The Bodyguard's Prince

by Caroline Lee

  “No,” she said gently, staring into his stormy-grey eyes, awash with emotion.

  Those eyes widened slightly at her denial, and hurt slammed into them, and then into her. He stepped away from the counter, leaving her sitting there, and ran a hand through his hair.

  “This is about the stupid station thing, isn’t it? Well, I’m a prince! I can marry whomever I want, and if that’s my American bodyguard, that’s okay!” There wasn’t much room for him to pace in the closed-off bathroom, but he tried, two steps to the shower and back.

  “For God’s sake, Toni, I just stood in front of a gun for my mother’s right to marry anyone she chooses.” He flung an arm towards the rest of the apartment, glaring at her. “And you know why? Because of you. Being with you taught me no matter how I personally feel about Mother’s choice, she’s got the right to be happy, and Dr. Hayes will make her happy for some reason.” His hurt had obviously turned into anger.

  “You don’t see why?” she asked him quietly.

  “Because she loves him!” he roared.

  Toni’s smile slowly bloomed and, as it did, Alek’s frown turned thoughtful. He dropped his arm and stared at her, as if trying to understand her reaction.

  They stood like that for a while—maybe a few minutes, maybe a few lifetimes—and Toni held her breath, willing him to understand what she needed from him.

  Finally, he inhaled sharply. “Marry me, Toni,” he repeated softly.

  “Not yet,” she whispered as she held his gaze.

  When he nodded, she knew he understood.

  “I love you, Toni.”

  Her heart soared. But before she could throw her arms around him in appreciation of his confession, he continued.

  “I’ve admired you more than you’ll know, but being here with you has made me realize it’s more than that. I want a lifetime with you. I want to waltz with you across the ballroom as my queen. I want to spar with you as my bodyguard.” He stepped close enough to place a hand on either of her hips, and pull her against him. “And you can bet I want to practice our own private dance in bed as often as possible.”

  Toni smiled, remembering their “dances,” and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are you sure, Highness?”

  “More sure than I’ve ever been about anything. I don’t just want today or tomorrow with you, Toni. I want you by my side, protecting me from idiots with agendas and intimidating anyone who would threaten Aegiria. But I also want you here, like this.” He nuzzled against the side of her neck. “I want fried egg sandwiches and elbows on the table while we discuss our day. I want pajama pants and tank tops and microwave popcorn as we watch movies. I want it all. With you.”

  Toni sighed against him in contentment. “I don’t know if you realize this, but those are the magic words I wanted to hear.”

  “What, ‘microwave popcorn’?”

  She’d needed to hear that he was okay with her lifestyle, too. But she just smiled against his chest. “No, silly. ‘fried egg sandwich’. You really impressed me with those.”

  His arms tightened around her. “What if I promised you one every Saturday morning? And twice a year we take a week and go into the mountains together?”

  That sounded like heaven to her. But she pulled away and frowned, pretending to think about it. “Will there be canoeing?”

  “And skiing in the winter.”

  “And dancing?”

  A slow grin tugged his lips upwards. “As much as you can possibly stand.”

  She hummed thoughtfully.

  “So? Will you marry me?” he repeated.

  She wrapped her arms around him once more, twisting her fingers into his t-shirt and pulling him closer. Stretching up, she placed a quick kiss on his lips, then another. Once she was sure she had his attention, she grinned impishly.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Toni winked, and Alek laughed as he pulled her in for a more thorough kiss.

  EPILOGUE

  A week later

  “So what did she say?” Toni asked as she pulled Alek into his sitting room, the central area of his suite of rooms.

  “Marcia? Nothing.”

  He shrugged, his shoulders moving deliciously under his tailored suit jacket. Now that Toni always pulled “night shift” to protect him, and since they’d both agreed she could do a much better job protecting him from his bed than in the outer room, she knew exactly how delicious those shoulders could be. In fact, just looking at them now sent a bolt of longing through her, a heat pooling in her belly and lower. But business first…

  “Nothing? A prince told her he no longer wanted to marry her, and she didn’t say anything?” That seemed hard to believe.

  Alek shrugged again, crossing to his study. “She just smiled. And I mean, a real smile. I realized then I’d never seen her real smile, not even when I first suggested we consider marrying.”

  “She smiled,” Toni repeated incredulously.

  “And hugged her book,” Alek nodded, his hand hovering over the keypad to his study door. “Then she nodded a few times, smiled again, and whispered ‘Thank you’.”

  Toni rolled her eyes. “No she didn’t. That’s ridiculous.”

  “Honest to God. I think it was pretty obvious we weren’t well-matched. She’s just so…timid.”

  Toni hummed thoughtfully. “She was the one who was asking all those questions about your whereabouts the night you were kidnapped. And the one who wanted you to go to your study with me, remember?”

  Before punching in the final number, he turned a surprised look her direction. “You don’t think Marcia had anything to do with the kidnapping, do you? Why would she have contact with someone like Rastorov?”

  Shrugging, Toni moved up to his side, not liking the reminder of that day. “It’s hard to imagine a gangster getting her to arrange something like that. She’s just so timid.”

  He snorted in agreement. “She is, you’re right. We would’ve made a terrible match.” His arm snaked around Toni’s middle, and he pulled her flush against him, so that she could feel every ridge of his hard body. “Unlike the two of us.”

  She kept her expression neutral, although it was hard not to smile. “I’m still not so sure, Your Highness. Someone like Marcia is raised from birth to be the kind of queen Aegiria needs. Me? I’m just an ex-cowgirl.”

  “And a champion ballroom dancer, and a logistics officer…” He frowned down at her. “And a damn fine bodyguard.”

  Her smile finally peeked through. “And don’t you forget it,” she commanded impishly, glad he didn’t regret his decision.

  “I think I need to take you into my bedroom, Dryden, and remind you just how well matched we are.”

  His growl made Toni’s knees go weak, but she managed to lift herself up to press a kiss to his lips. When he growled again, she considered being the one to do the dragging.

  “I love you,” she murmured against his lips.

  “And I love you, my sexy kickass bodyguard.” He sighed reluctantly and loosened his hold on her. “But I have some emails I have to send, if we want that trade agreement to go through by this fall.”

  She swallowed her sigh, because his loyalty and devotion to his people was one of the reasons she loved him so much. Besides, if he had work to do, so did she. She was on the clock, after all.

  Night shift. She smiled.

  Still holding her in one arm, he twisted and punched in the code to unlock his study door. Toni stiffened, prepared to step through first, but as the door swung open, realized she needn’t have bothered.

  Maarten stood between the door and the desk, and gathered around the desk was Alek’s family.

  They all turned as Alek and Toni stepped through, and reacted in various degrees. Arne frowned thoughtfully as he stared at Alek’s arm around her, while Kristoff rolled his eyes and nudged Mikael, muttering “It’s about time.” But it was Queen Viktoria whose reaction mattered most.

  As Alek and Toni stepped into the room, his mother moved from
her place by the desk where she’d been speaking with her sons, and hurried towards them, her arms open. Alek released Toni and stepped into his mother’s embrace.

  And even though the two of them had seen one another immediately after the kidnapping, Toni could swear this reunion was more emotional. The pair stood in each other’s arms for almost a full minute, saying nothing. Then Viktoria pulled back, still holding her oldest son’s elbows, and stared up at him, tears in her stormy grey eyes.

  “Your face looks even worse, Alek,” she said in a scolding voice, obviously trying to maintain some control.

  “And your face looks even better, my queen.” He gave an elaborate bow that left his mother blushing.

  Toni had to admit the queen was right; although he’d had as immediate medical attention as she had, the bruising from his broken nose had been unavoidable. Ugly purple blotches now ringed both of his eyes, and she knew he was still on pain meds. But he hadn’t avoided being seen in public; in fact, he’d held a press conference to explain the “harrowing experience” and had praised her—who’d stood by his side, her head bandaged—for saving his life more than once. Toni hadn’t wanted the spotlight, but had grinned when she’d seen his people’s love for Alek. They’d both been hailed as heroes, even though Alek hadn’t explained the reasons behind the kidnapping.

  No, that particular announcement—the queen’s engagement to Dr. Hayes—would be coming soon.

  Viktoria grabbed her oldest son’s hands once more. “I didn’t have a chance to thank you, Alek, for standing beside me at the meeting with the Councilors on Wednesday.”

  The reactions at that meeting had ranged from distain to shock to genuine joy for the queen’s future happiness. Toni had stood there with Rogers and Karanov and Maarten and the others, united in their show of support for the throne. But what had meant most was Alek’s support: with him standing beside his mother, and nodding when fitting, the Councilors had known he wouldn’t be objecting to his mother’s remarriage, no matter how inappropriate her choice of husband might be.

  The Councilors had left grumbling, but had approved her request to fund a large concert at the end of the month to make the public announcement of her upcoming wedding. Arne, the second-oldest prince and the Minister of Culture, was already busy writing proposals for which musicians to invite. The big announcement would take place then, and already the palace was buzzing.

  Alek lifted one of his mother’s hands to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “I’m truly sorry my support was ever in doubt, Mother. It took me falling in love myself—with a woman I once would’ve considered unsuitable—to show me future happiness is more important in a royal wedding than who I thought would be good for the country.”

  Viktoria smiled as she looked from her son to Toni and back again. “It’s my sincerest wish that you one day realize William is as good for the future of this country as your Antoinette is.”

  Toni flushed slightly, and clasped her hands behind her in the parade rest she always fell into when her superiors were talking about her. She still had trouble believing she would make a good future queen, and prayed she had many, many years of practice ahead of her, before she had to step into Viktoria’s pointy and uncomfortable shoes.

  Still, it was a major relief to know Alek’s mother approved of her as a match for her son—a match for the future king of Aegiria.

  Even if she did have to get used to going by “Antoinette” again. Sheesh. I’m going to feel like I’m in trouble and Mom’s yelling at me each time I hear that name…

  “And,” Viktoria continued, a twinkle in her eyes, “I don’t think I have to tell you how happy I am you’ve come to your senses about this lovely young woman. She’ll make a wonderful match, once she grows her hair out a bit to cover that bandage.” The queen waved at Toni’s head, and Toni couldn’t even be irritated at the older woman’s good-natured judgement. “I’m just sorry you had to go through such a nightmare to realize how special she is.”

  Alek dropped his mother’s hand, and moved to stand beside Toni once more, while Viktoria turned to include her others sons in the conversation.

  “I’m mostly sorry, too,” he said, winking down at Toni, and leaving no question as to which parts of their forced vacation he didn’t regret.

  “Have they caught Rastorov’s goons?” Toni blurted out, desperate to keep his family from thinking about their activities during the kidnapping. “Or have any leads at all?”

  Soft-spoken Mikael shook his head. “No luck. The Americans know to be on the lookout, thanks to the descriptions you two provided. Johann is still down in the city right now, liaising with the police and doing his best to figure out more about the kidnapping. Maybe the men will be caught and be able to provide more information, but with Rastorov dead…”

  “So are any leads,” Arne finished for him, disappointment in his voice.

  Kristoff spoke up. “What I don’t understand is why a Russian-American gangster would care about keeping Mother from marrying Dr. Hayes.” Alek had explained Rastorov’s demands to his family when they’d returned. “Why would the Americans—a criminal, especially—care?”

  “What I don’t understand,” sniffed Arne, “is where #5 is. Johann is still working, but #5 couldn’t be bothered to show up to this meeting?”

  “Ambush,” Alek corrected, eyeing his computer on his desk, no doubt thinking of the work he had to do.

  Viktoria hid her smile as she explained. “#5 has taken it upon himself to…comfort Alek’s friend Marcia.”

  Alek snorted at the same time Kristoff muttered, “Figures.”

  Toni knew his brothers didn’t have a high opinion of #5, but hoped he’d be able to get some information out of the woman. She still didn’t trust Marcia, not after her “innocent” questions the night of the kidnapping.

  Arne brought the conversation back on track. “Did Rastorov have any connection to politics or politicians?”

  “Not that Johann can determine.”

  Toni shifted, not sure if she should speak up, but surprised no one had brought up the obvious.

  “What is it?” Alek murmured.

  She took a deep breath. “Rastorov was working for someone. Remember?”

  Alek frowned while he thought back. “They’d said they had orders not to hurt us, but then spoke about their boss. That was Rastorov, right?”

  “I’m not sure who ordered you not to be hurt” —because Rastorov definitely didn’t seem to mind hurting her— “but it wasn’t him. One of the last things he said was that he ‘had orders’ not to hurt you.” She exhaled, pushing aside the memory of what Rastorov had been doing when he’d said that. “He was working for someone else, someone who wanted the wedding stopped.”

  Alek sucked in a breath, and there were exclamations of shock from the others. He held up his hand to quiet his brothers. “She’s right. He did say that. And not only that, but the way the crime” —he almost spat the word— “was committed points to someone with inside knowledge of the way the palace is run.”

  “So who?” Kristoff sounded frustrated. “Who would want to stop the wedding?”

  Arne snorted. “Dr. Hayes was a shocking choice to plenty of people.”

  “Yeah, but when Alek was kidnapped, very few people knew about Mother’s decision,” Mikael pointed out.

  “You’re right.” Alek hummed and crossed his arms over his chest. “She hadn’t even told the Councilors yet, much less the general population.”

  Kristoff sat forward. “So we’re dealing with a fairly small population. Definitely someone here in the palace, someone who knew about Mother’s plans, and who had a reason to not want her to remarry.”

  Toni frowned, unable to think of anyone who could benefit from the queen remaining unmarried. Four of the six people who had the most reason to object—her sons—were in this room, and they were all supportive of her choice.

  “There was something Rastorov said,” Alek offered, “which indicated he’d been in contact
with someone at the palace after the kidnapping. He was able to describe Mother’s reactions and the general reaction.”

  His words triggered a realization for Toni. “Not only that,” she began slowly, “but whoever planned it knew Alek. Or at least knew him well enough to stock supplies for him. Like extra clothes and toiletries.”

  “And foods I could actually prepare.” Alek grinned at her. “Like plenty of eggs to fry.”

  “The evidence is compelling.” Viktoria stepped forward, drawing everyone’s attention. “Now that we know the mastermind is someone here in the palace—someone who knew about my plans—we’re going to have to investigate everyone.”

  Maarten cleared his throat. “Everyone, Your Majesty?”

  “Everyone from the kitchen staff to the bodyguards to the steward.”

  “Ivan?” Kristoff scoffed. “Why would he care who you married?”

  “We can’t know if this scheme was concocted because the mastermind objected to me remarrying,” Viktoria said with a frown, “or if he objected to me marrying William specifically. But Antoinette’s clue is valuable, and we would be foolish to dismiss it.”

  Arne sighed. “I guess we should start interviews and dossiers on everyone who knew Mother’s news. That’s just the sort of thing Alek should enjoy handling.”

  “Me?” Alek pretended to be affronted. “I have plenty of my own work to do.”

  “Well I have a concert to plan,” Arne returned.

  Toni nudged Alek. “You and I can head the investigation. I’m sure your other brothers will join in.”

  Kristoff raised a finger. “You can count on us.”

  Alek sent Toni a small smirk. “Well, one thing’s for sure; Marcia didn’t know—still doesn’t know, unless #5 blabs something—anything about Mother’s decision to remarry. So she’s not a suspect.”

  Barely suppressing her eyeroll, Toni sighed slightly. “She could’ve been working with whomever masterminded the whole thing.”

  His smirk turned into a full-blown smile as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her—in full view of his family!—and dropped a kiss on her forehead, right beside her bandage. “I think you’re just jealous.”