Risking the Crown

by Violet Paige

  I pressed the button on the private elevator and rode to the upstairs apartments. Molly was in the study surrounded by notecards and papers. She had a cup of tea and her glasses were on her head.

  “Good morning.”

  “Oh, Dominic. Hi. Damon just got out of the shower. Do you want some coffee? Tea?”

  “I’ll take coffee,” I answered.

  “How about some breakfast?” She smiled. “We have the best chef.”

  “That’s ok. I had breakfast with Kenley.” What was the point of making up stories? I was going to start the day with the truth. I wondered if Dr. Garcia would be proud of this new version of me.

  “Oh?” She raised her eyebrows. She handed me a cup of coffee.

  “Thank you.”

  The bedroom doors closed and Damon walked into the living room in a fitted black suit.

  “Good morning, love.” He kissed Molly fully on the lips. I noticed how naturally his hand slid to her belly.

  There was a sudden welling of jealousy in my chest. I never had that with my baby. I never saw Sophia’s body grow with our child. I wasn’t there when she was born. I didn’t see her first smile, or know what her first word was.

  I cleared my throat.

  “Good morning, brother.” He slapped me on the back. “You’re up early.”

  “Well, I have something important to talk to you about. It’s going to affect the palace and I needed to discuss it with you before Sutcliffe goes on a tirade.”

  Molly looked between us. “I’m going to get back to my research.” She reached on her toes to kiss Damon’s cheek.

  “Let’s go to my study.” He guided me down the hall and into his personal office.

  I sat in a leather chair across from his desk.

  “You look happy, so I’m confused. Whenever someone says Sutcliffe and palace I assume it’s going to be a shitstorm.”

  “It is. But one that makes me happy.” I smiled. I held up Kenley’s resignation. I placed it on Damon’s desk.

  “What is this?” he asked.

  “Read it.”

  He skimmed it. She had been particular about every word. I knew it was meticulously written.

  “What the hell? Kenley is leaving the palace? And you’re happy? She’s invaluable.” I saw the anger in his eyes.

  “It says she’s leaving her post as royal manager. It doesn’t say she’s leaving the palace.”

  “Nic, what is this?”

  I rubbed my jaw, placing the coffee cup on the desk. “I don’t know how else to say it except that I love her.”

  “You what?”

  “I’m in love with Kenley. Probably have been a lot longer than I was ready to admit. But it was glaringly obvious when I got home.”

  “What the fuck, Nic? You’re insane. She’s a royal manager.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “She was a royal manager. Now, she is mine.”

  He leaned against the chair, staring at the ceiling. “Fuck me. This is not what I was expecting this morning.”

  “Before you figure that one out. I have another one.”

  He groaned. “Great. What the fuck is this one about?”

  “Secret love child.”

  He huffed. “Don’t joke.”

  I unfolded the letter and slid it toward him. “It’s not a joke. Sophia was pregnant when we broke up. She had the baby in the U.S.”

  His forehead creased. “She did what?” He read the contents of the letter.

  “I’ve enlisted Johannes Montclair’s help. He has located Sophia and the baby. They are in South Carolina.”

  “In Molly’s home state?”

  I nodded. “It appears so. Although, just a strange coincidence.”

  “Have you spoken to Sophia? What are her terms?”

  I shook my head. “There are no terms. She doesn’t know I know. It was clear she never wanted me to know. If it hadn’t been for the nurse who wrote this letter, I never would have known I have a child.”

  “There is a Sauvage in the United States.”

  “I want to bring her home. I want to know my daughter.”

  He looked at me. “You have to. She belongs in the palace with her family. I know now more than ever what it means to have a child. She needs her family, Nic.”

  “So you support it?”

  “You have my full support.”

  “Good. Then, I’m going to get her and bring her back, no matter what it takes.”

  He pushed the lodestar out of the way. “And Kenley?” He shook his head. “I should have seen that one. She has loved you for years.”

  “Wait. You knew?”

  He huffed. “Everyone has known. Though I’ve never once questioned her integrity. But why else would a woman put up with your drunken debauchery? She has loved you longer than you deserved.”

  I felt the guilt claw at me. He wasn’t wrong.

  “Kenley knows about the baby. She wanted to stay on as my manager to coordinate everything, but I couldn’t let her be subjected to that kind of judgement. We need to stand beside each other. I need her support. Not her subservience. This resignation will show the palace I see her as an equal, not as my employee.”

  He clasped his hands together. “Wise move. You know, Molly once accused me of labeling her as a royal concubine.”

  “Did she?” I chuckled.

  “And a number of other choice words.”

  “You probably earned them,” I jabbed.

  “I always do.” He grinned.

  “I’ll be pleased to tell Kenley we have your support.”

  “You do. And Molly is going to be excited. I think she was kind of expecting Isabel to be around. And you know that disaster with her roommate and Sebastian Roux. I think she’s been missing her girlfriends.”

  “But Ayla is Molly’s manager?”

  “She is.”

  I shook my head. It was a tangled incestuous mess. Ayla and Kenley were close friends. Things would be awkward between them with our new arrangement.

  I rose from my seat. “I need to get back. We have a lot of plans to make. And even more people to tell. I wanted your blessing first, brother.”

  “Well, you have it. And we’d like to have you both over. Soon.”

  I nodded. “Maybe when we get back.”

  “Are you going to South Carolina that soon?” he asked. He followed me through the doors and to the elevator.

  “Goodbye, Your Majesty.” I waved to Molly in the dining room and turned to my brother. “We are. I’d like to leave by morning. I’ve been waiting two months for this.”

  He pulled me into a hug. “It makes sense now.”

  “What’s that?” I looked in his eyes.

  “Your sobriety. It’s for her. Your daughter.”

  I lowered my head. “They say there is always the moment when a man realizes it’s time to take a stand. The morning I woke up drunk with this letter next to the bed was my moment. I had to do better for her. I knew I could.”

  He slapped me on the back. “And you have. I can’t wait to meet my niece.”

  I grinned. “I’ll do my best, Your Majesty.” I mocked a bow and skirted onto the elevator.

  My brother laughed. “Bastard.”

  “You know you love my curtsy.”

  The doors closed and I had the king’s blessing.

  22

  Kenley

  I wrung my hands one way and then the other. It felt as if Nic had been gone for hours. I looked at the clock. It had been exactly one. One hour of my life. I walked to the balcony and looked at the ocean.

  Maybe if I was the kind of girl who spent time on the beach I wouldn’t be so stressed all the time. Somewhere down at the shore there were tourists enjoying the beautiful day. Taking pictures of the water and the white sand.

  My life would be much simpler if I could be one of those people now.

  I spun around as soon as the door opened.

  I raced to Nic.

  “What happened? What did he say?” I spoke
too quickly.

  Nic’s hands clasped my shoulders. “We have the king’s blessing.”

  My mouth opened, but I couldn’t speak. It was going to be harder than this, I just knew it. We were going to have to fight and argue our way into the king’s favor. He never gave in so easily.

  “Just like that?”

  He smiled. “Just like that.”

  “But why? What conditions did he have?”

  Nic laughed. “There are no conditions. He supports us. And he wants me to bring my daughter home.”

  I blinked. I didn’t believe what I was hearing. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you trust that I’m going to take care of you and protect you, Kenley. I always will.”

  My shoulders relaxed. “I do. Even more than you know.”

  “If we’re going to fly out in the morning, there is a lot of planning we need to do. I still have to meet with Johannes this afternoon and I have to speak to Sutcliffe.”

  “I should do that,” I volunteered. “He is my supervisor. He signed my oath to the crown. He should hear it from me.”

  Nic locked his hands around my waist. “You’re still fulfilling that oath to the crown. Just in a different way.”

  I nodded. “I know. But he won’t see it that way. It’s going to be a betrayal. A slap in the face. He’s never going to forgive my indiscretion.”

  “And which indiscretion will he be upset about the most? The time I tasted your sweet little pussy in my closet? When I fucked you in front of the mirror? Or maybe when you sucked my cock this morning?”

  My mouth dropped. “Nic!”

  He laughed. “Face it. You are the dirtiest rule follower I’ve ever met.” He tugged at the pin holding my hair in a bun. I had gone back to my formal staff look for the morning. He ran his fingers through my hair. “You should always wear your hair down.”

  “I’m not dirty,” I whispered, appalled he would say anything when we weren’t rolling in our lust.

  He nodded, rounding his hands to my ass. He whispered in my ear. “Tell me right now you aren’t dying for me to deflower your sweet rosebud.”

  My knees quivered and I almost lost my balance.

  He laughed. “That’s what I thought. Dirty. Just the way I like it.”

  I pinched my lips together. “Fine.” I tried to wiggle free. “You know what I like now.”

  “And you know what I want.” He tilted my chin. “It’s a turn on, Kenley. You are a turn on.”

  He brought me to his body and I felt his hardness through my skirt. “Ohh.”

  “Yeah. Ohh. I have to make it through the rest of the day with a cock like solid rock because of you and your beautiful dirty mouth.”

  He swept a kiss over my lips. I moaned, wanting more.

  But we had a full day of events, meetings, and an international trip to plan. We couldn’t do this again. Not yet.

  “I need to get this over with,” I announced.

  He grasped my hand. “I’m not letting you walk into Sutcliffe’s office alone.”

  I was surprised. “Really? You’re going with me?”

  He nodded. “We’re doing all of this together. And maybe if we can check everything off our lists, I can bring you back to my bed before the sun goes down.”

  “Yes, please.” I smiled.

  “Then let’s get started. We’ve already pissed off an ambassador. Let’s see if we can burn the place down.”

  I laughed nervously, knowing there was some truth in his joke. Sutcliffe was going to have our heads for this.

  23

  Dominic

  I’d had my ass handed to me many times as a boy. I’d always been the unruly prince. There was the dinner my parents had with Lord and Lady Cavanaugh when I let two lizards I found in the garden loose under their chairs. The lizards were both green and it wasn’t until they captured one that they realized it had a twin that was still hiding under the center pedestal.

  Then there was the time Isabel’s friends were swimming at pool on summer break and I stole all their clothes and threw them over the racquet court fence. The nets were littered with cotton pink and white bras.

  Not to mention, I had scared off every private tutor assigned to me. I put them through the wringer.

  Sutcliffe had witnessed all my pranks. And many times, he had stepped in, instead of my parents. I’d heard the lectures. The speeches about what it meant to conduct myself as the true prince of Galona.

  But now, I didn’t care about his bullshit. I hadn’t for a long time. He was the last person who was going to stand in the way of what Kenley and I had. And there was no way in hell I was going to let him shame her for going after what she loved.

  She clutched my hand. “This is so strange.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “I’m not used to summoning Sutcliffe. I always have to go to him. It’s protocol.”

  I laughed. “Get used to it. This is the day the tables have officially turned.”

  “He’s not going to like any of this. You realize the world is changing around him faster than he can adjust.” She sighed. “He has the family’s best interests at heart, despite what a grump he is. I don’t think he’s appreciated enough. And he’s fighting to keep the old ways in place.”

  I huffed. “He’s not appreciated? What are you talking about? He has the run of this palace. He’s the only one Damon retained from my father’s reign.”

  Kenley had always been direct with me. She was an honest and straightforward manager, but now that we had come clean with our feelings, she had let down another set of barriers. She spoke to me unfiltered.

  “I realize you don’t have time to worry about the things Sutcliffe does. That’s not how the crown works. The royal family can’t function if they have to deal with the everyday minutia. But what he takes on would crush most people. And he does it day in and day out with the most honorable intentions. Yes, he’s stuck in the old ways. And yes, he’s abrasive and stuffy, but he rarely hears a thank you.”

  I stared at her. “And here I thought he just needed to get laid, when really the old man wants gratitude.”

  She swatted my chest. “Nic, I’m serious. He sees his culture dying out. He doesn’t like it.”

  “Who would?” I shrugged.

  She sighed, exasperated I wasn’t budging.

  “Maybe I should speak to him myself,” she offered.

  The protectiveness curled around my ribs. I wasn’t about to let her be in his line of fire, even if she thought Sutcliffe was a misunderstood old goat.

  “No.” I pressed my lips together. “I will handle the news.”

  “Fine.” She threw her hands in the air.

  We didn’t have more time to argue. My butler announced Sutcliffe’s arrival. I looked up. He tugged on the lapel of his burgundy suit. It signified he held the highest rank of anyone in the royal family’s employ.

  After Kenley’s speech, I recognized the jacket might have more meaning than I had ever considered. There was a new aura of pride I hadn’t picked up on before.

  “Thank you for joining us, Sutcliffe.” I invited him into the sitting room.

  “Your Majesty.” He bowed slightly. His eyes immediately darted to Kenley. “Miss DuBois, you are out of uniform in front of his majesty,” he rebuked.

  She pulled her shoulders back. “I am.”

  “Royal managers should never—”

  I held a hand in the air. “Before you launch into a tirade about protocol, you should know Miss DuBois has handed in her resignation this morning.” I gave him the letter. “The king has read it and accepts her resignation.”

  His cheeks reddened. “But why?”

  I clasped Kenley’s hand in mine, threading my fingers through hers. “Because we’re a team. But not the way we used to be.”

  His eyes bulged. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Dead serious, old man.”

  Kenley broke from my hold. “What Prince Dominic is trying to say.” Her eyes cu
t to mine. “Is that after careful consideration it would be best for the crown if I resigned so that I didn’t bring shame to the royal managers’ program.”

  “You made a commitment.” He clenched his teeth. “You took a vow, Miss DuBois, swearing to serve the crown.”

  “And she did serve the crown with grace and dignity. But I can’t ask the woman I love to serve me as an employee. Surely, you wouldn’t want me to pay her to be in my bed, Sutcliffe?”

  His eyes narrowed. “I can’t accept that you would do something like this. Such dishonor. Such blatant disrespect for the boundaries you swore to observe.”

  “It wasn’t intentional. I never set out to embarrass you or our position.”

  “No one is embarrassed,” I interrupted. “I need a list of replacements before the end of the day,” I reported. “Kenley will hire her replacement. Everything goes through her until I have a new royal manager.” I rubbed my jaw. “And while you’re at it, she is going to need her own manager. Send candidates in pairs.”

  I had finally said something that made the old man speechless.

  Kenley spun in my direction. “We haven’t discussed anything like that.”

  I shrugged. “The queen had a manager before she was queen. Ayla serves her well. I don’t see why you shouldn’t have the same treatment. Sutcliffe, make sure Kenley has everything Her Majesty does.”

  He bowed stiffly and backed out of the room. His face had grown redder, enough to come close to the hue of his jacket.

  “You completely insulted him just now.”

  “I did not. I asked him to do his job.”

  “He’s not used to the queen and you just told him to double the awkwardness. He’s never going to see me as fitting of a title, and especially not worthy of my own manager.”

  “That’s his problem. Not ours.”

  Kenley pressed, “You’re going to lose him, Nic.”

  “We leave for the States tomorrow. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, but I’ll patch things up.”

  Then we both realized what part of the conversation we had left out.

  Kenley looked at me. “We didn’t tell him about the baby.”

  I shook my head. “He doesn’t need to know.”