They drove another hour or so before he made a left on Hollyhock Drive, and as he did, his muscles tensed and he perspired even more. Two streets away…he was two streets away from the small, three-bedroom home in Wandermere he had shared with his parents his entire life. Even when he had become of age, he’d stayed home. In his twenty-four years, the only place he had lived other than with his family was the castle.
And now…now he was chauffeuring the prince around in an impressive motorcar that likely cost more than his father had made in a year.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“Are you too warm? You’re welcome to turn down the heat. Your cheeks are flushed,” Prince Merrick said from the back seat.
“I’m fine, Your Highness,” he forced past terse lips. He was angry that his family was stuck there, in houses too small for families, in run-down neighborhoods, while only an hour away, the royal family thrived in a castle too large and would not button their own shirts.
Yet, Prince Merrick looked uncomfortable anytime someone dressed him. Cassius had noticed it the first time he had seen Geoffrey slip a shirt over the prince’s shoulders. Maybe, though, it had been because Cas was there, and he didn’t yet feel comfortable in Cas’s presence.
“It is lovely, isn’t it?” the prince asked, pulling Cas from his thoughts.
“What is, sir?”
“The park—there. Do you see the children playing? And their parents with them? They look happy.”
Cas’s stomach flipped as a nervous sort of shock worked its way through his veins. They had passed the park now, but Cassius knew it well. He had played with his sisters there too many times to count. It was old, in need of repairs, with only two swings and a few other small pieces of equipment, yet the prince called it lovely? The parks near the castle were in far better shape than this one had ever been in.
“My apologies. I do not know where that came from. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Cassius wrinkled his nose. “You do not have to apologize for that, sir.” His words hit him, and he immediately amended, “You don’t have to apologize for anything, of course, but truly not that.” Something about the nostalgia in the way the prince had spoken made Cas say, “My sisters think it’s lovely there too.”
He didn’t talk about his family to anyone other than Valor. He couldn’t believe the words had come from his own mouth, but when he chanced another quick glance in the mirror and saw the prince smile at him, he found that he didn’t want to take them back.
He had a nice smile—his lips slightly thinner than Cassius’s but colored in a red that almost looked as though he wore a woman’s rouge.
Cassius immediately averted his eyes. The last thing he needed were thoughts of the prince’s lips. He would be shunned for such a thing.
“Are you close to them?” Prince Merrick asked. “Your sisters.”
Cas’s throat was tight when he replied, “My family is everything to me.”
“Mine is too—Marjorie especially.”
They were the same in that. Cassius loved his sisters more than anything in this world.
Risking one more glance in the mirror, Cas saw the prince turn toward the window and look out sadly. He appeared the way Cas felt—as though his body was often too heavy to hold up—and it stirred a foreign emotion in Cassius’s gut that he didn’t understand. How could someone as privileged as the prince be similar to him in these ways? How could he see the beauty in Wandermere that Cassius did? That though it was old, it was comfortable and that love held it together.
“I’m sorry to hear of your father,” Prince Merrick said. Somehow, Cas didn’t need to look back to know the prince spoke facing the window. A pang landed in his chest as memories of home and his family played in his mind.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” His throat was parched, and he could hardly get the words out. He was sorry too.
It was strange watching the prince at the orphanage. Cas had stayed close to him the entire time, listening as he spoke to the children and asked them questions. He seemed truly interested in what they had to say. When he laughed, the sound had more meat to it than the laughs he had heard within the castle walls. Not that he didn’t believe the prince was happy at the castle. How could he not be? But maybe it was a different kind of happiness here, or perhaps he felt as though he could relax better here. Whatever it was, Cassius noticed the difference and wondered if anyone else ever did as well.
He shook his head at himself, ashamed of his own thoughts. What was his problem today? Trying to analyze Prince Merrick?
On the other hand, when it was time for the prince to take photos, the dimples in his smile weren’t as deep. There was a visible tightness to the way he stood that told Cas posing for photographs was the last thing he wanted to do.
Who was he? The prince was an enigma to Cassius, and while he silently scolded himself for caring one way or another, he couldn’t stop his brain from trying to put together the puzzle.
“Can we take a few shots outside, Your Highness?” the photographer asked.
“Yes, you may,” he replied.
Cas held out the coat for the prince and helped him put it on. The prince smelled sweet, of sugar or candy, from the children perhaps, as Cas wrapped his scarf around his neck.
“Those scarves can be so confusing at times,” the prince said softly.
Cas’s initial reaction was to freeze up, assuming the prince was making fun of him, but when their eyes met, he saw a sparkle in the chocolate brown that rivaled the look he gave during dinner when the Tulles had been there. Cassius was almost positive the prince jested at his own expense.
“Good thing you have me, then, Your Highness,” Cas answered, surprised at his own lighthearted reply. “It’s tough work, but someone has to do it.”
“Yes, good thing.” The prince smiled at him, this time with the deeper set of dimples. His hair was loose around his head but somehow perfectly styled. Still, it looked soft, and Cas suddenly wondered what it felt like…what each strand smelled of.
There was a snap of the camera, which made Cas jerk back as his jaw went tight. What was he doing? He had no business thinking of the prince that way. It was one thing to prefer men, to enjoy sticking his prick in them—or to have a prick inside him, he didn’t care much which way—but it was something else to let those thoughts tease his mind in regard to the prince, attractive or not. One should never consider wanting to fuck the prince.
Cassius hadn’t been blind to beautiful men before, but something about the car ride and witnessing the prince more closely this past week made his brain turn to mush. He really needed to sneak away. To go to the discreet inn he sometimes frequented, and enjoy the flesh of another man. Though it was general knowledge that some men favored men, and women other women, it was not seen as natural or proper, especially since it could never yield children. Most thought such yearnings of the flesh should be kept hidden.
Cassius had once known a man who had been caught with another and his family had been shunned. They had lost work and wages until he had quietly relocated to a more remote region of the country.
“After you, Your Highness,” Cas said, putting space between them.
He followed the group outside. The frosty air bit at his skin, and he wondered what it would be like to just once visit somewhere warm. To feel sand beneath his feet, or to see a palm tree, or to sunbathe outdoors in nothing but his undergarments.
Cas stayed close, but not too close, as they took photo after photo. He could see the prince tiring of the monotony of it, multiple times tugging at his scarf and the collar of his jacket.
“I think that will do,” the prince said to the photographer. “I’d like more time with the children before we must be on our way.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the photographer replied, and Cas wondered if it ever got old being referred to as “sir” or “Your Highness.” He wouldn’t fancy it, but he thought he might be alone in that.
“Should we go back inside or…” Cassius’s words trailed off as a snowball flew through the air and smacked Prince Merrick in the side of the face.
“Who threw that?” someone yelled, but he did not pay any attention to that. Instead, he rushed to the prince’s side.
“Are you okay?” Cas asked, both wanting to confirm he was but also feeling it was silly. He had been hit with a snowball, not a rock. But the fact that he was the prince made all the difference.
“No…no, I am not,” he replied, and Cas’s heart stopped as the prince turned…took a few steps away…bent down. What would happen? Would he lose his job because the prince had gotten hurt on his watch? Would he be demoted or be forced to leave the castle altogether?
Suddenly, the prince shoved to his feet and whipped around. Cassius did not have time to register what was happening as the snowball flew at him, hitting him in the chest.
Fucking hell. The prince of Evergreen had just thrown a damn snowball at him.
“Let’s play, shall we?” Prince Merrick said before he made another and threw it toward the children. Giddy laughter broke out as they bent, making their own snowballs.
“No throwing snowballs at the prince!” one of the women who ran the orphanage shouted.
“They have my permission. I would like nothing more than to have a snowball fight. Do you want to play too?” Prince Merrick asked the woman, who looked upon him with eyes as wide as Cassius assumed his were.
“Um…no, no, Your Highness. If you’re sure…”
He looked at Cas then, his cheeks red from the cold. “Cassius?”
Cas’s name on the prince’s tongue made his skin feel warm. “Yes, Your Highness, though I have to tell you, you might regret this. I am very skilled at snowball fights.”
The prince smiled again, and Cas wondered why he didn’t smile more this way at the castle. “I will take my chances,” he replied just as another snowball hit him in the chest. “This means war!” the prince shouted and then charged.
Cas grabbed a handful of snow and followed behind him.
They played softly with the children and each other. It was one thing to indulge the prince in…whatever this was, but it was another to hurl a ball at his head with all Cas’s might. He wasn’t that foolish.
The children laughed and fell, which made Prince Merrick do the same. Cas found himself on his ass more than once too, his cheeks hurting less from the cold and more from stretching wide with each smile. He felt as though he was playing with his sisters, and it both made him miss them more and laugh harder.
When the day was over and he opened the motorcar door for Prince Merrick, he couldn’t help but notice the state of his clothes and hair. “You’re all wet, Your Highness.” Cas didn’t mention how mussed his hair was. He had never seen Prince Merrick come home from time with Geoffrey this way.
“Yes, it is incredible, isn’t it? Today was fun. You’re all wet too.” He reached out as though he was going to wipe snow from Cassius’s jacket, but stopped short, then jerked his hand away. “My apologies.” His already rosy cheeks darkened. He looked young, Cas noticed. Innocent, with soft features and long, dark eyelashes.
Why on earth would the prince apologize to him? “You have nothing to apologize for, sir. You should get in the car and out of the cool air before you catch a cold.”
The prince flinched, though Cas wasn’t sure why. Without another word, Prince Merrick climbed into the back seat. Cas paused and wondered if he should say something, but settled on just closing the door instead.
The day spun circles in his head as he drove Prince Merrick to Pinewood Castle.
He’d had fun when he shouldn’t have.
The prince had intrigued him when he shouldn’t have.
Cas had wanted to hate him, but he did not, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
See? His father’s voice said in his head. Don’t be so quick to judge, Cas. The world is filled with more good people than bad.
Cas didn’t know about that, but he did believe that the prince could be one of the good ones. For some reason, that made him itch to write.
7
Merrick
By the time they drove back to the castle, Merrick’s teeth were practically chattering despite the heat being turned up by his valet. Cassius didn’t look much better as he held open the door so Merrick could exit the back seat.
Merrick noticed how the butler raised an eyebrow in their direction, and he had the urge to burst into laughter over what they’d gotten caught up in at the orphanage. Geoffrey would have put an end to the escapade immediately—would have not merely scolded Merrick, but the children as well—and Merrick might’ve missed out on much-needed fun.
He had always been reprimanded for this or that over the years as he grew into his position and role, not solely by his parents, but also by his valet, who was a generation older than the king and queen.
Maybe the sudden staff change wasn’t so bad after all. Having a valet close in age might prove to be just the thing he needed to stir things up in his overly organized life.
“Your Highness?” Harris remarked, but it was more of a question. More like, Your Highness, what in the hell happened to you?
Merrick cracked a smile as he walked past him and two additional footmen toward the castle’s entrance. “Don’t even ask.”
“You two look like wet rats,” Marjorie exclaimed as Merrick and Cassius stepped inside the grand foyer.
Cassius dipped his head as his cheeks reddened, more than likely regretting the decision to allow the snowball fight to last as long as it had.
“The important thing is, the children had fun. Or at least I hope they did,” Merrick said, brushing off his overcoat. “I certainly did. How about you, Cassius?”
Cassius’s eyes widened, and though Merrick wanted to grin at his mortified expression, he felt bad he’d put his new valet on the spot.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Cassius muttered, the color now spreading to his ears.
“I can see that,” Marjorie chastised with a smirk. “Better head upstairs before Mother has something to say about it. Off you two go.”
Merrick could hear the tittering whispers of the staff as they climbed the stairs, but he did not care. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed himself so freely.
As soon as they entered his room, Cassius strode to the bathroom to retrieve a large towel for Merrick to dry off with. Merrick fished the fluffy material from Cassius’s grasp and ran it through his hair, shivering as the warmth seeped into his scalp.
He handed the towel to Cassius. “You should dry off as well.”
“You-your Highness?” Cassius hesitated and then stammered, “I…uh, thank you.”
Cassius took the towel but only awkwardly ran it over his sleeves, and Merrick could tell he was feeling off-kilter about the offer. He’d have done the same for Geoffrey. Wouldn’t he have? Though he couldn’t remember a time when his valet wasn’t completely composed and prepared for most things. Except the last few weeks when his health had begun deteriorating.
“Let me run you a bath, Your Highness,” Cassius suggested, glancing around the room as if recalling his duties. “I’ll have a footman replenish the fire so it will chase the chill from the room.”
As Cassius helped Merrick peel off his soggy overcoat and then began unbuttoning his shirt, Merrick’s throat suddenly felt dry. Ignoring his handsome valet’s cool fingers grazing his skin, he focused on the damp curls at Cassius’s ear and his swollen lips, possibly from biting them. “What about a bath for you? You must be freezing.”
Cassius’s eyes grew wide as if he didn’t altogether understand Merrick’s meaning.
“Wh-what I mean to say is…” Merrick stuttered, shaking his head. “I’ll be fine here if you need to get warm. I can undress myself.”
Cassius took a step back from Merrick’s bare torso, blinking repeatedly. Merrick’s wet trousers hung open, and his heart thrashed wildly in his chest. Why the hel
l did this man unnerve him so?
“As you wish,” Cassius finally replied, dipping his head. “I’ll change into dry clothes while you bathe. Then I will return to set out your evening wear.”
“Evening wear?” Merrick asked, following behind Cassius as he strode to the bathroom and twisted the hot-water nozzle in the tub.
“Sir?” Cassius asked, glancing back at him. “You have a dinner tonight with, uh…the king of Cairn, who is traveling overseas for business.”
“Christ, I’d almost forgotten,” Merrick replied. The day seemed so full already. “Yes, of course. Thank you.”
Cassius inched toward the door, throwing him a pointed look. “Best to not be late.”
Merrick smirked and shook his head, his reputation obviously preceding him. Geoffrey might’ve also shared stories about his younger, more incorrigible days.
Speaking of Geoffrey, he needed to inquire about his health.
“And, Cassius?” Cassius’s hand paused on the doorknob. “Would you be so kind as to inquire after Geoffrey? That is, if he’s already returned to the castle.”
“Of course.”
When Cassius shut the door behind him, Merrick finally stepped out of his wet trousers and undergarment, breathing a sigh of relief that he was finally alone to think. He had completely gotten swept up in his outing and had forgotten his schedule. His father was away on business and had asked him and Marjorie to help his mother entertain the king. Merrick sighed. Another boring evening of formalities. He longed for a day to himself. He loved to ride out into the forest on his horse, Ursula, and bring his pencils along to sketch the beauty of the forest.
As soon as Merrick stepped into the hot water, his muscles relaxed. He felt good… Dare he say it? Content. He enjoyed his charity work and was getting acclimated to Cassius being in charge of his schedule. Merrick had grown close to Geoffrey over the years, and the man had become like a stern, grandfatherly figure, so maybe Cassius could be more like a friend or companion. Except he was an employee, Merrick reminded himself. Still, it would be nice to have someone his age in his presence on a regular basis.
Ever After (Forbidden Love #1) Page 4