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Read on for an excerpt from Kneel For Me, a royal contemporary romance. You can get it here: http://books2read.com/kneelforme
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“You need to marry, Your Majesty,” my advisor said, worrying his hat between his hands. Good. He should be nervous. There was no way I was getting married, even if tradition told me I had to. We were in the twenty-first century for Christ’s sake, why couldn’t they crown me if I didn’t have a husband?
“I don't see why,” I replied, not looking off from the paper I was perusing. It was important I got this done or the bill wouldn’t be able to pass through parliament. And considering this one was about education, it was far more important than my own marital status.
“It’s the law,” he stammered.
“It’s the law to trap me in an arranged marriage?”
I looked up this time, fixing him with a stern expression which I hoped made him drop it. I was well aware of the law in question. I made it my business to know my own country. But it hadn't been used in centuries and I’d have thought it would be ignored as antiquated and irrelevant. Apparently not.
“I wouldn’t say trap...” he protested.
“Wouldn’t you?” I arched a questioning eyebrow which said a lot more than my words ever could.
My mother had been a force to be reckoned with in her youth and she’d taught me all her tricks. I hated that she’d had to abdicate due to infirmities. No one deserved that, not least my powerful and commanding mother. The woman I used to know would have flipped to learn about this.
Lucky for my advisor, the times of cutting off people’s heads were long gone.
“Find a way out of it.” I pushed my chair back, abandoning the bill for now. It could wait long enough for me to have a cup of tea and recover from the agitation rising inside me.
“Your Majesty.” My advisor bowed deeply and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. I wasn’t just a Princess anymore, I couldn’t afford to let little slips like that happen.
I strode from the room, grateful my position allowed me to wear sturdy heels and not the super-glamourous type. They could now be reserved for more formal occasions.
I turned left when I vacated my study, taking the servant stairs instead of the more populated corridors. I wasn’t ready to face anyone else unless I had to.
A grunt and a hard wall of muscle stopped me in my tracks. Served me right for not watching where I was going. I looked up, surprised to find a pair of familiar bright green eyes looking down at me.
“Carter?” My voice came out a little breathier than I’d like it too. Then again, Carter was the one man who’d ever really had this effect on me. Kind of. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the foolish school girl crush I’d had on the gardener’s son.
I appraised him slowly. Alright. The crush I still had on the gardener’s son.
“Amara,” he replied steadily, giving me the same look I’d given him.
I should correct him. I should point out I was to be addressed as Your Majesty now. Or that he’d left for university seven years ago without even saying goodbye.
“How have you been?” he asked, his eyes softening.
Why were we having this conversation in a hidden stairwell again? If this got out...
Wait...what would happen if this got out? I couldn’t be disinherited, I was already on track to be coronated. And it wasn’t as if it was a secret that Carter and I were friends. We’d caused havoc around the palace as children.
“I’ve been better,” I replied.
“Ah, yes, your mother. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, dropping any pretence of being proper. Interesting how he had this effect on me.
“Are you holding up okay?”
“Yes. I have the best help available to help me run the country. Nothing is going to go wrong on my watch.”
“I didn’t mean at being Queen.”
“I’m not Queen yet,” I countered.
“You are in all but name. You have to know what the people are saying about you.” His words were whispered. Intimate. There was something about this moment that filled me with an anticipation I hadn’t felt in years.
Probably because of some of the other trouble Carter and I had gotten up to as teenagers. I did wonder if he’d be up for a repeat performance. It wasn’t like it was treason to sleep with the almost Queen...
“Amara?”
“Hmm?”
“You zoned out.”
“Sorry, I was thinking about legislation.”
Carter laughed lightly. “Whoever would have thought the girl I knew would turn into such a serious woman.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that you’ve taken to your new role with all the grace and gravitas I knew you had, but you never showed.”
Cryptic. And highly annoying. What was I supposed to do with that information?
“Hmm.”
“Where are you heading now?” he asked.
“To the kitchens.”
“Via the back stairs?” He arched an eyebrow and I tried not to think about how close we were still standing. I was fairly sure this wouldn’t be considered proper. Even if the mere concept of proper in this day and age was ridiculous. I was as much a woman as any of my subjects, I should be allowed to act that way.
“I don’t want to face people right now,” I admitted. I probably shouldn’t have, but Carter had been my best friend for years, it was impossible to forget that, even if he had been gone. “You look good,” I added, changing the subject and cringing while I did.
“You think so?” He smirked at me, a knowing glint in his eye.
“I need to go.” How smooth of me to just abandon the conversation. But my ears heated with embarrassment and I was grateful I wasn’t normally a cheek blusher. With my hair loose, no one would be able to see any physical sign of it.
A useful thing when I was to be Queen.
Without waiting for Carter to respond, I pushed past him and continued on my way down the stairs. A cup of tea was definitely needed now. A shot of something would be great too, but I couldn’t justify that. With work to do later, there was no shirking my duties just because I’d made myself feel awkward.
“Good to see you again, Amara,” Carter called after me, though the lack of footsteps at least confirmed he wasn’t following me.
That was probably better for now. Maybe later I could bring myself to revisit what we’d shared. But not yet.
***
Get Kneel For Me now: http://books2read.com/kneelforme