The sun warmed my skin as I sat on a stone bench in front of the fountain in the South Garden. A warm breeze blew in off the water, whipping strands of my long hair against my face. Perfectly manicured grass rolled away from concrete pathways like a green carpet leading to a blanket of colorful flowers.
Through an open area, I saw my villa. Beyond that was the Mediterranean Sea. The south end had a private beach, not big or crowded like the other beaches in Torryn. This one was solitary. It was mine. It was quiet and peaceful, just me and the waves. Sometimes I sat out here at night and listened to them gently lap against the shore. Other times, I sat and watched the fountain. The white marble and stone structure stood three-tiers high, each tier waterfalling to the one below then finally landing in a pool of crystal-clear blue water. This was my peace. My memories were safe here. This was where I came to talk to Dad.
“I wish you were here,” I said to the wide, blue sky. The irony about grief was that the person you wanted to console you was the person that was no longer here. “Everything is a mess right now. Mama stays so busy that I never see her. I don’t talk to any of my old friends. And I’m afraid to make new ones. I don’t fit in with the staff, but I’m not exactly a guest either. I’m just… alone.” A gentle breeze carried the fragrant scent of stock flowers with it. I breathed it in, loving the way it reminded me of home. “The strawberries are ripe and ready to be picked. You’d love it. Green and red as far as the eye can see. It’s beautiful. Sometimes I take the train to the outer roads and just stare at it. The new owners have done a great job restoring the land. I wish it could’ve been me. I wish I wouldn’t have let you down. One day, I promise to make you proud.”
I’d read about all the things other places had to offer and the hundreds of possibilities. Ever since we moved to the castle, all I ever did was read. Fiction, non-fiction, romance, suspense, history, I devoured every word as though the very air I breathed depended on it. The world was vast and great, and as soon as I got my inheritance, I could see it all—Africa, China, America. It was a fresh start, a new beginning. I could be anything, do anything. I could finally go to college. Guilt gnawed at the pit of my stomach for being excited. Part of me was more than ready to get out of Torryn, away from the constant reminders of everything I’d lost. Another part of me was terrified of being so far away. My life was here. This was my home. Yet something inside me kept telling me that I was made for so much more. There was a constant war being waged in my heart between wanting to remember and being afraid to forget.
“Why do I keep finding you in the most unexpected places?”
I shrieked at the sound of Sutton’s voice. “Mother farter, you scared me.”
He arched a brow, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his charcoal dress pants. He was perfection personified, and he made it look effortless. Then again, the devil was just an angel who painted his evil in beautiful lies. I hated myself for staring.
One corner of his mouth curved up. “What did you just say?”
It was hard to tell if he was mocking me or if he was genuinely amused, but I wasn’t about to explain my quirks to him. I didn’t curse. So what? “You can’t just sneak up on people. It’s rude.”
All hints of humor vanished from his face as he took a step forward. “Rude? Like ditching work to hang out in the garden?”
I gripped the edge of the bench, my fingers clutching the stone while I silently willed him not to come any closer. “I don’t work on Saturdays.”
As if he’d read my mind and decided to purposefully defy me, he took another step forward. “Says who?”
His eyes scanned the open, empty courtyard, stopping when they came back to me. There were no witnesses this time. It was only us, me and the prince, completely alone. He could say whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted, and no one but us would ever know. It was the perfect set-up for predator and prey.
I wasn’t anyone’s prey.
“Your father.” I glared at him. “The king.”
My tone portrayed more courage than I actually felt. My only hope was getting out of here before he noticed the cracks in my armor. The second I stood up, I realized how close he’d gotten. Something unpredictable flashed in his eyes, sending a rush of heated adrenaline all the way to my core.
My heart hammered against my ribcage. “Is there something I can help you with, Your Royal Highness?”
His smirk grew into a smile, challenging me, daring me to push his buttons. The very sight of it irritated me. “You can start by calling me Sutton.”
That would never happen. His first name was personal, and we were nowhere close to being friends.
He took another step forward, moving so close that I could count the barely-there freckles on his nose. “Is that your pick-up line? Am I supposed to feel special? Call me Sutton.” I exaggerated the seduction in his tone. “Did you ask that poor brunette to call you Sutton too?”
It was obvious that the girl from last night was anything but poor. She was probably the princess of Spain or something. She could’ve been the queen of Narnia for all I cared. I blew her off because it didn’t matter to me, and I didn’t want him to make the mistake of thinking it did.
His jaw clenched. “Goddammit I’m trying… really fucking trying to be nice, and somehow you still manage to piss me off.”
If this was him being nice, I wanted nothing to do with cruel.
I tried to back away, but the concrete bench hit my calves, holding me in place from behind while his body blocked me from the front. I was trapped. All I wanted to do was run, but as usual, fate got the last laugh.
“You can’t make things right. No one can.”
He dug his fingers into the side of my hip and pulled me against him. His grip was strong and hard, like the erection pressing against my stomach. I tried to ignore it, but an invisible rope lured me toward him, causing my back to arch into his touch. It should’ve terrified me how easily he made my body bend to his will, but it didn’t. It excited me, and I hated it.
“At least let me try. Give me one night.” His voice was strained, like saying the words caused him physical pain.
Maybe it was the loss of blood flow to his brain.
A rush of anxiety surged through me. My legs felt weak and awareness prickled my skin. The word no danced on my tongue. If I pushed him away and told him to leave me alone, would he get mad? Make me leave the castle? What would happen to Mama when he found out who I was? We had nothing left. No money. No family. We had nowhere to go. The four-thousand dollars I had in savings might last two months if we were lucky. Was he that cruel? Could I take that chance? The Crown took everything from us once. I wasn’t letting it happen again, not when I had the power to stop it, not when I wasn’t entirely sure I even wanted it to stop at all. Maybe that was it, the source of the anxiety. It was a lot easier to reject the prince than to think he might reject me.
I sucked in a determined breath, focusing on the beds of colorful flowers rather than the hammering of my heart. “One night?”
It was a mistake. I knew it as sure as I knew my own name that I would regret this. Sutton was a Thorne, untouchable and sharp. Anyone who got too close was destined to bleed.
His hand moved to the small of my back right above my butt. His fingers dug into my flesh, pushing me harder into him. A shiver rippled across my skin because it all felt easy and perfect and… intimate. Too intimate. Goosebumps feathered across my skin, both hot and cold. The afternoon breeze cooled where his touch blazed a trail of fire.
He gripped my chin with his other hand, dragging my focus back to him. “Until you beg for more.”
I didn’t beg for anything.
One night and this would all be over. Sutton would fade away like a bad dream.
I brought my hand to the sharp outline of his jaw and cradled his face in my palm. Then I leaned up on my tiptoes and whispered against his mouth. “Meet me in the library at seven-thirty.” His sea-green eyes molded to pools of deep emerald. I dropped my
hand and lowered back to my heels.
He dipped his head, brushing his lips against my neck. “You have no idea what you’ve just done.” His silky voice was low and rough... and dangerous.
Instinct told me he was right. The one thing I did know was that I’d do whatever it took to take care of Mama—at least until I could get us both out of here. It wasn’t like he asked for my heart. He wanted my body, and there was nothing left there but an empty shell anyway.
I broke away from his hold on me. “Seven-thirty,” I repeated. Then I turned toward my villa, fighting the instinct to break into a sprint.
Six
Thornebridge Castle had four gardens—one on each side. Behind the East and South Gardens were villas that we used for guests. Only one of them was occupied full-time, and I’d watched her go straight to it.
It all happened so fast, like a picture coming into focus. Everything made sense. Katie didn’t wear the uniform because she wasn’t kitchen staff. She was in the library because that’s the bullshit job my father gave her. She didn’t like me because she didn’t like any of us.
You can’t make things right. No one can.
It made no sense when she said it before, but now I understood. She blamed my family for the loss of her father and the loss of her farm. She hated us. She hated me.
Katie—the breathtaking blonde with eyes bluer than the water in front of me—was Katarina Bellizzi, daughter of Matteo Bellizzi, the man who threatened to dethrone my father.
Dad didn’t make it into the city today. Just like he didn’t make it to breakfast or even out of bed. He was getting worse, and reality was starting to kick in. The crown felt heavier than ever. Sometimes I wondered if I was strong enough to carry it.
There was only one place in Torryn where no one cared who I was or what title I wore, one place where I could truly be me. The weight rolled off my shoulders as soon as I walked in. I wasn’t a prince here. I was only Sutton.
“Hey, Sutton. It was so good to see your text. I missed you last week,” Isabella greeted me. Her fiery red hair hung in curls down her back and her beautiful smile lit up the room. She was radiance, and I needed some of that energy right now.
“I missed it too. Things have been…” I inhaled a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Intense.”
She never asked me about my crown or my father. Those things didn’t exist here, at least not for me.
“Then you’ve come to the right place,” she said as she led me down the hallway to a room that I’d become all too familiar with since we found out Dad had cancer. This was my refuge.
The muffled sound of a familiar song floated into the hallway. I hummed along, my body buzzing with the excitement of what was to come. The door opened, and a dozen bright, shiny faces greeted me. All of them sat in a circle on a colorful rug the same way they always did when I came to read.
“Hey guys, remember that surprise I told you about?” Isabella asked the children. They gasped and clapped their hands together as if they would burst at the seams if she made them wait another moment.
“Sutton!” they all exclaimed at once.
She must have told them I was coming.
“Hey guys. Man, have I missed you.” The second the words left my lips, dozens of tiny arms wrapped around my waist, bombarding me with hugs. If there was anything pure and good left in my soul, they managed to see it. Which was ironic considering these children couldn’t see at all.
Isabella laughed. “Looks like I wasn’t the only one who missed you.”
I hugged each one of them back. “Anybody ready for a story?” They all cheered in unison, and it melted my heart. “Awesome. Let’s sit down, so I can start. Deal?”
“Deal!”
I watched as they retraced their steps back to their spots on the rug. It always amazed me how aware they were of their surroundings, even though they’d completely lost their sense of sight.
I sat, legs crossed over one another, right in the middle of them. This was exactly where I needed to be, surrounded by warmth and happiness. One day I’d have children of my own, and we would do the exact same thing. I would read them stories and cherish their smiles. There would be more to life than the throne. My children would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I loved them.
Isabella shut the music off, and I read the kids a story about a boy named Jacob who went on a quest to find a great treasure but was certain that he could never do it alone. Along the way, he met several animals, making friends with them all. The lion helped him find strength, the eagle provided watchful eyes, and the sheep kept them warm when the night grew cold. In the end, they all discovered that the treasure was not in the destination, but in the journey.
Every time I left the Children’s Center for the Blind, my own vision became clearer. I saw all the things I’d missed before. Like right now, when I sometimes questioned my fate and my ability to fulfill it. They reminded me exactly who I was. I was the lion destined to be king. My strength came from my journey, and I didn’t have to make it alone. I had a castle full of eagles keeping a close eye on the world around me. I just needed to find my sheep. I needed someone to keep me warm.
I ate without my parents, because the reality was that Dad hadn’t eaten in two days. He didn’t eat, so Mom didn’t either. Apparently, cancer was the one thing beyond the king’s control.
After dinner, I checked my watch. It was seven twenty-five. When I left the garden earlier today, I’d decided there was no way I was going to that fucking library. I was shocked that I even entertained it to begin with.
Of all the people in the world my father had warned me about, Matteo Bellizzi was the worst. I’d never understood why Dad ever brought that man’s family here, under our roof. I remember the day they’d moved in like it was yesterday. My father said Katarina Bellizzi cried and begged her mother to bring her anywhere but here. He said she’d thanked him… with tear-stained cheeks and hatred in her eyes, like the ungrateful little daddy’s girl that she was. Yet he’d still offered her a steady income and a place to live.
Of course, I didn’t recognize her because outside of her name, I had no idea who she was. I never wanted to. I did everything in my power to stay as far away from her as possible. I never went to the library, and I avoided the South Garden like the plague. Then I walked into the kitchen and found her by accident. Fate had a sick fucking sense of humor.
Dad said that Matteo was the driving force in the rebellion against the throne, but he was gone now. It was over. His wife and daughter were simply victims. He’d said Katarina was just grieving and that she’d eventually come around.
That’s not what this was. This wasn’t her coming around. It wasn’t her wanting me the way I’d wanted her. This was her revenge. I may not have known who she was, but she sure as shit knew me.
Still, the pull I felt to go to the library twisted and grew and wrapped around me like a vise. I had to see if she meant what she said, if she was fucking with me or if she’d kept up her end of the bargain. She’d slipped inside me and settled in my veins like fucking poison.
I left my dishes on the table to keep Mrs. Fletcher off my ass. I managed to only get her all riled up once a day. Anything over that and she’d probably be serious when she said I was nothing but trouble.
The castle was eerily quiet for a Saturday. It was as though even the walls knew something wasn’t right. Normally, the Great Hall would have vibrated with enthusiastic energy from power-hungry guests. Last night’s gala was likely the last party Mom would put together for a while.
I pushed open the heavy wooden door and walked inside the library. I hadn’t spent this much time in here since Mom renovated it five years ago. It was empty, nothing but the dim light of a couple of lamps casting shadows across leather furniture and wooden shelves. Once again, Katie made me look like an idiot. This was the kind of shit that happened when you had a dick for brains.
I plopped down on the leather sofa and raked my fingers through my hair. I’d spe
nt way too much time trying to get in her pants and not enough on the kingdom I would soon rule.
“I was starting to think you wouldn’t come.” Her angelic voice floated from the second story balcony.
I lifted my head and watched her descend the spiral staircase, studying her body without shame. She wore a black dress with thin straps on the shoulders. The silky fabric clung to that delicious “V” between her thighs every time she moved. Her eyes stayed locked on me as her hand slid over the rail, her fingers curling around the polished wood the way I imagined they’d wrap around my cock. She was barefoot. The whole thing was sexy as fuck. Watching her move sparked this intense combination of hate and lust that I couldn’t seem to get enough of, and at the same time I wanted to crush it with my bare fists.
“Where are your shoes?”
She stopped at the bottom step. “You’re worried about my shoes?”
I stood up and shrugged because fuck, she left me speechless.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those guys with a thing for naked women and high heels.”
For her, I had a feeling I’d be one of those guys with a thing for just about anything. And that was the problem. I didn’t come here for this. I came here to let her know I was done. The game was over. I wasn’t playing anymore.
That didn’t stop me from wanting to slide my hands up the backs of her thighs just to see if she’d worn any panties.
When I didn’t reply, she turned to go back upstairs. “They’re upstairs. I can go get them if you—”
“No,” I gritted then tightened my face into a familiar mask. Her lips parted, forming that sexy fucking “O” when I grabbed her wrist to stop her. I was about five seconds away from sticking my dick in her mouth and letting both of us make promises we knew we couldn’t keep.
Her chest heaved with each breath. She was nervous. I was too. I just happened to be better at hiding it.
Crown of Thornes : a modern day royal romance Page 4
