by Mia Carson
The dream intensified, and suddenly, he wasn’t in a bed with Daphne moaning beneath him. He stood on a rooftop, rifle in hand, as he stared out over the open, deserted streets. The sky cracked open and rain poured from it, drenching him. Somewhere, a man called out his name, but the rain was too heavy. Matt couldn’t find him.
He screamed until his throat was raw, but still there was nothing to tell him which way to go. A gunshot echoed painfully in his ears, and when he glanced down, blood drenched his hands—
Matt shot upright on the bed, cringing as the last images of the all too familiar nightmare faded into the dark corners of his room. His heart thundered beneath his bare chest, and he punched the bed hard, struggling to find some semblance of control again. There was little chance he’d fall asleep again, so he tugged on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt before he padded out of his room and down the hall. The door to the surveillance room was open, so he walked in and found Jeremiah, his feet propped up on the control panel, watching the multiple security feeds.
“Evening, Matt,” he said through a yawn. “You’re not on the rotation tonight.”
“No, couldn’t sleep,” he said. “Anything exciting?”
“Never is. Hey, since you’re here, mind watching for a minute? Need to take a leak. Too much coffee,” he muttered, glancing down into his empty mug.
Matt told him to go and took over the chair as Jeremiah hurried from the room. His eyes scanned one monitor after the other—views of the halls and main rooms of the palace—and then the courtyards. He leaned back in the chair, waiting for his mind to relax, when he saw something moving in the east courtyard. He looked closer, using the controls to zoom in, and cursed.
“What are you up to, princess?”
Daphne crept along the wall of the palace until she reached a trellis and began to climb. Matt’s eyes narrowed, watching her climb it like a damn monkey until she disappeared out of the camera’s sight. He checked the others, but she didn’t appear again.
The second Jeremiah returned, he faked a yawn and said he was headed back to bed, but at the end of the hall, he turned and rushed to the east courtyard so he could figure out what the hell she was doing. He found the trellis covered in vines and bright purple flowers, then glanced around for the security camera. He shifted it away just enough so his climb wouldn’t be seen. He wrapped his hands into the vines and climbed up.
The trellis ended at a flat part on the roof, but Daphne wasn’t there. After a long look around, he noticed stones jutting out here and there against the side of the palace and craned his neck back to see how far up it went.
“At least I’m not scared of heights,” he muttered and moved forward.
The stone wasn’t too rough on his bare feet as he stepped up, using his bulging muscles to pull himself up higher and higher. When he neared the edge of the roof, he shot a glance over his shoulder as the sea air blew against his face, the salty tang filling his nose and mouth. It ruffled his hair, and he sucked in a deep breath. At this end of the palace, all he could see was the glimmer of the Mediterranean beneath the light of the moon and stars, a sight he never tired of after traveling so much away from his peaceful home.
He couldn’t hang there all night, so he finished climbing. This part of the roof was also flat, smooth white stone that sat level with the edge of the roof with a few lights here and there. Vines crept up along the sides, and there, sitting on the edge looking out over the front of the palace and the city, was Daphne. Her legs dangled off the ledge, and Matt tried to think of a subtle way to announce his presence so he wouldn’t scare her into falling off.
When she shifted, the light caught her face and his chest tightened. There was no fake smile on her face, no forced laughter slipping from her lips. It was simply Daphne, and Matt lost all sense of aggravation at her behavior. The woman sitting before him was completely different, her very presence giving off a longing so intense it drew him across the roof towards her. His feet shuffled along the vines, and she turned at the noise.
“Matt? What are you doing up here?” she asked as the mask fell back over her face.
“Wondering why a princess would sneak up to the roof in the middle of the night,” he replied. “Not the easiest place to run off to.”
“Scared of heights?” she asked with a raised brow.
He thought of all the places he’d had to reach in order to hit his target. “No, not at all.”
She stared at him for a long moment before she patted the space next to her. “Well, since you’re here, you might as well join me.”
“If that is what you wish, princess.”
“And drop the formalities. We’re alone,” she muttered, sounding more exhausted than he realized. “No one to say otherwise.”
He strode to the edge of the roof and sat down, his feet dangling into open air. There was another flat roof ten feet below, and he relaxed slightly, knowing that if she did fall, she wouldn’t fall far. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, gazing out over the lights of the city. It was the middle of the night, but the clubs were still open and bustling with people her age, partying it up and living carefree lives. If it was any other night, he’d be lost in that crowd, searching for the next woman to take home.
Except now, the only face that popped into his mind was Daphne’s.
“Why do you come up here?” he asked tightly. “Bit dangerous for a princess to climb up to the roof.”
“Need a place to escape for a while,” she said with a shrug. “Why are you up here?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” he said simply. “Saw you sneaking up the trellis. How is it none of the other guards know about this habit of yours?”
“Only one does. Jeremiah. He turns a blind eye when I come up here.”
Matt frowned with disapproval. “That’s not a very good practice.”
“I’m not allowed to go anywhere else,” she snapped. “This is the only place I can just be Daphne. If you have a problem with it, go back inside, but I’m not coming with you.” Her eyes flared at him with a fierceness he so often saw in the soldiers he had fought beside.
Daphne might not have served, but she would’ve been a damn good soldier with that fire raging inside of her. He bet she had a temper, too, when she was pushed far enough. Matt didn’t say another word as she turned back towards the view of the city. She was a soldier in a way, fighting for her people the only way she could, and from the weariness in the shadows of her face, she fought with everything she had. It took its toll.
“Daphne, the other day in your rooms—”
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Whatever you’re going to say, just don’t. You’ll ruin the moment, and I don’t get a lot of these,” she explained quietly. “Only when Jeremiah has night duty, and I don’t want to waste it. Not on such a perfect night.”
He fell silent and pressed his hands flat against the stone rooftop. He could hear the music from the clubs—not perfectly, but enough to tell what it was. Daphne sighed next to him, a light smile playing at her lips, except this one was real, and the sight of it making an appearance warmed Matt in ways he never thought he’d feel again.
“Sometimes, when I’m up here, I pretend I’m not the princess,” she revealed quietly. “I make up a story of being a plain old girl in the city. Dancing until the sun comes up. I see myself amongst them all. No guards, no servants, no one except me. Complete freedom.”
Matt couldn’t understand why she didn’t enjoy the life she had until he remembered what the other guards had told him. Daphne never left the palace.
She let her legs hang over the edge again and leaned forward. Matt’s whole body tensed painfully, ready to grab her, but she swung her legs out and laughed. “I have some of the greatest adventures all alone.”
“Being alone is not always as fun as you make it sound,” he argued darkly.
“No? Better than being followed around all the time. Never having
a moment to show what I really feel or say what I want to.”
“But you’re the princess. Surely you can do and say exactly as you wish.”
Her laugh was harsh and short. “I’m expected to smile and be happy. If the princess isn’t happy, the people aren’t happy. Then the king and queen aren’t happy. Everything falls on me and how well I can fake a damn smile.”
She pushed to her feet with an irritated groan and paced around the rooftop. Matt stood with her, watching as she tugged her ear, causing his hands to tighten into fists.
“You know, you were right about me being naïve,” she told him suddenly.
“About what exactly?” he asked slowly.
“I don’t know how to do anything except what I’ve been taught,” she said. “That kiss? It was the first real kiss I’ve ever had, Matt. I don’t get to date or flirt! Heaven forbid I wear something too revealing,” she quipped angrily. “I don’t know how to navigate this—any of it!”
He took a heavy step backwards, keeping his distance. “I shouldn’t have done it.”
Her face fell as she asked, “Are you sorry you did?”
Was he? The right answer was to say “yes” and leave her on that rooftop, but the fire in her eyes said she wasn’t the type of person to let it go so easily. She fought tooth and nail for what was right for her people. He could only imagine what she would do to truly learn who he was.
“I told you before, you can’t handle me. You don’t know anything about me,” he growled, stalking towards her. “And if you did, you wouldn’t like what you saw.”
“Why don’t you let me decide that?”
“I’m your bodyguard. My job is to look out for you in every regard. The type of man I am would leave you begging for more,” he whispered roughly. “And that’s a dangerous game to play.”
Her body shivered as he moved closer, and his reacted in kind. Daphne was nothing like the women he brought home to his bed. She wouldn’t be easy to forget, let alone get out of his life. This could never work, and he needed her to understand that… to know it so she stopped this foolishness.
As he made the decision to turn away from her, she stood on her toes and kissed him. Her lips brushed briefly against his, a light touch. Matt lost all focus on the task at hand and wrapped his arms firmly around her body, pressing her against his chest. She wore no bra beneath her t-shirt, and her nipples hardened against him. He growled deep in his throat, and his mouth covered hers in a need to possess this woman, no matter the consequences.
Daphne shifted her hips, and he grunted, grinding his back at her, showing her exactly what she did to him. When his hands slipped lower to cup her ass, she squirmed and nipped his lip.
“You push me, woman,” he warned and cursed again when her tongue flicked out and licked the same spot.
“You seem like a man who needs to be pushed sometimes.”
“Push too far and you’ll regret it,” he muttered against her mouth before he claimed it again. “You’ll never be rid of me. You’ll never be able to see another man without thinking of me.”
“Don’t sound so sure of yourself,” she retorted.
Matt yanked her hips hard up against his until she gasped at the contact. “If we weren’t on a roof, you’d be beneath me right now.”
“What are you waiting for?”
His kiss was hard, demanding. He wanted all of her—God, how he did—but he was her bodyguard and this couldn’t happen. What was he even doing? No woman was crazy enough to think she could tame the demons raging through his mind while he slept nor while he was awake. When he found himself in a dark place, there was no one there to pull him out. No one strong enough. But the promise in Daphne’s eyes told him she’d damn herself trying to do just that.
She didn’t know a thing about his past yet. Her blind trust unnerved him, and Matt quickly pulled away, leering at her in the light from the rooftop.
“I suggest you return to your room, princess,” he said, biting out each word.
Daphne’s hooded gaze, filled with arousal, disappeared in a shot, and the fake, polite smile he knew so well was back. “If that’s how you want to play this, fine.”
She stormed past him, purposely brushing against his side, and her hand reached for his and glided across the back of it. He grasped her wrist and watched her body instantly shift towards his. He sneered at her and released his grip, stepping away.
“Goodnight, princess. Sweet dreams.”
Daphne muttered under her breath, and he turned his back on her, letting her go. He had no doubt she could find her way back down to the ground, as many times as she had done this before, but it still took a lot out of him to not watch just in case.
What are you doing, you idiot? Don’t get involved. She’s the princess, for God’s sake, and your job!
She should’ve been completely off-limits, out of bounds, and once upon a time, he knew what that meant. He followed his orders without faltering an inch, but he had kissed the princess until he wanted nothing more than to strip her out of her clothes and show her what else she’d missed in her life. Daphne was not a woman he could use for one night and simply shove to the side. The thought of him doing that to her caused his stomach to twist. What the hell had she done to him? He ran a hand through his hair, whole body on fire in irritation, and he crossed to the edge of the roof.
Daphne was nowhere in sight. Too bad. If he caught up with her again, he would’ve kissed her until they were both dizzy with need. As he climbed down to the ground, he grumbled and cursed about what he’d managed to get himself tangled up in. He was her bodyguard, nothing more. There would be no more touching of any kind. He’d let himself enjoy the view and keep her safe, her silent guard.
Nothing more than that.
Chapter 6
Marie called out for Daphne as she bustled around her living room, but the princess was in no mood to get out of bed. All night, she’d dreamt of Matt kissing her, his hands all over her body as he stripped her bare and did things to her she never thought possible.
Every inch of her body cried out for him, and her thighs clamped tightly shut to stop the powerful throbbing happening again. She kept the covers pulled up over her face when the bedroom door was thrown open and heeled steps clicked across the floor. Marie hummed as she scurried about the room, and Daphne listened as she threw the curtains open.
“Come on now, princess, the king and queen have requested to meet with you.” Daphne mumbled a reply into her pillow and burrowed deeper. “Princess? Are you ill?”
“Yes,” she said quickly. “I’m ill. I don’t think I’ll be getting out of bed today.”
“Unless you’re dying, I fear the queen will not allow you to have a sick day,” Marie warned her. “Why don’t I bring you breakfast in bed? Give you a little more time to rest before you’re needed.”
She hated that she couldn’t do what she wanted for a change, but Daphne threw the blanket off her head and sat up, her arms crossed with a huff over her chest. “That would be fine, thank you, Marie.”
She nodded and turned for the door until she stopped and hurried back to Daphne’s side. “And I have the file. Managed to snag it last night,” she whispered with a wink. “I’ll bring it for you this evening.”
Daphne smiled her thanks and perked up a little bit. If Matt thought he could just kiss her the way he did, leaving her panting for more, and expect her not to attempt to figure out what made him tick, he didn’t know her at all. She moved her pillows more comfortably behind her and told herself today would be better on all counts. Somehow, she’d find a way to make it through without feeling as if the walls were closing in around her. Last night on the rooftop, during that brief moment before she’d taken a chance and kissed Matt, she sensed a connection with him. He saw she was more than the naïve princess he accused her of being.
Instead, he melted her with that damn kiss, driving her crazy with need. All she heard about him being a womanizer rushed back at her. Was he using her
as he used those other women? Was this just an opportunity to put another notch in his belt—and with a princess? Her mind raced, running through their brief days together, and realized it was highly possible that’s all it was. Her anger rose at his actions, at making her lust for a man she knew she couldn’t have, when said man cleared his throat from the doorway.
Matt held the tray of scones and a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. “Princess? Marie says you are unwell this morning.”
Daphne’s heart jumped as every image from her dreams rushed forward. Her cheeks reddened, and she gripped the blanket to stop herself from leaping out of the bed and right into his arms.
“Yes, I think it’s… It’s just a cold,” she muttered and motioned for him to enter. “Where’s Marie?”
“She was called away to attend the queen. Seems her servant has fallen ill, too.”
“It happens this time of year,” she claimed lamely, watching him as he moved closer and set the tray on the nightstand. She reached for the coffee, but he scooted it out of her reach and handed her a scone instead. “I would like my coffee.”
His eyes smoldered, and her breath caught in her throat. “I’m sure you would, princess, but you should eat first.”
“I’ll eat when I damn well please,” she muttered, but he didn’t move.
“You’ll eat because you need to take better care of yourself.”
“I do just fine, thank you very much,” she snapped. “Not that you care what condition I’m in anyway.” She shifted on the bed, but Matt’s body blocked her, and she fumbled for words to tell him to move.
He smirked at her, leaning in closer until his eyes filled her view. “Why would I not care, princess?”
She glared but didn’t move back. “You could have any woman you want. I’ve heard all about your exploits in the city. Quite the ladies’ man.”
