by Imani King
A little while later, I gave Abby another hug and headed out to my car. It was time to go back to the villa and my empty bed. When I arrived, I couldn’t help but feel melancholy. Everything that Abby and I had talked about had brought my worst fears to the surface. I wasn’t going to be able to deny much longer that I didn’t have serious feelings for Aidan. They went far beyond a simple fling.
I woke up with a smile on my face on the days that I knew we were going to have breakfast together. I went to bed, albeit lonely, with a smile on my face because I knew that we had just been together in the most intimate and vulnerable ways. He’d become an integral part of my life in such a short time, and it was my fault that I had let him weasel his way in with barely a protest. He was under my skin in the worst possible way.
I crawled into bed thinking these thoughts as my body ached for Aidan. And then it was as if I had conjured him up. I heard the click of the latch as the door of my room opened. It closed a moment later, and then I felt his weight shift the bed as he got in on the other side. He rolled me over onto my back, and I stared up into his beautiful blue eyes.
“I missed you tonight,” he whispered to me.
“I missed you too,” I said. It was as much of an admission as he would get out of me that night. As he leaned down to kiss me, I pressed myself up against him with a different kind of hunger. For tonight, I would put all the other thoughts away. There was only me and Aidan right now, and that was all that mattered.
CHAPTER EIGHT
My head hurt. Although I had told Eva that I was going to be going out with Kian that night, I spent the majority of the evening in the royal library. There had been a time when I couldn’t have been paid enough to spend any time reading, but I had been doing more and more of that activity as of late.
I’d been thoroughly going through each and every copy of the old text of the law that described and outlined the rules of the country when Sorenia was originally formed all those years ago. It was a lot of boring old language written in a dialect that had become obsolete years ago, except in some of the most remote areas of the kingdom. Trying to read it made my head hurt, and my eyes burn. But that didn’t stop me. Stubbornly, I went through each one of the old texts one by one, and then read them again while cross-referencing them with other versions.
It seemed insane that there were so many rules that would be required to rule one small country, and I was supposed to know each and every one of them off the top of my head. I had found a reference to the law regarding the marriage of the firstborn son of the current monarch multiple times. Each one was slightly varied in the words used, but they were all the same sentiment nonetheless. I was looking for any discrepancy or loophole that would give me the leverage I needed to be able to bring it to my parents as a way to reconsider the law.
This search grew more important to me by the day. Although it might have been Eva that had provided the initial reason for the search, I told myself that it went far beyond that. We lived in a modern day and age when people, no matter who they were, should have the right to choose their own future. Hell, if Prince William could marry his university sweetheart who was a commoner, shouldn’t that be able to apply to me as well? England was a far larger monarchy than Sorenia, and yet it seemed as if we were facing backward instead of facing forward. If I did become king, I had already decided that I would introduce a much more progressive way of doing things.
This was the argument that I was going over and articulating in my head as I scanned the old text for what seemed like the millionth time. It wasn’t because I wanted to do something with Eva, I stubbornly told myself. I had no idea if she would even be interested in marriage. Every time that I thought I saw her soften toward me, the mask seemed to reappear and fall firmly into place again. Her insistence on continuing to label our encounters as nothing more than a summer fling was growing more tiresome by the day. But there wasn’t anything I could do about it or say about it unless I found a way for it to be something different.
Just that afternoon, I had found yet another variation of the old text buried deep in the archives. This one seemed even older than the rest of the books that I have examined so far. The royal librarian had been quite insistent that I use dust-proof white gloves to ensure I didn’t leave any oil marks from my fingers on the pages. The parchment was fragile. Even I could tell that, and I did feel a strange kind of reverence for it. It had existed for hundreds of years after all and carried the wisdom of the country inside of it. This was part of my heritage and my lineage. This was part of what had been bred into me since birth. No matter what I did, I couldn’t risk upheaving the country over something like wanting to choose my own bride. I just had to find a way to get around it.
It took over an hour of scanning the pages carefully and reading the small cursive writing before I finally found reference to the law around betrothals. I pulled out a magnifying glass to ensure that I was reading it properly. It was crazy to think that even back in these times, they were thinking about how to continue to ensure the integrity of the monarchy’s bloodline.
I said the words quietly out loud as I tried to absorb them. “The firstborn son of the king and queen shall be the heir to the throne. Any child of the male persuasion born to the firstborn male heir will be second in line to the throne. If no male heir is produced by the firstborn son, the right to the throne passes to the second born male son. The heir to the throne will take a wife of noble birthright to continue the purity of the royal bloodline.”
I had to chuckle at this. This was one very outdated law considering it didn’t allow for a woman to rule alone as queen. That was one of those parts of the law that I would change when I became king. However, each royal family had not had to worry about contending with this particular rule as my family seemed to be well-versed at producing the required male heirs, so it had never been a sticking point.
I continued to read.
“In the event that any male child is born to the firstborn son before marriage, the marriage of the parents at any time shall prevail, and the male child shall be next in line to the throne.”
I frowned at this wording. I read it again to myself. It appeared as if the text was accounting for a male heir born out of wedlock. This was probably the failsafe in the event a monarch only produced daughters with his noble wife, because it didn’t say anything about the lineage of the son’s mother in this exception. This could be exactly the kind of loophole that I had been looking for.
I pulled out my phone and took a quick picture of the text. I glanced around but realized it was almost midnight. I knew that there was no one left in the archives to yell at me about it. I closed the book and thought about the words again. I felt a rush of excitement. I had to think about it from all angles so that I was ready once I figured out when to approach my parents with my findings. I couldn’t afford to tip my hand without being sure that I would gain the upper hand in the end.
I returned the book to its section of the library and looked at my watch. Abby and Eva were having a girls’ night, but I thought that Eva should be home by now. I thought about that word and snorted. Home. I wonder if she considered my villa to be home yet. If she did, I realized that thought would make me happy. As I left the library and emerged into the hallway, I found someone standing outside the door that surprised me.
“Hello, Mother,” I said, giving her a nod. She was the last person I had expected to run into at this time of night.
“Aidan.”
“Isn’t it a bit late?” I said to her.
“I could say the same to you. Where you off to?” she asked.
“I’m heading home,” I said.
“I’ll walk with you. I was having trouble sleeping and thought it would help to take a walk,” she said.
She fell into step next to me, and the entire situation felt awkward. I hadn’t seen my mother for several days. She had been out of the country on business, and I knew that in the upcoming weeks she was going to be going to Par
is to get her fall wardrobe. Such things were just such an oddity to me.
“Mr. Rushing told me that you have been spending quite a bit of time here in the library of late,” she said.
Mr. Rushing was the royal librarian. It was too much to expect that my movements around the palace were going unnoticed, and I had known that it would eventually make it back to my parents that I was looking into something in the old laws. So I had an answer ready made for her already.
“I have simply been looking into everything that I should know around ruling the country. Father is getting to an age where you never know if something could happen unexpectedly,” I said. This was stretching the truth quite a bit. I knew my father was healthy as a horse. “I simply want to be ready if something ever did. I haven’t been required to look over the old texts since before university. I thought I could use the summer to do some refresher work.” I cut my eyes at her to see if she seemed suspicious, but she looked as clear and cold as ever.
“I applaud your diligence,” my mother said. There was a silence that stretched between us. It was awkward, but that could be the one word to describe my entire relationship with my mother, although awkward didn’t even begin to scratch the surface. “It seemed as though perhaps your interest lay in a particular part of the old laws. Perhaps something around the betrothal law?”
I cursed in my head. Mr. Rushing had been asking me far too many questions of late, and I had suspected that perhaps he was a mole for my mother. My mother's words seemed to prove that theory out.
“Betrothal law, tax codes, land parcel rights, all of it. I’ve been looking at all of it,” I said. That was true. Unfortunately, I had to go through all of those things to look for the betrothal laws because nothing went in the same order in any of the old texts. So I had scanned quite a few things that had occasionally caught my attention. I wasn’t out and out lying. No one would ever be that dumb to lie so overtly to my mother. She had a bullshit meter that was usually spot on.
“We haven’t really discussed the particular situation with the American girl that is staying at your villa,” mother said finally broaching the topic head-on. This was what she had wanted to talk about. She was concerned about my interest in Eva, and I guess she had every right to be, even though I hadn’t given any indication that Eva was anything more to me than any other woman that I had slept with over the years.
“Yes, Abby has appreciated having her friend so close by,” I said. I wasn’t going to go there if I could help it.
“It seems your interest may extend a bit beyond your sister-in-law's comfort in our country,” my mother said. “I strongly suggest that you find the American some other quarters for the remainder of her stay. It would be unfortunate if anyone in the press were to find out that someone who is not your future bride was staying with you for the entire summer,” she said.
I wasn’t sure if it was a threat or a warning. Either way, I didn’t appreciate it. “The villa and my guests are my business, Mother.”
She sniffed as if she didn’t agree, but she didn’t seem ready to press the issue any further. Instead, she went in a different direction. “I wanted to let you know that I have been in contact with Duke and Duchess Sutherland. We have moved up Imogen’s visit and your first meeting. Instead of waiting for Christmas, we all agreed that there were multiple opportunities for growing goodwill across the continent by announcing your engagement earlier than we first planned.”
Now this was unexpected and unpleasant news. “Moved up to when?” I asked cautiously. Somehow, I had managed to keep my expression smooth, as if the news did not affect me at all. It wasn’t supposed to after all.
“In August. We’re finalizing all of the logistics now, but we all agreed that it made sense to give the two of you plenty of time to get acquainted. After all, these arranged marriages can feel a bit cumbersome and traditional. We want both you and Imogen to have the proper time to be able to relax in each other’s company. This arrangement allows for plenty of opportunities for the two of you to get to know each other better.”
I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Well, keep me posted,” I said as we approached the door that would lead me out into the courtyard. I knew Eva waited for me not too far away.
“Remember why we’re doing this, Aidan. I know that you are young and headstrong, and the idea of an arranged marriage can feel like a heavy burden,” my mother said as she gently touched my arm. This was yet another surprise for the evening. No one would call Queen Constance particularly maternal on the best of days. But I understood what she was saying.
“It is the law,” I responded. It was the law as far as I knew, unless I could figure out exactly how to leverage my suspected loophole. After all, if a prince could transfer the crown to an illegitimate child, why couldn't I marry who I wanted?
“Still, your father and I think that you will be a great king someday. You make us proud every day. You have taken your responsibilities very seriously despite some indiscretions over the years, which is to be expected from someone your age. Know that we have always thought about what is best for you and the country as we made our decisions. Imogen will be a fine wife for you, and she will produce heirs that will continue our line and solidify our relationships across the continent. We can’t afford for there to be any ill-advised moves leading up to this. It’s too important to our country.”
As if I needed the reminder. “Of course. Good night, Mother.” I gave her a low nod of the head and quickly exited the building. Even as I closed the door, I felt the weight of her eyes on my back. It felt like the weight entire country, and even the world, rested there. What was expected and what I wanted seemed to be in direct conflict at the moment, and I had no idea what to do about it. I made my way back to the villa thinking about all of it. There was only one way that I knew to feel better. Even though the villa was dark when I entered, I knew from checking the security codes that Eva had not returned all that much sooner than I had. It was even possible that she was still awake.
I knew that she had her rule about sleeping in the same bed, which I had respected for the last three weeks, but after the encounter with my mother, I felt shaken. I needed to remember why all of this was so important to me all of the sudden. I made my way to her room and hesitated just outside her door. Would she welcome me, or would she send me away? I wouldn’t know until I tried.
I entered her room and saw her still form in the bed. Just breathing in the same air as she did make me feel better. Calmer. I slid into the bed next to her, and as I turned her over to face me, I saw that she was still awake. I couldn’t help the words from tumbling from my lips.
“I missed you tonight,” I said. The words were heartfelt. I had missed her, and each day that sense of loss when she was not around me grew stronger. Why did I have to deny it any longer?
“I missed you too,” she said softly. Her words made my heart sing. If there was a way, and she would have to me, I would try to find a way for us to be together. Together in the real sense. Not the summer fling sense, or the sexy and sultry Gibraltar vacation sense, but finally as a real couple. A relationship where I could be proud to have her on my arm and in them wherever we went for everyone to see.
All of these things I tried to tell her in my kiss. All of these things I hoped would one day be possible.
CHAPTER NINE
I stretched my arms wide as I felt my body begin to awaken. Sunlight streamed through the windows, and I realized it was far later than I was used to sleeping. Then I heard the light snoring behind me, and I realized with a start that I had broken my own rule. Aidan had come to me in the middle of the night, and I hadn’t resisted letting him stay, not even for a moment.
My body felt sore in all the right places, and I couldn’t help the smile that crept onto my face. There was something about being lulled to sleep after a thoroughly enjoyable sexual escapade that ensured good dreams. That combined with the man who had done all of those toe-tingling things.
; That was something I had forced myself to face through my conversation with Abby. I had feelings for Aidan, and it seemed silly to deny them anymore. But my admission would be a secret between Abby and me only. There was no way that I was going to let Aidan in on that little secret. That way he could continue with his life at the end of the summer without feeling pressured or guilty, and I would go back to Glasgow and probably cry myself to sleep for days. But eventually I would get over him, and I would look back on this stolen time together as perhaps one of the best times of my life.
I rolled over and watched Aidan as he slept. He looked younger than his twenty-eight years. I slowly reached over and brushed a curl of hair off of his forehead. Even as I did so, a lazy smile appeared on his face. I realized that he wasn’t asleep any longer. He pulled me into his arms, and I settled there with my ear against his chest listening to his heartbeat. We laid like that for what seemed like an eternity. An eternity of bliss accepting the quiet peacefulness of the moment between us.
He started to stroke my cheek, and that was when I looked up at him. His eyes were open, watching me carefully.
“It’s about time you woke up, sleepyhead,” he said to me.
“You were the one who was asleep until just a few minutes ago. And by the way, you’re not even supposed to be in here,” I said as I playfully tapped my finger against his chest. Of course, my finger ricocheted off the hard muscle under the skin. That was the beauty of Aidan’s body. Every bit of it was lean, muscular and mouthwatering.
“That’s your rule, not mine. So if anybody should be in trouble for breaking the rules here, it should be you,” he said as he swiped his finger across the tip of my nose in return. I stretched up and nipped at it. He drew me to his body and kissed me deeply. “I could get used to waking up like this,” he said.