Erik
I managed not to turn red, but I had to take a long drink of water before I was able to answer her.
“My sex life is private, thank you,” I said slowly. “But I believe I do know how to please a woman.”
“And who’s going to tell you otherwise?” She laughed. “I can’t see some poor girl who thinks she has the chance to marry into the royal family telling you you’re no good in bed.”
I stared at her. “I’m fairly certain I can tell when a woman is faking.”
“If you say so.” She got up and put her dishes in the sink, keeping her back turned as she rinsed them.
As frustrated as I was with the turn the conversation had taken, I was enjoying sparring with her. She was gorgeous, with long blond hair and the biggest, bluest eyes I’d ever seen on a woman. Her legs were long and lean, sitting beneath the most luscious backside I’d ever wanted to sink my teeth into. Regardless of what she thought, I had a healthy, abundant sex life, and the women I’d slept with most certainly enjoyed themselves. I wasn’t sure how to convince her of that though. Well, I knew how I wanted to convince her, but that didn’t appear to be in the cards.
“Do you really think I’m stuffy and boring?” I asked instead. “I was raised as a proper royal, so I’ve always had a set of rules to follow, a way of doing things outsiders don’t understand.”
“You’re right, and I understand that part of it.” She closed the dishwasher and turned, leaning against the counter. “Look, I don’t want to argue. I was just pointing out how different we are and why we don’t have any kind of relationship. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“What would I have to do to prove to you that I’m not a bad guy?” I didn’t know where that came from, but I was suddenly pissed off and intent on showing her I wasn’t stuffy and certainly not a snob.
“I never said you were a bad guy.” She laughed. “But, anyway, why do you care what I think? You’re going back to Limaj, or wherever you spend your time, and I’m positive you won’t give me a second thought once you go.”
“How do you know what I think about?” I demanded. “You just admitted you barely know me. So, I’ll ask you again…what would it take for you to believe I’m not all bad?”
“And I’ll tell you again, I never said you were bad. I just said we’re very, very different.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” I stood up, towering over her, fixing a gaze on her that seemed to surprise her based on the way she took a hesitant step back. “What would I have to do to prove to you I’m not truly stuffy, that I know how to have fun, and that I care about people? Maybe even you.”
She stared at me, squinting slightly as she tried to come up with a response. Finally, she shrugged. “Come to New York with me. I’m going on a rock ‘n’ roll drinking and partying fest. I’m going to see old friends, get drunk, and forget all about this debacle with my band. If you truly want to be my friend, come with me to make sure I don’t get into too much trouble.”
“Fine.”
“But you can’t sit there like a stick in the mud.”
“All right.”
“And you have to lose your bodyguards.”
“That’s not possible,” he said. “My father wouldn’t allow it.”
She pursed her lips. “All right, but just your personal guard, Sandor, and he has to dress like us, act like us, and hang out with us. He can wear his gun under a jacket or something, but he can’t tell anyone who he is or who you are.”
“And a car with my personal driver to follow us discreetly, just in case.”
“As long as they stay far away, and the only way they come anywhere near us is if they see something that looks dangerous.”
“Done.”
She gave me a funny look. “I’m heading to the airport in the morning.”
“We can take the family plane. Mother and Dad aren’t planning to travel any time soon.”
“Hmmm, now that’s downright useful.” She chuckled. “I’d like to be out of here by around ten if that’s okay with you.”
“I’ll arrange it.”
“Perfect. See you later.”
I watched in frustrated astonishment as she blew me a kiss and strolled into the living room to join the others without giving me a backward glance. What the hell had just happened, and what had I gotten myself into?
I’d always had a hard-on for the bright-eyed blonde, but she was two years younger than me, and I’d never spent more than a few weeks at a time in Las Vegas growing up. Between boarding schools, summer camps, and official family visits to Limaj, I’d worshipped her from afar. Watching the insanely talented and sexy woman she’d turned into had me jerking off in the shower more often than I wanted to admit, but I’d never dared let her or anyone else know just how much I wanted her.
Up until recently, I’d believed I would marry the woman chosen for me and go about my life the way everyone expected me to. After the last meeting of the royal family, something sour had settled in my gut. I enjoyed life as a royal, but with virtually no chance of taking the throne due to my father’s abdication, I was content to be a bit of a playboy, enjoying all that life and my position had to offer, though I was always discreet. Recent events, however, had shown me that things were changing in my country. As part of the royal family, I couldn’t sit back and allow things to happen the way they always had.
Limaj sat in a unique position both geographically and politically. Settled between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, it was what I’d once thought was the perfect balance of old and new. East of Turkey, bordering Iraq and Iran, with Georgia to the north, we were a tiny blip that essentially spanned three regions. Limaj had always represented the best of all those worlds to me with the food and summer tourism of Turkey and the rest of eastern Europe, the pride and history of Asia, and the oil of the Middle East. We had wealth, freedom, and decent weather. There were some antiquated laws, like giving men almost complete control of their wives, but spousal rape was no longer allowed, and women had the freedom to work, get an education, drive, and most other rights.
As in most things in life, Limaj wasn’t perfect. Families still believed in arranged marriages, winters in the northern part of the country could be brutal, and some of the newer politicians had radically old-fashioned ideas, suggesting longer hem lengths for women’s clothing and less freedoms for citizens, in general. Thus far, they’d been shut down by the general assembly of senators and the king himself, but the fact that they kept popping up bothered me. Anwar seemed to be aligning himself with that faction of the government, and though King Isak made noises about not approving, he hadn’t removed him as next in line to the throne either.
All of this had been a quiet nagging in the back of my mind, and since I’d finished my master’s degree, I’d been paying a lot more attention to what was going on. My father had abdicated the throne before I was born so I’d never thought about being king and it seemed like a huge hassle anyway. I preferred my much less demanding life and had brought up getting a job more than once. But the family always shot me down, leaving me far too much time to think. And every time Anwar said something stupid, something deep inside of me burned with a need to find a way to take my rightful place as heir to the throne.
I’d never said these things aloud, of course. My father probably wouldn’t be happy, and my uncle would have a heart attack, but what else was there for me to do? My role as an ambassador was boring, I’d had enough parties and polo matches to last a lifetime, and sex with giggling debutantes and ladder-climbing socialites had begun to bore me in ways I didn’t understand. In fact, until running into Casey today, I’d given up on women altogether. Just sparring with her earlier had gotten my dick hard, and I wanted her more than ever.
Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to like me very much, though she’d been polite at first. It had always been that way, with her politely avoiding me since our teens. She’d started calling me “Your Greatness” instead of my appropriate title, and though I never knew why, it always made me laugh. Hearing it today had sent blood flowing to regions I’d thought were dormant, so that undoubtedly had played a role in my deciding to go to New York with her.
“Erik?” My mother’s voice brought me out of my reverie, and I looked up at her with a smile.
“Hi.”
“I’m so glad you decided to come with us. When was the last time you saw Uncle Lucas and Aunt Teal?”
“Too long,” I admitted.
“Did you and Casey have a nice chat?”
I snorted. “She mocked me for a while and called me stuffy, to which I promptly invited myself along on her upcoming trip to New York.”
My mother bit her lip, the twinkle in her eyes belying her attempt to not laugh. “I see.”
“Go ahead and laugh. She doesn’t like me.”
“Oh, she likes you.” She ran a gentle hand along my cheek. “I think she feels you’re out of her league, so she covers it with sarcasm and snide remarks. Take the time to get to know her, my love. She’s a smart, talented, strong young woman who’s still finding her way. I think the two of you would be good for each other.”
“How so?” I asked curiously.
“She needs someone to guide her through adulthood now that she’s at a crossroads professionally, and you need someone to show you how to let go of everything you can’t have.” Her words were filled with hidden meaning, and I searched her face, trying to grasp what she wasn’t willing to spell out.
“Mom, I just—”
“I know. You’re troubled, unsure of your place in the world… Trust me when I tell you I know what you need better than you do.”
I sighed. She was probably right—she always was.
“Go to New York and let yourself get lost in fun. You’ve always been the perfect son, well-behaved and loyal, intelligent and cognizant of your role within the royal family. But that’s not your life, so why not enjoy the one you have instead of the one you feel was taken from you?”
Damn. How did she always do this to me? It was like she read my mind. It pissed me off sometimes, but not today. Today, it made sense because I was making myself crazy watching things out of my control go sideways. Whatever happened in Limaj, in the government, with Anwar, had very little to do with me, and I’d be so much happier not worrying about it. At least in theory.
“Thanks, Mom.” I rested my head against her side, and she gently stroked my hair.
“My daughter has never taken a single piece of advice I’ve given her,” she whispered. “And look where she is now. So, do me a favor and be the child who does.”
“Okay.” I nodded, and for the first time in many years, I was genuinely excited about something. Whether it was Casey or merely the freedom to be myself for once, I couldn’t tell, but whatever it was, I was ready. Consequences be damned.