Chapter 35
R aphael
That same heavy heart woke me hours later, darkness thick and Alex sleeping across my chest. For her, I needed to change. Myself, as a minimum, but also my ideas.
As carefully as possible, I eased out from under her, settling her back down in the warm patch I’d left, then stole away to the living room.
Spying on my father would be best not done naked, so I dragged on my boxers and took my tablet to the sofa, logging on. For a long while now, we’d monitored him. Anything urgent would prompt a notification, such as his private jet leaving the States, or mass movement of his associates, say, if they’d left him to burn, but all had been quiet.
Methodically, I worked through the various traces. Dad owned a transport company, and we had access to numberplate recognition software that told us his trade routes. I scanned the data.
Nothing new. He was operating as normal.
Nor had he strayed outside of California, which was reassuring. In addition to our tracking, his second wife had sworn to report back to us if anything went wrong with him, but it didn’t help me feel safe.
It should, yet I couldn’t shake the sense of impending danger. Maybe it was to do with the trauma my brother gently tried to talk to me about, of witnessing extreme violence from a young age and having no method of processing that. I’d confided once in Gordain, and he’d suggested therapy, but I’d found my peace in the skies and in having an escape method like nothing else could provide.
Under the tablet’s blue light, I sat back and considered what I’d done. Far more dangerous than my father was the fact I’d fallen in love. I’d let down my defences, and somehow that felt like every single other protection I’d had in place had been destroyed.
“Raphael?”
Alex peered around the doorframe, her expression hesitant, like she was worried at disturbing me.
My errant pulse skipped at the sight of her. “Come here.”
She slipped into the room, and, ah fuck, she was still naked, but sadly not for long as she snagged my t-shirt and pulled it over her head. The moment she was in reach, I tugged her to my lap, discarding the tablet. Her knees slipped to the sofa cushions either side of my hips, and I held her waist.
“I woke and you’d gone.” She tilted her head.
“Not far.”
“What…? Never mind. It isn’t any of my business.”
Under her, my dick pulsed, getting hard already, despite my mood. Alex took a sweet little inhale.
“I won’t hide anything from ye, and ignore my dick. It isn’t like he’s been neglected.” I collected the tablet up again and showed her the screen. “Data tracking my father.”
She studied it. “You do that?”
“It’s a method to help us feel safe from him.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Changes to his patterns. The only protection we have is Ariel’s dossier of evidence. If he goes ahead and betrays the people he’s working with, that’s of no help to us anymore.”
“Did you find anything?”
“No.”
Her gaze left the screen and returned to me, curious, and with something resembling sorrow in its depths. “Does midnight research work when you’re stressing out?”
“Usually.”
“But not tonight.”
Ah fuck, she knew already. The connection between us had been strong from the start, and it was only growing. I’d found my person. My heart told me so. From the first, I’d wanted to protect her, then I’d been dying to take her home. Now I had her here, she was showing me just how much she wanted to understand me right back.
It was a startling, beautiful realisation, and I couldn’t answer her from the strength of it, but I didn’t need to. Alex pressed her lips to my cheek.
“I’m assuming you don’t want to talk about it?”
My dick throbbed again, my blood pumping faster. “Not now.”
“I hate you being sad. I can’t do anything about that, but I can do this.”
She stripped the shirt and moved my hands to her breasts while she kissed me, then shifted her position to free my dick, stroking me from root to tip.
I groaned, loving the feel of her touch and happily distracted from my thoughts.
But this wasn’t going the way I expected. Alex broke our kiss, gave me a pretty smirk, and climbed off my lap to slide down my body. She knelt on the floor between my legs and fitted her mouth to the end of my dick.
I tipped my head back at how fucking good that felt. Her hot mouth. The light suck she gave me as a warm-up. I couldn’t stare down at her clever tongue in action or I’d come in under a minute.
My princess wasn’t having it. She came off me. “Watch me blow you.”
Damn, fuck, God. I obeyed her and enjoyed the image of the stunning woman sweeping her silky dark hair to one side and gliding her mouth over me.
On her knees, Alex drove me crazy. I speared my fingers into her hair but fisted the sofa back with my other hand to stop from grabbing her too hard. She tongued, sucked, and teased me, cupping my balls and running her thumb over them until I bucked into her mouth and cried out.
My breathing had turned ragged. She owned not only my heart but every single part of my body.
Though I fought to control myself, I throbbed in her mouth, and Alex came off me, her hand replacing her mouth, working me faster.
“Be a good boy and stop holding back. Come for me.”
Her mouth returned to encase my desperate dick, and one more suck and I came, nearly losing my mind. That praise thing she’d worked out? Fuck did I need that so badly.
She drank me down then grinned at her victory, leaving me a panting, sweating mess, with no other thought in my head but her.
Her victory, in that respect, was sweet.
S unlight spilled around the curtains of our bedroom, and in my arms, Alex stirred. She kissed me, and we moved together in slow lovemaking that felt like we’d never stopped. Insistent, demanding presses of our lips, and our hips working together. She clung to me as she came. I said her name like a prayer when I fell after.
This. I wanted this forever.
The decision had been made and tattooed to my soul.
Alex climbed from the bed and slid my shirt over her head, disappearing for a moment then returning to the doorway. “Up. You showed me yours last night, I want to show you mine.”
I followed her into the spare bedroom. As far as I knew, there was nothing in this room, but the collection of items in the corner showed me that had changed. A canvas. A piece of board with smudges of paint. Tubes, brushes, and more.
Alex hugged her arms. “We found most of it at the house clean. Valentine lent me his daughter’s easel.”
My focus locked on the painting itself. I’d guessed from Dori’s shot that she’d done something artistic, but we hadn’t gotten around to discussing it. Her surprise broke new happiness over my heart.
The subject? The profile of a man’s face. Light lines to show the features. A well-defined mouth. My mouth . She’d drawn me.
“Is he turning away or towards the viewer?” I asked.
Her beautiful eyes held mine. “Towards, at last. It’s you, five years ago, back when I should’ve done what my instincts demanded and brought you near. I’ve thought about you so much since then. This is the view I remembered of your face as I looked up when we danced. Is that okay?”
I backed her to the wall. Claimed her lips again. “It’s incredible. You’re painting again. Fucking love that.”
She smiled into the kiss.
“Eyes on me,” I murmured, stealing her words from in the night, and ready to tell her how much more I loved than just her art.
Someone hammered on the front door, the sound ricochetting through the cottage and shattering the calm. We stared at each other, and my hackles rose. Nothing good ever came from an early morning wake-up call like that.
All that fear from in the night rushed back.
“Stay here.”
In the living room, I went to the door. “Who is it?”
“Valentine. So sorry, but there’s some shite going down. It couldn’t wait.”
I swung open the door, blinking at the bright sun. “Talk to me.”
He indicated his head to the room beyond. “I’d better come in. Ben and Jax are on their way.”
The warmth from spending the night twisted up with Alex left me fast. Peering around to make sure she wasn’t in sight, I let him in, then held up a finger to pause him and snatched up our remaining scattered clothes. In our bedroom, Alex was already pulling a fresh outfit from her bag.
“I heard,” she said.
I offered a grim smile. When dressed, we returned to the living room.
Valentine was staring at his phone. “I’ve been monitoring the news and alerts for your name, Alex. This appeared ten minutes ago.”
He held up the screen to display a headline.
Concerns at the Palace Over Princess Alexandra’s Whereabouts.
Alex recoiled. I took the phone and read aloud.
“A source at Ossington Palace reports that the royal family is deeply worried over wild child Princess Alexandra. Last seen several days ago, the princess has been rumoured to be in the company of an unnamed man previously in the employ of the palace.” I raised my head. “What the fuck?”
Valentine’s forehead creased in deep lines of concern. “Another appeared shortly after, presumably a gossip rag hustling to make up a story and steal the clicks. It’s on the next tab.”
I jumped to it then swore.
Sexy Lexi: Stalking Studs and Spiralling?
Alex gritted her teeth. “‘A palace source’ is code for the office of the private secretary. It means it’s real. This is what they resorted to? The lowdown, dirty-tactic-using bastards. I won’t talk to them and they decide to get every person in the country tracking me down?” She paced away then swung back. “That’s it, isn’t it? They can’t get me to make scandalous headlines so they invented one? I haven’t even thought about how to tackle that mess. I’ve barely caught my breath.”
I wanted to tell her it was all going to be okay, but something gnawed at me. I faced Valentine. “Why did ye call in the team?”
We could use their advice, sure, but for him to do that before talking to me was odd.
He worked his jaw. “The speculations started almost immediately.”
“Meaning what? How are they speculating?” Alex swung her gaze between us.
Another knock rattled the door. Valentine backed up to it, still watching us. “Next tab, Raph. The identity of her mystery man.”
I thumbed to the following page, the headline more of the same but the picture below startling and bold.
It was of me, body blocking Alex at the stadium event when we’d been surrounded by a crowd. A bold red circle showcased a feature on the photo. Our joined hands.
Something inside me crushed.
It was over. The secrecy and anonymity we’d shared here. Alex’s safety and place of calm.
Alex’s breath stuttered. “I’m so sorry.”
“Who is it?” Valentine challenged the person outside.
Ben called out a reply, “It’s me plus Jax.”
“Dori, also,” a second voice called.
Valentine let them in then succinctly caught them up, taking back his phone for show and tell.
Jackson palmed his jaw. “I don’t get the claim you’re missing when you’re supposed to be at your da’s place.”
Alex’s shoulders rose. “Dad’s people would never give up information on me, not like the Ossington Palace staff. Not a peep. Not even if Sir Reginald called himself.”
“So they’re having to smoke ye out by using your boyfriend,” Jackson concluded. “I don’t like this. It smacks of ‘by any means necessary’.”
I stared at my picture reveal, still open on Valentine’s phone. “Enough people know where I live to send them right to us. The press are probably already on their way.”
Ben nodded once, his powerful arms folded. “To Braithar. We’ll have longer until anyone looks for ye here. No one on the estate will talk.” He turned to Val. “Has Raphael been named yet?”
“No. I have an alert out for that, too.”
Alex made a sound of frustration. “This is such crap. What could they possibly need me for that’s so important? I missed the state dinner, sure, but did that make headlines? No. Did the fact someone spiked my drink garner the interest of the press? Nope. I bet it never even got reported because one of them is paying off that photographer.” Her eyes flashed with anger. “Dori, tell them what you told me last night.”
Her friend’s gaze darkened. “Sir Reginald got my phone number from somewhere we don’t know and called me a few times. On the day Alex went to the botanical gardens, he hit me up for her outfit choice. I gave it.”
“Which then got leaked, proving he’s part of it.” Alex looked at me. “Undeniable evidence. I hate it.”
I felt the same. “We need to get to the bottom of why he’s doing it. Time’s up whether we like it or not.”
She blew out a shaky exhale, her hands balled into fists, and pink spots formed on her cheeks. “And in the centre of it all is you. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted nothing to do with me. They’ll be evil if this story takes off. They’ll dig into every part of your life. I didn’t even consider that until now because there was no risk of it. No risk to you.”
Her voice caught at the end.
I bundled her against my chest, my heart beating too fast.
Dimly, I was aware of Ben marshalling the others into the kitchen and saying something about making coffee. I didn’t pay any more attention to them. I needed to make Alex understand. She thought we were over because of this.
I laid my lips to her hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You should. I’m toxic to be around. One of the reasons I don’t have close friends besides Dori is because they get sick of seeing themselves in the press. My best friend at uni, the one you met? She got upskirted by a newspaper shortly after the picture of you and me and never spoke to me again. My own mother left my dad because the shit they printed about her eventually got too much.”
“Why are you giving Hot Pilot reasons to quit you?” Dori queried from the kitchen. “He isn’t like them.”
I tipped up her chin and made her look at me. “He’s right. I’m not. However this goes down, we face it together.”
Her gaze clung to mine. “It might get worse.”
“Then I’ll handle it.”
“Even if they share your name? Even if this can’t be managed and goes global?”
The strain in her voice told me she’d realised what I’d already leapt to—that my father might see the pictures and hear the rumours. If it happened, that was my problem to solve, and though Jax’s murderous remedy had stuck in my mind, there had to be other options.
I cared about her too much not to try.
Though it scared the fuck out of me, the issue in hand was her family, not mine. If that flipped, I’d take care of that, too.
“Whatever they throw at us, we’ll be okay.”
“Us,” she repeated, her voice small, then with a nod to herself as if confirming something, she cupped the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. “That’s probably the most romantic thing I ever heard.”
“Same,” one of my team called from the kitchen.
I smiled against her lips and caught her hand to lead her with me to join them, buoyed, because us meant fighting this together.
At the kitchen table, I looked to each in turn. “What are we thinking?”
Ben lifted his chin. “Moving quickly to control the damage. I’ve already sent a request to my legal guy to get him to request a takedown of your photo from any major sites, and a pre-emptive one if you’re named. It’s been posted on the internet which means it’s forever, but we can limit visibility. I don’t have the approval to act for ye, Alex. I wish I did.”
She gave him a grim smile. “I wish I’d known that your team existed and I had hiring power.”
He shrugged. “Say the word and we’re yours to employ.”
My heart hurt. I fucking loved my team. They’d teased me but also accepted Alex with no hesitation, working with me in what I wanted to do. They understood without me needing to ask or say a word. I had no idea how lucky I’d been to land on my feet with them, but I’d never take it for granted.
Alex swallowed. “I can’t pay you. I don’t have any income or access to royal bank accounts.”
My boss’s smile remained kind. “Raphael is already firmly on your team. What’s a few more of us? Sign us on and we’re yours to instruct. Leo pays us fine and doesnae need us right now. He won’t mind. The alternative is lending my crew out to other teams, and we all know how that went.”
He held up his phone with a pro-forma contract.
“It’s as easy as that?” Alex signed her name with her finger.
“Done. I’ll get onto the lawyer to try to manage the media circus that’s bound to follow.” Ben strode back into the living room and made a call.
Valentine took over his role. “That handles your protection and the shite online. Now we have to address the immediate concern. People will be on the hunt. Ye don’t wait around for them to come to ye.”
Alex shivered. “Which means we need to leave.”
“But not in Raph’s car.” Jackson held up his keys. “Mine’s outside. Have at it.”
I accepted them with a nod of gratitude. “Next, do we hide elsewhere or make a stand and face them?” That question was for Alex alone.
She chewed her lip. “I’m supposed to be at my father’s house, so if I’m there, the search is over. All I have to do is show myself and the speculation is done. Will you come with me?”
My lips twitched. “Asking me to meet your da already. I’m down.”
She laughed, then her eyes widened. “I’ve had an idea. We wanted to test out the theory that one of the bodyguards was selling information, right? That’s what started all this. It’s got to be linked.”
Valentine inclined his head. “It absolutely is. Whoever’s paying them off is behind this. You’re thinking it’ll help us get to that all-important why.”
Alex grinned agreement. “I’ll call each in turn and ask them to secretly come to me at a different location in Dad’s grounds. We can have people watch out. Then if unexpected bounty hunters or press arrive, we’ll have the proof with the side benefit of bringing the cameras to the site while I handle my family.”
I tried to picture what she’d described. “How many different locations are there that this will work?”
“At my dad’s estate? It’s massive. Tens of thousands of acres. There’s a café, a place outside the gates that does tours of the grounds, even one wing of the house that’s open to the public and has a gift shop. They’re each a fair distance apart.”
We all stared at her.
Dori blew on his nails. “Stop flexing the princess shit.”
Alex waggled her phone. “Got their numbers? Let’s get them all to Scotland.”
Rapid fire, she left voice messages for Will and Johnnie, asking them to meet her in the afternoon. “Lastly, I’ll call Riss and tell her to come to the main gates because I need guarding. She won’t say no. What happens when she arrives will speak volumes.”
I watched her. “Ye suspect her, too?”
“No, not really. But she’s in the thrall of Sir Reginald, and he’s the one pushing me to work more. He also made a comment once about anticipating the headlines I’d create. He’ll show up at Dad’s, and we can have it out in private. Several birds, one stone.” Her shoulders slumped, but she sent the final message.
“Sir J is creepy.” Dori shuddered.
I squinted at him. “Don’t ye mean Sir R?”
“He’s been on the palace scene for as long as I’ve known Alex, and back when we were teenagers, he was introduced to me using his full name. I think of him as that.”
A warning played out in my head. “What does the J stand for?”
“He’s Sir Reginald Jessop,” Dori supplied.
“Like Jared Jessop, the old head of your team?” I asked Alex.
Her brow furrowed. “Maybe? I don’t know the surnames for any of my bodyguards. Only you.”
Valentine was already on his phone, typing, Jackson doing the same on his own.
Valentine held his up in a flourish. “Father and son, if this old picture is the right people.”
Alex’s frown morphed into surprise. “It is. They’re related?”
I swore. “No wonder Jared had a chip on his shoulder. He thought he was untouchable. That’s probably why Barrington is working so hard now to not lose the contract. He already had to let the boss’s son go. I wonder if he knew.”
Ben had returned and leaned against the kitchen entrance. “My guess is not or he’d never have done it. But what a sneaky move on Sir Reginald’s part, planting his useless son on your team. Fingers in every pie and corrupt from the start. Even more, we need that paparazzo guy to tell us who paid him off. If we’re right about Sir Reginald, his pet photographer will show up today, too. Who wants to nab him?”
Valentine cackled. “At last, a little action. Jax and I will. Up for a jaunt to a palace?”
Jackson added his approval. “Hell, yes.”
Dori pressed both palms on the table and looked like he had something to say. “Can I help? I have zero experience in security work outside of being guarded when I’m doing royal shit myself, but I’d know Malcolm Dennis in the dark. He threw a punch at me, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him stepped on. Let me? Fuck knows I have energy to burn.”
Jackson tilted his head. “What royal family are ye?”
“Norway and Luxembourg medley.”
Alex pursed her lips. “Just imagine Dori’s family tree growing out of piles of gold rather than earth and you’ve got him.”
My two coworkers regarded each other.
Valentine quipped, “Not it if he gets bashed.”
Jackson shrugged at Dori. “You’re in.”
The count almost smiled then coughed into his fist to hide the emotion.
Valentine turned to Ben. “What do we do to motivate the fucker?” He made two hand gestures simultaneously, fingers rubbing together to represent cash and a fist to show pain.
Ben twisted his lips in consideration. “Whatever works. They’re playing dirty, so we will, too. Today is going to bring many truths to the surface, I feel. Alex, they might not all be nice ones. They rarely are when people pull moves like this.”
She sighed but kept her chin up. “I don’t care. I’m out. They can’t make me go back. Whatever they throw at me, I’m ready.”
As was I, in front of her or by her side. However she needed me.