“There she is,” King Hernando said and stood from behind his desk. “Good morning, sweetheart.” Brent closed the study door, and Romaine took a deep breath to steady her nerves.“Good morning, Father… Good morning, Mother.” King Hernando and Queen Dorothea each took a hand, guiding her to the couch.“You look extremely well this morning, Romy… Doesn’t she, my love?” Dorothea asked her husband. Romaine glanced from one to the other, and all the courage she’d built up to confront them vanished at the look in their eyes.“What’s going on? What did you two do?”“Listen, sweetie,” Queen Dorothea said, “since you’re now twenty-five, we’ve decided it’s time to tell you what you have to look forward to. As you know, we plan on handing over the throne sooner rather than later, but before we can, there are conditions that must be met.”“Like what, exactly? How soon are you planning on stepping down?” Romaine asked quickly, worry causing her to tug on her ear until h
By the time Kingston found Raoul and filled him in on what he’d overheard at the docks, the sun was setting and King Hernando and Queen Dorothea had departed for their trip to the main continent. The rest of the guard was on their way back from the Royal dock, but Kingston remained with Raoul, watching the old man pace around his office on the lower level of the palace.“You said there was a shipment coming in at midnight?” Raoul said, scratching his chin in thought.“Yes, sir, at midnight. But he didn’t say what it was, and it was too much of a risk to follow them.”“No… No, you’re right, King. What you heard was enough.”“Sir? What are you planning on doing?” Kingston asked, anxious to be a part of it, but when Raoul stopped in front of him, his face fell. “Oh, I see… You wish for me to stay by Princess Romaine’s side.”“That is your place now, King. Protect her at all costs. For all we know, if we do take any action against Thiago and Alba, it could lead to a mu
‘Damn you for hurting her!’ he said to himself and tried not to hold her. Still as a statue, Kingston waited for Romaine to lash out at him, but her face went blank… frighteningly blank. The instincts that always warned Kingston when an enemy was near, went on red alert as she stalked past him to the trellis.“Are you coming or not, Mr. Rossdale?” she said quietly before climbing back down. She’d never called him that… Romaine was angry but he had no choice but to follow her down to the balcony where Brent and Marisol were still waiting for them. By the time his boots hit the stone, the women were in Romaine’s bedroom with the door shut.“What happened up there, King?&
She stormed towards the balcony and threw the doors open.“Where the hell are you going now?” Romaine glanced out over the city.“Out, King. I’m going out. I’m going where the people may see me… see that I’m real, that I hurt, that I smile… That I’m a human being… I am going OUT!”“The hell you are,” he muttered and stalked towards her. “Romaine, you know very well you can’t leave the palace.”“Really? Says who? You, King? You have no control over me, and my jailors also known as my parents are gone.”“It’s not safe, damn it! Stop arguing with me and get back inside,” Kingston growled. When he enveloped her in his arms, Romaine aimed to slap him, but he caught her wrist.“It’s not safe, Romaine! Do you hear me? Your cousin is out to get you!” Romaine stilled instantly at his words.“What? What did you just say?” Kingston released her and stepped back, running a twitching hand through his hair.“Just… Please, stay inside until we sort everything
“It took you a long time to get here,” she said and her emerald eyes looked at him a bit perplexed. “All you had to do was prepare the wine and join me in the bathtub.”“I wanted to be sure everything is all right outside the doors of your rooms, my sweet Princess,” Kingston replied and lowered his head just enough to catch her bottom lip lightly between his teeth. “I’m still your bodyguard, am I not?” he whispered against her lips. Romaine wanted to reply, but like every time Kingston would kiss her, she was drowning in a flood of sensations, of longings, of needs. Her breath had strangled in her lungs, and she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to.“This is one of my many fantasies,” he said and started to slowly lose his clothes one by one. “You, me… both naked, having hot sex in a bathtub or, even better, in the shower…” Kingston took a condom out of his pocket and he’d carefully laid it in the soap dish. Romaine wet her lips and watched his magnificent naked bo
The sun streamed in through the open balcony. Thinking about her wonderful love-filled night with Kingston, Romaine breathed in the fresh morning air, completely at peace with the world around her for a change. With her parents absent from the island, even if only for a day or two, the walls didn’t seem so closed-in. He made that happen. She wanted to stay there, watching the water, and feel the sun’s warmth on her face, but sooner or later, she would be called from her room to perform her duties as the Crown Princess. Except today, there was more to it than that. Two strong arms closed around her, and Kingston kissed the top of her head as she leaned back into his embrace.“Hi, gorgeous…” Kingston whispered. “How you’re feeling this morning?”“Now that you’re here, I’m ecstatic. Watching you go away so early made me so sad…” Romaine replied and turned to face him while still in his embrace. “I don’t want you to leave… I feel so lost once you closed that
Kingston waited impatiently for Romaine to be finished with the idiots in the other room. Yesterday, he had every intention of breaking off their private relationship and just being her bodyguard, letting her hate him. Then she had yelled at him and dragged everything out into the open. He couldn’t live without this beautiful, intelligent, amazing woman… He couldn’t live without his hidden princess anymore. They dove into this uncertain future, unaware of when or if they’d be able to surface safely and breathe freely again. Having her in his arms was his only way to have control. He knew that without a doubt. He wouldn’t say he loved her, but what he was feeling about Romaine was getting so damn close. When was the last time he had actually loved someone? Years ago, he'd had a girlfriend after his first year in the military. He had planned on marrying her, and living a happy, fulfilled life together but then she found someone else while
A little while later, after Kingston had changed into his more formal attire, he tracked down Raoul and Brent in the surveillance room, talking with their heads together.“Sir,” Kingston said as he approached. “Any success last night?” Raoul shook his head and slammed a stack of files down on the table.“None I’m afraid… We turned up with nothing and didn’t even find a shipment that came in at midnight. We have nothing to use against them.” Kingston cursed.“I’m so sorry, sir. I thought I heard them correctly.”“I don’t have a single doubt about what you heard,” Raoul said. “I underestimated how sophisticated Thiago’s system is and how many hands he’s greased lately. We’ll keep trying to poke holes in his company. Sooner or later, something will show up. I just hope it’s not too late.”“Too late, sir? Too late for what?” he asked raising an eyebrow.“It would be ideal to stop him before Princess Romaine takes over, of course,” Raoul said. “One less thing