by Kat Mizera
“No, not much at all. Guys don’t like women who can kick their asses.”
“I think Erik fell in love with me before he figured out I had a black belt,” Casey chuckled.
“I don’t even know if I believe in love anymore,” I admitted, perching on the edge of her desk.
Casey met my eyes curiously. “Really? You and Sandor are just knocking boots? Nothing else?”
“I don’t think…” My voice trailed off. She was my boss. I had to play this off, no matter how interested she seemed. “It’s just easier not to get too involved. He’s…way out of my league.”
Casey blinked. “Out of your league? Why? Because he has royal blood and a title?”
“Well, that’s part of it. He’s also rich and extremely good-looking. Rich, hot princes don’t get serious with average-looking female bodyguards who have man hands.”
“You don’t have man hands.” Casey laughed. “You have beautiful hands. Just because you keep your nails short doesn’t make them man hands. My nails were almost always short because I played guitar for a living, but that didn’t make them ugly. Just simple.”
“Well, guys like Sandor probably don’t marry simple girls like me, and I don’t want to be nothing but a notch on his bedpost. I’m sure it’ll burn itself out at some point in the next couple of months and he’ll move on.”
“You don’t know him very well, do you?” Casey cocked her head. “Sandor is as loyal and kind as he is rich and hot. He wouldn’t be sleeping with you if he didn’t at least plan to give you a chance.”
“He’s really sweet under his gruff exterior,” I admitted.
“Please tell me he’s good in bed,” Casey whispered.
“He’s…amazing in bed.” I bit my lip to keep from grinning too much.
Casey didn’t hold back, though, and pumped her fist. “Yes! I knew it. Thank goodness. I’d be so disappointed if he was bad.”
“No way. We’re good in that department.” I cleared my throat. “So, was there something else you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Yes. I want to hire an assistant of sorts and I know who I want, but she has to be thoroughly vetted, of course. Sandor is working on that part of it, but I’d like you to interview her this week as well, get a feel for her. You can make it seem like you had to outline the security protocols to make sure she understands them, but in reality, I want your gut feelings about her.”
“Of course.”
“Also, I’m flying in a dressmaker I know from New York. She’s going to design dresses for us for the charity ball in October. Since my daughter is the belle of the ball, I figure we should all look special. And you’ll need to dress up too, even as my bodyguard, because there will be a lot of celebrities there and we don’t want to make them uncomfortable by having armed guards following us everywhere. We’ll have her make you a dress you can wear a thigh holster with.”
“Whatever you need,” I said.
“You and Sandor should go together,” she said with a teasing smile. “He looks fantastic in a tux.”
“He looks even better naked,” I responded.
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ll take your word for it.”
“Okay.” I got to my feet. “Is there anything else?”
“One more thing.” Casey paused. “Are you planning to move out of Sandor’s room any time soon?”
“I…don’t know. Why?”
“Well, I don’t want to make your room a priority if you’re staying with Sandor, when there are half a dozen other rooms that need updating. Xander’s room is a mess, and if we agree to hire Edita, she’ll need somewhere comfortable too.”
“Oh, go ahead and do theirs. I don’t know what’s going to happen with me and Sandor, but as long as the bed is clean, I can sleep anywhere if I have to.”
Casey opened her mouth as if she was going to say something else, but apparently changed her mind.
“We good?” I asked after a moment.
She nodded and said, “Yup. See you later.”
19
Sandor
Members of Parliament began arriving just before nine on Monday morning, but I was still upstairs, adjusting my tie in the mirror. I wasn’t looking forward to this and hadn’t slept well last night. My gut was screaming at me today, warning me of danger, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it since nothing bad was actually going on. My king, my friend, had asked me to sit at his side today, so what the hell else was I supposed to do? Joe was in charge of security, and he was damn good at what he did, but the control freak in me was having a hard time letting go.
“You okay?” Lennox leaned against the door to the bathroom, her eyes seeking mine in the mirror.
I nodded. “I’m heading down now.”
“You look extremely sexy in a suit,” she said with a smile, moving against me.
My arms circled her waist instinctively as I leaned down to kiss her. “Thank you.” I playfully dropped my hands to squeeze her ass.
“I have to go,” she said. “I’ll be with Casey and the baby today.”
She moved toward the door and I called to her. “Lennox.”
She turned. “Yes?”
“Pay attention to your gut today. Even if it winds up being a false alarm, take Casey and the baby to one of the tunnels if you find even the slightest thing is off. No one is going to be upset that you erred on the side of caution.”
She nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
She shut the door quietly behind her and I turned my thoughts to the task at hand. The more I thought about my place in Parliament, the more confused I became. I had the same education that Erik had—an undergraduate degree in international finance and a master’s in business. I’d served more time in the military than anyone in the royal family was expected to since I’d done two years while Erik was finishing high school and then another year while he’d done his own required service. I had two different black belts and had trained with the CIA while I’d been in hiding, so I knew security, intelligence, and protection protocol like the back of my hand.
Because I’d taken my job of protecting Casey and Luke so seriously, I’d immersed myself in it to the point that I’d let everything else fall to the wayside. Other than sex here and there, when I couldn’t stand celibacy anymore, the only thing I thought about was keeping my charges alive. Now it seemed I was moving on to a different part of my life and I wasn’t sure I knew how anymore. My growing affection for Lennox had shown me just how inept I was as a…boyfriend? She hadn’t said anything, and I suspected she wasn’t all that experienced at romantic relationships either, but I didn’t want to be another one of those guys who disappointed her. There was no problem in the bedroom, of that I was sure, but I struggled with everything else.
We’d been together a few weeks and had more sex than I’d ever had with the same person in my life. We also lived together, and while I hadn’t planned to jump right to that level, we’d had no choice initially and now I couldn’t imagine her moving out. She was easy to live with, get along with, sleep with… What else did I need? My feelings for her were growing exponentially, which could mean one of two things: that I’d found my soulmate and we were meant to be together, or that our proximity to each other, both personally and professionally, had thrown us into a situation that would most likely end badly. I was okay with the first, if not a little wary, but the second wasn’t an option. Our lives were too closely intertwined.
Glancing at my watch, it was a minute before nine, so I grabbed my briefcase and headed down to the meeting room. Erik had transformed the formal dining hall into a meeting room of sorts, with tables set up that seated ten each, and a podium at the front of the room. Erik was already there, drinking a cup of coffee and greeting members of Parliament as they arrived. I spotted my brother and veered in his direction since we didn’t see much of each other these days.
“Hey.” Daniil looked up with a grin. “You’re looking good, big brother.”
&nbs
p; “You don’t look too bad yourself,” I replied, giving him a hug.
“I hear there’s a woman in your life.”
I groaned. How the fuck had word gotten around so quickly? “Let’s not do this here,” I said quietly. “We’re still new and people are starting to talk. I don’t want anything to scare her away.”
Daniil nodded. “Understood. So, is it true Erik’s asked you to take a seat in Parliament?”
“It is, but we haven’t finalized anything yet. Are you going to be the ambassador to the U.K.?”
“If that’s what he wants from me, absolutely.”
“Gentlemen.” Jesper Vanta joined us and I shook his hand, wondering what was happening with him and Daniil, since they were now divorced but shared two children. Daniil and I had never spoken about his sexuality; I’d never known he was gay and still doubted it, but that wasn’t the kind of thing we talked about. We were a fairly uptight family, in spite of our fierce loyalty to each other.
“Good to see you.” I shook Jesper’s hand.
“Is it true there’s a woman in your life?” Jesper asked, his eyes twinkling with laughter.
I rolled my eyes and Daniil started laughing.
“On that note,” I told them, “I’m going to get some coffee.” I walked in the other direction, wondering if something was wrong with me, if I was truly an uptight prick, or if I was somehow ashamed to admit I had a girlfriend. I hadn’t had one since college, and that felt like a very long time ago, so this was all new to me. Watching the love Casey and Erik shared had skewed my view of romance, convincing me I would never find someone to love the way they loved each other.
Except I’d asked a woman I’d only slept with a couple of times to move in with me. There had been reasons, excuses probably, but at the end of the day I didn’t want her to leave. I liked waking up next to her, having her at my side, and her interest in my country warmed me in ways I didn’t want to think about. She was as close to perfect, for me anyway, as anyone could possibly be. Which scared the crap out of me, and truth be told, nothing scared me outside of the thought of something happening to Erik, Casey or the kids.
“Morning.” Erik smiled as I joined him, coffee in hand.
“Good morning.” I nodded at the man beside Erik, General Sven Galante. He was a four-star general in our army, though he was probably only about five years older than I was. He’d risen through the ranks quickly under Anwar’s rule, and once Erik had cleaned house after taking over, Sven had gone straight to the top. However, I wasn’t sure what he was doing here since the military wasn’t part of Parliament. Erik gave me a look, a tiny, subtle nod of his head that most people wouldn’t see, but we’d shared this type of thing for most of our lives. It was part of what kept us alive over the years, our ability to communicate without words or motions.
In this case, he was letting me know there was a specific reason we’d brought in a general to this meeting, and I wrestled with disparate feelings. This almost definitely meant Sven was in the running for Minister of Defense and that Erik had something else in mind for me, which confused me since I’d been leaning in that direction.
“Shall we get the meeting started?” Erik asked.
“Let’s do it.” I sank into the chair beside his. We were at the head table, for lack of a better word, which included Erik, Daniil, Elen, Jesper, General Galante, and someone I didn’t know. I glanced at Erik and he gave me another one of his looks, telling me he’d explain soon.
In the meantime, I leaned over and kissed my sister’s cheek. “Good morning,” I told her. “And so help me, if you ask about my girlfriend, I’ll make sure Erik makes you ambassador to the Arctic Circle.”
She laughed. “Why the big secret?”
“Because I don’t want anything to jinx it.”
“As long as she makes you happy.” She turned to Jesper and started a conversation with him, effectively ending ours, and I was grateful for that.
“Good morning.” Erik stood at the podium and got everyone to quiet down. “The breakfast buffet is set up on both sides of the room, and it looks like most of you have plates, so I thought I’d start with a few opening statements. You should all have an agenda in front of you. If you turn to the last page of the packet that’s been provided, you’ll see a list of all Parliament positions and those that are currently filled.”
Our Parliament was made up of sixty members. There were two representatives from each region of the country, similar to state senators in the U.S., and we had twenty-five regions. Then there was the President of the General Assembly, a position currently held by Erik, and eight cabinet positions we called Ministers. Historically, the final position had been—ironically—that of historian, someone who was in charge of all the records of everything that went on in Parliament. As far as I knew, we didn’t need one anymore because technology eliminated the need for it, but I wasn’t sure what Erik’s plans were with regard to that position, which meant there were fifty-nine positions that needed filling.
“To get started, we need to address the attack from the last time we met. Parliament House, sadly, is beyond repair. I’ve already started reconstruction, but without a budget for the year, there isn’t a lot of money to play with. Our fiscal year is from the first of June until the thirty-first of May, and the current budget doesn’t meet our needs for rebuilding the country. In that same vein, we also don’t have a Minister of Commerce, who would be the one to put a budget together for us to make adjustments to. Angus Haverly is the man I’d like to see in that role, and his biography is part of your packet. I’d like everyone to take a few minutes to read it, while we finish eating. Then I’ll let him speak and we’ll have a vote.”
He sat down beside me and I nudged him. “Is that him?” I asked under my breath in English, moving my eyes in the direction of the stranger at our table.
Erik smiled. “I don’t think you two ever met,” he said, turning to the man sitting across the table from us. “Angus, this is my cousin and closest confidant, Sandor Gustaffson. Sandor, this is Angus Haverly. He’s half-Limaji, born to a Limaji mother and British father. We had classes together my freshman year at university, but he graduated that year and we lost touch. He’s moved back since I took power. He worked on Wall Street for a decade and then moved to the U.K. as a financial advisor to some of the royal family. I think he’s perfect for the role of Minister of Commerce.”
“Thank you.” Angus inclined his head. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with you.”
“Nice to meet you,” I told him.
“Likewise.” We chatted for a bit and then Erik got into the nitty-gritty of the meeting. Everything had to be debated, brought to a vote, and voted on. We started with some of the easier appointments, like Ministers of Commerce and Arts and Education. We deliberated through lunch and were now inching toward dinnertime. I’d loosened my tie, gone to the bathroom twenty-seven times, and drank so much coffee I probably wouldn’t sleep for a week. And yet, we’d only accomplished a handful of things.
“Your Majesty.” One of the men from the northern part of the country got to his feet. “With all due respect, I feel this has to be said.”
“By all means.” Erik inclined his head.
“Your rush to accomplish so much in a single day shows your inexperience. We need to take the time to establish ourselves, create unity. Making rash decisions will only lead to more chaos.”
Erik met the man’s eyes and didn’t say anything for a full minute.
Uh-oh. I dipped my head to hide my smile because this was classic Erik. He was about to give someone a dressing down they would never forget, and in such a way that they would most likely thank him for it when he was done.
“As you know,” Erik said in a deadly quiet tone, “I spent nearly eleven years in hiding. I gave up my fiancée, our child, my family, and my birthright—all for my country, my people. I didn’t have a plan, but I knew I had to protect the bloodline, so that when the time was right, we could ous
t Anwar from power. Since my return, I’ve devoted almost all of my time—again neglecting my family, my children, everyone that I’d already lost so much time with, in order to bring our country back to some semblance of normalcy after a decade of terror. I was instated as king with a unanimous vote of Parliament. I was elected President of the General Assembly with ninety-two percent of the vote from the general public, which is unheard of in a democracy.” He paused, looking around. “If there’s someone more suited, and also willing, to step up and replace me so that I can enjoy a little time with the family I just got back, as well as take on the role of rebuilding our country, please, step forward and we can arrange another vote.”
The room was silent. The man who’d initially challenged him sat back down, his face a little red.
“We don’t have time to jump through hoops,” Erik continued. “While we’ll still follow the rules of law and the tenets of our constitution, we don’t have six months to debate every bill. We barely have a functional government. Omar Daishel, my former brother-in-law, has already made multiple attempts on my life. International relations are almost nonexistent. The people need us to reinstate trade, reestablish tourism, create jobs and a working economy. If you think we can do this in tiny incremental steps, you haven’t been paying attention. So either get on board or get out of my way.” He turned back to his notes. “Now, next on the agenda…”
With the education bill still on the table, I had a feeling we’d be here all night because that was one of Erik’s priorities. It would take weeks to revamp the budget, but at least we’d already approved an emergency addendum that would release money to continue rebuilding Parliament House and keep the country’s infrastructure running. Beyond that, we had so much to do it was daunting.
20
Lennox
Being a bodyguard could be spectacularly boring. That was a good thing in this case, because it meant everyone was safe and sound, but it was hard for me to sit still for long periods of time. With nothing going on, my mind turned to the sexy prince I was presently living and sleeping with. I’d never imagined myself in the position I was in, and it was both exciting and scary. I was trying not to let myself get too involved too quickly, but it was hard not to. He was everything I never knew I wanted. Unfortunately, I had no idea what his take was on things between us.
