by Renna Peak
“The only reason my fist hasn’t already collided with your face is because I refuse to make this any worse for Elle,” I say. “But I swear, Stephan, if I get even a hint that you’ve tried to hurt her in any way, I won’t be held responsible for what I do.” I release him, letting him stumble back a couple of steps.
“Your behavior is unfitting of a prince,” he sputters as he tries to straighten his collar.
“And yours unfitting of a supposedly loyal employee of this family.” I turn away, unwilling to engage him any longer. I’m already having a difficult time reining in my temper. “I’m not ashamed of my actions. At least I can sleep at night.”
Behind me, I hear Stephan give a quiet scoff, then mutter under his breath, “The whore must tire you out.”
The words hardly have time to register before red flashes across my vision. I don’t think. I just spin back around, the rage boiling up inside me. And then my fist slams right into his cheek.
Pain sears through my knuckles, the cuts from yesterday splitting open again. But I don’t care. I grab his shirt again and push him right up against the wall.
“What did you say?” I demand. “Say it again, you little weasel.”
For the space of a breath, I actually think he might spit at me. But before he can, before either of us can move or speak again, the door to the office flies open behind us.
Elle
It hadn’t gone as badly as I thought it might. In fact, the meeting with Leo’s parents was almost pleasant. I mean, admitting to my mistakes was not the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but it felt good—almost cathartic—to tell them the truth about what had happened. Leo’s father was understandably disappointed, but his mother seemed sympathetic.
King Edmund wanted Leo to return to his office so that we could discuss our options together. Okay, it was actually his mother’s suggestion, but his father had agreed. They both seemed to understand there wasn’t much choice left in the matter—and they both had agreed with me that bribing every journalist under the sun wasn’t a reasonable alternative.
Now that I’m at the door, ready to call Leo back in, I realize maybe things haven’t gone as well as I thought. I’ve barely even poked my head out the door when I hear Stephan’s whimpering.
I walk out and gasp. Leo’s mother and father follow when they hear the scuffle coming from the outer office.
There’s blood everywhere, and I can’t tell if it’s coming from Leo or Stephan—or maybe from both of them.
“Leopold!” The queen rushes over and tries to separate the two men, pulling at Leo’s arms, trying to uncurl his fingers from the grasp they have on Stephan’s throat.
“This is quite enough!” Leo’s father shouts, but neither of the scuffling men is listening.
Stephan’s eyes are almost bulging out of his head, and he’s clawing at Leo’s arms, but Leo’s grip around his throat is only tightening.
I try to steady myself before I walk over to the two men. I place a hand on Leo’s shoulder—his mother is still trying to pry his fingers away from Stephan’s neck on his other side. I lean over, my voice low—I’m trying to be calm, even though my heart is racing and I can barely think. I speak into his ear. “Leo, let go of him.”
Leo freezes for a moment before he blinks several times. He seems to be almost in a trance, unaware of how close he is to killing the other man.
His fingers finally unfurl from Stephan’s windpipe, and he drops his hands to his sides. His fingers curl into fists, but I’m pretty sure he’s only trying to calm himself—not planning to assault Stephan again.
“What is the meaning of this?” King Edmund is almost roaring and his eyes are blazing with rage. “I’ll not have my son brawling with my most trusted advisor as though they are involved in some street fight—”
“I’d be more than happy to take this somewhere more appropriate, Father. Perhaps we can reopen the torture chambers our ancestors used during the Inquisition.” Leo’s breaths are ragged. “It would seem an appropriate use of them for this filth—this pathetic excuse for a man.”
“Leo…” I shake my head and frown. “Please.”
His brows draw together and his shoulders drop. “Father, you must understand—”
“Attacked. I was attacked.” Stephan clutches at his throat and his voice is scratchy as though Leo really has injured him. His gaze darts between the king and queen. “His Highness attacked me, unprovoked. I merely—”
“Unprovoked?” Leo lets out a choked laugh. “You called the woman I love a whore, you pathetic, filthy—”
“Is this true?” King Edmund interrupts. “Did you use that term when referring to Doctor Parker?”
Stephan clears his throat, rubbing at his neck. “His Highness may have misheard me, Your Majesty. I would never use such terms when referring to a… What I mean to say, is that His Highness is telling tales.” His gaze darts to Leo then back to the king just as quickly. “His Highness seems to have a problem with his rage, Your Majesty, and as a loyal member of the palace staff, I deserve—”
Leo sneers at him before interrupting. “You deserve my fist in your face again, you disgusting piece of—”
“Leopold.” Queen Penelope stops him from finishing his declaration. “I think we all need to take a deep breath.” She pauses, looking at Leo for a moment. “What happened?”
Leo rubs the back of his neck and stares at the floor near his mother’s shoes. “I accused Stephan of leaking the information about Elle. The information she likely told you in Father’s office—”
“I did no such thing, I assure you, Your Majesties.” Stephan’s eyes are darting between the king and queen again. “I would never—”
“He will allow me to finish.” Leo almost growls his words. “I do believe that in this family, I still outrank the weasel, despite what my father may believe.”
Queen Penelope frowns. “Leo…” She shakes her head. “Of course we will hear you first.” Her gaze moves to her husband’s. “Won’t we, Edmund?”
Leo’s father frowns and grumbles a bit, but agrees. “Let us go back into the office.” His gaze moves to Stephan’s. “You will wait here.”
“But Your Majesty…” His voice is almost desperate. “I believe that as the victim of this brutal attack, I deserve to tell my side first.”
The king’s mouth falls open, almost as though he’s going to agree, but the queen speaks first. “Nonsense, Stephan. You know better than anyone what deep respect my husband and I have for the household staff. And you also know better than anyone that our children come first.”
Stephan is almost shaking. He crosses his arms over his chest like a petulant child, but he says nothing. He only stares at the floor as we walk back into the king’s office.
The door closes behind us, and I look over at Leo. He’s clearly upset, but there’s something else in his expression now. Something that looks almost happy—almost like he’s won a major victory. And maybe he has. His father actually opted to hear his side of the story—alone—before he heard Stephan’s. I don’t know the whole history of what’s happened between Leo and Stephan, but it seems like this might be the first time the king has taken his son’s side.
The king and queen take the same seats they were in before. Leo’s father motions for us to sit across from them.
We drop into the chairs on the other side of his desk. I glance at Leo’s hand—it’s pretty bad now. Whatever he did to it last night has torn back open, and his bandages are hanging off, bloodied.
“Father, I apologize for losing my temper.” Leo is frowning and I can see he’s sincere with his apology.
His father only nods. His mother grips the king’s arm—almost as though she’s helping him to keep his temper in check.
“I accused Stephan of leaking the information about Elle. And though he did not admit to his wrongdoing, he did go on to call her something terribly inappropriate.” He lifts his gaze to meet the king’s. “Calling any woman such a name is unacceptable, Father. And the f
act that he said it about the woman I love…” He lets out a long breath. “I can only hope that you understand why I reacted as I did.”
The king’s jaw tightens and he glances over at his wife before looking back at Leo. “I can imagine reacting in a similar manner, Leopold, as much as you may be disinclined to believe it. It does not, however, excuse the fact that you did react in that manner.”
“I know.” Leo bows his head slightly. “But since the moment we arrived, Stephan hasn’t treated Elle with the respect she deserves. He refuses to use her title. He treats her as though she is some thing instead of a guest of this family. And regardless of what Elle has told you about her past—”
“She’s told us everything, Leopold.” His mother interrupts. “We aren’t as unenlightened as you may imagine us.” She glances at her husband. “We, too, have had our share of misunderstandings with the press.” Her lips turn into a frown. “But I fail to see how you attempting to murder your father’s advisor—”
She stops speaking when the king takes her hand and looks into her eyes.
Something happened with them in their past—something maybe even Leo doesn’t know about. But whatever it was, it seems to be working in our favor now.
The king looks over at Leo before he turns his gaze to mine. “Elle has decided that she would like to tell her story to the media before it turns into some sort of circus. And Leopold…” He turns his gaze to his son. “I must agree with her.”
Leo’s mouth falls open a bit before he speaks. “Father, you can’t be serious.”
The king nods. “I’m most serious. We’ll have our press secretary handle this. He can find an appropriate journalist—perhaps an American—who will present Elle’s story in the most favorable light.”
Leo closes his eyes for a moment and shakes his head. “But the agreement, Father. We’ll have broken our agreement.”
“I think we can all concede that your father’s agreement with the two of you was a little…harsh.” The queen’s lips form the tiniest of smiles. “I think we also can all agree that Elle has shown great devotion to you and your relationship by agreeing to go public with her story. And that in itself is more than enough to appease your father.” Her smile widens. “And, Leopold…”
He lifts his gaze to meet hers.
“I also understand that you may have found your father’s request to learn the tax codes less horrifying than you first imagined?”
Leo’s expression softens at his mother’s words and he almost smiles. “I suppose I have, Mother.”
She nods. “Good. Then I believe we can amend the agreement as I understand it.” She turns her gaze to mine and smiles again before she looks back at Leo. “You will both continue to live in the palace for the time being. Leopold, you will continue to learn about the duties of those serving on the Tax Council for now—and if you find you would prefer to try a different position in the government, I’m certain your father would be willing to hear your suggestions.”
“I—” The king starts to interrupt, but the way the queen snaps her gaze to his and lifts her eyebrow makes him close his mouth just as quickly.
She smiles. “Right. As I was saying, Elle will continue to learn of our traditions and will attend the state dinner as we planned. I don’t believe we can expect her to be held prisoner in our palace in order for her to avoid the media—regardless of whether that prison is in her suite or one of the medieval dungeons. Considering the nature of our family’s public lives, it is unreasonable to expect that photographs and gossip wouldn’t appear when the public learns of your relationship.” She pauses, looking over at her husband. “That is an unreasonable expectation, isn’t it, Edmund?”
The king grunts his response, but it’s clear he concurs that the original agreement may have been a bit too harsh.
She smiles. “Very good. Is there anything else?”
Leo’s expression falls. “Mother, I don’t know what Elle has told you. But you must know that it is my fault that her story was leaked at all. I—”
She frowns and lifts a brow. “I thought you said that Stephan—”
Leo nods, interrupting. “I still believe he did purposely leak the information, Mother. But it is only because he overheard a conversation I had with Sophia a few months ago. What Elle told me in confidence, I should never have shared with my sister.” He turns to look at me before his gaze returns to his mother’s. “Although Stephan is very likely to blame for this story becoming public, it is only because he heard it from me. I am as much to blame for this as he is.” His frown deepens and he turns his gaze to his father’s. “And Father, I’ll not tolerate him calling Elle by these atrocious names. I apologize for my violence—I do. But I seem to have little patience when it comes to those who would offend Elle.”
The queen places a hand on her husband’s arm—I can see she’s calming him from whatever it is that must bubble up inside him when he talks to Leo. It almost seems like his frustration with Leo comes from a deep level of understanding. It’s weird, but he seems to know exactly what Leo’s talking about—but the king just doesn’t want to let up on him at all.
“We will deal with Stephan, Leopold.” His mother’s face is grim. “Won’t we, Edmund?”
The king frowns, but nods.
Leo’s mother almost smiles. “Very well. It seems we have a plan in place that we can all agree to, then.” She stands up and Leo’s father stands, too.
Leo takes my hand with his less injured one and we also rise from our chairs. “Thank you, Mother. Father.” He gives each of them a curt nod.
I force a smile. “Yes, thank you, Your Maj—”
The queen lifts a brow.
“Penelope.”
She smiles. “You are quite welcome, Elle. I can’t tell you how much I admire your willingness to do what is right for our family. We will do everything in our power to do what is right by you, as well.”
Leo turns to me, lifting a brow.
I only smile at him—he still doesn’t know exactly what was said when I was alone with his parents, and I probably don’t need to tell him.
I don’t have much of a chance, anyway. We walk back into the outer office, closing the door behind us. Stephan is still there, though he’s sitting at his desk now.
He smiles at me. “I heard about your new little arrangement, Miss Elle.”
Leo almost growls. “You will call her doctor or you will not address her at all. And how could you have heard?”
Stephan glances at his phone.
Leo’s eyes narrow to slits. “I will kill you while you sleep if you do anything to bungle my agreement with my father, Stephan.”
Stephan grins. “Oh, I’ll not need to worry, Your Highness. If you don’t call off this arrangement, I have plans of my own. And should you choose to pursue matters the way you have discussed, or if anything should happen to threaten my employ in this palace, I will do everything—and I do mean everything—in my power to enure that you and the harlot shall never see each other again.”
Leo
It takes every ounce of my will not to punch Stephan again.
You’ve already won, I remind myself. Your parents heard your side and amended your agreement. Stephan can’t sabotage us now. But the weasel has something up his sleeve, that much is certain. I don’t know what, but I’m not going to let my guard down around him.
Elle looks just as worried by Stephan’s threat.
“Come,” I say, sliding my arm through hers. “I’m sure my father has some things to say to his valet.”
I lead her back into the corridor, eager to put as much distance between us and Stephan as possible.
“What do you think he meant?” Elle asks me. “What could he do?”
“I wouldn’t trouble yourself with Stephan any longer,” I say, trying to keep my tone light. “He’s all talk. He’s simply angry, and all he can think to do is threaten us. I’m sure nothing will come of it—after all, now that we know his game, we can outwit him.” I
look down at her. “I must admit, I wasn’t expecting that conversation with my parents to go so well.”
A hint of a smile appears on her lips. “I told you to trust me.”
“I know, I just… You’ve certainly charmed my mother, Elle. And I dare say my father is coming around, too. I knew it was only a matter of time, that they just had to get to know you, but I’m pleased that it’s happened so quickly.” But that’s not the only thing that’s happening quickly. I slow down my pace, finally coming to a stop in front of a large window overlooking the city. Elle stops beside me.
“What is it?” she says.
I turn to face her, looking down into those wide blue eyes.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask her. “Are you certain that you want to go public with this story? That you’re comfortable telling the entire world what happened?”
“The entire world is going to find out eventually,” she says. “I’d rather tell it on my own terms than let some sleazy tabloid do it for me.”
I can’t help but admire her bravery, in spite of the risks involved.
“I will be by your side the entire time,” I tell her, raising my hands to cup her face. “Every step of the way.”
“I know.” Her voice is little more than a whisper. “Which is why I’m not afraid.”
I lean forward and brush my lips across hers. Her fingers close around my shirt, keeping me close as she returns my kiss.
It doesn’t take long before the heat takes over again. Need for her shivers through me, starting at the place where our lips touch and rippling all the way down to my toes. I deepen the kiss, twisting her so that her back is up against the window. She makes a soft whimpering sound and pulls me closer.
My hands slide down to the curve of her ass, then lower to the edge of her skirt. I yank up the fabric, pulling it up her thighs so I can reach beneath. My hands slide over her bare skin, teasing and caressing her. My fingers move higher and higher until I reach the thin lace of her underwear, and she gives a little gasp. I can feel the heat of her even through the fabric, and I run my hand along the edge of the lace, torturing her a little more.
