  Alaric walked toward me, putting his arms around me.

  “I don’t want you to ever go back there.”

  I stared at him. “I won’t. I can promise you that.”

  6

  Elena

  As soon as I heard his footsteps in the foyer I twisted my hands together.

  “How was dinner?” I asked, greeting Corbin next to the giant orchid in the hall.

  “American pasta,” he answered. “Eden’s going to be an interesting addition to the family.” He followed me into the next room. He raised his eyebrows. “What’s this?” He pointed to the table behind me.

  “I couldn’t decide,” I explained. “But if you don’t like them, we can play chess.”

  I had assembled every board game I could find in the palace. It was probably overkill. I couldn’t settle on any of them. Corbin’s coat was slung over his shoulder. I suppressed a sigh. Did he have to come home looking sexier than ever?

  “Should we—” He shook his head. “Never mind. I was going to suggest some drinks.” He huffed. “Old habits die long painful deaths I guess. Maybe even longer in this place.” He looked around.

  I wondered if the apartments were a sanctuary for him, or if the walls were only full of painful memories.

  “I can have something prepared. Anything you want,” I offered. “The chef is happy you’re home. She’d love to make something.”

  “No. I have to learn other ways to fill my time. I can’t eat every time I think about mixing a drink.” He pulled out a chair. “Starting with trivia.” He reached for the first box on the top and slid the rest of the games out of his way.

  His eyes raked over my body. “What are you wearing, Elena?” He looked irritated.

  “What I always wear to work,” I responded.

  “You can’t play trivia in pearls and high heels. Go in my room and find a T-shirt.”

  I gripped the edge of the chair. “Sir?”

  “And some sweatpants or running shorts. That skirt is tight.”

  I swallowed. “I’m fine. Comfortable in this. It’s part of my royal manager—”

  His hand balled into a fist. “Go change, Elena.”

  I scooted from behind him and walked to the bedroom. “All right. If it’s that critical to game night.”

  I closed the double doors behind me. I walked to his closet, still in disbelief he had commanded I change clothes. It wasn’t allowed for royals to see their managers out of proper attire. I was breaking protocol, let alone my own rules.

  The closet smelled like him. There was an air of masculinity and cologne. For a second I took a deep breath and gave in to the impulse to think there was another reason I was about to change into the prince’s shirt.

  I unbuttoned the front of my blouse and let the silk slide off my arms. I kicked off my heels and stepped out of the skirt. I hung my clothes on the back of the door with a set of wooden hangers. Corbin’s initials were carved into the top. It was strange to be standing here in only a pair of panties and bra.

  I turned back to Corbin’s T-shirts.

  I knew his favorite ones. My fingers traveled over the stacks of shirts. He loved the Royal Navy one the best. It was worn almost to the point of having holes in the chest. I reached for one up high. One he didn’t usually wear. It seemed slightly less personal if it wasn’t one of the regulars. I couldn’t remember a time he had worn this purple one.

  I pushed up higher on my toes to reach. As I tugged on the sleeve there was a loud thump as a bottle of bourbon fell from the shelf.

  “Shit.” It narrowly missed my head.

  I stooped to pick it up. It was half empty. How many more of these were stashed around the apartment? I thought we had found them all. The sweep hadn’t been a very good one.

  I walked to the bathroom and poured the liquid down the sink and washed the bottle out with warm water. I hid it in the trashcan under tissues. I returned to the closet and started scoping the shelves for more bottles. I checked behind hats. Behind his military medals. Behind rows and rows of royal suits. I crouched over his shoes, checking each one in case there was a bottle stashed inside a loafer.

  “Holy shit.”

  “Oh God,” I eked, spinning around to face Corbin.

  I tried to cover myself, but I was spilling out of my bra, and there wasn’t much I could do. I reached for a sleeve from one of his jackets, but it didn’t do much. He had just had a full view of my ass.

  “You’ve been gone half an hour. Thought I’d check on you.” His eyes were locked on my breasts. “I didn’t expect to find you trying on
all my clothes.” He smirked.

  I closed my eyes. “I-I wasn’t. I’m sorry.” I dropped the sleeve. If I thought his chivalrous side would kick in, I was wrong. Corbin licked his lips as I bent to pick up the purple T-shirt.

  “I found a whiskey bottle,” I explained. My head popped through the shirt. “I thought I should check the rest of the closet, so you didn’t have to worry about it.”

  He crossed his arms. His eyes had moved to the thin slice of fabric between my legs. I looked around for sweatpants. I hadn’t gotten that far yet when I was distracted by the bourbon bottle.

  “Here.” Corbin reached for a pair in a stack next to him. “You can wear these.”

  “Thank you.” I stood, holding them awkwardly.

  “And you didn’t trust me to rid my own closet of alcohol?” he asked.

  My stomach sank. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I know you could. I just wanted to do it for you.”

  He leaned into the doorframe. His broad shoulders appeared even wider in the small space.

  This was almost too much Corbin. I was surrounded by his scent. Everything that was his. And him.

  I had to take long steady breaths.

  “So do you consider yourself an enabler, Elena?”

  “A what?”

  “It was something Dr. Garcia and I discussed. Are you one of the people in my life who lets me drink?”

  I swallowed. “No. Never.” I shook my head.

  “So if you won’t let me drink, then why won’t you let me get rid of the alcohol? Am I not strong enough to handle it?”

  “Of course you are. You’re incredibly strong.” I didn’t know how to turn this around. How to take the insult away. Erase the offense.

  His biceps bulged against the rolled cuffs of his sleeves. I could see the ink on his forearm. I had always wanted to study his tattoo up close.

  “Why is your hair still up?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Your hair. What does it look like down?”

  I protectively reached for my bun to hold my hair in place. “I can’t wear it down, sir.”

  “And what’s all this sir shit? You never called me sir. If I recall, you saved your saucier language for me.”

  I bit my lip. “Only because I needed you to listen.”

  Sir seemed to keep a wall between us. Why was he trying to tear that down? I had spent all day building it. There had always been barriers between us and in a matter of minutes he had smashed through half of them.

  7

  Corbin

  Fuck. My T-shirt skimmed the creamy skin just below her ass. I shifted against the doorway. My cock throbbed. What in the hell? I was staring at Elena like she had walked off the cover of a lingerie magazine.

  My eyes trailed down her thighs.

  “The hair,” I repeated. “Take it down.”

  “Really, it’s not appropriate,” she argued.

  “How do you expect to have game night with your hair pulled back like that? Can you even think?” I teased. My bear was pushing me to do and say more tonight.

  I saw the flustered look in her eye.

  “Of course I can think.” She worked the knot free until her hair fell loosely around her shoulders. With her hands up, the shirt rose even higher.

  I don’t know how in the hell I kept my composure. She was fucking beautiful. The curls spilled around her in golden waves.

  “There. Are you happy?” she fired.

  I swallowed. “Yes.”

  What she didn’t know was she looked like a damn goddess in my closet. And I had been locked away from women for fifty days. Dr. Garcia didn’t count.

  There was a beast inside me ready to emerge. His was clawing at my chest. Begging to quench his thirst. But it wasn’t alcohol he wanted.

  “The cufflink drawer,” I stated.

  “What?” Her eyes darted back and forth.

  “Airplane sized vodka bottles in the back of the cufflink drawer,” I reported.

  “Oh.” She threaded one leg through the pajama pants and then the other. “I’ll get those.” She spun around, sliding the drawer open. I watched as she collected three bottles from the back of the drawer. I wished I had another view of her heart-shaped ass. I frowned.

  “My sword case. Gin.”

  Her eyes widened. But she stepped toward the cabinet that held my Royal Navy weapons and cracked the lid. She retrieved the scattered bottles at the back.

  “Anywhere else?” she asked.

  I rubbed my jaw. “I think that’s all that’s in here.”

  The bottles were wedged in her arms and pressed tightly against her chest. “There are more somewhere else?”

  “I’m sure your blood hounds didn’t find them all if they didn’t find these.” I paused. “Oh wait. The tequila.”

  “There’s tequila in here? But I thought I searched…”

  My arm grazed hers as I stretched behind the rows of leather belts. Her breath seized and I could feel the warmth of her skin against my cheek. The bottle was tucked underneath a shelf. No one would have discovered it.

  “Last one.” I held it up.

  I looked at Elena and then the honey-colored liquor. How many nights had I given in to tequila? To gin? To vodka? How many times had she rolled my drunk ass in bed and turned off the light?

  “Is it hard?” she asked.

  “Not to drink?”

  She nodded slowly.

  “This is day fifty-one. I’m ok. You can ask me again when I get through day fifty-two. One day at a time is my new motto.”

  I didn’t move. I blocked Elena’s exit from the closet. The bottles clanked as she shuffled them in her arms. I didn’t know why I hadn’t seen her this way before. I wanted her to stay so I could study her.

  She looked completely different with her hair down. Without the stuffy manager suit. There was a softness emanating from her.

  I never knew behind her silk suits she had a killer body. Sure she was thin, but her tits were gorgeous and those hips had curves that lasted for miles. Something primal inside me was awake.

  “Elena.”

  “Sir?” Her eyes followed me.

  I grumbled. “Never mind. You can throw those out.” I walked away from the closet.

  I didn’t know why I was suddenly frustrated. Or why I thought about doing something with Elena I never thought about before. Everything inside me told me to smash the bottles on the floor and rip my clothes from her body. Spend the night buried inside her. Fucking her until we were both without breath.

  I closed my eyes and walked to the table where she had stacked the games.

  She appeared a few minutes later. “All gone,” she announced.

  I pressed my palms into the surface. “Trivia first?”

  8

  Elena

  My pulse had returned to normal. I think it was watching the last drops from the bottles wash down the drain that steadied me. I had a chance to catch my breath and focus on something other than the nearness of Corbin.

  I ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn’t believe how vulnerable I felt in front of him dressed in his T-shirts.

  There was a reason managers dressed a certain way. There was a reason we used titles. We had our place and royals had theirs.

  “Whatever you like,” I answered.

  “What do you like, Elena?”

  “I’m here for you.” I couldn’t let myself forget why I was in his apartment so late. It was for him. To serve the prince. No other reason but my duty and honor for the crown. If I repeated it enough times, maybe I’d believe it.

  “That’s not what I asked.” His voice was flat.

  “Ok.” I shrugged. “The truth is I don’t actually like to play games. Once I was too old to play Sharks and Dolphins as a child, it wasn’t much fun anymore. I’ve never been big on games.”

  “Is that so?”

  I nodded. “It is.” I smiled. “Although, I’ll beat you at trivia.”

  He laughed. “Doesn’t se
em likely since you don’t play.”

  “Just because I don’t play, doesn’t mean I can’t annihilate you.” I peered at him.

  “Annihilate? That’s a challenge I’ll take.”

  I knew he was drawing me into a confrontation, but I couldn’t stop. I was always drawn to him, however this was different from completing my duty. I was torn between wanting to help the man I loved, versus protecting the prince I served. Either way, I was staying. And somehow he knew I wouldn’t walk out the door.

  I slipped into the seat across from him. His eyes were bright as he took the lid off the box and stacked the cards. I tried to think of the last time they had looked like that. It certainly wasn’t the day I took him to Spain.

  Everything about him was more alert. More vibrant now. There was a confidence and cockiness that was magnetic.

  He placed the board between us and handed the dice to me. His fingertips touched mine.

  “You roll first.”

  I looked at him, shaking the dice in my palm. They rolled on the board. It was the only sound in the apartment. Was he holding his breath too?

  “Six.” I counted out the spaces on the playing surface.

  “National history,” he announced, plucking the top card.

  I wasn’t sure how I concentrated when Corbin read the first question. Maybe it was because the nerdy side of my brain kicked in and I was determined to answer all the questions correctly. Maybe it was because I was willing to latch on to anything, other than his kissable lips.

  I was always the star student. It was the reason I was chosen as the manager for the heir to the throne. No one could outscore me on royal traditions or law. Not even a prince.

  9

  Corbin

  It wasn’t working. There weren’t enough distractions. I should be exhausted after the day I’d had, but every wire in my body was lit. I wasn’t going to bed anytime soon.

  I looked at Elena pinching her eyes together over one of the questions. We were almost finished with the game. She had killed me. I didn’t need another round to know she wasn’t kidding about annihilating me.