by Eve, Jaymin
“Even more worrying,” Jordan said, ignoring the fistfight between the twins, “is that they’re going to try and find the nurse. They’ll want a progress report. If they think she hasn’t followed through on their plan, they’re only going to have another member of the medical staff step in.”
Rafe, still dangerously close to me, was the one I waited the most impatiently to hear speak. I needed to know his plan. I needed him to save the day on this one because I couldn’t pull rank in a royal arena.
He didn’t let me down. “It’s possible that I can take a trip to my parent’s estate tonight for some royal matters,” he started. “And I might have to bring Jordan and Violet with me to help. I’ll speak to my mother and see if I can get an official decree in the next hour, and that way the King and Queen of Australasia won’t be able to argue.”
He was turning to leave, so I reached out and grabbed his arm. “I—Uh, is that a good idea? I mean, what if your parents are as horrible as his and they have me killed for using the wrong fork or something?”
Rafe’s lips twitched, and I wondered what he would say to my blunt statement. “Vi,” he murmured, his hand wrapping around my shoulder and pulling me close, “my parents are good people. I promise. I would not take you where you were at any risk.”
His eyes darted over my head. “To make it even safer, I’ll request Nolan and Mattie too. That way it’s not obvious this is anything more than me taking my friends home for a week to hang out before the ball.”
We were alone in the stadium grounds now, but I still didn’t expect him to capture my lips like he did. “I’ll keep you safe,” he promised as he pulled away. Then he all but pushed me into Jordan’s arms. “Don’t let her out of your sight,” he warned before he lifted the bag he must have dropped at some point, threw it over his shoulder, and turned and stalked away.
Mattie let out a low shriek, clapping her hands. “Rafe’s place is un-fucking-believable.” She clapped and bounced. “You’re going to die when you see it. They’re somehow in the mountains but also right beside a huge lake, and it’s heated all year from an underground… something. I don’t know, lava or some shit, and we can swim as much as we want.”
She carried on a ton more about his home, but I was distracted by Jordan, who still had his arms around me and was tracing his hands across my back.
"Are you okay?" he whispered in my ear, his breath warming my skin with tingles. "Want me to smother Claudette with a pillow while she sleeps tonight?"
I grinned at the idea, then looked up at him to see if he was serious. "You'd do that for me?"
All traces of joking faded from his eyes as he pressed a light kiss to my lips. "I'd do fucking anything for you, Violet. Killing that self-important bitch would be a damn privilege." His voice was laced with dark violence, and my pussy clenched with arousal.
Fuck me. I really was going to hell.
"Hey, you two." Mattie snapped her fingers, regaining our attention. "Are you paying attention?"
"No," Jordan answered for us both, and I snickered. My cheeks were warm with pent-up desire, and I could barely focus on anything except the need to get him alone. Soon.
Nolan screwed up his nose at us, teasing. "You two are so sickening. I'm amazed Rafe hasn't lost his freaking mind yet. His alpha-male instinct must freak right the fuck out every time he sees you guys touching."
Jordan laughed him off, but I was inclined to agree. I'd been thinking the same thing just last night in the bathroom, when Jordan had walked out in a silent fit of rage after Rafe marked his damn territory on me.
This whole lust-triangle was destined for disaster, but I just couldn't bring myself to end it. With either of them.
Did that make me selfish? Yes, probably. But we all had our faults.
"Oh shit," Nolan cursed, his eyes widening. "Incoming."
Jordan and I separated with a quick step, creating enough space between us that no one would suspect anything. It killed me to do it, but I shuddered to think what might happen if Alex's dad found out I was fucking other princes and not his son.
"Violet!" Alex barked from the direction of the locker rooms. He was stalking toward us, and his face was a mask of fury. "Why haven't you answered your messages? I told you it was nonnegotiable."
His whole tone and body language dripped with rage and disdain. He wasn't even pretending to be that easygoing, laid-back prince charming I'd fallen for on my first day at Arbon.
"Whoa, Alex," Nolan commented, raising his brows in mock surprise. "Is that any way to speak to your girlfriend?"
"Oh fuck right off, Nolan," Alex sneered. "As if she hasn't told you four every little detail. Did she tell you about how she was in my bed just a few days ago, too?"
"You mean when you blackmailed her into getting her shirt off, then pretended to have been fooling around when your parents called?" Jordan clapped back. "Yeah. She told us. We don't keep secrets."
Alex's face darkened, clearly pissed that his attempt to stir shit had been thwarted. "Well, I hate to break up the party, but Violet and I have places to be.” He grabbed my arm and gave it a sharp tug, making me stumble a few steps away from my friends.
Jordan's hand shot out, snagging my other hand and stopping Alex from forcefully pulling me from the field. Which would be great, except now I felt like a chew toy between two angry dogs.
As subtly as I could, I extracted myself from both of their grips and took a step back. "Stop it. I'm not going anywhere with you, Alex. I’m certainly not going to meet your creepy parents and play happy family after the shit you pulled last night."
A dark shadow passed across Alex's face, and a frown pulled at his brow that hinted at more concern than anger. Still, he had walked away and left that psycho nurse to do whatever she wanted to me while I was restrained and helpless.
Of course, he didn't need to know that Nurse Reller had met a rather unexpected end to the night. As far as he knew, I'd had my IUD forcefully removed and a tracking device inserted.
"If you'd taken the damn ring, maybe it wouldn't have come to that," he snapped, his concern washing away and morphing into irritation. "You brought it on yourself. Now stop acting like a brat. If you think what the nurse did was bad, you really don't want to keep my father waiting."
My skin prickled with anger at the threat, but what the fuck could I do about it? I couldn't exactly solve this problem with my blade. Couldn't challenge King Steve of Australasia to a fight to the death. The whole thing was way over my pay grade.
"She can't go with you," Mattie answered for me while my mind whirled. "Sorry. Queen Jacinta invited us all to visit with her at their residence in St. Moritz. We leave in an hour."
She was fudging the details a bit, but as plausible as it sounded, I wouldn't be contradicting her.
Alex's eyes narrowed. "Since when? There would need to be a royal decree to take so many heirs from the academy at once."
Nolan smirked, smug as shit while folding his arms over his chest. "Check. I bet you'll find it posted on the announcements board."
I stiffened. He was taking a huge risk. What if Rafe hadn't spoken to his parents yet? What if they were still writing the letter or it hadn't been published? The announcements board was accessible from our palm readers, so it'd only take Alex a few seconds to check it...
He didn't turn on his palm reader, though. No doubt he knew we'd pulled a rabbit from a hat and didn't need to verify it in front of us all. Instead, he looked shrewd.
"You leave in an hour?"
Mattie nodded. "There about."
Alex flashed his teeth in an unkind smile. "Fine. I guess you'll just have to meet my parents dressed as you are. Come on, darling." This time when he grabbed my wrist, it was like being caught in a vice, and he wasn't stopping for anything as he started dragging me toward the stadium exit.
"Wait, Alex, stop!" I protested, stumbling to keep up while trying to pry his fingers from my wrist. I could just break them, but explaining that to King Steve sounded a
s fun as a jalapeño enema.
We'd just reached the corridor outside the arena when I breathed a sigh of relief.
Rafe.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he demanded, storming toward us with fury radiating from every pore. "Take your hands off her, Australasia, or I'll have you arrested on domestic violence charges."
Alex paused a moment, clearly uncertain whether that was a legitimate threat or not. Rafe sensed that indecision and pushed harder.
"Did you forget whose kingdom you currently reside within? My authority surpasses yours completely, Alex. Here in Arbon even more so than anywhere else. Take your fucking hand off Violet. Immediately."
Alex shook his head, not wanting to back down to his long time nemesis. "Her presence was requested by my father. Are you really going to risk an international scandal over some orphaned slut? She's not even that good in bed."
Rafe didn't take the bait. He didn't even flinch. Instead, he projected the image from his palm reader into the space between us.
"I think you'll find, Alex, that a royal decree from the Queen of The Switzerlands surpasses your father's desire to leer and intimidate over dinner. What was that you said about an international scandal?" Rafe's eyes gleamed with victory, and Alex practically vibrated with fury as his eyes scanned the official document displayed. "The transport is ready now, so we've decided to leave immediately." He reached out and firmly peeled Alex's fingers from my wrist, then tugged me to his side. "But hey, be sure to pass along our sincerest apologies to your parents, won't you?"
Alex's scowl was so deep I briefly worried his eyes might disappear, but when he spat some curses at Rafe and stomped off like an angry child, I just laughed.
When he was gone, Rafe let out a long breath and looked down at me. "Are you okay?"
Startled at the sincere question, I just nodded, rubbing at my wrist. "Thank you. You saved my ass there. I owe you one."
Rafe gave a lopsided smile, his eyes unreadable. "Jordy's right. You still don't get it." He shook his head, amused. "Come on, we've got better places to be."
Chapter 29
Turned out that not only was Rafe’s home the “most amazing place ever,” to directly quote Mattie, but the rich bastard also had his own private plane.
“It’s your parents’, though, right?” I asked as he ushered us onboard. He hadn’t even let any of us grab clothing or a freaking toothbrush, saying everything would be provided and it was safer to leave immediately.
“Rafe?” I pushed when he didn’t answer my question.
I was currently standing in the middle of the most luxurious airplane I’d ever seen, heard of, or experienced. It surpassed Royal Air One in a way that made that aircraft look like it was a crappy commercial model.
“Just sit, Vi,” he said, pushing me toward the huge, cream-colored captain’s chairs. There were a dozen of these same chairs, and there looked to be some rooms toward the back of the plane as well.
“How long is the flight?” I asked, finally taking my seat.
“About forty-five minutes,” Rafe said. “This is my smaller Jetstream. Well, the modified version that can take off and land on short runways. I only use the big guy for long-distance flights.”
I nodded before shaking my head at the insanity of it. “Yeah, totally get that. Once, long ago, I had both an old beat-up skateboard and a set of blades, and sometimes, I chose which one to use when I needed to get out of the orphanage.” I waved my hand between us. “You and me, basically the same.”
The way he was looking at me, he didn’t seem to see our differences. Not in this moment. But maybe a few days back with his family with me not having a clue how to fit it would bring it home to him. The very thought had me sick with nerves, but I did my best not to think about it.
Our friends buckled in around us, and I wasn’t surprised that Rafe and Jordan took the chairs closest to me. Rafe sat across the aisle, where I could have leaned over and taken his hand if I’d wanted, and Jordan sat right in front of me, even though he basically shifted all the way around to chat with me over the back of the headrest.
“You okay with flying?” he asked, eyes somewhat serious.
I nodded. “Yeah, I mean I have one experience to base that on, but I never freaked during that first flight. I was probably in a little shock, though, thinking I’d just scored the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“Nightmare more like,” Mattie called from the chair behind me. “But I can’t be upset you arrived. I’ve waited a long time for a friend like you, Violet Spencer.”
I cleared my throat to hide my emotions. Mattie was getting really good at mushing my heart up and leaving it all battered in my chest. In a good way. I hadn’t even realized there was a good way to feel like this, but here we were.
Rafe studied me as I struggled to compose myself. I could feel that biting gaze burning into my face. I had grown to both love and hate the way he made me feel, but in this second, I couldn’t imagine living without the buzz he created across my skin.
Jordan too. The caress of his stare was different, but no less welcome.
“Welcome aboard, Your Highnesses. Please fasten your seatbelts; we are due to leave in two minutes.”
I straightened at the announcement, noticing that there was one male steward securing things in the cabin, and obviously pilots in the front of the plane, but for the most part it was just the five of us, setting out on an adventure.
“I could get used to this,” Mattie said. I turned my head to find her leaned back, arms above her head, blanket—where the fuck had that come from?—draped over her. “Might take a short nap before waking up in paradise.”
I laughed. She was a princess, but clearly Rafe lived in a step above her normal luxury. If only she had any clue how many steps it was above my normal.
Like she’d called the steward, he silently appeared, fancy face mask and some sort of spritzing spray in his hands. Mattie took them with a smile before squirting that shit all over herself and settling the mask on her eyes.
“It’s a moisture mist,” Rafe said, lips twitching. I must have looked like a stunned fish with my mouth opening and closing. “Flying is quite dehydrating.”
He lifted his head and made a hand signal to the steward, and in seconds I had my own little spray bottle, plus some cream, a face mask that was lined with the softest material I’d ever felt, and a few other things probably not necessary for a short flight.
“Whatever you need,” Rafe said. “Just ask.”
Jordan snorted from his seat. “You’re playing unfair now, bro. Wait until we’re on my home court.”
Rafe just shot him a smug smile. “Even there, I’ll win.”
I eyed Rafe with suspicion. “This new nice version of you is creeping me out. What are you up to?”
He laughed. The fucker actually laughed, and I didn’t like what it was doing to my insides—twisting and pulling at them, rearranging the place I’d kept Rafe since almost the first moment he’d insulted me.
“I’ve never been accused of being nice before,” he said as his laughter faded. Those blue eyes, though, were lighter than I’d seen for a long time.
“You’re happy to be going home, aren’t you?” I murmured, putting the pieces together.
I expected a brush-off; Rafe wasn’t one for a touchy, “share your feelings” moment. But he surprised me.
“Yeah, I am. I haven’t seen my brother and sister for many months, and my parents are getting on in years. I like to see them as much as I can.” He was staring at his hands, a contemplative look on his face. “Once upon a time, my home was a prison. When that changed, all of us embraced a different view of everything. Now we hold on to what’s important with a ferocity that scares most people.”
He lifted his gaze, and I barely managed not to gasp at the intensity there. “Does it scare you?” he asked softly.
Jordan was silent in front of me, but he was watching this closely, without interrupting his best friend.
>
“You piss me off, Prince Rafe,” I said without hesitation, “but for the most part, I’m not scared of you. Not in the way you might expect, anyway.”
He was about to reply when the plane started to move, the pilot announcing some more shit about winds and distance and turbulence. I missed most of it over the pounding of my heart, so loud it was drowning out all other sound.
What was fucking happening here?
Was Rafe playing some sort of game? Was it just a competition with Jordan that had his attitude changing?
Did I even care what it was? Or should I just ride out this time in my life, enjoying the moments I had?
“Stop thinking so hard,” Jordan said with a laugh. “I promise, whatever is running through that beautiful head of yours, you definitely have it wrong.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What makes you say that?”
His smile grew larger. “On instinct, you almost always expect the worst. You're realistic to the point of pessimism. And I get it, I really do; you were not raised to expect good things to happen to you. But this is not the same, Violet. It’s not.”
Dude already knew me better than he should.
“Time will prove it,” Rafe said suddenly from the side. “Only time will prove it for her, J. Let her have her thoughts.”
This one knew me as well, as if that didn’t pile more freak-out on top of my already healthy load.
I mean, I’d spent most of my life avoiding close relationships; even people I considered great friends like Meredith I’d always kept just on the outside of my deeper feelings. But these two, and Mattie and Nolan, they had all crept in.
They’d crept in without me even noticing, and now…
Now I had everything to lose.
Chapter 30
I didn't use the fancy mask or the fancy face spray and creams, but I did end up agreeing to answer twenty questions with Jordan, much to everyone’s amusement.
“How many countries have you visited?”
I snorted. “Uh, two. New America and the Switzerlands.”