Erik
The flight to Las Vegas was long and boring, and though the family plane had a private bedroom in the back, Casey fell asleep, so I was left to my own devices. Something was bothering her, but she wouldn’t tell me, and I hadn’t found a way to pry it out of her yet. Eventually she would break down, she always did, but she was the kind of woman who needed to work through things in her own time and her own way. I respected that, because I was the same way, but my gut told me this was about us, so I wanted her to open up. We’d gotten extremely close over the last month, and it was wonderful, but she still kept many of her emotions bottled up.
I felt her pull away sometimes, but never when it mattered. Not when we talked about ourselves or our feelings or plans for the future, not when I asked poignant questions, and certainly not in bed. Whenever I thought she might start getting on my nerves or do some trivial thing, she completely surprised me with her thoughtfulness, insight, and overall appreciation for my life, even when she didn’t completely understand it. I’d never thought I’d find that in any woman, much less the one I’d been in love with most of my life. So times like now, when she did hold back, I wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it. Or her.
“It’s going to be hotter than balls in Vegas,” Sandor said.
“You’ll be fine. Believe it or not, they have AC in the U.S.”
He chuckled. “Smartass.”
“I haven’t worked out our living arrangement yet,” I told him. “So don’t freak out. My hope is that we’ll live at my parents’ house, but you know how she is. She might be determined to live in her condo, and I don’t know how we’ll handle security if that’s the case.”
Sandor rolled his eyes. “You’re the man—can’t you tell her what needs to happen for safety purposes and leave it at that?”
I snorted. “Do you know Casey at all? Me pulling the me-Tarzan-you-Jane routine won’t go over well. Besides, what kind of Neanderthal are you? That’s not how relationships work.”
“Since I haven’t been in one since university, I don’t think I remember how they work.”
“Being my bodyguard doesn’t preclude you from dating.”
He shrugged. “You’re always on the move. When would I have time? I make time for sex, and for now that will have to be enough.”
“Sex isn’t a bad thing.”
Sandor grinned. “Not at all.”
Casey came out of the bedroom looking refreshed and she sank into the chair next to mine.
“Hey. Sorry I fell asleep, but I didn’t sleep last night.”
“I know. I felt you tossing and turning. Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”
Sandor got up and moved to the other side of the plane, pulling out his headphones.
Casey sighed. “You know what they say about things that are too good to be true?”
I met her eyes in surprise. “You mean us?”
She nodded.
“Why?” I asked, frowning slightly. “I thought things have been going rather well.”
“Too well.” She sighed and then took a breath. “Erik, you are the most wonderful man in the world. I had a crush on you for years because you were hot and a prince and kind of mysterious, but I had no way of knowing the man you really are. Now that I do, it’s mind-blowing. You’re kind and giving and passionate. You like me just the way I am and seem willing to do or change anything to make me happy and to be with me.”
“But?” I eyed her warily.
“Look what’s already happened… I caused trouble with your cousin and the king. The press has had a field day with my history of partying, and they’ve already gotten pictures of us having sex. All I can see in your future is trouble. Because of me.”
“You haven’t been listening,” I said softly, looking down at her. “I don’t care about any of that shit—I really don’t. The only thing the king can take from me is my title, and compared to you, that’s literally nothing. You know that, don’t you?”
“You have all the answers and that scares me too.”
“I love you. Period. The last month has been wonderful, and there’s no reason for anything to change. We’ll get married, have babies and do the family thing for a while. Once the novelty has worn off and you’re ready to play music again, we’ll hire a nanny and take the kids on the road.”
She blinked. “You’d go on tour with me?”
“Well, I assumed you’d want me to, but if that would cramp your style, I wouldn’t—”
“No!” She smacked me lightly. “I meant, what would you do on tour? You’d be bored, and then—”
“Stop telling me what I’d feel and think and do. I’ve spent my whole bloody life being told I had to do this or that. For what, I’m still not sure. I had to have a proper education. Learn proper manners. Date certain women. Be a certain way. And for what? I’m never going to be king, and short of that, there’s no reason for everything I’ve done other than education. For once, I’m going to do what I want, which is to marry a rock star and follow her around the world. If I get bored, I can make a few personal adjustments, but for now, that’s all I want.”
“The press is going to have a field day with this.”
“I don’t give a damn about the press,” I said. “We can invite them to the wedding. I love you, we’re going to be together, and I don’t care who knows it.”
“I’m still nervous.”
“About what? Tell me each thing.”
“I…” Her voice faded. “I don’t know. It’s just a gut feeling.”
“You’re scared, and honestly, so am I. There’s a lot to who we are. You’re rock and roll royalty, and I’m actual royalty. Our paths are going to be convoluted and disparate, but there’s no one I’d rather take that journey with. Do you love me, Casey?”
“With everything I am.”
“Then what else is there? You’re everything to me. I’ve been in love with you for years. Yes, perhaps initially it was a bit of a crush, the pretty blond musician with a smokin’ hot body… But I saw glimpses of the woman you were becoming, and I was both fascinated and impressed. These last few weeks have proven you’re everything I thought you were and more. I love you, Casey, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make this work as long as you feel the same.”
“I do,” she whispered.
“Then let’s move in together and start planning our future.”
Her eyes were wet with tears as she nodded. “Okay. Yes. Let’s do that.”
“We have to talk about living arrangements, though.”
She smiled. “I know. It’s safer if we live with your parents, right? So that’s what we should do.”
Reason number 423,423,534 that I loved this woman.
My parents were so excited to see us it was a little embarrassing. They’d prepared a suite for us in the back of their estate, where we would have privacy but was still attached so we would also have access to the rest of the house, the pool, and the kitchen. The seventeen-thousand-square-foot home was built on five acres, giving them lots of room and lots of privacy. It had ten bedrooms, three of which were suites with living areas and private bathrooms and entrances, sixteen bathrooms, a guest house for live-in help, and a five-car garage, though rumor had it my father had wanted room for ten cars and my mother had put her foot down.
The only cloud on our otherwise happy return home was my surly sister. Skye had been in a foul mood since leaving Limaj, my mother told us, and seemed to be taking it out on everyone. I planned to keep Casey far away from her for now but interaction between them was inevitable and it worried me because they’d never liked each other growing up. I had no idea why, and Casey merely said it was because my sister had always looked down her nose at her, but there had to be more to it. They were going to be sisters soon, so I planned to work on that relationship, but there was time. My only goal right now was to make Casey happy and relax a little more with everything happening between us.
My parents planned a nice dinner for all of us, including Casey’s parents, the day after we arrived and there was a lot of love and laughter at the table as we ate. Skye had opted not to join us, which was fine with me, and conversation was lively as our parents grilled us within an inch of our lives.
“Can’t we just start planning a wedding?” My mother pouted, playfully sticking out her lower lip.
“You will not deprive me of the romantic proposal I’m waiting for,” Casey admonished her, laughing.
“What are you waiting for then?” Teal demanded of me.
“It’s been, like, four minutes,” I told them, laughing. “Give us a break.”
“It’s been a lifetime in the making,” my mother said firmly. “We’ve known you two were meant for each other since the day you were born.”
Casey shook her head. “How come no one ever told me?”
“It was written in the stars,” Uncle Lucas teased. “So it was inevitable. We didn’t think we had to.”
Casey glanced at me. “Who are these people and what have they done with our parents?”
“We want grandchildren!” Mom and Aunt Teal spoke together and then burst out laughing.
Casey, however, didn’t look amused and took a bite of her dinner instead.
That was interesting. Something else she was keeping from me. Did she not want kids? We’d talked about the subject loosely, without any details, and she’d never said anything about not wanting them. The look on her face just now told me something else, though.
We didn’t have any time to talk because our parents kept the conversation moving in fifty different directions, but I kept it in the back of my mind for when we were finally alone. Casey locked herself in the bathroom when we finally got back to our room, so I got undressed and crawled into bed. I always slept naked, and Casey had started to as well, but she still spent an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom before bed. I had no idea what she did since she was already the most beautiful woman I knew, but I figured it was a woman thing.
She was taking a much longer time than usual tonight and I was just about to go check on her when she came out. She was wearing a large T-shirt, something she hadn’t done since our first night in Limaj, and there was a strange look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked automatically, sitting up in alarm.
She looked at me, her eyes wide as she said, “I’m late.”