Chapter 4 #2
“Of course,” I reply taking his hand and letting him help me from my seat at the table.
“Tomorrow we’ll begin planning a coronation—mine—let’s not forget that detail, shall we?
It has been a long time since we’ve hanged someone for treason.
Also, Leo will have teams searching for Lady Thomley if he doesn’t already.
I’ll know who sent her by the end of the week because we both know she didn’t act alone. Until then… goodnight.”
And with that he turns like the king he is and leads me out of the dining room and down the hall to our rooms.
When we finally make it to the main door of our suite, Rhys pulls a key from his pants pocket, an old fashioned one like you would see in movies, and uses it to unlock the door.
“This one’s for you,” he says, handing me the key. “I have the skeleton key, and Maeve has its twin so you should be safe in here at all times if you keep the main door locked.”
“Okay,” I reply, following him into the room.
“I need you to promise me that you’ll keep the doors locked when you’re alone,” he says as he closes the door and flips the old lock.
“You’re scaring me,” I whisper.
“I’m not trying to,” he sighs. “But I canno’ keep you safe if you leave yourself open to attacks. Leo and his team, along with myself and Maeve, will do all we can. Outside of her and Dahlia, no one is to be trusted.”
“What about Taylor?”
Rhys looks me straight in the eye before responding to my question.
“No one else is to be trusted,” he repeats with meaning.
I nod once, afraid of what I might say out loud.
“Now, let’s get comfortable. Dahlia should be here soon enough with your feline and then we can go to bed. Tomorrow will be a big day.”
“What’s tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, we plan our coronation.”
Yikes. I know I’m not ready. There’s so much I don’t know—their customs, traditions, and laws if the constant threat of treason is anything to go by—and still, I know that there’s no going back.
The only way to survive this is through it, and that means a coronation.
And what all goes into a coronation anyway?
I’m sure there are promises and crowns and all kinds of things, but it can’t be that intense, right?
“I can hear you thinking from all the way over here, hen,” Rhys says, capturing my attention.
I turn my head toward him and notice he’s halfway undressed, standing in our closet. “There’s kind of a lot going on up there.”
“How do you eat an elephant?” he asks, and I wonder if he’s losing his marbles too. Maybe we can go crazy together.
“What?”
He repeats his earlier madness. “How do you eat an elephant?”
“I have no idea.”
“One bite at a time,” he answers his own question, moving through the closet to where I stand just outside the doorway. “I know it seems like a lot, it’s a lot for me too and I’ve been preparing for it my whole life.”
“Lucky for you,” I mutter as he pulls me into his arms.
“In some ways, yes. In others, no’ so much,” he says sadly, and I feel bad for my earlier bitterness. He’s lost as much as I have and he’s led his life with much more pressure on his shoulders while I was having a fantastically boring but normal life in America.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he says, placing a soft kiss on my temple. “It’s okay to have your feelings and you’re entitled to them. But it will be all right.”
“Okay.”
“Now get ready for bed before I decide to do the job myself,” he warns with a smirk on his lips. “I’m liable to get distracted and we’d traumatize my baby sister for life when she’s about to bring your cat to you.”
“Ooof! I forgot,” I try to jump into action but his arms band tighter around me.
“Not so fast,” he says lowering face to mine. “I think I have you right where I want you.”
And then, when his mouth touches mine and his tongue sweeps across my lips, I get totally and utterly lost. Rhys kisses me stupid and when he pulls back, ending our kiss, his eyes sparkle with mirth.
“Better get to it then,” he says, his voice husky.
I let out an unladylike screech and take off into the closet where I shed my travel clothes and pull on soft silk pajamas and a matching robe before racing into the bathroom to take off my makeup and wash my face.
Once I’m all slathered with enough serums and lotions to keep me youthful and glowing forever, I pull in a deep breath just as there’s a knock on the main door.
“Don’t be naked,” Dahlia calls out with a laugh as she knocks again. Rhys pulls open the door for her and ushers her in. She’s changed into designer loungewear herself and is carrying my cat.
“Leo!” I croon as I rush over to them and pull him into my arms. “Oh, how I missed you.”
“He got a better Honey, I’m home than I did,” Dahlia stage whispers to her brother.
“Aye,” he laughs. “She loves him, for sure, but never fear, she loves us as well.”
“Speak for yourself,” Dahlia laughs. “She loves me. You, my dear brother, may still be the villain of her story.”
“No,” he says with a soft look to me. “Now I’m her husband.”
“Haven’t you just been away shagging her brains out the whole time you were gone?” she asks. “She just got back. I want to catch up.”