“Stop with the ‘Your Highness’ stuff, Max. Just call me Arthur, or I swear to God, I’ll leave you here in the middle of nowhere,” he said, driving his four-by-four like a maniac.
I smiled to myself, feeling the familiar butterflies in my stomach. This was completely absurd; I had never developed a sweet spot for a client. Men, especially human men, were foreign to me. Arthur was different; he made me laugh and calmed my demonic soul; he made me forget that I was only a pathetic mongrel.
“Okay, Arthur, just turn around. We’re breaking protocol and if something happens, I’ll be in trouble,” I pressed, gently letting him know that I was in charge. This new life forced me to see things from another perspective. Maxine Brodeur was now part of the Royal Court. That other darker life was pushed aside. Now other people came first.
Arthur turned to look at me, his blue eyes drifting over my face, down my body, suddenly making my heart beat wildly in my chest. The cook and other staff in the palace kept saying that one of his second cousins, Natalie, was going to be his wife. The Queen Mother wanted to keep the bloodlines pure by keeping it in the family.
He laughed, stopped the car abruptly a moment, and placed his hand on my thigh.
“Come on, let’s go for a run, hottie. See if you can keep up with my amazing stamina,” he whispered, leaning closer. His earthy cologne paralysed me for a moment. Arthur got out of the car and vanished behind the trees while I sat there in the same spot, thinking about the way he touched me.
This was a very bad idea, and I couldn’t predict if he was playing with my conscience or really going out for a run. His touch melted my insides, and I shouldn't feel this way about him. This was so wrong.
I started running, using my demonic abilities to track him down, worried that we might bump into someone who would recognise him. He was pumped with excitement, ready to have a real race with me. The flirting and small gifts and trips away; it was just a game, nothing else. Arthur wasn’t planning to seduce me. We were getting on and had similar interests, but that didn’t mean anything. Any scandal was unnecessary, and I was enjoying myself too much to get fired after I started to adjust to my new life. On top of that, the faction kept an eye on royals, and I didn’t need to get in trouble with them, too.
“Arthur, this isn’t funny. I’ll kick your arse if I catch you,” I shouted, feeling him nearby, sensing his wild excitement.
He laughed, then sped past me several meters away. He was thinking about his trip abroad in a couple of months’ time; he knew he had to pick up his training, that he wasn’t quite ready yet. I shouldn’t have been in his head, knowing that he was hard thinking about my sexy arse and toned body.
God, I really had to start blocking his emotions away. I needed to stop to regroup my energy, to tell myself that I had read him wrong. He couldn’t have been thinking about me in any sexual manner. I was no one, just his security guard.
“Gotchya!”
A split second later, the strong body knocked me down and we both fell on the ground. I was lying flat with the future king of the United Kingdom on top of me and, oh boy, my whole soul lightened instantly.
Indeed, he was hard, and I was aware of every single part of his body pressed over mine. His eyes met mine, and I was lost quickly with the lust that pushed me to the edge, igniting a fire deep in the pit of my stomach.
“How are you, Flower? You should be glad that I’m not making you run further. I know that you’re quite fit as it is,” he said, with that husky, seductive voice. Heat blossomed across my cheeks, stirring around me, making tiny beads of sweat break out across my skin.
“I’m fine,” I breathed out, trying to keep still.
“Ask me anything, Maxine. This is your chance,” he added, touching my cheek.
“I don’t need to know anything. I’m here to make sure that you’re safe.”
He laughed.
“That’s why I like you, because you’re always honest, don't play any games. The other guys were always so bloody fake,” he muttered.
I waited then, not able to take my eyes off his fully kissable lips. I shook my head, dispelling those hopeless thoughts and desires. The tiny voice inside urged me to stay away, tell him no. This was going to get me into so much trouble.
“Deep down, I just want to be a normal guy who can walk around the park without getting harassed by paps. A guy who wants to live his own life without other people telling him what to do,” he said, leaning over and whispering his confession in my ear. “I want to have a family, kids. A wife who won’t have to worry about getting stalked every step of the way, happy children who won’t have a mad life because of who they are.”
I liked listening to his smooth voice, his dreams. For the first time, someone other than a demon had noticed me. It was never simple to build relationships with other humans, especially men. When I was with Arthur these barriers didn’t exist. He treated me as an equal.
“That’s not unreasonable. Everyone wants to feel normal,” I whispered back, not able to get my heart under control.
“And if I could have that life and choose my own wife, then I’d choose you,” he said lowering his eyes, his lashes fanning his cheeks.
His lips brushed the corner of mine. The kiss was tentative at first, but it grew hotter. I wanted to break it before this whole thing went too far, but I was lost, indulged with something beyond amazing.
Arthur’s kisses were spontaneous, warm and gentle. We were lying on the ground, tangled in each other’s arms and legs. My body stopped listening to my stupid head. Arthur cradled my face then, intensifying the pressure of his lips, and my energy sparkled to life. Within a few moments, I’d forgotten about my responsibilities and continued making out with him.
The kiss ended, and when I opened my eyes, my chest kept rising and falling rapidly. Arthur’s eyes were gleaming with heat, and he wasn’t thinking about his family anymore. I could read in his thoughts, that he wanted to rip my clothes off and have sex with me. He kept telling himself that it wasn’t just a playful game, that he really wanted me.
“Let’s run away together, Flower,” he suggested, keeping my chin in place so I couldn’t stop looking at him.
“Maxine, hey, are you even listening to me?” Ricky’s stern voice brought me back to the real world. Suddenly I was aware that I wasn’t in the forest anymore, but back in my gloomy reality. What was the point of remembering that I was happy before? The future could be bright if I could just stop dwelling on what I had lost.
I rubbed my face, staring as the children ran around in a circle. The garden needed some landscaping, but the kids didn’t seem to care. They were so excited and happy. Suzi was in the middle of the circle, bouncing and screaming.
“I’ll be fine, Ricky,” I said, clearing my throat. “You worry about me too much.”
The mums were chatting amongst themselves, watching their kids playing. Ricky didn’t need to know that my stomach was in knots, that my T-shirt was stuck to my back underneath my leather jacket. My stupid head couldn’t let go of its heavy emotional burden. I was glad when Emma called everyone for a cake. I could handle being around such a happy human for some time, but I wanted to go to the bar later, ease the pain with some tequila.
“Great, cake time, that means I can go home soon,” I said, walking over to the house with Ricky. He grabbed my elbow suddenly, stopping me from running away. His own energy was at ease, connecting with mine, trying to push all my fear away. He either got laid last night, or he was excited about something else.
“Max, just don’t do anything stupid. Detective Zachary is a troubled man; you don’t need that kind of burden on your shoulders right now,” he warned me, like he knew exactly what happened between me and the detective a couple nights ago. “You have to stay focused on this case and move forward.”
Ricky must have sensed that I was slipping down, losing focus again. He was like family to me and he wanted to protect me. I needed to remember that Zachary was being influenced by another
demon who wanted me to lose my focus in George’s case.
“I’ll be at work tomorrow, so don’t stress. I have it all under control,” I assured him, walking back to the kitchen. Emma gave me a piece of birthday cake, telling me about her daughter’s upcoming school trip. I stayed for another half hour, making a real effort to look like I was enjoying myself, then left.
Other mums watched when Suzi hugged me, thanking me for her presents. I patted her gently on the back, pushing my discomfort away.
I didn’t know how, but I managed to lose several hours of that day, although I recalled enjoying my time with little Suzi. Later on, I remembered walking through the streets of London for some time after the party, until I stopped at small bistro for food. There were days when I didn’t eat much at all, especially after a heavy drinking session. That evening I was moving through a fog, unable to shake off the gloomy darkness that kept drifting over me.
Around eight o’clock I ended up in the bar, sitting at my usual seat having a chat with good old Paul. It was a busy night and I needed to drown in tequila to shut down the loud voices in my head.
“Ricky told me that you mustn’t play tonight,” Paul stated, reluctantly giving me a whole bottle of the precious liquid. Ricky knew that I wasn’t in the best of moods, but we had an agreement. I didn’t interfere with the way he ran our business and he didn’t interfere in my addiction.
“Ricky knows shit. I’m going to win. I have that feeling in my gut,” I said, grabbing the bottle and heading to the room at the back. Two Watchers, a warlock, and some demons were just getting ready to shuffle the cards. This was my doom; I only had a couple hundred on me, but my head needed to be straightened out.
“Right, boys, I’m in. Let’s get this party started,” I called out, taking a seat next to Devlin, who thought it was his lucky day, that he could outplay me again. Soon the poker rounds began rolling in and I drank. The pain was vanishing, the thoughts weren’t bothering me anymore. I started winning small sums at first, then gambled more, pushing my luck. It was all perfect until I saw Arthur standing on the other side of the bar watching me. Then everything went to shit.
Chapter 18
“Here pity only lives when it is dead - Virgil”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
I didn’t want to believe that Arthur was in The Broken Shoe. I had drunk the whole bottle of tequila throughout the poker game with Devlin, and now I was finishing the second one. I suspected that my brain was playing tricks on me, that Arthur was just a mirage, someone my twisted mind had created for me. However, when I walked up to him, touching his hard chest, his arms, and that handsome face, I was certain that this wasn’t any kind of demonic trick. He was truly standing in front of me, looking completely relaxed.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, swaying from one side to the other.
“Waiting for you, beautiful. I’ve been watching you for a while. It’s impressive. How long have you been playing poker?”
I burped loudly and nearly lost my balance, but he caught me quickly. I had gone overboard with magical tequila tonight, but the yellow liquid quieted my demonic soul, the burdening thoughts. Paul was swamped at the bar; it looked like a group of mongrels didn’t know what to do with themselves, and they were looking for trouble. Arthur had no idea what kind of scandal he was just about to start if any of these people recognised him.
“You know exactly how long I’ve been playing poker. Now, let’s get out of here before anyone sees you,” I said, and popped a shot of vodka down my throat just so I could stand straight. It burned, but human alcohol gave me the courage to actually talk to him.
“What? Are you afraid to be seen with me?” he whispered.
“I might be, but we both know that you shouldn’t be here, that this isn’t the place for you,” I said, and started dragging him toward the back exit. Once we stepped outside, I had to stand for a minute as the dark gloomy streets of Brixton were spinning in front of my eyes. My body trembled with cold. Arthur was staring back at me. He seemed amused and curious. I had lost more money than I thought was possible tonight and drunk twice as much as I usually did. I had no idea how I was still standing.
There was no way that Arthur came all the way to this part of the city to find me. Where were his guards? His Natalie?
“Let’s go to your place; it’s freezing out here,” he was saying.
“You have never been in my place,” I pointed out.
“There’s always a first time.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist. When he was holding me so close, I felt like the past didn’t matter, that I was still protecting him. Arthur whispered sweet compliments in my ear as we walked home. Tequila had muddled my mind; magic made me see wonderful things, sealing off my demonic soul. Reality and illusion blended together, and we reached my street half an hour later, singing and laughing. I was in a great mood, telling him all about the time when I realised that I had a crush on him.
I was ashamed standing in front of my building, knowing he would see that my tiny hole wasn’t up to his usual standard.
“I want to have you in my arms; it doesn’t matter where,” he whispered, helping me out with unlocking the doors. I closed my eyes, enjoying the blissful moment when he trailed kisses down my neck. The heat between us boiled the blood in my veins, or maybe it was tequila working its magic, leading me down a path of destruction. Either way, I was swept off my feet by Prince Charming and carried upstairs.
His strong arms embraced me as raw and unmasked desire zoomed through the room, enchanting our lost souls. Nothing was making sense anymore, but I needed more, wanted him to take away the sorrows. His body vibrated with need, and my own limbs shook when he touched my naked flesh. My powers were suddenly awake, rippling through our bodies roughly, and electricity flickered over the room, scorching my neck. I loved him before; I had to give up my life for him, and now we were back together.
He lifted me and carried me to the bedroom, smiling in the darkness. I touched his face gently with my palm and whispered in his ear.
“I love you, Arthur.”
He looked almost puzzled, somehow disturbed, but I no longer cared. The three magic words were the reason that he was with me tonight. After he laid me down on the bed, I let him devour me with his mouth, I let him remove all my clothes and make sweet, forbidden love to me. His smooth hands showered me with electricity that zoomed over my body. I was lost that night, as my head sizzled, filled with magical liquid that made me numb, that supposedly made me forget about everything. His mouth claimed mine gently but firmly. My heart raced as the liquid heat poured from my core.
I was in the skylight, drifting away, touching the moon and stars. As he made love to me that night, I made a decision that in the morning, I would tell him everything, the whole truth. I had nothing else to lose, because he had finally chosen me.
Somewhere in the room the alarm was going off, but I refused to move, to open my eyes. The beeping sound eventually forced me to lift my lids, but my chest heaved when the pain shot violently through my body. I twisted on the bed, trying to swallow, but my mouth was dry as the Sahara Desert. I moaned loudly, cursing magical tequila yet again, not remembering much of what happened last night.
My room was dark, but tiny beams of light from outside streamed through the curtains. I inhaled, trying to deal with the fact that my head felt like it was cracked open, and millions of tiny humans were drilling holes inside it. I smelled someone else close, a male human, but that was impossible.
I turned around abruptly when I felt movement on the bed. Pushing through the pain and confusion, I tried to focus. In the darkness of the room I saw a naked man, sleeping peacefully next to me. Raw and unbridled panic clawed up my throat as I tried to figure out what the hell happened several hours before. He was tall, lean, and completely naked.
My mouth was so dry, my soul drenched with overactive energy as the throbbing in my head intensified. The human was alive, and he was breathing normally.
It took me several long moments to gather that we had sex last night. I didn’t remember even getting home, let alone bringing home a one-night stand, but I was certain that this guy had sex with me.
Parts of my brain attempted to piece together everything that happened. Snippets of conversation were slowly coming back, and I began to realise that no one had pushed me into this, that it was my own stupid choice. After getting wasted, I somehow convinced myself that Arthur was at the bar.
I held my face in my palms, breathing hard, feeling the blood draining. I had fucked around after I got fired from my post at Buckingham Palace. It was a dark time in my life. I partied a lot, slept with random strangers, mongrels, and other demons just to ease the longing for Arthur, but last night I had completely lost it.
There was something wrong with me. Maybe it was time to get help, to learn how to pull through without magic or tequila.
“Hmm, hon, come here. I want to feel your warm body pressed against mine,” the voice next to me murmured. I needed to take a shower and then sign myself into a rehab programme. There was no way I was going to be able to stop drinking on my own.
I pushed the guy to his back, and with my inhuman speed, I climbed on top of him. He was instantly turned on, but I wasn’t planning to take advantage of him again. He opened his eyes and stared at me for a moment, shocked, but open for any kind of possibility. He was good looking, with broad cheeks, light blond hair and cute hazel eyes.
“Hey, listen to me. You’re going to get up now, put your clothes on and disappear. From this moment, you won’t remember me, you won’t even remember how you got into my apartment,” I said, loud and clear, ignoring the looming headache.
Doomed Cases Box Set: The Complete Collection Books 1- 4 & Prequel Page 17
