The Inherited Series Book 1: The Inherited

by Lily Burlington

  "So, give me all the dirty deets," gushed Tess, rolling onto her side to face me and licking some Rocky Road off her spoon. "I want to know what's going on between you and Prince Charming. "

  I rolled my eyes.

  "Come on, you gotta give me something good, I've got nothing but grease burns and Josh to keep me company," my friend urged.

  "There really isn't much to tell. We are dating. I mean, it is a little strange sometimes because he is off at boot camp a lot, or surrounded by people and politicians constantly, or locked up in meetings, and both of us have lessons, but..."

  Tess frowned. "Is everything okay though, I mean, he seemed a little frigid earlier."

  I had to laugh. Tess had very good perception, but could rarely figure out the meanings behind what she saw. "It’s just formalities. He has to act like that when he is in public. He was actually much looser earlier than he normally is."

  "Ya, I was looking you up online and noticed that you were behind all of them when you were out in public. Even if it was just Charming and you, you were about a pace behind him and never any physical contact. I don't know how you can stand it. If he were my boyfriend, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of him, although I would probably make him wear those sunglasses all the time, those eyes still freak me out."

  "Like I said before, I have little importance and, in the eyes of the government, he is my senior so I have to walk behind him and go unnoticed unless addressed. It does give a good view of his ass constantly though. And I like his eyes. Leopold is actually quite affectionate, we just don't have a very public relationship; politics comes first. We haven't got a lot of time together lately, except at night."

  "I should go then," Tess said, as she rose from the bed, "I wouldn't want to keep you from your romantic interludes." She wiggled her eyebrows at me, making her way to the door.

  "Aw Tess, don't go yet," I pouted, "Leopold can wait."

  "Don't worry babe, we have plenty of time in the next few days. I expect a full report on everything that has gone down. Besides, this jet leg has got me down, and I kind of want to try out my giant bed." She yawned to prove her point.

  "Do you want me to walk you back?" I asked.

  Tess shook her head, "Getting lost is all part of the fun. Plus, then maybe I can run into some hot French guy who will have to give me directions. Sweet dreams," she said suggestively and slipped through the large wooden door.

  I shook my head at my friend's crazy antics. I had missed her. I put the remnants from our ice cream party on my desk and then slipped out into the hallway. It was time to find Leopold.

  I opened the door to his room and soundlessly stepped inside. The room was dark except for the faint light of the moon coming in through the open balcony doors. I could see Leopold's form silhouetted where he was lying stretched out across his bed.

  I waited in silence, debating whether he was actually asleep or not, and, if so, whether I should disturb him. I wasn't sure if I had ever seen Leopold sleep before. He seemed to constantly be awake, or at least awake whenever I was.

  As if that thought had cued him, one of Leopold's hands stretched out and threw back his blankets, inviting me over towards him. I padded across the hardwood floor and crawled under the blankets. Leopold tangled one of his legs through mine, as I curled into his side and placed a kiss under his jaw.

  "Your meeting went well?" I whispered.

  He nodded, eyes not opening.

  "Thank you so much. It means a lot to me to have them here," I told him.

  He turned, eyes fluttering open, "My pleasure, always."

  "You leave again tomorrow?" I asked.

  "Yes," he said, and then wound his arms around my waist, pulling me on top of him. I was surprised to find he was shirtless. "Not until the evening though. I have to attend Parliament."

  I hummed and ran my hand down his chest. His abdomen contracted under my touch. "When will you leave?"

  "Late, after dinner. I will be back next weekend though, for the Governor's Ball," Leopold said and then wound his fingers through the back of my hair and pulled me down to him, kissing me softly.

  I responded eagerly, pressing myself closer to him, deepening the kiss.

  Leopold's hand moved down my back as he took hold of my hips, his thumbs digging into the hollows just inside my hipbones. He growled as I bit his lip, and flipped us so that he hovered above me.

  I ran my nails down his back, making him shiver, then ran them back up his ribs, across his shoulders and neck, until my fingers twisted into his hair.

  "Ohh, you make me crazy," he breathed between kisses.

  I gasped, as his hands were suddenly in my shirt, on the bare skin of my back, his touch burning my skin as he first gently brushed his fingers down my spine until eventually, his fingers dug into my skin, palm pressed to my lower back as he held me up against him. I wrapped my legs around his hips, trying to pull myself closer to him.

  Leopold was overwhelming in the best possible way; I couldn't get enough of him. I was surprised though that he was letting me get so close, he was usually so composed and resistant towards my touch. I wasn't going to complain at this sudden change of heart, however.

  Our kissing slowed eventually until we were lying side by side with my head on Leopold's chest, as I slowly traced patterns on his bicep. Leopold lay still beneath me, his eyes closed, breathing even, hand fisted in the back of my t-shirt.

  "I should go," I murmured, placing a kiss on his chest. I figured the maids wouldn't be too happy finding me here in the morning. I was pretty sure it was probably against etiquette for me to be in bed with Leopold.

  Leopold frowned, his lips falling into a pout, and pulled me closer to him so that my back was pressed to his chest, his arms locked around me.

  "Stay, Cat," he whispered. "Please. I don't want to let go of you yet."

  I smiled, and relaxed, letting myself drift to sleep with Leopold's scent and body wrapped around me. Screw the rules, how could I say no to that?

  Chapter Twelve

  I woke up with a start. I groaned and tried to pull away from the bright light only to find I couldn't move, and was covered in a film of sweat. Someone cleared their throat so, tentatively, I opened one of my eyes and peered towards the end of the bed. My stomach dropped as I took in the scene. This was worse than I had anticipated.

  Angelique, Mike, who was Leopold's Angelique, M. Arsnault and M. Lefevre were lined up at the foot of the bed, staring at Leopold and me with blank faces. Angelique had probably alerted the guards when she had found my own bed empty. Leopold, who had not been disturbed by their arrival apparently, was sound asleep spread-eagle on his stomach, half on top of me, and half naked. Yes, this looked less than innocent.

  "Ahh, good morning..." I tried. None of them so much as blinked.

  "I'm sorry. We were talking last night and I must have fallen asleep here. I didn't mean..." I rushed, feeling my face heat up.

  "The Prince's presence is required at Council," M. Lefevre said.

  "Uh, how about I wake him up. Can you give us five minutes and I will have him there on time, I promise," I told them.

  "Yes, Mademoiselle," nodded M. Arsenault and ushered the others out of the room. Mike looked like he wanted to object, but seemed to think better of it and followed the others out.

  "Leopold," I called gently, as I brushed a few wayward locks of hair off of his forehead.

  He scrunched his nose and nuzzled himself closer to me.

  "Leopold, you need to get up," I tried again.

  "What if I don't want to?" he murmured, voice thick, lips brushing against my neck.

  "You need to go to your meeting," I said, trying to be convincing.

  "Hmmm, but the sooner I get out of bed, the sooner I have to leave. I don't know about you," he moved suddenly, holding himself over me, "But I am very comfortable."

  "I thought you liked going to the base," I said, pushing against his chest. He reacted as I knew he would by rolling off of me, ont
o his back. Free, I climbed out of the bed.

  "I did," he said, but then corrected himself, "I do. It's just..."

  I picked up a knit sweater out of one of the piles of clothes on the floor and pulled it on, then stood beside the bed, raising my eyebrow at him, urging him to continue.

  Leopold groaned and rolled out of the bed. He walked over to his dresser and grabbed a box of cigarettes and his lighter. He walked over to the balcony, leaning against the frame of the French doors as he cupped his hands in front of his face and took a long drag.

  "I didn't realize it was possible to miss someone so much. That's so new to me and I..." he cut off, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

  I padded over to him, and, standing on my tiptoes, wrapped my arms around his neck and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "I missed you too."

  His hands moved to my hips, sliding inside the hem of the sweater as he deepened the kiss. I smiled and pulled away.

  "No more of that for now, you are already late," I said, walking backwards towards the door. Leopold's lips fell into a delicious pout almost making me give in and jump back into his arms.

  I nodded my head in the direction of his closet pointedly. Leopold took another drag of the cigarette, before flicking it out onto the balcony and disappeared into his walk-in. He emerged a minute later in a crisp navy suit and dress shirt, looking far too ridiculously perfect for the small amount of time that it had taken.

  I watched in amusement as he made his way over to me and pushed me up against the door of his room. "Fine," he purred, "I’ll play nice. Do you know what your plans are for the day?"

  I shook my head, "I don't know what is scheduled for today."

  "Why don't you come with me then? I think you may want to hear some of the other things we are supposed to be discussing anyway."

  "Sounds good," I told him, and pecked him on the lips before ducking under his arm and heading out of the room. "Just give me a second to get changed."

  "Leopold, Catherine," Felip acknowledged as we entered the council room. The Governors all butted out their cigars once they caught sight of me, and then quickly rose to their feet in recognition of their Prince. Leopold took his seat at the head of the table opposite his father. A butler quickly found a chair for me and seated me beside Leopold. The room sat down again.

  "To what do we owe the pleasure of you joining us today, Catherine?" asked Felip, regarding me over the top of his half-moon glasses.

  "I asked her here," said Leopold, saving me from responding. "I thought it may be prudent to involve her in our conversations today and she has a few questions she would like to have cleared up."

  "Very well. Shall we begin then? Arthur?" said the King, directing his gaze on a thin man with a mass of dark gray curls, Arthur, presumably.

  "Well the first topic on the schedule for the day is the article in this morning's newspaper." He quickly unfolded a copy of the paper and pulled out a section holding it up so that everyone in the room could see. I blushed deeply, sinking down slightly in my seat. It was a spread of pictures of Leopold and me at the various events we had been to over the last couple of days. There was one of him and me at the restaurant; one of us on the red carpet at the Opera; one of him pulling me up onto Dave at the Canette field; one of us on Dave in mid-air over the fence during our escape; shaking hands in front of the hospital; Leopold's hand on my back in the circle of the children; Ella hugging him...They were endless.

  "Yes, I spoke with Leopold on this matter earlier this week. The photographers are pushing boundaries again now that they are allowed to. So far, I say we should continue to let them," said Felip.

  Arthur nodded, "They are saying that the Lost Princess has turned the Dark Prince into Prince Charming. Claiming it is a fairytale, true love. I think this is a good thing."

  "This is good news considering the global media ban is to be lifted this week. I think we should run with this story and these pictures; put a positive spin on all of this. We will have to have our editors put our own spin on the details which lead to all of this of course," said a ruddy-faced man.

  My eyes grew wide. The global media ban was going to be lifted? That couldn't be good. That meant that there would surely be even more photographers around soon. I was already overwhelmed with the few we had now.

  I started as something suddenly hit my foot under the table. Leopold stifled a laugh and looked at me pointedly, smiling reassuringly. He rested his foot over the top of mine, the skin of our ankles touching. He was trying to comfort me. I smiled and crossed my legs, placing my other foot over the top of his so that our legs were tangled together.

  "This, of course, brings up the topic of their marriage," said another one of the counselors. "The Prince turns eighteen in ten months. We are running out of time. Perhaps the proposal should be soon so that there is time to plan the wedding, as well as his birthday and coronation, not to mention Catherine's."

  "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," said Felip. "There is no point in committing Catherine unnecessarily. Let us wait until she has been cleared by France to be the ruler of Arcadis. The marriage will be moot unless she has an official title and position. Richard?"

  "I leave for France this afternoon. I will have their verdict in the next two weeks," announced the Governor.

  "What are the plans until then?" asked Arthur.

  "Catherine's family is here for the week," said Leopold, looking at me softly. "This is what she wanted to discuss. Cat?"

  "I-I, uh," I stuttered. My head was spinning from all of this sudden information and from the way they talked about my life so matter-of-factly. It was like everything was completely laid out for me for the rest of my life, which I suppose, if I stayed with Leopold, it would be. We would get married, rule two countries, and produce children; heirs who would be raised to rule the two countries after us. No college, no hunting for a first home, no privacy. Was I ready to give all of that up just to be with Leopold?

  "I was wondering what my schedule was for the week, what limitations or expectations there are for my family, and so forth," I managed after a minute, my voice much more determined than I had expected.

  "There are a few events that you and your family will be expected to attend. I'll have a schedule written up and given to you, as well as M. Arsnault. Phillipa is in Carmencie for the week visiting Lord Whitlock's family, so your lessons are canceled. You are free to do whatever you please between the scheduled events as long as you take M. Arsnault with you as well as M. Lefevre. He will not be with Leopold this week as Leopold will be away on a training mission," replied Felip. "Oh, and I believe Beatrice told me that we are all having dinner together tonight."

  "Thank you very much," I told him.

  Felip smiled. "Is there anything further to discuss? We all agree?" They all did. "Then let's end it here for today. I have to be in Lavert in half an hour."

  The Governors all rose to their feet as Felip exited the room through a side door. He paused for a moment, frowning and turned to look at Leopold and me. "Are you two still well within the regulations set by the contract?"

  I blushed, looking down into my lap, suddenly very interested in the pattern of my skirt.

  "Yes, sir," said Leopold, not sounding in the least bit embarrassed.

  Felip raised an eyebrow in question but then smiled and quickly left the room.

  As soon as he was out of sight, Leopold grabbed my hand and pulled me out through the heavy wood doors we had entered through.

  Once we were out in the hall, he pulled our linked hands to his lips and kissed my knuckles. "Are you okay?" he said softly, holding my gaze.

  "Perfect," I told him.

  "Breakfast?"

  "Sounds great. I should probably make sure my family is awake first," I told him, as we made our way back to the center of the castle.

  "So, what are you planning on doing now?" Leopold asked.

  "I think I will take them into the old town to look around," I decided. I fig
ured it was a good place to start. We stopped where the hall divided, one end heading south to my parents, the other north to the dining hall.

  Leopold nodded. "I have paperwork to do, otherwise I would come along. Can I see you later tonight though, before I go?"

  "Hmm," I said, tapping the index finger of my free hand against my lips, "I'm sure I can fit you in somewhere."

  Leopold stopped dead in his tracks, pulling me to a halt in the center of the hall. His eyes darkened, a devilish smile spreading across his lips, "I do not get penciled in, Catherine."

  I opened my mouth to defend myself, to tell him I was only joking, but I didn't get the chance. My words turned into a squeal as Leopold lifted me and threw me over his shoulder then began walking down the hall in the opposite direction I had to go.

  "What are you doing?" I laughed lightly, breathlessly.

  "If you have no time for me, you will just have to come everywhere with me, and I am hungry," he stated.

  "Put me down!" I cried, swatting his butt.

  "No, I'm pulling rank," he said as his frame shook with laughter beneath me. "I want…" he cut off abruptly as we entered the dining room, his body tensing. He slid me off his shoulder, righted me on the hardwood floor, and took a step forward, hiding me slightly behind his body.

  "Sorry, Cat, I shouldn't have done that, it was out of line," he said tightly.

  "What do you mean?" I frowned, and peered around him. My parents, Alex and Tess were sitting around the table in their PJs staring wide-eyed at us. Leopold was standing defensively in front of me still. I grazed the back of my hand against his.

  "It's okay," I told him. "It's different with them. The etiquette doesn't matter."

  "Good morning to you too," said Tess to us. "Now, as lovely as your newly developed French linguistic skills are, could you please speak in English and let us humble commoners in the loop?"