Charlotte walked into the room. He turned and smiled when he saw her.
“I hope that little piece of vampire ass was worth it. I’m sure she was though.”
Keto’s eyes widened.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you leaving with her.” It sounded like Savar. “Did you—?”
“I’ll speak to you later,” Keto blurted.
“By all that is pointy, she’s still there,” Savar said. The male laughed.
Keto mouthed ‘Sorry’. He shook his head.
Charlotte picked up her dress. She shrugged. “It’s fine,” she whispered.
“I’ll see you in fifteen minutes,” she heard Savar say, when he finally stopped laughing.
“Goodbye, Savar.” Keto pushed the red button on his phone. “Sorry.” He was still naked. “I’d better jump in the shower. I have to go.”
“It’s fine.”
“Order breakfast. No rush.” He stood up and she had to stop herself from letting her eyes roam over his body. One she knew quite well by now. Every hard-earned valley and trough. Every chiseled inch of yumminess.
Charlotte pulled her dress over her head and smoothed it into place. “What’s so urgent?” She rolled her eyes and let out a laugh that sounded nervous. “I guess you have a kingdom to run. There would be urgent matters attached to that.” These types of goodbyes could sometimes be awkward. The kind that sometimes got hot and heavy. The kinds where kisses could turn into so much more ‒ and she wasn’t talking about just the sex.
Keto shook his head. “Actually, I’m meeting with some of the highborn females.” His eyes widened like he hadn’t meant to say that … or like he just realized who he was saying it to.
Stay cool. It was just sex. No reason to get rattled. “Oh … okay.” She looked around for her shoes, spotting them at the door where she’d stepped out of them when they’d arrived last night.
Keto swallowed hard. “This can’t happen again.”
Say what? She cocked her head, giving him what she hoped was a dirty look. “Did I ask anything more of you?”
Keto rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m just saying. Just to be clear. This was the last time.” He choked out a humorless laugh. “I’m meeting with three potential female candidates today and another three tomorrow.” His face looked pained. “I need to make my decision within the next week, two at the most. I can’t be fucking around like this anymore … it’s not right.” He breathed out through his nose.
Charlotte widened her eyes for a second. She couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. It was as if he blamed her for this whole thing happening. “You ordered me into that kitchen last night. You had sex with me.” She pointed at him, her voice increasing in pitch. “Not the other way round. It was you who convinced me to come back to your place.” She pointed at her chest.
“I didn’t hear you complain.” His muscles popped, especially the ones on either side of his neck. His eyes blazed, looking a deeper, darker blue.
“No complaints,” she practically spat. “You were a decent lay. If I gave you any indication that this,” she pointed between the two of them, “meant more than just a casual rut … my bad. You have yourself a fantastic day. I hope you find ‘The One’. I hope she rocks your world and that you live happily ever after and have plenty of pointy-eared babies.” Ouch! It hurt. She hated that it did. Shouting at him like this wasn’t helping her feel any better. Charlotte turned and walked out. She marched down the hall and down the stairs. Two big, burly guards stepped in front of the door, blocking her escape.
“Hey,” she growled. Had Keto called down this quickly? If he thought that he could keep her here he was dead wrong. He was completely out of line. He treated her like she was throwing herself at him. She hadn’t once … no, not even one little bit. Charlotte had never chased him either. It was the other way around. He had called her under the guise of needing soap. How dumb was that? Then last night had happened. Even that stupid kiss, sure, she had planted one on him but it was he who had deepened that kiss, he who had pushed her down on the bed. He who had made love to her. Right now, he even had her yelling inside her own head at herself and all because of him. The male was infuriating.
“Let me through!” she yelled, hands on her hips. Charlotte needed to get away. Not just from Keto’s apartment but from Pulamor.
One of the guards shook his head. The other narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “You need to use the back exit, female.”
“What?” she snarled.
“The back. It does not matter that you are a vampire. You are one of the helpers and must use the back door. You need to be quiet and discreet about it or I’ll escort you out myself and you don’t want that.” He frowned deeply.
It felt like the floor fell out from below her. “Oh my god!” So this was it. Charlotte had never felt more ashamed in her life. She was expected to sneak out the back door like a criminal. Like she’d done something that she should feel ashamed about. Charlotte had never regretted anything more than she did spending the night with him. Keto was the biggest royal prick she had ever met. Right now, she hated him. Hated. Him.
“I’m sorry!” The first guard looked at her with such pity. “It is customary. Nothing personal.”
Like that was supposed to make her feel better. “Heaven forbid it would be personal,” she muttered to herself. Her cheeks heated. Her whole body shook with anger and embarrassment.
“If you would like, I could show you the way out,” he added, giving her a half-smile.
“Leave or I’ll throw you over my shoulder,” the first guard said. Asshole!
“No need to be a root-head about it.” The second guard elbowed the male. “Don’t mind him.” Softer this time.
“It’s fine, I’m fine. I can manage.” She shook her head, feeling her eyes sting. No way was she crying. No way! She breathed through her mouth and sniffed a few times. “Thank you.” She forced the words out. The male was trying to be sweet, trying to make her feel better. He didn’t deserve her anger. Charlotte squared her shoulders and compelled herself to stand tall. They might force her to use the back door but she was leaving with dignity and grace. Keto was a big mistake. One she would never make again.
Chapter 15
Charlotte made her way down the hallway. She’d throw herself into her work and forget she’d ever met the asshole elf. She’d make one quick stop at her apartment to unpack and freshen up and then she’d get going.
Charlotte was keen to see how the refurbishments were coming along. By now, the tiles should be in and they would have started painting. Also, she really needed to check that the fountains had been properly cleaned and repaired before being refilled. Grace was more than capable and besides, Brant had kept an eye on things, so she was sure that everything would be just fine.
Her phone rang. Charlotte dug it out of her purse. Brant’s name flashed on the screen. “My lord.”
“I just wanted to welcome you back and then I wanted to remind you about being on leave.”
“Excuse me?” No! No! This couldn’t be happening.
“You’re officially on vacation. Take long walks, go swimming or hiking or whatever it is you enjoy doing outside of work.” He sounded serious. “I don’t want to see you in the office or checking in with anyone. Ideally, you’ll book yourself into a hotel somewhere and go and relax.”
“I can’t p-possibly go on vacation.” Charlotte needed to do something. Sitting around was not going to cut it.
Brant sighed dramatically. “We’ve discussed this. The decision has been made. It’s done. No use arguing. You’re tightly wound right now but you will relax. Give it a few days.”
She rounded the corner that led to her apartment and stopped in her tracks. Esral stood outside her door. Shit! The tiny elf turned towards her.
“Okay, my lord. You’re right.”
“You’re giving in too easily,” Brant growled, forcing her to pull the phone away from her ear. “I have eyes and ears everyw
here, I’ll know if you disobey me. I expect to see you lounging next to the pool, cocktail in hand. Do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” Shit! Shit! She held her phone between her ear and shoulder and gave a wave with her free hand, pulling her bag along with her other one.
“Good.” Brant ended the call and she took her phone back into her hand.
Esral did not wave back. In fact, her friend looked distinctly unimpressed. Charlotte couldn’t deal with this right now and for just the tiniest second she felt like dropping her bag and making a run for it. That would be grossly inappropriate. Not to mention immature. She was a grown female. Instead, she plastered a smile on her face. “Hi! The ceremony was wonderful wasn’t it?”
“Hello.” Esral cracked the minutest of smiles. “It was great. Thank you for helping out.”
“No problem.”
Esral’s nostrils flared as she approached. Damn the fact that her sense of smell had improved since mating Xavier. Esral would be able to scent exactly what she had been doing the night before. She’d also be able to scent that the male had been an elf. Maybe she was here for a friendly chat. Maybe this wasn’t about Keto.
“I know you spent the night with my brother,” Esral blurted.
So much for that. She had figured that would be the case. Why was Esral bringing this up now though? There had been a frenzy at the castle after Keto had left. Everyone knew about them rutting and yet Esral hadn’t said a word about it. In fact, Charlotte had been shut down by her friend when she’d tried to bring it up.
Charlotte rubbed her chin. “Um … yeah, about that.”
“Let’s go inside.” Esral frowned.
Charlotte closed the door behind them. “Look, it didn’t mean anything. It just kind of happened and it’s over now and we won’t be seeing each other again.”
Esral kept walking. She took a seat on a far wingback chair and folded her hands in her lap.
“My brother has had a crush on a vampire female for years,” Esral said as Charlotte sat down on the sofa across from her.
A sense of unease had her stomach clenching.
“Oh … okay.” It couldn’t be. No way!
Her friend looked at her pointedly. Charlotte frowned and shook her head. “You can’t possibly think that the female is me.” No! No! No! Keto would have told her last night. She had given him every opportunity. Sure, Keraar and Keto had similarities. This was yet another one to add to the list but … Was Keto an older Keraar? She thought back to her questioning him last night. He would have told her. “No way! Forget it.”
Esral huffed out a breath. “I can see by your reaction that it might be the case. You gave it some thought for a few seconds. Think about it, it makes sense. He’s just so fixated on you.” The elf looked worried.
“Nah …” she tried to laugh it off. There was no humor in it though. “In that regard, you are very much mistaken. What’s going on?” Charlotte leaned forward. “I told you that there’s nothing between us. He’s meeting with a couple of elven highborn females today.” She struggled to keep the bitterness from her voice. “They’re having tea and snacks as we speak.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Enjoying a nice little chit chat.”
“Oh no!” Esral’s eyes widened. “You have feelings for him. You’re upset. This is worse than I thought.”
“No!” Charlotte put both her hands up. “I’m pissed at him. That’s why I sound like I might care. He acted like a real jerk. Even for a royal, the male is really full of himself. I’m sorry …” Charlotte shook her head. “I know he’s your brother, but … he’s infuriating.”
Esral hummed a sound of affirmation. “Keto can be difficult but if it was only sex why would you care? As long as the sex was good, right?”
“It feels weird talking about my sexual relationship with your brother, with you.”
Esral pulled a face. “Don’t feel weird. It’s not like I want to discuss any details. I was making an important point. How did he infuriate you, aside from being arrogant and obnoxious, that is?”
“Keto made it seem like I had chased after him. Like I instigated the whole … staying the night thing, which wasn’t true. It was the other way around. He even told me off, told me it couldn’t happen again.” Charlotte frowned. “The nerve.”
“Yeah. Why does it matter? Why do you care?” It was a question she had been asking herself. “Did you get pissed off with him before or after you found out about him meeting with the highborn females?”
“Well, after ‒ but that’s when he told me off. It all happened at the same time.” She could just picture Keto having tea with one of those beautiful elven females. The two of them laughing together. “I don’t care who he meets or what he does. Keto could fall off of a cliff for all I care. I dislike him intensely.” That was putting it lightly.
“If it will make you feel any better, I think he likes you too. He doesn’t want to but he does.”
“I just said that I dislike him.”
Esral rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”
“I do!” Charlotte half-yelled. She forced herself to calm down. “We’ve hardly said two words to one another. Sure, we’re compatible but good sex doesn’t guarantee a good relationship. I don’t think he likes me … do you really think so?” Her heart beat faster. Stupid organ.
“I’m not saying he wants a relationship with you.” Her heart sank. A feeling of disappointment took hold. Did she feel something for the elven king? Something beyond the sex?
“Of course not,” Charlotte blurted. She’d heard of couples deciding to mate after one encounter. It wasn’t completely impossible. Even so, it wasn’t going to happen. He’d made her take the back entrance. Her face heated. Her eyes still stung. It hurt. It really hurt her that he was ashamed because she was a vampire, a helper. If she thought logically about it, he wasn’t wrong. He was meeting with other females in order to choose one to spend his life with, to love. It technically wasn’t right that she’d spent the night with him. That was on him though. Not her.
“You do know that he has to mate with an elven female, right? I could see the two of you together. I’m sure your relationship would work really well. I think you would make a fantastic queen, only,” there was pity in Esral’s eyes, “it’s not up to me, it’s up to the council. A couple of old, set-in-their-way elders who would never agree to something so radical. Keto knows it. You guys can’t be together.”
“I know that,” she said, a little too harshly. “I know, okay, and maybe you’re right, maybe I’m an idiot for feeling this way but there is something there, at least for me.”
“For Keto too,” Esral said, clasping her hands tighter together. She licked her lips. “It isn’t a good thing though. Not for you and not for him. Like I said, the councilors will never allow him to mate outside of his species. He would be stripped of his crown. It would kill my lord father.” Her voice broke at the end.
Charlotte leaned forward and gripped her friend’s hands. “You can relax. I told you it’s over and I meant it.”
Esral shook her head, her eyes solemn. “I’m not so sure. You are the first female he has even looked at since Cheri.”
“Cheri?” She raised her brows.
“His … I shouldn’t be talking about his private life like this.”
“Oh,” Charlotte said. “His ex?”
Esral nodded. “Not that what they had was …” She sighed. “Cheri wasn’t right for him. It didn’t work out.” She looked flustered. “Point being, his lack of interest in the opposite sex is a worry. I was talking with Savar yesterday and he is worried at his lack of concern when it comes to finding a queen. Keto is far more interested in you.”
Charlotte frowned. It just wasn’t true. “He’s meeting with a whole string of lovely elven females today and more tomorrow … I’ve told you this already.”
Esral pursed her lips together and sat more upright in her chair. “He was bored to tears. Savar had to talk him into seeing the second femal
e. It’s not normal. Finding a mate is essential if he wants to retain his crown, and yet he doesn’t seem concerned. It should be his sole focus. He was with you this morning, that’s why he forgot about our breakfast. He knew how important it was to me and he still missed it.”
Charlotte played with the hem of her skirt. “We were a little distracted. It was a bit of an accident.”
Esral put a hand up. “No details please. The thing is, he hardly spends time with any female. This is twice now in a short space of time that you have been together.”
“You’re reading too much into this. He practically kicked me out both times. He’s made it crystal clear where we stand with one another.”
“I think he will try and see you tonight.”
She shook her head. “No, I highly doubt that. I’m angry with him right now anyway.” She grit her teeth.
“Because he met with other females with the intention of choosing a mate?”
“No!” Charlotte shook her head. “I knew he planned on doing that. I know he takes his new role seriously. He’s worried about doing a good job, very worried about disappointing your father.”
Esral made a choking noise, she put a hand to her chest. “This is bad. So very bad.” Esral looked worried. “Did Keto tell you that?”
She nodded. “We talked a bit this morning. I probably shouldn’t have said anything but since you’re his sister …”
“I know this about him. We do talk from time to time. He is not the kind of male who will confide in just anyone. Keto is a very closed, very private person. He barely confides in me … his sister and only sibling.”
Charlotte shrugged. “It was safe to talk to me. I’m not anyone important ‒ it’s not like we’re going to see each other again and he knows he can trust me.”
“I still find it strange that he would confide in a stranger versus his own flesh and blood, or his assistant and closest friend. Forgive me.” She touched her chest and lowered her eyes for a second. “I normally wouldn’t interfere but I believe that the two of you have a strong attraction and that there could very well be more there. In a perfect world, things like species and standing wouldn’t play a role and,” her eyes filled with tears, “they shouldn’t play a role. It’s awful that two people who might love each other can’t be together. I’m very sorry for you.”
Wanted By the Elven King (The Chosen Series Book 7) Page 11
