“I want you to know, I’m already proud of you,” I said, sniffling.
Milos reached his hands up and pulled my face toward him, kissing me long and hard. He tilted his head and continued to lap at my mouth. Our passion and love began to erupt. I scooted closer to him, needing to feel his body against mine and his heart beating in his chest.
He ran his hands down my arms and lifted himself up onto his knees. He pushed my long hair back over my shoulders and untied the bow holding up my dress. My clothes fell from my body, and he ran his hands over my shoulders, touching my skin softly and seductively. His eyes searched over me, but not in lust. Instead, it was a look of love and gratefulness, something I had not seen from him before. I wrapped my arms around his neck and fell backward, pulling him on top of me.
I sighed a deep breath as he pressed his lips to mine, savoring our connection with no rush forward and no steps backward. I slowly pulled his shirt over his head and touched his warm skin, gently kissing his shoulder and arms. It was an incredibly intimate moment. Our naked bodies wrapped tightly around each other, and we took the time to feel every touch of our skin. I leaned my head back as he trailed his lips over my neck and down my chest. The storm in the background felt like our past, long lost at sea, while the setting sun felt like our future, holding secrets of the night, and glimmering in the vibrant colors of the sky.
The sounds of the waves took over, covering up our heated breath and the movements of body. The song of the insects in the forest created a backdrop of passion as our bodies moved and twisted, taking each other in and looking for more. As the sun set over the island, we let go of everything and made love on the white sandy beaches.
Later that night, we curled up in the bed and turned on an old black and white movie as the storm made landfall. The sound of rain falling on the roof top put Milos to sleep almost instantly. I got up from the bed, turned off the television, and rummaged through the fridge, trying to find something to satisfy my hunger. I settled on a bag of chips from the cupboard and sat watching the rain fall over the beach. As the lightning flashed in the background, an odd feeling moved through my chest, the feeling that something was just not right. I took a deep breath and put the food away, figuring I was just tired. I crawled back into the bed and under the covers where I found the comfort of Milos’s arms. I fell asleep, but didn’t stay that way for very long.
The loud clap of thunder over the house jolted me awake, and I laid with my head on the pillow, looking out at the rolling ocean. With each flash of lightning, I could see the white capped waves rolling angrily and crashing against the shore. I shuttered as thunder clapped again, this time shaking the bed slightly. I didn’t know if it was the food, the storm, or the hormones, but immediately, I felt a complete sense of dread. I couldn’t shake it, no matter how close I scooted into Milos’s arms. It felt like out in the darkness, something was lurking in the shadows, something that was coming to haunt us. I had never felt this way before in my life, and the suffocating feeling in my chest was almost unbearable. I closed my eyes and began to hum softly to myself, trying to calm my nerves.
I could feel my muscles begin to unwind, but just as they did, thunder and lightning would crash around us, sending my heart rate skyrocketing. I pulled the blanket up to my chin and closed my eyes tighter, humming a little louder this time. I could hear the pause in thunder and slowly opened my eyes. However, just as I expected to hear another clap, I sat up in bed, listening to someone pound on the front door. Who could that be? It was the middle of the night, and we were on a completely private island. I turned to Milos and shook him hard.
“Milos,” I whispered. “Someone is pounding on the door.”
He sat up on the bed and waited for a moment to see if we heard it again. Just as I began to relax my shoulders, the pounding came again. Milos slid from under the covers, and I grabbed his arm, shaking my head.
“Don’t answer it,” I said. “I have a terrible feeling.”
“Don’t be silly, love,” he said, kissing my forehead. “What if it is an emergency at the castle?”
I watched as he pulled on his robe and made his way out of the room and around the corner. I sat listening intently, knowing that whoever was on the other side was not coming with cheerful news. Whoever was on the other side was about to change everything in our world in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 24: Milos
I walked through the cottage, leaving my bride alone in our bed, and all I could think was whoever was behind that door better have a damn good reason for not only interrupting my honeymoon, but for arriving in the middle of the night. I flipped the lights on through the house and peeked through the window in the door. It was Brat. What the hell was Brat doing here at this time?
“Brat,” I said, opening the door and stepping to the side. “What in the world?”
Brat hurried through the doorway, shaking the rain from his shoulders and wiping his face on the towel I handed him. He had traveled in this weather and was standing outside my door in the pouring rain. I gave him a minute to gather himself before launching into a barrage of questions. If I knew my best friend well enough, he would never have come here if it wasn’t a really good reason.
I looked over my shoulder as Adriana appeared, looking worried and leaning against the door frame. I smiled at her, trying to give her comfort, but from the look of her arms crossed across her chest and her furrowed brow, she wasn’t going to calm until Brat told us why he was here.
“I’m so sorry for interrupting your honeymoon. Truly, Adriana, please accept my apologies.” He turned from me to her. “But I believe there is a situation that needs your urgent attention, and it couldn’t wait.”
I laughed at Brat’s disheveled look. “Yes, of course, but you couldn’t have picked up the phone?”
“I tried to call, but you must be out of service range here, and you were hell bent against landlines,” Brat replied, shaking his head. “So, I jumped in the jet and came out here.”
“Well, what’s this news?”
“Reg Evers has been sniffing around the castle,” Brat revealed. “He was supposedly trying to get an appointment with the King and his new Queen. By the time I heard of it, he was apparently getting pretty impatient.”
“What? What the hell does he want?” Adriana’s voice was shrill and angry.
“Well, that was just what I wanted to know, so I approached him and took him to lunch to find out,” Brat said shaking his head. “He wouldn’t specify the terms, but he said that he is going to be expanding the business, and he believed Milos would be interested in helping him.”
“Syn sukinsynu,” I cursed in Polish. “How dare he attempt to blackmail me? Does he not realize who I am?”
From there, I couldn’t help but let go, and I stood cursing in my native tongue, knowing Adriana would not be able to understand. When I had gotten it out of my system, I took a deep breath and looked back at her. She was standing there, clutching the doorframe with a face full of fear. Immediately, I felt terrible for not comforting her first. I raced across the room and hugged her tightly, kissed her on the head, and looked up at Brat standing in the foyer.
”I’m sorry, my love,” I whispered. ”Don’t worry about a thing. I will take care of all of this. I will not allow this gutter trash to reveal anything about our past. Our life together is too important for that.”
I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do about this, but I knew that whatever it was, Reg Evers would be lucky to leave with his head intact. I had just gotten my relationship with Adriana back on track, we were expecting a child, and the people of Silesia were more than ecstatic to have her taking the reins from Mother in the future. Everything was absolutely perfect, for the first time in my life. Then, this happenened. Maybe I couldn’t expect my past to stay hidden forever. Karma had a tricky way of sneaking up on you when you least expected it.
”My dear,” I said to Adriana. ”Would you mind getting Brat some dry clothes and starti
ng a pot of hot tea for us?”
I smiled kindly at Adriana and watched her disappear into the other room. I didn’t want any tea, but I needed Adriana to feel as if nothing had changed. I needed her not to worry about this, especially being pregnant. She needed to stay calm and comfortable at all times. I took in a deep breath and stepped out onto the covered porch. The rain hit the thatched roof and ran over, cascading over the edges like a waterfall. I could feel the anger simmering in my stomach, and I didn’t know what to do with it. I had never been blackmailed before, simply because of the fact that I never gave a damn about revealing what I was doing. That was, until it became a situation that affected my wife and unborn child. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth as I paced across the patio floor.
”Damn it,” I growled as I kicked the trash can sitting out back.
”Maybe we should gather our things and go back to the castle,” Adriana said from behind me. She had seen my outburst. ”We will be better prepared to take care of this whole situation if you can sit down with Reg and talk this out. He is a simple fool. I’m sure it can easily be taken care of.”
”Blackmail is never that easy,” I said, shaking my head. ”Besides, this is our honeymoon. I completely screwed up our marriage the first time, and now that it is perfect, I don’t want to ruin it again by ending our trip and running back because of some asshole who thinks he can pull one over on us. You and that baby are the most important things to me.”
“I know, my love,” she replied, stepping out the door and walking over to me. “And by taking care of this before it explodes, that is protecting your family. I let Reg Evers control my life for a long time, and I cannot allow it to happen anymore. We will have plenty of time to vacation, but this calls for our immediate attention. It isn’t your fault, any more than it is mine. But it is something that needs our attention, and not three days from now, when we go back, but right now.”
“You truly will be a wise queen,” I replied, stifling my anger and kissing her on the forehead. “I will be inside in a moment. I just need to clear my head.”
“I love you,” she replied. She kissed me on the cheek and walked back in the house.
“She really will be an amazing queen,” Brat said, walking out onto the patio. “But first, we have got to take care of this little problem. And Milos, understand that we consider this to be a threat against the Kingdom, and therefore, are ready to handle it in such a way.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I replied. “Though it definitely has crossed my mind. I could toss his sleazy ass in the deepest, darkest prison cell in the kingdom, and never have to worry about him again. But I don’t want that dark cloud hanging over Adriana and me. I’d rather settle this issue once and for all.”
“Well, know you aren’t alone in this,” Brat said, tapping the door with his hand and walking back inside.
I stood on the porch, watching the rain for several minutes. This place had seemed so perfect, and now, it was tainted with royal business and our past creeping up on us. I took a deep breath before going back inside, not wanting Adriana to see me all bent out of shape. However, as I packed our bags and readied to get on the jet, I couldn’t help but be angry and bitter. I was supposed to be on my honeymoon, not dragging my pregnant bride back to the palace so she can worry about her old boss and her past. This was absolutely insane. I was so angry, I didn’t even realize I was slamming things down into the suitcase. Adriana walked over and patted my hand.
“Why don’t you go sit and speak with Brat,” she said. “I’ll take care of packing the bags. We are almost done.”
“Thank you, my love,” I replied, leaning over and kissing the top of her head. “Don’t lift them though. We will come get them for you.”
“Of course,” she smiled.
However, as I walked from the room and turned back toward her, I watched her smile quickly fade into a frown. Instantly, I was angry again, dislodged from the fantasy of our honeymoon and thrown back into a harsh and unhappy reality.
I grabbed my backpack and started packing it with my personal items, such as my laptop and tablet. I threw them in the bag and zipped it up, sitting down and waiting for Brat to return. He had gone to get the jet ready and bring an escort for Adriana, since it was pouring rain and the airstrip was on the other side of the island.
I heard a small beep, so I walked out the front door and stared at Brat, sitting in a covered golf cart from the maintenance shed. He opened his arms up, smiling at what he had found. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, turning to walk back in to get Adriana. Brat hustled to catch up with me and handed me the key.
“That’s very royal,” I scoffed. “We are taking the pregnant Princess of Silesia to her private jet in a golf cart in the pouring rain.”
“Hey, I did the best I could,” Brat said, chuckling. “I’m not the one who didn’t think about rain precautions when I bought a cute little island for my wife. How did you get over here when you got here?”
“The golf cart,” I said laughing. “But it wasn’t raining.”
“You, sir, are a tool,” Brat replied, walking into the house and grabbing suitcases.
I grabbed two of the bags and followed Brat back out to the cart. We piled them up in the back and looked up as the rain began to slow up. Brat shook his soaking wet head and laughed to himself. As he began to walk away, I reached out and grabbed his arm.
“This is my whole life,” I said. “I need this to go right. This Kingdom and Adriana do not need any more hardship. They have all been through enough.”
“And because you feel that way,” Brat replied, slapping me on the shoulder. “I will do anything you need to take care of this.”
“Anything?” I said, looking him dead in the eye.
Brat nodded his head before turning to the door where Adriana had emerged, carrying her laptop in a bag over her shoulder and waddling along with her pillow and blanket for the plane. I smiled at her as she looked up at me, radiant as ever. She had changed into a pretty, long blue beach dress with flip flops, and her little round belly popped out in the middle. She looked worried, and that didn’t make me any less angry. Immediately, I began thinking of all the ways I could kill Reg Evers in a slow and painful way. How dare he put my family through this, especially considering I was the King of Silesia. There was nothing funny or cute about what he was doing, and at that moment, I swore to take him down in every way that I could.
Thunder clapped loudly in the background, mimicking my angry mood. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for this woman and that child, and it was my responsibility to make sure the Kingdom stayed happy and prosperous. If this information leaked, it could cause major issues with the way the Kingdom looked at the future Queen of Silesia, and that just could not happen. Reg Evers had it coming, and I couldn’t wait to get back and let him know exactly how I felt.
Chapter 25: Adriana
I stared out the window of the plane as more and more distance was put between me and paradise. As the skies cleared, and we sailed steadily through the night, dread began to pound down on my heart. Reg showing up is just completely out of the blue, and it did more than knock my legs out from under me.
I didn’t know whether to be angry, scared, or just livid, like Milos, and the confusion was tearing me up on the inside. At that point, I should have thought about him, or at least been on the lookout for him to come sniffing around. Me leaving like that probably didn’t leave a very good taste in his mouth, and the news that I had become Queen probably, instantly, flashed dollars signs in his head. Then again, until just recently, I figured the marriage was fake anyway, so why worry about someone like Reg?
Honestly, part of me considered going back and working for him when the contract was over. I never imagined I would actually fall in love with Milos. But now, as I sat there, headed back to the castle, surrounded by anger, my past churned around me. It didn’t just have the ability to hurt me, but my husband, my child, and the Kingdom I was supposed to tak
e over as Queen. I shook my head and looked over at Milos, who was staring silently out the window. I knew he wasn’t angry with me. He was just as much a part of this as anyone, but I couldn’t help but feel terrible about it. I had given him hell about his past and mending it for the future, and now, my past was the thing threatening the sanctity of the Kingdom.
For the rest of the flight, silence was the name of the game. Every once in a while, Brat would look over at me and smile, but Milos stayed quiet, his teeth clenched tightly, and his eyes fixed out the window. I could tell his anger had not subsided, even in the least. When we landed, I was actually relieved to be home, and I smiled kindly at the servants who greeted us.
It was the middle of the night, so we knew the Queen wouldn’t be awake, and Milos had already decided he was just going to tell her that I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to return home to get some rest. With every cover-up, we created another lie and another path to hide. It was a never-ending cycle, and I hated it with everything in my being. I did not want to continue lying to the Queen, but we couldn’t tell her what was going on. She would be furious.
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