by Casey, Ember
Her eyes widen, and her lips turn up in a slow grin. “Really.” She shakes her head. “Really?”
Pax nods. “She said she would.” He glances down at me. “You still are, right?”
“I…” I nod. “Yes. Yes, that is the plan.”
Nick groans, shaking his head as he turns away.
Maggie glances over at him. “Your family doesn’t quite agree with this…plan?”
“They’ll get over it.” I look over at my brother. “Won’t you, Nick?”
He glances over his shoulder, rolling his eyes at me without another word.
Maggie’s gaze flicks from my brother and back to me. “Well, we can talk more about it over dinner. As soon as Cat gets here…”
Pax tightens his hold on my waist. “I’m sure she won’t mind if we started without her.”
Pax
“Nonsense,” my mom says. “This is a family dinner, and we’ll eat as a family.” Her eyes fall to my arm around Sophia’s waist. “And anyway, there are still a few things to be done. Prince Nicholas, will you come help me pour the drinks? And I think this occasion calls for the good china—Patrick, will you and Princess Sophia go get some plates and things? They’re in the cabinet in the back room. You know the ones I mean—the ones with the blue and gold trim.”
Ol’ Nicky starts to protest, but my mom already has him by the arm and is leading him back into the kitchen.
“I can’t believe I have two royals in my house!” she says. “Wait until the girls hear about this.”
She pulls him into the kitchen, leaving me alone with Sophia. She looks up at me.
“I think your mother is trying to give us some alone time,” she says.
“Ma knows how to read a room,” I reply with a grin. Then I kiss her.
God, it feels like forever since we’ve kissed. But finally Nicholas is out of the way and we don’t have to act like middle school kids at a dance.
She throws her arms around my neck and kisses me back, pressing her whole body against mine. She makes a soft noise in her throat, somewhere between a moan and a whimper of delight. When we finally pull apart, her eyes are shining.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” I tell her.
“Oh, I definitely have some idea.” She smiles. “Maybe we should go get that china.”
I lead her into the back room, which my mom uses as an office-slash-storage-room. There’s an antique china cabinet against the far wall, but we only make it halfway there before I pull Sophia toward me and kiss her again, even deeper this time. I grip her hair, and my other hand reaches down and grabs her ass, pulling her hips firmly against mine. In my head, I’m already making calculations—how long will it take Nicholas to pour drinks? How long will my mom be able to keep him distracted? Long enough for us to have a quickie up against the wall?
This time it’s Sophia who pulls away. Her face is flushed and her lips are slightly swollen as she throws a glance back at the door. There’s no one there, but she still seems a little nervous.
I try to kiss her again, but she places her hands on my chest, pushing me back.
“As much as I want to keep doing this, I’d rather your mother didn’t catch us in any sort of compromising position,” she says. “She’s already seen enough, and I’m her guest.”
I’m watching her expression carefully.
“I don’t believe it,” I say, pleasantly surprised at my discovery. “You actually care about what she thinks of you.”
“And why shouldn’t I? She’s your mother.”
I find myself grinning. “You must really like me.”
Her blush gets deeper. “Maybe I like you the normal amount, I’d just rather half the world didn’t think I was some sort of whore.”
“Ma doesn’t think that. Believe me, she wouldn’t be this nice to you if she did.” I’m still smiling. “You really like me. Admit it.”
“You’re just teasing me now.”
“You liiiike me,” I sing, running my hand down the side of her throat. “More than you want to admit.” Maybe this shouldn’t come as such a surprise to me—after all, she’s defied her family to stay here with me—but I sort of assumed most of her actions of the last few days had more to do with lust or stubbornness than any sort of actual feelings for me. But if she’s genuinely concerned with what my mom thinks…
“Don’t look at me like that,” she says, turning away from me and striding over to the china cabinet.
I follow her. “Like what?”
“You know like what.”
She’s still blushing furiously, and I laugh as I pull the cabinet open. “You’re cute when you’re embarrassed, you know that?”
“You’re not helping.”
“I’m not trying to help. I sort of like you like this, all flustered.”
“I’m not flustered.”
“You are. And it’s adorable.”
“I—” Her voice cuts off when her eyes land on the doorway behind me.
I turn. Nicholas is standing there, eyes narrowed at us.
“What’s going on in here?” he asks.
“We’re just getting the china like my mom asked,” I say, pointing to the cabinet. “As you can see.”
Nicholas still looks suspicious, but since he didn’t catch us feeling each other up or anything, there’s not much he can say. I find the china and give Sophia a stack of plates to carry back to the dining room. Then I grab some little salad plates and a few other odds and ends and follow her. Nicholas stands in the doorway the whole time, watching my every move. I grin at him as I go past, which only makes him scowl.
My mom is cheerfully putting food on the table in the dining room.
“I think I just heard Cat pull in,” she says. “Patrick, you can put those over here.”
Sophia and I finish helping her set the table, while Nicholas continues to watch and scowl. A few minutes later, I hear the front door open.
“We’re in here,” Ma calls to Cat. A moment later, my sister appears.
“Hey, Ma,” she says, giving my mom a quick side hug. “And Pat, Ma told me you’d be here tonight.” She raises one of her arched eyebrows, giving me a look that only one of my sisters can get away with, and I know exactly what she thinks about me being the star of a sex tape that’s currently making its way around the stratosphere. Even though she’s almost two years younger than me, she adopted the role of oldest child back when she was ten and it was obvious that I had no interest in being the responsible one. Cat is currently doing her residency at the local hospital.
“Hey, Cat,” I say sheepishly.
She gives me a hug, and I can tell she has a dozen questions that she won’t dare to voice out loud just yet. But I can see her taking in Sophia and Nicholas.
“This is Sophia,” I say.
“I know.” She looks Sophia up and down. “Good to meet you, Your Highness.”
“And Nicholas.” I throw a thumb in his direction.
“Pleased to meet you,” Cat says, extending her hand toward him.
Nicholas at least attempts to look polite when accepting it. I look between the pair of them. I’m the last person who could judge whether or not my sister is “hot” or not—I refuse to even consider that when it comes to any of them—but Cat’s definitely never had any trouble getting boyfriends. She might be exactly what grumpy Ol’ Nicky needs.
“Why don’t we sit down before everything gets cold?” my mom says.
I take Sophia’s arm and lead her quickly to the table, making sure we can get seats next to each other before Nicholas can try to sit between us. My mom takes her place at the head of the table, and that leaves Nicholas and Cat seats on the other side of the table. Nicholas doesn’t look pleased, but he doesn’t cause a scene.
“Let’s start with a blessing,” Ma says. She reaches over and takes my hand on one side and Cat’s on the other. My sister and I know how this works. I take Sophia’s hand and Cat takes Nicholas’s. Everyone bows their head
s. I sneak a peek over at Sophia, and I catch her looking at me. She glances away again quickly.
“O Lord,” my mom says, “Please bless the food on this table. And bless all who sit here ready to enjoy the feast you’ve given us. Forgive us our sins, and let this meal remind us to come together with those around us in love. Thank you, Amen.”
“Amen,” Cat and I echo automatically.
I glance over at Sophia, and I see her cheeks have gone all pink again. I squeeze her fingers, and she glances at me before dropping my hand.
“Let’s eat, I’m starving,” Cat says.
She dives into the pot roast, slicing it up for everyone, and I try to watch Sophia out of the corner of my eye without drawing the attention of her brother. Or my mom.
I expected this meal to be weird. And in many ways, it is, but not in the way I thought it would be. As my sister serves us all slices of pot roast, I realize this feels almost normal. And I can’t remember the last time I had a normal family dinner. Since Twisted Throne, my life has been the furthest thing from normal. I’m not even sure I realized I missed normal until now. Who’d have thought introducing two royals to my mom the day after my sex tape was released would make me feel like this?
Of course, when we go on tour next week, everything will be crazy again. But tonight, at least, I’m going to enjoy this unexpected gift.
Sophia
The table is silent for a few minutes as we begin to eat.
My brother is the first to break the silence. “Your roast is delicious, Mrs. Donovan. Perfect.”
Pax’s mother beams at him. “Well, it’s an honor to cook for you. And you really need to call me Maggie.”
Nick gives her a nod as he attacks his food again.
“It really is delicious, Ma.” Pax’s hand grazes the top of my leg as he speaks. “You’ve outdone yourself.”
My cheeks begin to burn as his fingers trail to the inside of my thigh. “Really delicious, Maggie.” My voice is little more than a croak, and I’m sure everyone must know what’s going on under the table.
“I’m glad everyone is enjoying dinner.” Maggie grins widely as she turns her attention to my brother. “So, Nicholas. Do you have a girlfriend?”
My brother nearly chokes on his food, sputtering for a moment before he takes a long drink of water. He shakes his head as he swallows. “I’ve no time for distractions.”
With the attention on the other side of the table, Pax takes the opportunity to slip his hand under my skirt, his fingers dancing dangerously close to my panties.
I take a drink of my own water as I wriggle a little closer to the table, positioning myself a bit better for Pax to take as much advantage as he likes.
Pax smiles at my brother. “I’m sure you could make time for a distraction if one presented itself.” I’m not sure how he can even be speaking—I can barely breathe considering what he’s doing under my skirt.
Cat turns to my brother. “What could you possibly be doing that’s so all consuming?” Her eyes sparkle as she tilts her head, giving him a tiny smile. “Even I have time to distract myself now and then.”
Pax’s mother shakes her head, closing her eyes for a moment as she chuckles. She finally looks over at my brother again. “Cat is a doctor, you know.”
“So I’ve heard,” my brother grumbles. “Unfortunate that you’re so busy.”
Cat grins. “I have the whole weekend off.” She eyes him up and down. “If you’re not busy, we should take a tour of the park. Or something.”
Nick’s face turns a shade of red I can’t even name. He stares at me as he takes another bite of his food. He must swallow too quickly because he sputters after a few chews, taking another long drink of his water.
“There are a lot of interesting things to see around here.” Cat puts a hand on Nick’s forearm. “Lots of interesting things.”
Nick’s eyes are wide as he stares at me, his face almost glowing it’s so red.
Pax laughs, gripping the inside of my thigh. “I can think of a lot of things, too.”
A shiver runs through me—there’s no doubt about what Pax means, at least as far as the two of us are concerned. I just doubt that my brother will leave the two of us alone long enough to ever do anything again.
Cat leans toward Nicholas. “What do you say, Your Highness?”
My brother looks as though his head might explode—his eyes are so wide they might pop right out.
After a long moment, Pax, Cat, and their mother all begin to laugh.
Disappointingly, Pax takes his fingers from my thigh, clapping his hands slowly in front of him. “God, that was great. Exactly what I needed.”
“Sorry.” Cat grins at my brother. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“You should have seen your face, Nicky Ol’ Boy.” Pax shakes his head, chuckling. “I think there was steam coming out of your ears.”
“Oh, you two…” Maggie laughs. “Prince Nicholas is our guest. You should at least try to be nice.”
Pax and Cat grin at each other before they begin to eat again.
Nicholas glares at me, as though I had anything to do with the joke.
I merely shrug, going back to my own plate of food.
After another moment, Maggie speaks again. “The four of you really should find something to do tonight.”
Pax looks over at his sister. “Maybe you really could show him around town.” He glances over at Nick. “Really. Not a joke.”
Cat shrugs. “If you want…”
“I definitely do not want.” Nick grumbles again. “Not after that…”
“Aww, poor Nicky got embarrassed?” Pax grins at him. “It was all just in good fun.”
My brother glares across the table, not saying anything.
“I’m sorry.” Cat smiles at my brother. “I really would be glad to show you around town. If you’re interested.”
I can almost hear my brother growl as he glares at me. “I should stay with my sister.”
“Nonsense.” Maggie grins between the two of them. “I’ll stay with Patrick and Sophia.” She looks over at Pax and me. “It’s all settled, then. You two can stay here and help me clean up.” She glances back at Cat and Nick. “And you two can go out and get to know each other. It’s perfect.”
My brother’s gaze narrows as he looks across the table at me.
Maggie’s grin widens. “You have nothing to worry about, Prince Nicholas.”
My brother arches a brow, his gaze never leaving mine. “I seriously doubt that.”
Pax
Say what you will about us Donovans, but we’ve always got each other’s backs.
I’m not sure how I expected my family to react to the sex tape, but I’m glad they seem supportive of this whole Sophia thing. Or maybe they’re just caught up in the idea of having a couple of royals around. They certainly don’t seem to need any extra encouragement from me.
Cat manages to drag Nick toward the door, and though he protests, my sister is more stubborn than he is. Looks like Nicky’s love of propriety doesn’t let him refuse Cat’s insistent but incredibly polite attempts to get him out the door.
God bless my family.
Sophia and I, as promised, help my mom clear the table. But as soon as we’ve got all the dishes piled in the sink, she shoos us away.
“I’ll do the dishes,” she says.
“You cooked, Ma. Let me help with the dishes.”
“Guests don’t do dishes,” she insists, waving us away. “Why don’t you go show Sophia around the neighborhood?”
She winks at me, which is entirely unnecessary, but my mom is the most stubborn of us all. If she wants us to go off on our own, there’s no point in arguing.
And honestly, after spending most of dinner with my fingers on Sophia’s thigh, I’m definitely eager for a little alone time.
“Come on,” I tell her. “There’s a little trail just down the road.”
Sophia thanks my mom again for dinner and then follows me out the
door. Cat’s car is gone, which means the coast is clear for now.
“Why don’t we go this way?” I say, sliding my arm around Sophia’s waist and turning her down the street, away from the main part of town. Ma’s neighborhood is generally quiet, and tonight is no exception. No crazy parties or late nights around here. I see the telltale blue glow of TVs in a couple of windows, but that’s about it. In the distance, a dog barks.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Sophia says after a few moments of walking in silence. “Really different from Montovia.”
“How so?” I don’t know much about her country, other than the fact that it’s in central Europe somewhere.
“Everything is so cute and scrubby. Even the cacti are cute.” She stops in front of a cactus planted next to someone’s mailbox. In the fading light from the sunset, the blossom on top is a bright scarlet.
“I guess I always thought the desert would be more…barren,” she continues. “And sure, it’s not as green as what I’m used to, but there’s something peaceful about it.”
“Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” I tell her. I glance at the sky. The light is fading fast, but we might still have time if we hurry. “Come with me.”
I release her waist and grab her hand, tugging her along down the street. At the end of the cul-de-sac is a little path—really no more than a strip of dirt that’s been pressed down by the occasional set of feet. I take her down it, weaving through the spindly bushes and prickly cacti.
I try not to think about the last girl I brought up this path, over a decade ago. That’s forced down with the rest of the memories.
After fifty feet or so, the path begins to climb. It gets rockier here, too, but Sophia doesn’t complain as I lead her up.
It takes us about ten minutes to get to the top of the rise, and we make it just in time. The horizon is a deep red, and the sky overhead is purple. A few stars are already peeking through.
“Look over there,” I tell her, pointing. “That’s L.A.” I turn her. “And that direction is Joshua Tree. You can’t see much now, but it’s fucking beautiful, believe me.”
