by Nana Malone
“She gets back tonight, so I'm telling her then. I'm not sneaking around with you. That's not what this is. But I do want to talk to her. The sooner I explain things to her, the quicker we can start our lives and not have to hide it from anyone."
"Are you sure you want this, Tristan? I—“ I shook my head. "Just having you for the last couple of days has been more than I ever dreamed I could have."
He stood and nearly let his jeans drop. Holy hell. My mouth went dry. Yes, I admit it, I stared, because well, his erection was still thick and still semi-hard under the denim. It was so tempting, and God, I wanted to lick it… again. I shook my head. Focus girl.
When he started to button his jeans, I tried to swallow my disappointment. "You really are very pretty to look at."
He flashed a grin as he stalked toward me, his pants low on his waist, and I swallowed hard. "Ariel, my eyes. They’re up here."
His walk was more of a prowl, and I had to squelch the urge to run, because inevitably, he would catch me. And let's be real; I might let him.
No. Must talk to Penny. Have to go.
We might have a momentary reprieve, but there was a very real threat coming for him. Coming for us. He'd risked his whole life and his career just to help somebody else. But when it came to himself, he wasn't taking threats seriously. So I had to help him, even if he didn’t want me to.
"Oh no you don't, we’ve got to go."
He lifted a brow. "I could make you not want to go."
I laughed. "I already don't want to go. I would much rather stay here, locked away, living off of air and coconuts that you can pull down from the surrounding trees, but we have to get back. And if you give me another orgasm, I swear to God I won't be able to move."
His teeth grazed his bottom lip, and for a hot second as his gaze turned from hazel to whiskey, I knew he was thinking about all the things he could do to make me stay. But instead, he zipped his pants, and then he reached around me for his shirt and slid it back on.
I couldn't hide my regret.
It was his turn to laugh. "Why do you look so glum? You told me to put my clothes on. I am willing to change my mind at any moment."
"Stop. God, why are you so damn tempting?"
"Is that what you were saying to yourself when you first saw me again?"
"Well, a variation of that with more expletives and me resolving to run away and never come back."
"Yeah, I see how well that worked out."
"Let me guess, you think you're irresistible?"
"Ah, news flash, I am irresistible. But not as irresistible as you." He pulled me close. It was easier to touch him with his clothes on, but I could still smell him. Musk and pine, and God... ocean breezes... and I wanted to lick him all over.
"If you keep looking at me like that, our clothes are not going to stay on very long, so find another way to look at me."
"You realize it's not fair for you to be this good looking, right? What's a poor girl to do?"
"How about you love me?"
The pit of my stomach knotted. We hadn't said those words to each other in a very long time. I didn't know how to respond to them now. I did love him, but to say them out loud...
"Tristan—"
He didn't wait for an answer. He just kissed me. "Ariel. You really have to stop looking at me like that. I swear to God my dick is going to jump out and just try to go home with you."
Sure enough, the length of him pressed against me. "Okay. Let's go."
He took my hand and led the way back. The whole time, I kept thinking that I just wanted to hold him for a little while longer, because once he found out what I was about to do, there would be no forgiveness for me. But it had to be done.
I released him into Trevor's care back at his quarters. And Trevor, delightful as he was, said nothing about my rumpled appearance and what I can only assume was epic sex hair. Apparently, Tristan liked to tug. But when I passed by Trevor, I could have sworn he gave me a wink.
Tristan turned to give me a grin. "Well, Lady Scott, thank you for accompanying me. I'm sure we'll be speaking shortly."
I stifled the grin threatening to break out. "Good evening, Your Highness." And with that, I turned, walking away from the man I loved more than I'd ever let myself love anything. I had a job to do, and it wasn't going to get any easier.
Tristan…
"I wondered if you'd ever come back."
I stopped abruptly when I walked in past the foyer to my suite. "Ella."
I grinned at her and spontaneously ran up and gave her a hug. I picked her up off her feet, and she gasped and giggled. "Tristan, what the hell has gotten into you?"
"It’s more along the lines of what the hell I got to do. But that’s beside the point. It worked."
I let her go. Her eyes went wide and blinked at me. "What?"
"I did it. I did it."
She blinked. "Are you serious?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fucking serious. I was going to call, but for obvious reasons and plausible deniability, I really couldn’t. Then I meant to come and tell you earlier, but I got—"
What? What are you going to tell her? You were busy getting your dick sucked? Because that was an epic blow job, but she's not going to take that well, so don't say it.
I shook my head. "Anyway, I'm telling you now."
Her hands shook. "Seriously, I'm free?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, you are."
"I don't know how you managed to pull this off."
"I wouldn't suggest ever doing anything like that, but Max is in a Chilean jail. It worked.”
“So he is literally locked up abroad?"
"Yeah, he is."
She stepped back, her hands on her face as she shook her head. "Oh my God, I could kiss you."
My face must have reflected how I felt about her kissing me, and her face flushed. "No, I'm not going to. I mean, you're in love with Ariel." I couldn't help it, the grin broke out on my face, and she blinked rapidly. "Oh, did you—"
I lowered my voice to soften the blow. "She already kind of knew. She followed the money."
Ella's face fell. "She knows about me?"
"Look, I just told her the basics, the bare minimum. She doesn't know any details or anything. She and her team had already figured out that this was an arrangement."
Her already alabaster skin went even paler. "Oh God, she must think I'm the world's biggest idiot. Well, I didn't think that this would actually happen."
"Ella, it's going to be fine, okay? You're safe now, and if you want to stay on the island, we can make that work. We'll get you a great place, and you can stay here as long as you need. If you want to, you can make it your home."
She shook her head. "I just... So what? What happens now? I get booted out of the palace, and that's just it?"
I frowned. A millipede of warning crawled up my neck. "Well, I mean... Look, Ariel and I, we haven't had any time together, really. And this is all confusing. Obviously, we're not kicking you out of the palace."
"We're? Do you mean she has a say on whether or not I get to stay in the palace?"
A frown tugged at my mouth. "Wait, no. Look, this was all for show, you know that."
She backed up and rapidly blinked. "Look, thank you for Max. I didn't ever think I'd get my life back, so I'm beyond grateful. I am. It just sucks to be thrown away like trash."
I’d fucked this up. "Jesus Christ, Ella, I'm not throwing you away. I promised I'd keep you safe. That I'd take care of you."
"And this is taking care of me?"
"Don't you want your own life? Don't you want the opportunity to... I don't know... do something else? You're gorgeous. You’re a talented actress. You can meet someone else."
She shook her head. "You don't understand."
"What's not to understand? You've been living a half-life for three years. We both have. This is your chance to have a real life."
She whirled around on me. "I wanted a real life with you. I thought when all the danger was g
one you'd finally… I don't know… get it."
The more she talked, the more confused I became. "Get what?"
"You’ve never even looked at me like that. The one time we even tried to be intimate, you called out her name."
Fuck. I really was a wanker. "I'm sorry that I hurt you, but I do love her."
"So now what? I'm supposed to just sit back and take it? The papers are going to humiliate me."
"No, they won't. We'll give them a little time to get used to it."
"Get used to it. In the meantime, I'm supposed to just stand by and watch you bang her?"
"No. I would never disrespect you like that. We'll keep it quiet. Discreet."
Her gaze drifted over me. "Discreet, kind of like now? Your hair is messed. You look like you've been seriously fucked. Your clothes are rumpled. Your lips are bruised. And huh, congratulations, you have a hickey on your neck. Really? Is this high school?"
I frowned. "I'm sorry. We were trying to be discreet."
"Tristan. You're right, our lives have been on hold for three years and I thought maybe you and I could—"
"Ella..." my voice trailed. I didn't really know what to say at this point.
"No, I know. You love her. I get it."
"Look, Ella, I don't want to hurt you. But you knew I loved her."
"Yes. Fuck. I hear you. I just… I can't be humiliated like that. It's just not going to work."
"Okay. I understand. We’ll do what works for you.”
“With all the events I have coming up, I can't take a barrage of questions. First, there's going to be questions about Max and if I knew what he was up to. Maybe you didn't think about that."
I hadn't thought about that. "That's a good point."
"Right. And then all the questions about you and why we’re not together anymore. No one is going to ask me anything about me or my movies."
"Ella, I'm sorry. Look, I didn't think about it, okay? I'll give you some kind of cooling off period. And you are more than welcome to stay in the palace. There's plenty of room, okay?"
She nodded slowly. "Thank you. But I don't want to be in the way."
There was another crawling sensation up my spine. Something wasn't right here. This was not the response I expected her to have.
"It's going to be a little while, but we'll get things back right. I'm sure you're going to meet someone and fall in love. I can see it now.”
"Yeah, well, I don't think love is in the cards for me."
"Something tells me you're wrong about that."
She set her lips in a grim line. "Well, let me get my things together and figure out where I'm going to stay."
"Ella, you don't have to leave tonight. You're in the other bedroom. You don't have to leave at all."
"Well, I certainly don't want to watch you and Ariel bone each other senseless."
The bitter tone in her voice wasn't the one I had expected. "Okay look, I'll talk to Sebastian. We'll get you another suite, okay? And I won't tell him why, all right? Just that you need more privacy to prep for a role. Will that work?"
She inhaled deeply and then released a slow breath of air. "Thank you. It's not that I'm not happy for you. I am, and you have done more than I ever had a right to expect. I know that. I’m just a little shell-shocked. I didn’t expect things to move so quickly.” She smoothed back her hair and added, “I will still help you with Ashton."
"Hey," I put my hands up. "Ashton is my problem. I will deal with my brother, okay?"
"But we had an agreement. Strangers on the train. You deal with Max; I deal with Ashton."
"And I told you that I didn't want you to do that anymore. You're my actual friend, so this isn't a tit-for-tat situation anymore."
She narrowed her gaze at me. "So, you don't want my help?"
"I'd rather not have it. I don't want to do anything that puts you in danger, and that includes going anywhere near my brother. I just have to find another solution."
"I promise you; I'm the solution. We just have to figure out a way in for me."
I watched as she sauntered back into her room, then I went to see Sebastian. Had I opened another can of worms? Ella had come to depend on me for a long time. Had I messed about with her feelings by allowing it?
Yeah. She looked like she was going to go bunny boiler on you.
That wasn't even a fair comparison. She'd needed my help, and we’d been companions for a long time. Springing the news that our arrangement was no longer necessary and that I’d already moved on would naturally come as a shock.
Four
Ariel…
My stomach knotted as I stared at my laptop while I waited for Penny to show up. I prayed I was wrong, but so far, it didn’t look like it. "So, are we really doing this?"
I looked up as Penny strolled in, followed by no less than five guards. "What?"
She flicked her gaze back to her guards and grinned at me. "Throwing a party."
Right. Party. Code. "Exactly. But since someone here might tell the king, why don't we take this party back to my office?"
A couple of the guards exchanged glances and grinned. Poor things. They thought we were actually going to throw Sebastian a party. Well, it might be some kind of party, but he wasn't going to like it.
Once I had Penny in my office, I ran my hands through my hair. "Okay, so I think we need one more set of hands."
She lifted a brow. "Why?"
"Because as crazy as I am, no way am I letting you help me do something dangerous. Your husband will have my head."
"Oh, that is bullshit. We’ve done plenty of dangerous shit before. You and I have broken into more than one place together. Remember the lab to get King Cassius’s blood out? What could have been more dangerous than that?"
I swallowed. "Yes, but now you're the queen, so my directive is also to protect you."
"Don't you give me that bullshit."
"I'm sorry, but that's the truth. And you're my best friend. So just because I have to embark on all this crazy, doesn't mean you have to."
"Yes, it does. That's how our relationship goes. Ergo best friend."
I sighed. "Pen, be reasonable."
She crossed her arms. "I am being reasonable. Ever since I became queen, you people act like I need to be wrapped in bubble wrap. What part of Royal Guard do you not understand?"
I lifted a brow. "What, we're going to go on a clandestine mission with those guys out there?"
She crossed her arms. "They're not coming with me, obviously."
I knew where she was coming from. Sometimes as much as she loved Sebastian, she felt confined. But it didn’t matter. If I wanted proof of my suspicions, I was going to have to break into Stanstit Prison to get it. "Are you even thinking about how angry Sebastian is going to be?"
"Ariel, you called me with real, actionable intel on who could be trying to hurt the prince, and hello, I'm still with Intelligence, remember?"
This was always going to be a sore spot. The guard part of Penny being asked to step back to accommodate the queen part of Penny. "Look, I get it. But this will also need another tech brain, so I need Zia."
Right on cue, Zia knocked on the door. When she opened it, she poked her head in. "Your Majesty."
Penny waved her hand. "Stop. Just call me Penny."
Zia grinned at her. "Yes, of course. Ariel, you ready?"
I nodded and she closed the door behind her. Then I turned off the lights and turned on the projector. "Okay, while we were in Chile, the prince received a text I intercepted.”
Zia nodded as if that sounded completely normal and happenstance. Penny knew otherwise.
I continued. “It was a threat. ‘You came home, and I warned you what would happen.’”
Zia frowned. “Do we have an originating number?”
“Oh, I’m getting there.” I cleared my throat. “Given the nature of the text, I searched the phone records for past communication from unknown or blocked numbers. There were several. Dating back years… three ye
ars. “
Penny sat forward. “And Tristan’s never said anything about any persistent threats?”
I shook my head. Mostly, I hadn’t asked before I’d gone all Moneypenny on his ass, but I had good reason. He hadn't exactly been forthcoming. Then… well, I’d been distracted by sex.
“No. On the flight back, I ran a series—” I stopped abruptly. They didn’t need to be bored with the details of the hack. “Long story short, I found the source numbers. The area code is a very specific one. It’s the code assigned to Stanstit Prison.”
Zia whistled low. “Jesus fucking Christ. We can’t hack Stanstit. Not from the outside anyway. Even you’re not that good.”
“I know. Believe me, I’ve tried to come at this problem from many different angles, all leading to the same answer. I need to go to Stanstit to dig deeper.”
Penny wasn’t dumb. She knew where this was going. “It’s Ashton, isn’t it? He’s the one going after Tristan.”
There was no point in being coy. “Yeah, that’s my theory. The tone of the texts suggests deep knowledge. Ashton is the only one with that kind of history with his brother.”
Zia sat back. “If those texts are coming from the prison, then that means he’s got guards helping him.” She shook her head. “That means you can’t trust the Royal Guard.” She turned to Penny. “No offense.”
“None taken. You’re right. We need to tread lightly because the Regents Council is also a problem. They run the Royal Guard. Someone on the Council could be helping him.”
“Exactly,” I said.
“So, what do we need to do?” Asked Zia.
“For starters, I need to get the guard schedules and duty rosters and cross reference them with the times and dates of the texts. We could get that on this side from Ethan. He can be trusted, but he’ll tell Sebastian what we’re up to. And then it gets ugly. I don’t want to kick over a hornet’s nest without proof.”
“Sebastian will be on our side though.”
I lifted a brow. “He will. You’re right. But what do you think the chances are of him having a calm, measured approach?”
