Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Donovan
When I headed to the hotel lobby after leaving Derek’s room, I approached with caution. With that Hot Scoop article circulating about me, I prepared to be swarmed as soon as I set foot on the ground floor, not knowing what kind of security might still be in place.
That did not happen, and I’ve been sitting here for ten minutes now with hardly a glance from anyone passing by.
It seems Derek isn’t the only one who didn’t recognize me right off the bat.
Even with Nova Tate in the forefront of people’s minds, I’ve evolved so far from that iteration of myself that it might take a lot for anyone to connect me to her.
Huh. That bothers me more than it should.
I hope Derek’s okay. I really didn’t want to leave him, but it was for the best, and I’ll keep my promise and stay close until something changes.
He seemed strong enough to handle a conversation with his mom, but then again I just got an up-close view of how thoroughly he can jump into whatever emotion he wants.
I’m still reeling from how angry he sounded while talking about shampoo, so there’s always the chance that he was only pretending to be okay with facing his mom.
Maybe I shouldn’t have left. Or at the very least I could have stayed out in the hall and tried to listen in, just in case.
Groaning softly, I shift in my seat in my corner of the lobby and distract myself by watching the few people around me.
The man and woman at the front desk are all things professional, typing away at their computers and answering the phones every few minutes.
Not all that exciting. A couple of older men in business attire exit the elevator with suitcases in tow, chatting as they head to the doors and out into the sunshine.
There’s a middle-aged woman on the other side of the lobby with a cup of coffee and what must be a riveting book because she hasn’t looked up even once since I got here.
The front doors slide open again to let a man enter, and his purposeful stride enhances his large build and makes him look like someone I wouldn’t want to meet down a dark alley.
His steps slow halfway between the doors and the desk, and when his head turns to bring his gaze directly to me, a flash of fear runs through me. But then his lips lift in a familiar smirk.
Before I can fully process who’s standing in front of me, another man rushes into the lobby with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and a panicked look on his face as he gasps, “Sir! You were supposed to wait for—”
“Calm down, Rothesby.” Without taking his eyes off me, the first man pats his companion on the shoulder and stalks in my direction. “Donovan Tate?”
I scramble to my feet as he comes to a halt a few steps from my couch, the other guy right behind him. “Uh, yeah. Am I supposed to bow or something?” I ask stupidly. But I’ve never met a king before, and I’m still disoriented by the sight of Derek’s younger brother, Elliot, standing in front of me.
“Yes,” Rothesby says at the same time Elliot says, “Absolutely not.”
I stand frozen, not sure who I should be listening to.
Rolling his eyes, Elliot puts a hand on Rothesby’s shoulder and gently shoves him back a couple of steps. Then he turns back to me. “Please don’t bow.” He scrunches up his nose. “Especially not here.”
That’s the response I was hoping for, but now I don’t know what to say. “I…uh, thought you were in Candora.”
“I was.”
“That’s on the other side of the world.”
“I took a plane.”
He must have come straight here after talking to Derek. “Why?”
Elliot grins as he glances around the lobby, and the expression looks so much like Derek that I’m able to relax with my next breath.
“Because I thought Derek might need some backup, even if he’s convinced otherwise.
” His eyes trail over me now, and I feel like he’s seeing way more than I want him to.
Derek is good at reading people, but I get the sense that his brother is even better as his eyebrows pull low.
“You’re out here instead of with him.” It’s less of an observation than it is an accusation that fills me with renewed guilt.
I swallow. “We agreed it was for the best.”
He narrows his eyes. “Why?”
“Sir,” Rothesby interjects, “you shouldn’t be out in the open like this.”
“Find me a threat, and I’ll go somewhere more private,” Elliot responds without hesitation. Again, his eyes never leave mine, and it’s unnerving being trapped in his gaze like this.
I wait for Rothesby to come up with a reason to move.
When he stays silent, I search for the best way to answer Elliot’s question without this turning into a repeat of Derek’s fury earlier.
The man in front of me had a highly successful career in the Special Forces before becoming Princess Freya’s bodyguard, and now he’s a legit king.
I’m assuming Rothesby is his bodyguard, but there’s no way he could stop Elliot the way Hunter did with Derek.
Not when Elliot is all muscle and intensity.
Guessing things will get worse if I delay, I take a deep breath and say, “He’s talking to your mom.”
To his credit, Elliot only tenses a little. He stays relatively calm as he asks, “She’s here?”
“Yeah.”
“Explain.”
“There’s a lot we’re not sure of,” I reply, and I wish I knew more of what Derek and Elliot talked about on the phone last night. “If I had to guess, she’s hoping Derek is feeling helpless enough to turn to her.”
“Helpless,” Elliot repeats, his expression twisting into confusion. “Derek?”
A nervous laugh slides out of me. “I think it sounds ridiculous too, but Derek was pretty believable when he pretended to be breaking under the pressure of everything. And I think we convinced your mom that the story she posted about me was enough to turn Derek against me too. There were lots of tears. On my end, not his.”
Swearing under his breath, Elliot fully relaxes and smiles as he takes me in again, this time with a lot less scrutiny and more interest. “No wonder he likes you. Fitting that he would fall for an actor.”
“No longer an actor,” I say with a shrug.
“Right, because you’re a brain-damaged addict being haunted by your demons.” Apparently he read the story somewhere between Candora and here. He tilts his head. “I have to say, you’re looking great, all things considered.”
Laughing, I finally feel okay about leaving Derek on his own. No matter what happens, I’m not the only one in Derek’s boat with him, and we’ll be here for whenever he needs us.
“So you met her,” Elliot says, putting his hands in his pockets. In his black t-shirt and dark jeans, he doesn’t at all look like how I would picture a European monarch, which I’m sure Rothesby appreciates. Hopefully no one will look at him too closely and realize who he is.
I nod. “Your mom is…something.”
He chuckles. “I’m sure she is, but I never plan to meet her and find out.”
“Never?”
“I have plenty of family. Was she rude to you?”
I lift an eyebrow at the bluntness of his question, a little too intrigued by the possibilities in front of me. “What will you do if I say yes?”
Grinning, he shrugs a single shoulder. “Depends on how mean she was to you and if Derek already has plans to repay the favor, but I have some ideas.”
My mind flashes back to the morning I sprained my wrist and the sight of Derek fully ready to avenge me.
It was for the best that Hunter held him back, but a part of me wishes I could have seen the dark side of Derek.
“Unfortunately, that Hot Scoop story is the only thing she’s done against me, if we’re being technical. She barely said a word to me upstairs.”
Elliot swears in disappointment. “That story is enough of a reason to retaliate, but I was hoping for more. Ah well.”
“Are you telling me that the King of Candora came all the way to Utah to help someone he’s never met?”
Rothesby grunts and says something in a language I don’t understand. Whatever he says, it makes Elliot snicker and respond in the same language. Elliot is a full-blown American, but I could be easily convinced that he was born and raised in Candora with the natural way he speaks to his bodyguard.
Looks like language skills run in the family.
“He doesn’t approve of my spontaneous trip,” Elliot explains once he seems to have placated Rothesby.
“Unfortunately for him, the only person who can tell me what to do is my wife. And in answer to your question, Miss Tate, yes. I came all the way to Utah to help someone I’ve never met because the way Derek talked about you last night made it clear that you’re going to be around for a while. ”
My face flames, and even though I normally wouldn’t care what a man like Elliot thinks of me, this is Derek’s brother. The only family member he actually cares about. Self-conscious, I take a couple of steps back. I want to know what these men talked about while I was in the shower. “Is that so?”
His lips twist into a smirk. “I wasn’t sure anyone could turn Derek Riley’s head, so when Hot Scoop claimed he was here because of a woman, none of us took that seriously. But then I heard him say your name, and I knew.”
A gasp slips out of me. “Just from that? Or is that you being dramatic?”
He laughs. “I’m not my brother, Miss Tate. I am the farthest thing from dramatic that a person can get.”
I’m not sure I believe that, but I’ll let it slide. “I haven’t been Miss Tate in fifteen years, Your Majesty.”
He snorts a laugh, then holds out his hand. “Valid. Elliot.”
“Donovan.” Swallowing the fact that I’m shaking hands with a king, I ask the question I should have asked at the start. “How did you know who I was?”
“I have a thing with faces. You’ve changed from the photo I saw this morning, but you’re still you.”
“Huh.” That could cause problems if I don’t blend in as much as I was hoping I would, and suddenly I’m imagining all of my future river guests walking on eggshells around me because they think I’m broken. Fake or not, that story is my nightmare come to life.
“It’s not as bad as you think,” Elliot says with a reassuring smile, which must mean my imagination spread to my face.
“And if the woman who birthed me really is behind all this, I’ll gladly make sure she can’t keep hurting Derek or the people he cares about.
She—” He swears and leaps forward, grabbing me and pinning me to the pillar a few feet behind me.
His movement sparks Rothesby into action too, though the poor man can’t seem to find the threat as he looks wildly around the lobby.
“It’s her,” Elliot whispers, cringing as he makes eye contact with me.
One of his arms is around my back, the other pressed against the pillar over my head, and from an outside perspective I would imagine we look like we’re having quite the intimate moment together.
“Sorry,” he adds. “Figured it would be better if she doesn’t see either of us. ”
All I can see is the big man holding me in place, but the sound of Brenda’s heels clacking in the direction of the doors keeps me from fighting for some space. He’s right, and I don’t think being seen in the hotel after Derek threw me out will help the situation.
Elliot keeps Brenda in his periphery until the doors slide open and her steps disappear, but he doesn’t seem inclined to move anytime soon. Maybe he thinks she’ll come back?
“Does your wife know you’re in Moab and putting the moves on my girlfriend?”
My whole body warms and comes to life, energized by Derek’s smooth, calm tone.
I didn’t know I could have such a visceral reaction to the sound of someone’s voice.
As Elliot grins wide, I shove him away from me, which in hindsight is probably not the best thing to do to a king but is exactly what I need to eliminate the obstacle standing between me and Derek.
“Who do you think sent me?” Elliot asks with laughter in his words.
“I’m your girlfriend?” I ask at the same time.
Eyeing his brother curiously for a moment, Derek quickly turns his full focus to me and doubles the burning sensation in my chest with his gaze alone.
This is the same look he had in the Red Earth pavilion yesterday, right before he completely shattered all my self-control with his mind-blowing kiss.
“Hi,” I breathe, grabbing my braid. Why I’m nervous to be around him when I literally shared a bed with him last night, I don’t know, but I am.
“Before you guys start making out in a public lobby and give the internet lots to talk about,” Elliot says, still highly amused, “let’s keep in mind that I flew across the world last-minute in a very small airplane to get here and haven’t slept in roughly thirty-two hours. If we could focus…”
“They have plenty of footage already,” Derek argues without taking his eyes off me. He shifts forward, closing the distance between us and also managing to cut off my air supply.
“Footage they haven’t used yet,” I point out.
“Mm.” Derek lifts his hand to where I’m holding my braid, taking hold of my fingers and slowly sliding them away from my hair so he can lace his own fingers between them. “Brenda’s likely keeping it as leverage in case I don’t cooperate.”
“Cooperate?” Elliot and I ask at the same time.
Rolling his eyes, Derek sighs and looks from me to his brother. “Let’s go upstairs. This isn’t as over as I want it to be. And yes.” He bends down, touching his lips to mine in the softest of kisses. “Unless you have any objections, I would love to call you my girlfriend. We’ll talk, yeah?”
At this point, this man can call me anything he wants. “Yeah,” I breathe and let him lead me back to his hotel room, Elliot and Rothesby close behind.