Royal Bastard

by Nana Malone

  “Did you like it?”

  “You know, at first, when I was little, yeah, I loved it. The idea of looking like a prima ballerina and twirling around was great. But no one tells you that your body will go through hell. I didn’t know. As I got older and I realized how strong ballerinas have to be, I really did enjoy it. Then, well, my back injury happened. I was trying to do a lift, and I landed wrong and twisted it. It’s never been right again, and that ended my illustrious career as a ballerina.”

  “Do you miss it?” I made the mistake of looking at her as I asked. I was wiping off the scrub from her feet using the wet wash cloth.

  She was staring at me as my hands worked. “Yeah, I miss it. But I’m not sure if I just miss the consistency of the training.”

  I nodded in understanding. “Yeah, sometimes things become a habit. Then when they’re gone, you almost don’t know what to do with yourself.”

  “Exactly. I mean, I did enjoy it. I loved it, but when it was gone, the thing that I missed the most was… I don’t know, just knowing that it was part of who I was, even if it wasn’t all of who I was. But later on, I just had to figure out what I was going to do for me, you know?”

  I reached for the lotion and then started massaging her feet. I didn’t know why I thought this was a good idea, but just running my thumbs over her arch and hearing that long drawn out moan was an instant turn on. Fantastic.

  Then I glanced back over at her. Her eyes were closed, her lips were parted, and her head was thrown back, and she looked blissful. There was no way in hell I was stopping.

  After ten minutes, when I finished one foot, I started with the other one and the moaning and looking sexy as fuck commenced again.

  I was so done. I was so totally going to lose it.

  “You said before that you’ve never had a girlfriend.”

  I tensed. Where was this line of questioning going?

  “No. I moved around a lot. Not ideal.”

  “Oh yeah? Where?”

  Ah, so she was on a fishing expedition. I knew the lies that I should spill for her, but I didn’t. Instead I told her the truth, as maturely as possible. “All over. Denver, Boston, Miami, but I mostly grew up in Baja. Then my Mom and stepdad moved us to Phoenix for uh, a job that was long term.”

  “That must have been sad. It’s hard to make friends.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, it wasn’t the easiest situation, but I managed. Turned out just fine, didn’t I?” I winked at her.

  She wasn’t even watching me. This time she was wiggling her toes in my hand, silently begging me to keep massaging, so I did. Anything to keep that look of pure, decadent bliss on her face.

  “I know we’ve talked about this a little, your complicated relationship with your parents. Why do you think you put up with it for so long?”

  She sighed, but not in that contented way as before. This was more of a resigned sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe it was easier. Maybe I was afraid of the worst thing happening.” She shrugged. “And now it has. My mother is too emotionally fragile. All the reasons, all the excuses, so it’s actually hard to sit down and talk with her. It always blows up.”

  “How toxic. I’m sorry.”

  When I opened the toe nail polish, she smiled at me. “Oh good. I was going to pick that color.”

  “I’m psychic. I can read minds.”

  Completely deadpan, she leveled her gaze on me. “Don’t go picking around in there. It can be scary.”

  There was a hint of flirtation in her voice, and I couldn’t help it, I took the bait. “There’s nothing you’ve got going on back there that I’ve never seen before.”

  As I carefully painted each toe, I could hear her sigh of relief that I was doing a good job. And then she gazed up at me with her big brown eyes, and she smiled. “Thank you, Lucas. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

  One smile from her and I felt a thousand feet tall. I wasn’t sure when it happened, but I’d completely fallen for her.

  Bryna

  Lucas was in the middle of doing something delicious to my feet, when the doorbell rang. He was blowing on my toes gently as his fingers still caressed and massaged my arches. One spot he touched sent a spasm to my lower back. It hurt at first, but then it released and felt really good, like it loosened whatever the hell I’d done to myself. “Oh my God, again.”

  He blew some more on my freshly painted nails to dry them, and then he moved his thumb again, pressing insistently, massaging his knuckle back and forth.

  “Oh my God, seriously, that is… amazing.” I groaned.

  “The way you said that, it’s almost like you’re having an—"

  He didn’t finish because the doorbell rang insistently. He gently set my feet aside and gave me a look I now recognized to be his don’t-you-dare-move look.

  When he yanked the door open, I could almost feel the tension snap up his back, forcing his shoulders to square immediately. “What are you doing here?”

  The next voice that came was one I recognized. “The king will hear about this.”

  I lifted my head. “Dad?”

  My father marched in with his too-fast, too-brisk step. “Get your things. We’re leaving.”

  I frowned as I tried to sit up. “What? Dad, how did you—"

  He interrupted me. “Young lady, you will get your things right now.”

  Lucas closed the door behind my mother, who sauntered in, looking smug. Her eyes darted around, taking everything in as if calculating just how much Lucas was worth.

  Lucas joined me back at the couch, wedging himself between me and my parents. “Bryna, you stay where you are.”

  Then he turned his attention to the two of them. “She can’t move, so I guess you’re shit out of luck if you need her to go somewhere.”

  My father frowned. “What’s wrong with her? What did you do to my daughter?”

  “You two don’t need to talk about me as if I’m not here.” I tried to sit up, and pain wound around my lower back and shot down my leg. While Lucas had managed to loosen it significantly, quick movements were still totally out of the question. “I’m right here. I can speak for myself.”

  I pushed into a sitting position despite the pain. Lucas’s gaze pinned on me, and he gave me a sharp shake of his head. “I’m fine. Thank you, Lucas.” I turned my attention to my father. “Dad, I’m not going anywhere. I had a tough situation and Lucas was kind enough to offer me a place to stay.”

  “You wouldn’t need a place to stay if you would just stop being so stubborn and stay with your mother. We have a place in the city. That was always the plan.”

  My mother nodded. “Your father is right. What are you doing here staying with the likes of—"

  My father cut his gaze to her and gave her a sharp shake of the head. Immediately, she snapped her mouth shut. He, however, continued on her behalf. “You don’t even know him. While King Sebastian said he could be trusted, he’s still a stranger. So you will get your things, and you will come with us. We’re your family.”

  After what they’d done? “Stop it. Stop it now. For weeks since I’ve been in the city, you’ve shown up and tried to dictate exactly how things are going to go. And every time you do, you resort to your manipulations, to blackmail, and to all the things that tell me you don’t actually care about what I want or need.”

  My mother’s mouth fell open. “Of course we do. What a horrible thing to say about your own parents.”

  I sighed. “If you were listening, you would know what I’m saying. I needed to do this. I needed to move to this city, be on my own, go to work. And more than once, you have done whatever you could to deter me. First with Braxton and having him propose on my twentieth birthday. Honestly… putting me in positions where it was impossible to say no. When I finally did say no after I caught his ass cheating, you let everyone ostracize me. When I told you I was going to start my internship, you smiled to my face, you said I could go, and then, you basically kidnapped me to Europe so I’d miss my star
t date. Thank God I was able to defer.”

  My mother tried to interject. “Now young lady, that is not how it happened, and you know it.”

  I pushed against the arm of the chair, trying to stand. Lucas bent down and helped me. His skin was warm, familiar, soothing. “What I remember is you lying to get me there. To my face, lying and telling me that my grandmother was sick. Then, when I got there, you confiscated my passport.”

  “She was sick!” My mother persisted.

  “She had bunions, Mom. Hardly ill. And then, when I attempted to leave on my own, you wouldn’t allow it, so you can see how I wouldn’t trust you with my future. Then you tried to force another engagement with the same man who cheated on me. I wanted out so bad, I snuck out a window at a wedding. I climbed right on out to escape you.”

  My mother rolled her eyes. “You’ve always been so dramatic. None of that was really necessary. If you had just spoken to us…”

  “Spoken to you? And said what exactly? ‘I don’t want to marry this douche nozzle?’ Like I said before? Or how about, ‘I want this internship. It’s important to me.’ Would you have listened? Would you have let me just do it?”

  She sighed. “You are always so prone to melodrama. Sometimes you don’t know what’s best. You don’t make good choices.”

  My father shook his head. “You are our daughter, and you are supposed to do as we tell you. We have your best interests at heart. If you don’t see that, we’ll have to agree to disagree.”

  I shook my head. “You almost had me fooled before. But I am done with your manipulation. If you ever decide to start treating me like an adult and respect my decisions, I’m willing to hear it. Until then, get out.”

  My father’s mouth hung open. My mother sputtered. “B-b-b- Bryna, how can you talk to us that way? I just can’t even believe it. What has gotten into you?”

  Lucas spoke up then, subtly blocking me from their view. “You heard her. Time to go.”

  My father glared at him. “How dare you?”

  Lucas crossed his arms. And then his voice went low, deep, barely above a growl. “Are you refusing to go?”

  My father might try and bully, but if someone was strong enough to stand up to him, he would back down. He peered around Lucas to glare at me. “Bryna, this conversation is not finished.” He pointed a finger at Lucas. “Careful, boyo, nothing is official yet.”

  What the hell did he mean by that? What wasn’t official? Was Lucas’s job in danger? “Let me be clear. You retaliate against Lucas in any way, and we’re done for good. He did what you asked. He kept me safe, looked out for me, which is more than you ever did.”

  Lucas went to the door and opened it. He said nothing as they stormed out.

  With my hands shaking, my knees wobbly, and adrenaline rushing in my veins, I eased myself back onto the couch, and then I covered my face with my hands and sobbed. I had zero fucks left to give that Lucas was seeing me cry.

  But instead of freaking out about it or being uncomfortable, he just eased down next to me, threw his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me close. “I’m really proud of you. That couldn’t have been easy.”

  And as if I hadn’t already fallen for Lucas Newsome, that completely sealed it.

  30

  Lucas

  An hour after her parents left, Bryna called it a night. She tried to hang in for just a little bit longer, but she tapped out. “Thank you so much for helping me. I think I’m going to clean my face now and make it an early night.”

  Helping her get ready was torture for me. But she clearly needed it in more ways than one. I averted my gaze and helped her, even though I already knew exactly where her moles were, how she tasted, and how she smelled right behind her ear. I should be nominated for sainthood.

  My phone rang when she was in her room. My gaze darted to the door, but I didn’t take any chances. I knew who was calling. To make sure she couldn’t hear me, I walked into my own room and closed the door behind me. “What?”

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing with my daughter?”

  “Lord Tressel, I’m sorry that it panned out the way that it did, but it was her choice.”

  “What choice are you talking about? You have taken my daughter from me.”

  “Well, for starters, she’s not a toy, and I haven’t done anything to her. She kicked you out of her own volition today. She knew what she wanted, and she knew it wasn’t you.”

  “I think you forget that you work for me.”

  Anger slid up my spine and held as I let the fury leak into my veins by drops. “I don’t work for you. I work for the crown. And I’m pretty sure there are appropriate ways to refer to me, such as His Royal Highness, or Your Royal Highness. I’m not an errand boy. My brother, your king, is the one I answer to. Not you.”

  Never mind that Sebastian knew nothing about my roommate situation. This was where Tressel was supposed to dial it down, step back, and take a bigger-picture look, but he didn’t. “His Royal Highness, my ass. You would not be a prince if it weren’t for me. You are nothing. Your mother is filth, and you are no more than a common guttersnipe.”

  “That might be, but you cast your vote. No take backs, asshole. You will sign when it comes time.”

  “If I don’t?”

  “I guess we’ll see. What your daughter told you today had nothing to do with me. You made your choices. You made your bed. How you have treated her, that’s all on you. Her refusing to let that happen again, that’s all her. I had nothing to do with it. So, you can be an asshole all you want, but it’s not going to change the fact that your own daughter wants nothing from you but to be left alone. She wants no part of what you’re offering. You screwed up the moment you tried to manipulate her, the moment you tried to control her. She fought back, and it didn’t end well for you.”

  “Your brother will hear about this.”

  “You know what? That’s good. I’m pretty sure you’ll find we’ll be on the same page.”

  “You think you’re so untouchable? The world will find out who you really are.”

  “You know what, yeah, there will come a time when I can’t hide, when everyone will know who I am. But maybe they’ll also see who I can be.”

  “You think he’ll stand with you? When the king sees who you really are, when he really finds out all the nasty little details, he will cast you out, and you will be left alone.”

  I swallowed the bile in my throat and the fear of abandonment trying to claw through my belly. Sebastian knew about my past, but I history had taught me that you don’t get to keep good things. I kept waiting for something to happen to turn Sebastian away from me. For my new life to go away. It was only a matter of time.

  No, it’s not. You are the master of your own destiny. I just had to remember that. One last job and I’d be free and then no one could ever threaten to take my family away again.

  “If that’s what it takes to ensure that Bryna gets to live her life, then so be it. She’s my friend, and she deserves better than you. I’m going to make sure she has it.”

  31

  Lucas

  “Lucas, what’s wrong?” Sebastian’s voice was gravelly, like I’d woken him up.

  Shit. “I’m sorry, I should have checked the time. I mean for fuck’s sake, you guys are in your honeymoon phase and I’m interrupting you.”

  My brother groaned. “If I was otherwise occupied doing something fun to my wife, I never would have answered. Not even if giant monsters were swallowing my kingdom.”

  “Right…” my voice trailed.

  He was quiet for several seconds. “Lucas, what is it?”

  I rubbed at the burning hole in my chest. “I—sorry. I don't’ know. I wanted to talk I guess, but it’s late.”

  He sighed. “You’re in love with her?”

  I choked. “What?”

  “Bryna Tressel. The girl. You’ve been cagey as hell about her.”

  “Swear to god I haven’t touched her… sort of. I mean we ki
ssed, but I was trying to do the right thing. I swear to God.”

  Sebastian chuckled. “What’s the current bet buy-in with Roone and Marcus?”

  I frowned. “You knew they’d make a bet?”

  “Well, yeah. They’re assholes. Besides, I asked you not to go there with her because of the delicate nature of our relationship with Tressel. But if your preliminary reports are right, then Tressel might be a moot point.”

  I cleared my throat. I had to be sure. “So, you're saying I can have her?”

  “Well I’m saying it’s not ideal. And her father could still try to cause problems. But if you actually care about her, I’m not going to let matters of state stand between you. I worried too much about that. I might have lost out on Penny if I didn’t say fuck all of that.”

  I wasn’t sure if my sigh of relief was appropriate. “I thought you were going to be pissed. Tell me I had no business fucking with her.”

  “Well are you fucking with her or do you actually want her for real? Not because you're bored or she’s off limits, but because of her.”

  That answer was easy. “I want her.”

  “Good, then what’s your problem?”

  I swallowed hard. “What if… what if I’m not good enough for her? She doesn’t know anything about me. Who I was, or who I am now, for that matter.”

  “Ahh, that’s part of the package, mate. You have to tell her. I made that mistake with Penny.”

  “But were a prince.”

  “And so are you.”

  I was quick to dismiss the new truth like always. “That’s new. It’s the old shit I can see her objecting too.”

  “You aren’t your past. It’s about the choices you make in the future. Every day is an opportunity for the new narrative.”

  “Man, you’ve really been taking the Bullshit Parable book I got you for Christmas seriously.”

  Sebastian’s chuckle was low. “Basically, I’m saying don't be a dick now, and she’ll be able to overlook who you were. That’s if she’s good enough for you.”