He chuckled. “How about varied?”
“Yes,” she joked. “Varied certainly seems like it would fit better.” She tilted her head to the side. “What about this place, Xavier?”
“What about it?”
“Edward isn’t the only one with a duty to his lineage.”
He blinked. “Oh.”
“Yes. Oh,” she retorted, amused. “You need to be out hunting for a wife, not messing around with me.” She said the words lightly, but they weren’t as light as she’d have liked.
The idea of him being with another woman made her wish she had claws so she could tear the hypothetical bitch’s eyes out.
And how irrational was that?
She almost sighed at her idiocy, then shrugged.
She was past the point of apologizing for her feelings. She felt what she felt, and she wasn’t alone in it because Xavier, George, and Edward were all willing to be a part of this quartet. So, it figured that they were as nutty as she was.
“I have an heir,” he told her easily.
“You do? You have children?”
“No,” he retorted with a snort. “I have no kids. But I have a cousin on my father’s side who would inherit if I provide no heirs.”
She wasn’t sure where the question came from but she had to ask, “What if the child was a bastard? Could that child inherit?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you thinking about?”
She couldn’t answer that; didn’t even know the real reason she’d asked such a loaded question. It had just appeared at the forefront of her mind, and she’d had to utter it. Had to know.
Shrugging, she asked again, “Does the heir have to be legitimate?”
He frowned, then shook his head. “No. Illegitimacy isn’t as much of a problem in the Veronian Royals as it is elsewhere. We’ve had too many Kings who were bastards, and too many who were some of the best monarchs we’ve ever had.”
She hadn’t known that, and she vowed then and there that if she was going to hook up with Edward, she’d better know all there was to know about his damn country.
Xav’s answer, however, settled something inside her.
It was crazy to even mention the word ‘kids’ in front of any of these guys, except maybe for George. But, the question had needed to be asked and now she knew.
Brightly, she turned to him and asked, “So, where are you taking me to on our date?”
She saw in his eyes that he knew she was distracting him, but he allowed her to.
Smiling, he murmured, “We’re going to one of the lakes on the property.”
Her eyes widened. “You have more than one lake?”
He shrugged. “It’s a big estate.”
Jesus. His big and her big were obviously measured differently.
“Are they small lakes?”
“No. Not really.”
“Which one are we going to?”
“The largest of the two.” His eyes grew soft. “There’s a nice place to sit and it’s actually warmer than the other because it’s just off some hot springs.”
“Oh wow, that sounds perfect.”
He held out a hand. “Did you wear a swimsuit like I told you to?”
She nodded. “I did.”
“Good.” And so saying, he led her from his workstation, throughout the grand house, and out onto the driveway.
When she’d arrived here two hours before, it had been empty of cars. Now, there was a quad bike standing pride of place in the middle of the gravel.
She laughed. “Oh man, we’re riding that way, huh?”
He winked. “Edward will set you to training on horseback. He enjoys riding too much for him to not want you to go with him. Until then, we can take this.”
More laughter sparkled through her when he handed her a bright pink helmet.
“You’re not a girly girl, but I couldn’t resist,” he joked.
She stuck out her tongue. “Just wait until it’s my turn to get you a gift.”
He huffed. “Bright pink is far less offensive on women than men.”
“How very old-fashioned of you to say,” she said teasingly.
“Oh, boy. Have I started something here?”
She could tell he was amused by the notion that he might have done. And there she had it. His playful side.
She’d seen glimpses of it that first night, when he’d teased her about playing games at her first boring royal event. Since then, they’d only met to talk about serious circumstances so neither of them had felt particularly jovial.
The truth was, with all her men—because there was no doubting that was what they were now—she wanted to see the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Not because she wanted to figure a way out. She just wanted to know them. Their flaws and their woes.
This wasn’t just about sex. It played a huge part; Perry wasn’t about to lie to herself on that subject.
But it was about far more too.
The way Edward called to her was more than just about sex, she knew, as she wrapped her arms around Xavier’s waist when she settled in for the cross-country ride across his estate.
She pressed her nose into his back and snuggled into him as best she could. In the clear air, his scent was strong in her nose and he smelled divine.
She smiled as the freedom of the moment flushed through her, realizing just then that the way Xavier called to her was just as strongly as Edward, and that wasn’t about sex either.
In fact, though the attraction was there, it came in many layers. So many that she wondered if that was where her initial confusion in accepting them all had stemmed from.
They were men she wanted to screw, but they were men she wanted to understand. Men she wanted to befriend. Men she wanted to know.
The terrain changed under the ATV and she blinked, realizing they’d gone from rolling hills to woodland, almost in the blink of an eye. She peered around the dark shadows and huddled up closer to Xavier as the change in environment brought about a change in temperature.
She cuddled into him, feeling the bite of the chill on her arms as they seemed to go higher and higher—he was the Duke of a mountain range. The only way wasn’t up with a guy like him around.
The air grew fresher and lighter, but also colder, and by the time they stopped, she was relieved as hell that there were hot springs to warm the water. Otherwise, no freaking way would she have even thought about dipping her damn toe into the lake. Never mind her body.
Still, as the rumble of the engine came to a halt, and the silence of the clearing surrounded her, she closed her eyes in wonder at the peace.
It was… Liberating.
She hadn’t realized how tense the palace was. How living there was stressful, and that was before she was even a person of relevance. When it became common knowledge that she and Edward were dating?
God help her.
Sucking in a breath, she squeezed Xavier’s waist and climbed off. As she did, she peered around, then her eyes widened in astonishment.
“What are you doing here?”
Was it dramatic to say that the lake was glorious in its beauty, but it was nothing to the two men standing there waiting for her?
She’d never seen them look so casual, so relaxed, in surf shorts and nothing else. Maybe they felt the different atmosphere here too. Maybe she wasn’t alone.
The urge to go to them, to have them hug her, was a need she couldn’t fight. She strode toward them and hurled herself into George’s arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“You surprised me,” she said, mumbling the words against his chest. She’d only seen him that morning; but it felt like a lifetime ago.
His chest vibrated with laughter. “Then we did it right.”
She scowled at him as she pulled away and turned toward Edward. It wasn’t as comfortable with him. She wasn’t sure why either.
George was light-hearted, so easy to be with that it was like breathing with him. Just a natural ex
tension of herself.
Xavier appealed to her brain. He fired her up, challenged her, and she’d admit to falling for him for that alone. It took a lot for her to meet a man who was her equal, and considering his mad scientist ways, she figured she’d found one.
Edward, on the other hand, was less of a connection, more of an anomaly, and yet the lines developing between them were all the more surreal because of it.
He was like a magnet. Something about him, maybe everything about him, was magnetic.
She slipped into his arms too, but unlike with George, she didn’t bury her face in his chest. She looped her arms around his waist and stared up at him. His hands knotted into fists at the small of her back, and they supported her as she leaned away from him so she could stare into his eyes.
“I’m surprised you could be here,” she whispered, feeling the burn of the links between them as they cuffed them together in ways she couldn’t begin to understand.
“You’re worth making time for.” He let out a sigh and some tension bled from his handsome face.
Edward looked beyond her, out onto the magnificent lake that belonged in the ‘Sound of Music.’ In a valley surrounded by mountains, it was astonishing to behold. Bright, crystal blue water reflected the sky above, and all around, there were bushes and trees that swayed somnolently in the chilly air. The mountains acted like guards around them, and it was hard not to feel like they were the only four people alive at that moment.
“This is my favorite place in all the world,” Edward told her with a gentle smile, his gaze capturing hers once more. “Why wouldn’t I want to share it with you?”
She smiled back, then reached up on tiptoe to kiss his mouth. They sighed into the kiss, gently breathing the other’s air, then she pulled from his grasp to dance over to a swim-ready Xavier who was also in board shorts now. Well, her ‘dance’ was more of a skip if she was being honest.
Before he knew what she was about, she rushed into his arms and squeezed him tightly. It was a hug that was a bizarre mixture of the one she’d shared with George, one that encompassed love and familiarity, but also the stirring connection of two equals who called to one another that she’d shared with Edward.
Maybe that was fitting.
The three of them were, after all, unique.
She smiled as she accidentally rubbed her nose against his nipple. Before he could do more than jump, she tilted her head and quickly nipped the nub. He yelped then laughed.
“Minx!”
She grinned up at him, and then danced back out of his arms. She turned in a full circle, raised her arms, then let out a holler. When the echo reverberated around the clearing, she let out a whoop, and began to strip out of her clothes.
Perry let her gaze fix on each man as she stripped. It wasn’t sexy; it wasn’t supposed to be. This wasn’t about the sex—at least, they’d soon learn it wasn’t. But she made sure they knew what she was about as she raced toward the lake that lapped at the shore.
Sure, she’d worn a bathing costume, but she’d had no intention of wearing it. Not since she’d seen the crystal clarity of the water.
The minute it brushed her toes, she moaned at the glorious silk tickling her ankles.
Staring overhead, uncaring that she was butt naked in the middle of a mountain range with three of the hottest guys gaping at her ass, she launched herself into the water with a whoop.
Perry knew she’d regret it later, but she sank down, letting her hair get wet. The water felt too good, like liquid gold against her body, and she swam and played in the shallow end, peering above the surface to watch the men as they stripped off too.
When they all walked to shore with their boxers on—was it a royal thing to wear boxers under surf shorts?—she hollered out a laugh. “Chickens!” she cried.
They shot each other a glance, and snickering, stripped out of their sexy briefs.
Biting her lip, she studied them all. Making sure she didn’t focus on their cocks was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but if she did, this would quickly devolve into some sort of orgy and she really didn’t want that.
Of course, her body disagreed. But her mind just wanted to get to know them better. For now.
It was the first time they were all getting together without their being some kind of outside pressure. She didn’t want to lose that.
George was the first one to reach her, but she pushed off the sandy shore and swam away from him. “Oh no,” she warned. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
George pouted. “I knew you’d be difficult.”
She snorted. “When aren’t I?”
Edward laughed as he finished swimming toward them. He rolled over onto his back with a deep moan of pleasure and floated atop the surface. Xavier stayed close to the shore. Sitting on the sandy base, the water slipped over his legs and hips, covering him to the waist.
She broached the difference by moving halfway toward him, then murmured, “I have a challenge for you.”
Edward laughed. “You can’t challenge us when we’re naked.”
“Why not?” she joked, then chuckling, corrected, “It’s not that kind of challenge!”
“Okay, what kind is it then?” Xavier asked, his brow raised.
“I want you each to tell me a fact about the other two.”
George frowned. “Why?”
“I want to know you better.”
Her request was simple, and though the men looked squeamish, because it was so basic, she knew they wouldn’t wiggle out of it.
Xavier sighed. “I’ll go first.”
“You get points for volunteering,” she assured him, but she wasn’t surprised he was the first to go. Though Edward was the leader of this royal trio, it was only by title. For all his quirky ways and the burning curiosity that fed his research, Xavier was a duke to his marrow.
He smirked. “Points accrue. I’m sure I’ll need them in my favor at some point in the future.”
She laughed, but stayed silent, urging him to open up.
Perry had pushed them all into a situation they weren’t comfortable with. George and Edward were the duo; a trio was a whole other ball of wax.
She was hoping that a trip down memory lane would help them open up to her, enable her to learn more about the men she was diving headfirst into a relationship with, but also, would clear the air between them.
“George used to play the violin.” When he paused, she waved a hand, urging him on. No way was that enough information. His lips twitched at her twirling hand. “He was terrible at it. Tone deaf, and his playing used to reverberate around the palace.”
“Hey! I wasn’t so bad!”
At George’s complaint, Edward laughed. “You were, George.”
Perry knew Edward was well aware of the secret Xavier was about to share and was totally amused by the memory—it’s working, she thought, hugging herself happily.
Xavier grinned. “Uncle Philippe agreed, but Aunt Marianne wanted you to persevere. Philippe, Edward, and I got together and figured out a way to get rid of the violin once and for all.”
George’s mouth rounded. “How?”
“Uncle Philippe spoke to your instructor. Said he wanted you to learn some of the hardest pieces.” Xavier grunted. “The instructor didn’t understand, but he wasn’t going to argue with the King, was he? So, he had you playing advanced music when you could barely play ‘Old McDonald had a farm.’”
Edward heaved out a laugh.
But George was outraged. “You do realize you totally ruined my confidence after that? I felt like such a dick for not being able to play those parts!”
“We deserved a break from your playing,” Edward retorted. “Mother was so tired of hearing you squeak and screech that poor instrument, she decided to switch you over to judo. Said that was of more practical use in the future. And she never knew we’d sabotaged you.”
Xavier smirked. “That was funny as hell. Our private conspiracy. Uncle Philippe was really fun back the
n.”
“He’s not too bad now,” Edward remarked. “Just been under a lot of strain recently. You know how it is.”
The men sighed, and the levity of the moment appeared to be close to rupturing so she quickly added, “Edward? Your turn.”
He didn’t move from his floating position, and from her spot, she could see the curve of his mouth as well as the fact his eyes were closed. “Xavier was thirteen when he kissed his first girl. Charlotte Llewelyn. She was an immigrant’s daughter. A rich Welshman who was escaping the cold. She laughed like a horse and smelled like one too.”
Xavier huffed. “She was pretty. You can’t deny that. And you stink of horses too sometimes.”
“Yeah, because I ride them!” Edward retorted. “She was scared of horses.”
“How can someone smell like a horse and not go near them?” Perry demanded, perplexed.
“Hell if I know,” Edward murmured, then tilted his head in the water to look at his cousin. “Admit it. You know I’m right.”
Xavier heaved out a sigh. “I guess.”
Edward’s grin flashed. “Anyway, because she was pretty, she had such a stinking attitude. I knew Xavier liked her, but I also knew from another friend, Marcus, that she’d kissed him as well. So, I asked her to the palace through my mother. Which meant her mother would come too.” He snickered as the memory played out in his head. “They were all sat there, drinking tea and eating cucumber sandwiches when I walked in. Charlotte, on cue, turns bright pink and starts sidling up to me. I blanked her at every turn. Mother was mortified, and kept shooting me warning glances, but I ignored her and was uber polite to Charlotte’s mum. Then, I asked, out of the blue, what her intentions were toward my friend.
“They all laughed, but I was persistent. I asked her why she’d kissed Marcus when she’d also kissed Xavier, and why she was being so nice to me if she already had two boyfriends.” He grinned. “I turned to mother and asked, “Mother, it isn’t normal for a girl to have two boyfriends, is it?”
The four of them started snickering.
“Too appropriate, Edward,” George said around his laugh.
Perry and Her Princes (Kingdom of Veronia Book 1) Page 22
