Casey
My heart dropped to my stomach. I could only imagine what the paparazzi had on me, and they would print anything and everything now that I was dating royalty. Erik had an idea who I was and what my rock and roll lifestyle was like, but he hadn’t seen much of it firsthand, and I’d had my share of wild times. I wasn’t big on sex tapes or anything like that, and Nick would never betray me, but we hadn’t always been alone.
“I’m going to go get dressed,” I said, easing off his lap. “I’m sure whatever that is can wait until I’m wearing more than a bathrobe.”
I padded into the bathroom and pulled on shorts and a T-shirt. I brushed the tangles out of my hair and blew it dry, then dabbed some mascara on my lashes. If we decided to go out, I’d add more makeup, but for now, my stomach was in knots and I didn’t know what I was going to find when I rejoined Erik and Sandor.
Erik was on the phone, speaking a mile a minute in his native tongue, his free hand waving for emphasis as he shouted at someone.
“How bad?” I asked Sandor, wincing.
He grimaced, pushing one of the tabloids over to me.
Oh, hell no.
How the fuck had they gotten pictures of Erik and me making love on his private patio by the pool? Our private parts were covered with black boxes, but there was no doubt what we were doing or that it was outdoors. The photos were grainy, but there was one shot of my face that was unmistakable.
Fucking hell. This was a disaster.
Reading the accompanying article, it only got worse, talking about my partying as a rock star, my affair with hotel heir Nick Kingsley, and even my purported drug use, which wasn’t true at all. I did my share of drinking, smoked the occasional cigarette, but other than a joint once in a while to help me sleep, I didn’t do drugs. The other stuff, though, could be a problem. I’d been drinking long before I turned twenty-one, and Nick and I had never been shy about our sexcapades on tour. The picture of my half-naked ass hanging over a balcony while we made out at a Barcelona hotel was embarrassing to me so I couldn’t even imagine what Erik thought of it.
“What is he saying?” I asked Sandor after a few minutes of listening to Erik talk in another language.
“He wants the entire palace searched and all staff questioned.” Sandor paused. “He believes it was Anwar but can’t say that. Ibrahim is handling the leak.”
“Someone placed some kind of video camera or something in his suite,” I said sadly. “That’s the only way they got pictures like this.”
Sandor nodded. “And either sold it to the highest bidder or gave it away to embarrass the family in general and Erik in particular.”
“And me.” I put my elbows on the table and rested my chin in my hands.
“He’s not angry with you,” Sandor said softly.
“Thanks.” I watched Erik rant for a few more minutes and then went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me as I fought off tears. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, because this wasn’t my first rodeo with bad press, but this was different because of Erik. I never wanted to embarrass him or have him be ashamed of me. I wasn’t ashamed of anything I’d ever done, but to have it publicized like this was humiliating.
I swiped at my eyes, frustrated with myself for being so weak, and then the door opened, and Erik came in.
“Oh, baby, don’t cry.” He pulled me into his chest, and I melted into him, tears pouring out of me.
“I’m sorry,” I sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry? You haven’t done anything wrong.” He lifted my chin and swiped at my tears, but they were coming too fast.
“Casey, listen to me—none of that matters. I’m sorry they caught us like that, doing something so private, but fuck them. Really, fuck every single person behind this. They’re just jealous because I have you and they don’t.”
“What about th-those pictures of m-me and N-nick.” I couldn’t even look at him.
“That was before we were together. It has nothing to do with us now.”
He grabbed a tissue and gently dabbed my eyes.
“I’m not good enough for you,” I whispered as a fresh bout of tears overwhelmed me.
“Oh, god, please don’t ever say that.” He yanked me closer, lips grazing my forehead as he held me. “I love you, Casey. This is all just background noise. Come on, you’ve had worse press before.”
“This is about you, not me. I don’t want to make you look bad.”
“You know I don’t give a fuck, right?” He stroked my hair until I stopped crying and got myself together.
“Wow, that hit me hard.” I looked in the mirror and cringed at the mascara running down my face. “I need to clean up and—”
“You don’t need to do anything but let me hold you.” He kept me tightly in his arms. “I’m sorry this upset you so much, but I’m going to find out who leaked those photos of us by the pool and make sure they’re punished.”
“And if it was Anwar?”
“Then I’m done with him and the whole family. They can fuck right off. This isn’t acceptable behavior, especially if he’s going to be king. And if my uncle doesn’t see that, there’s nothing else I can say.”
“It’s still your family though,” I said sadly.
“I have my parents, my sister, Vardan, Sandor, Daniil, and Elen, and now you. That’s more than enough, more than a lot of people have.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“Now, wash your face, and let’s go get something to eat.”
“You want to go out?” I met his eyes warily.
“I’m not hiding, and neither should you. If you really don’t want to, we can stay in, but I’m not going to act like we’ve done anything wrong. There’s a great place not far from here, and I’m dying for some fresh fish.”
I didn’t want to, but he was right, so I would suck it up.
“Give me a few minutes,” I said.
“Hey.” He called out to me as I turned back to the sink, so I gazed at him in the mirror.
“Yes?”
“You’re fucking gorgeous, and I love you.”
I smiled. “I fucking love you too.”
The next few days were quiet. We went out, but no one in Greece seemed to care who we were or what the tabloids printed about us. We laughed with children we met on the beach, talked about fishing with the owner of the restaurant Erik loved, and strolled up and down streets lined with shops whose owners waved and smiled. Swimming in the sea every day made us lazy and deeply tanned, the outside world somehow very far away. Even Sandor was more relaxed, often joining us for a swim or a night out to listen to music. Either no one recognized us, or we simply weren’t important to the inhabitants of this little town, but we enjoyed an anonymity that was refreshing enough to make us want to stay longer.
“The house is available for two more weeks,” Erik said the morning after I’d mentioned how much I wanted to stay.
“Let’s do that,” I responded automatically. “But if we do, I want to go to town and see if I can buy that acoustic guitar I saw the other day. If we’re going to be in one place for another two weeks, I need to be able to play.”
“Works for me.”
He got out of bed and strolled across the room to grab his shorts, so I took a moment to enjoy his glorious backside. He’d turned golden brown after a week in the sun, his Mediterranean heritage coming through with a vengeance. I was pretty tan too, though my skin burned before it turned brown and I was careful about sunscreen after growing up in Las Vegas.
“Are you staring at my ass?” he asked as he got dressed.
“Maybe.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, giving him a good view of my own naked body.
“I’m okay with that.” He tossed my bathing suit at me. “Want to rent Jet Skis today?”
“Sure.” I padded to the bathroom and was washing my face when I heard my phone ringing. “Who is it?” I yelled to Erik.
“Your dad.”
“Would you answer and tell him I’ll call him back in a few?”
“Sure.”
I heard him talking in the background, then laughing and talking some more. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and put my hair in a ponytail, and they were still talking. I walked back into the bedroom and Erik looked up with a grin.
“I kept your dad on the line until you got done.”
“Thanks.” I leaned over, kissed him and took the phone. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Hey, baby girl. Call your old man much?”
“Sorry, we’ve been hiding out here on Crete and it’s been so nice.”
“I’m glad to see the fuss about those pictures died down.”
“Me too.”
“Ben says it was someone new at the palace and they’ve been fired.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right. It was Anwar, but he’ll never admit it and some poor maid took the fall for him.”
“We figured, but what can you do?”
“Nothing. That’s why we’re hanging out here in Crete. It’s so peaceful. I’m going to go buy an acoustic guitar because I have so many songs in my head I can’t stand it.”
“When do you think you’ll be back in Vegas?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“There’s a lot going on here too. There’s a singer out in New York I’ve had my eye on and I really wanted you to go check out his band for me… I just haven’t had the energy to travel lately.”
“No?” I was instantly alarmed. “Why not? You okay?”
“Yeah, just getting older, that’s all.”
“You’re fifty-five, Daddy, not a hundred.”
“Fifty-five is old when you’ve lived as hard as I have.”
“Go to the doctor.”
“I’m fine, honey, just been overdoing it lately. Don’t worry.”
“Let me talk to Mom.”
“She’s out shopping. Well, I gotta go. Love you, kiddo!” He disconnected and I blew out a frustrated breath.
“Everything okay?” Erik asked.
“My dad said he’s too tired to go see this band in New York and that’s not like him. Normally, he’s the first one to hop on a plane. He loves to travel, especially if it involves new music, new bands, anything like that. Since the band retired, he’s always looking for new projects.”
“Perhaps he’s got a cold or something.”
“I’ll call my mom at some point and see what she thinks,” I said. “Anyway, is there anything to eat? I’m starving.”
My guitar was fantastic. It was a simple acoustic made by an unknown manufacturer and perfect for our island retreat. I’d sit on the patio at night while the sun was setting and serenade Erik, Sandor, and Aziz. I’d play classic rock favorites, my own songs, and even a few Greek staples like “Never on Sunday,” which everyone knew the words to and made us all smile as we sang. We relaxed, swam in the sea, ate wonderful food, and it became our private island in a way. No one bothered us, not even when we went out, and though Aziz and Sandor stayed vigilant, we fell into a wonderful routine. Especially Erik and me. Living together came to us as easily as breathing, and for the first time as an adult, I was deeply in love.
I’d loved Nick as a teenager, but the sexual relationship we had while touring was more convenient than romantic. My first sexual partner was one of Nick’s cousins, Ace Ross, and I’d given him my virginity a week or so before he’d left for the Marines. It was that broken heart that led me to Nick, and with the exception of a one-night stand in Paris once, that had been the extent of my love and dating life. Erik was different though. There was no doubt this was serious, deeply emotional, and permanent. I knew deep down there would never be anyone else for me and as wonderful as it was, it scared the hell out of me. How did you love someone this much without repercussions? What if he didn’t love me the same way? What if this was a love affair for him, but not the forever kind? And how did you bring that kind of thing up? I tried not to think about it, or at least not overthink it, but it was hard.
Curling into his arms as we went to bed on our last night in Crete, a feeling of dread came over me that I couldn’t explain. I told myself it was stupid, but it didn’t go away, and I lay awake a long time that night.