by Kat Mizera
In the meantime, I was planning a wedding, getting ready to be in my mother’s wedding, and renovating a mansion. If I hadn’t been happier than I’d ever been, I would have been exhausted.
I dressed for dinner in the pink dress Sandor loved so much. Erik had called him down to his office to keep him busy for a little while so I could get dressed up without him seeing me and then he would join us for dinner. It would be our inner circle, minus the kids since they weren’t here, but it was the people we were closest to. Erik, Casey, Daniil, Elen, Jesper, Joe, Xander, Axel and Edita. Edita had been Casey’s assistant for several months now and we all loved her. I thought Daniil had a crush on her, but they both denied there was anything between them.
I’d also flown in Sandor’s aunt and uncle from Sweden, Lars and Claudia, so he would definitely be surprised about that.
I paced nervously as we waited for Erik and Sandor to arrive, and Casey grabbed my hand. “Would you relax? It’s just dinner.”
“I know, but it’s my first time planning something special for him and I’m so bummed the house wasn’t ready.”
“He’s going to love this, and when he sees your gift, not to mention his aunt and uncle, he’s going to be overwhelmed.”
“In a good way, I hope.”
“Here they come!” Jesper whispered, hurrying back from where he’d been keeping watch.
Erik and Sandor turned the corner and we all yelled, “Surprise!”
Sandor actually jumped and then gave Erik a dirty look before coming over to kiss me.
“Happy birthday, babe,” I whispered against his mouth.
“Thank you, you little minx. You know I hate surprises.”
“But this is our family.” I turned to motion with my head. “Your family.”
His eyes widened when he saw his aunt and uncle, and there were a lot of hugs, tears and laughter as he greeted them.
Dinner was wonderful and Sandor was almost glowing with happiness. It was a rare sight, seeing him not just relaxed, but emotionally invested in someone other than me or Luke. And I loved knowing it was partly because of me. Our love brought out the best in both of us, everyone noticed, but all I saw was the man I loved so desperately. His demons were subsiding and he was both happy and fulfilled. He had his work but he had the family he’d never wanted to admit he missed.
“This is incredible,” he whispered as dinner plates were taken away. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I reached for a package and handed it to him. “And this is your gift.”
“Baby, you’re my gift.” He kissed me again, something we still did far too often, but not nearly enough in my opinion.
“This is your birthday gift.”
“This whole party, my aunt and uncle… There’s nothing I need.”
“It’s not about something you need.”
Everyone watched as he unwrapped the box. Other than me, only Casey and Erik knew what it was and Sandor looked at me in confusion. “Baby, what is…”
“It was Vardan’s,” I whispered. “Erik found it in a safe here at the palace and when I asked him for ideas for a birthday gift, he brought it up.”
“It’s…” He was at a loss for words, something I’d never seen before.
“Turn it over,” I said softly.
He turned over Vardan’s Rolex, the one Krystal had given him at their engagement party. The original engraving had been, “For my love, with all my heart, Krystal.”
Now, it read, “For my love, with all my heart, Krystal and Lennox.”
“Damn, baby.” He actually swiped at his eyes and then pulled me into his lap, burying his face in my cleavage after he passed the watch to Daniil.
“Do you like it?” I whispered.
“Do I like it? It’s fucking amazing. Just like you.”
“It’s kind of like all four of ours now,” I said. “Vardan and Krystal’s, and yours and mine. So we always keep them close to us.”
“I love you.” He kissed me with as much passion as he did when we were alone, oblivious to anyone in the room.
When we finally pulled apart, his eyes met mine. “You are my heart,” he said softly. “My heart, my soul, my love. I’m so grateful I found you.”
“I love you too,” I whispered back.
Thank you for reading Sandor and Lennox’s story! If you enjoyed it, I hope you’ll consider leaving a review at the retailer of your choice. And turn the page for an excerpt from the next book in the series, XANDER.
Excerpt from “Xander” (Royal Protectors Book 2, unedited)
Chapter One
Xander
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
The beautiful woman in the bathtub looked like she wanted to stab me. I’d figured today’s drill wouldn’t go over well, but I hadn’t been expecting to find her in the tub. Or fuming mad. Or completely unembarrassed by her naked body, which was on display for me amidst the bubbles skimming the top of the water.
“Let’s not do this, okay?” I said amiably. “I have a job to do and—”
“Just get the fuck out and tell Sandor I was in the tub.”
“I can’t.”
“The hell you can’t.”
“Dammit, Princess, are we going to do this dance every god damn time?” I asked, scowling.
“This is the third drill this week!” she yelled, throwing up her hands and giving me an unimpeded view of her breasts. Which were probably the most beautiful I’d ever seen. Too bad she hated me and I was about to piss her off even more.
“Take it up with your brother,” I said, reaching for the big, fluffy towel on the warmer against the wall.
“Get out!” she hissed, glaring at me.
“You know I can’t.” I held out the towel and averted my eyes, offering her a modicum of modesty. But she only had about two more seconds before I did what I had to do.
“Xander, I’m not going anywhere.”
With a resigned sigh, I dropped the towel, reached into the water and scooped her out. I wrapped the towel around her as best I could considering she was cursing a blue streak and swinging at me, and tossed her over my shoulder.
I could have grabbed her bathrobe but she was being a serious pain in my ass and I had a job to do. She knew this. As she’d said, this was the third drill this week and we both knew what was going to happen if she continued to resist doing what she would inevitably do anyway. I was bigger, stronger and extremely well-trained as a bodyguard. She was never going to get away from me, and why she continued this game every time we had a drill was beyond me. This was the first time I’d caught her in the tub, though, which I genuinely felt bad about.
Unfortunately, we were being timed and until Sandor and Joe, who ran security, were pleased with the results, we would continue to do unannounced drills.
“Put me down,” she yelled in my ear.
“Why? So you can run away and continue doing everything in your power to avoid the drill?”
“God dammit, it’s the middle of winter, I’m soaking wet and naked—put me the fuck down and let me get my clothes.”
“That ship has sailed, Princess. Sorry.” I took a side stairwell to the first floor, which was different than the ground floor, and headed to the newest hidden door that led to one of the palace tunnels. We’d been practicing every route, every exit, every possible option for escape the last few weeks, and though everyone was tired of it, no one more so than me.
“I’m going to fucking kill you in your sleep!” she growled when we got to the tunnel.
“I look forward to the challenge,” I grunted.
Finally, as we rounded the corner and joined the others, I set her on her feet.
“You’re late,” Sandor said in a stern voice, though the tick in his cheek belied the fact that he was about to laugh since I’d had to throw Elen over my shoulder on more than one occasion.
His sister, otherwise known as Princess Elen Gustaffson or the biggest pain in my ass, whirled around, gripping the tow
el around her. “What the fuck, Sandor?! Are you kidding me with this shit?”
He sighed. “Elen, you know—”
“I’ve been working eighty-hour weeks trying to put the important elements of the new education bill into action,” she snapped, her chest rising and falling with what appeared to be exertion. “I don’t sleep, I haven’t had a day off in months, and I found out this morning I’ve got walking pneumonia!” She turned to King Erik, her first cousin, and pointed her finger. “You have to choose. If you want me working as the Minister of Education, and doing it twenty-four-seven, enough with the drills.”
Erik turned to her, his voice quiet as he said, “Once the drill is over, we’ll take this up in private, in my office. Until then, you need to calm down.”
“I’m standing here in a fucking towel. You calm down.” She gripped it tighter around her. “And the drill is over for me. I’m going back upstairs.” She turned on her heel, pushed past me and toward the exit.
I looked to Erik but he shook his head, indicating to let her go.
“She has walking pneumonia?” Sandor asked quietly. “And no one knew?”
There was a moment of guilty silence as the members of the royal family and the rest of the security team looked at each other. We were a close-knit group, even though I was nothing but a blue-collar kid from Michigan who’d lucked into the job of a lifetime working with this amazing family.
“Was she actually in the bath?” Sandor asked after a moment.
“I tried to get her to get out on her own and get her robe. She said she wasn’t coming.” I looked at Erik, whom I didn’t have to address formally when we weren’t in public. “You said I wasn’t to take no for an answer.”
He sighed. “Yeah, I know. But I didn’t know she had pneumonia. Fuck. This is on me and Sandor. All right, the time tonight was really good aside from Xander and Elen, but that wasn’t logistical—that was personal. I’ll talk to her about this after she’s had time to cool off. For everyone else, thank you for putting up with the constant interruptions to your schedules and time. We have to be prepared for anything and the only way to do it is to know the plan, escape routes and contingencies like the backs of our hands.”
Everyone ambled back toward the stairs that would take us up to the palace, and I fell into step beside Sandor.
“You can’t keep doing this to me, man,” I told him. “I always look like the slacker and it’s not fair. She was literally in the bathtub and I had to walk in on her naked. Yeah, in an emergency I wouldn’t think twice, but this was the third drill in seven days and she was more pissed than I’ve ever seen her.”
“I know.” Sandor nodded, giving me an understanding smile. “Erik and I will talk to her. This isn’t on you.
*****
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