Chapter 37
Ryan plopped down on a chair and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. “Maaaan … I can’t wait to be me again.” He chuckled and relaxed into the cushions.
Lucie had NEVER seen him act like this before. It would be interesting to see what the real Ryan was actually like.
“Oh gosh, Ryan, it isn’t that hard. The hardest part was hiding who you were from Lucie.” Jasper rolled his eyes and motioned for Lucie and Aedan to take a seat of their own.
“Yeah, sorry about all that, Lucie. I’m so devastatingly handsome that if I treated you like the princess you are, you would have fallen madly in love with me. I hope we can start fresh from here on out.”
Lucie raised a brow at him and plopped onto the sofa between Jasper and Aedan. “I see. A poor, fragile girl like me would have just buckled under the pressure of your charm. I’m so lucky to have such considerate and capable men around me. I’d be absolutely lost.”
Ryan chuckled. “Oh, I like the real Lucie much much better. The Lucie not trying to keep up pretenses.”
“Anyway, Ryan,” Jasper said, changing the subject. “What’s going on? Do you have a death wish? If Derrick hears you slept in the same room with Lucie, you know what will happen.”
“His hyper-jealous mode will kick in and he’ll bury me in pieces on every corner of our territory?
Yeah, I know. The thing is … there’s been gossip lately.
Rumors are getting out that the relationship between the prince and princess is strained.
People are getting anxious that it isn’t a solid treaty.
If the prince and princess can’t get along … ”
“Then how can the two species get along?” Aedan said, nodding his head.
Lucie looked over at Aedan in shock. For once, he was keeping up with the conversation. Which meant what she always suspected … he never paid attention.
“Anyway … Lucie and I need to act close. We should act like a couple excited to be together. Now that there won’t be any misunderstandings, we should be able to pull this off without Lucie falling in love with me.” Ryan chuckled as Lucie rolled her eyes.
“You think very highly of yourself, don’t you?” Lucie said with a crooked smile.
“I can’t help it. I mean … look at me. Look at this body! And I’ve had to practically live like a monk to protect the prince’s reputation. After this is all over, I’m going to go crazy. I’ll let the women feast upon my body until they can satisfy their hunger, if that is even possible.”
Lucie looked over at Jasper. “Is he serious?”
“This is going to be a crowded room. There isn’t much room for anyone else with his ego,” Jasper said, rubbing his forehead.
“Hey! It’s not ego. This …” Ryan motioned over himself with his hand. “This is a gift. And I should share this gift. It’ll be like a chance for women to taste a bit of heaven. And if they can experience that through me, then who am I to deny them of that?”
It was very obvious to Lucie just how much he’d been holding his real personality back.
He was always so quiet and reserved with her.
It was a bit weird at first seeing him as the guy she’d known as Derrick, the man she’d originally pictured as her fiancé.
Now, he wasn’t that guy at all. In more ways than one.
And … she liked him. He reminded her of a mixture of the guys she was always around, except maybe with some extra ego.
“Wow, I can see Justice and Ryan actually getting along quite well,” Aedan said, almost seeming to read Lucie’s mind.
Lucie snickered. “Yeah, I think so too.”
“Justice?” Ryan asked, quirking his brow.
“That’s her cousin. He’ll be joining her here as her new guardian.” Jasper watched as Ryan’s brows furrowed.
“There is no need for anyone else to be here for her. That’s the purpose of the elite soldiers.”
“Derrick already knows and is for it. Lucie is a special case. Anyway, he will be joining us,” Jasper answered pointedly.
“Whatever. That could only lead to more me time, and gods know I need it.” Ryan sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees while he looked at Lucie. “Are you up for what we have to do? I mean, I don’t think it should be too hard to act interested in me, but …”
“I guess we didn’t do a good enough job before, or the rumors wouldn’t have started circulating. But that’s still on all you guys being morons. Not well thought out at all. Had I known, we could have put on a better show.” Lucie clicked her tongue in annoyance.
“Well just don’t go falling in love with me, because I am going to treat you like you’re mine. Once Derrick is back for good, I’m off the clock.”
Lucie rolled her eyes. “I’ll try to contain myself.”
Ryan’s eyes turned serious as he pushed aside his fun demeanor. “Lucie, it’s very important that we do a good job here. All joking aside … can you look at me as you would your mate?”
Her eyes widened slightly. She could see the determination behind his amber eyes. His dedication to his role was evident, and she realized that to be hiding his true self this whole time, he must really take his job seriously. Next to Jasper, she supposed he was Derrick’s most trusted man.
“I can do it. But don’t expect me to act like a lovesick, giddy, starry-eyed mate. That isn’t me. But I will do my part.” Lucie met his gaze, showing her own strength and conviction.
“Just don’t go overboard,” Jasper said, looking at Ryan. “Remember, Derrick will hear about all of this.”
Ryan grinned. “Lucie already spared my life by thinking fast and having you two room with us. That has tonight covered. We’ll have to think about how to proceed with nights in the future.”
“Myra,” Jasper said simply.
“Yes, of course,” Ryan said, snapping his fingers.
“Um … who is Myra?” Lucie asked, glancing at Aedan.
“Myra is the royal family’s banshee. She is bound to their family and is unbreakably loyal.
She can’t ever betray them. It’s hard to explain, but she’s bound to the royal bloodline for all eternity.
It’s the price she had to pay for the sins she committed against them a long long time ago.
Now, she’s harmless. Well, to them. Banshees are hardly harmless.
She is a fierce and dangerous guard dog.
But she will be our ticket. Having her in the room at night will spare my neck.
She would never lie to the royal family.
She can’t. And as Derrick’s fiancée, she will be bound to protect you as well.
It’s actually quite perfect. Good thinking, Jasper. ” Ryan sighed in relief.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this Myra,” Lucie said, trying to remember if she’d ever met her.
“She keeps out of sight so no one knows where she is. She can move through walls, except for the royal walls. She must be invited inside those rooms. But because of her abilities, no one knows where she is or what she could overhear. She has warned the royal family time and time again of things taking place that she felt they should be aware of.” Ryan grinned.
“And when she doesn’t think they need to know, she deals with it herself.
” He made a motion of a knife going across the throat.
“For now, let her be. We can ask her later how people are responding to you and Lucie.” Jasper stood up from the couch and reached for Lucie, pulling her up next to him.
Ryan and Aedan both followed suit, standing up.
“You will of course recognize the king and queen, Uncle Alaric and Aunt Willa to me. My parents Jester and Irene will be there. But there are always noble families who are rotated for the dinners. It’s a way to keep connected.
These are the people we need to fool first.”
“Yeah, and one of the nobles this week is Lady Camile, sooo …” Ryan said with disgust.
Lucie arched her brow, waiting for someone to explain further.
“Lady Camille and her mother Pamala are blood seekers. A family who often marry upward despite who their mate is. An equivalent to a gold digger among humans, only they go after nobility. Camille has always had her eyes set on me and Derrick.” Jasper scrunched his nose in disgust.
“Is there any danger here to my sister? That’s what I want to know.” Aedan finally spoke up. He wasn’t interested in how Lucie had to play house. He wanted to get to the real reason he was staying by Lucie’s side.
“None. The prince’s bride is priceless, especially among the noble families.” Jasper’s words were absolute.
“But that doesn’t mean women won’t be vying to be the next mistress or two.” Ryan shrugged and looked at Lucie’s darkening eyes.
“There will be no mistress. Anyone who touches what is mine will not live to see another day.” Lucie’s voice turned icy.
“Oh look, she sounds just like Derrick. That was basically his warning to me about touching you.” Ryan chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “Guess you two are perfect for each other.”
“When did Derrick talk to you? I’m confused about all that, to be honest.” Aedan looked at Lucie and could see she was now curious about it as well.
“That would be …” Jasper trailed off quietly, looking away a bit.
“What is it?” Aedan asked, feeling like something big was being kept from them.
“Like the banshee who is bound to the family, there is also another servant who is bound to them. It is their more recent servant. In order to spare his soul, he made a deal with the vampires and bound himself to them as their loyal servant.” Ryan looked up at Jasper.
This was something he wasn’t supposed to talk about.
“Look, this is a conversation for another time, I think,” Jasper said with a frown. “Basically, they have a servant who can appear when called for, and that’s how Ryan here knew what was going on. The servant delivered messages to him.”
“Why do I feel like you’re hiding something big from me?” Lucie frowned and could tell by Jasper’s eyes that it was because he was.
“Not today, Lucie. Today, the focus is about you pretending to be mated to Ryan, our Derrick here.” Jasper looked at her and gave her a small smile. “It’s a long talk for another time, okay?”
“Alright. I don’t know what the big deal is, but okay.” Lucie couldn’t understand why this was such a big secret. So they had another servant bound to them like the banshee Myra. Why was that a secret?
“Okay, Lucie.” Ryan said, opening his arms to her.
She looked at him like he was poison. “Can you do this or not, sweetheart? You need to be engulfed in my scent, my dear. It doesn’t look well for you to smell more of Jasper than me, your mate.
” Then Ryan looked at Jasper and he frowned.
“So … should we just get like a rag or should I lick her neck?”
“Lick my neck? Can’t you just rub your arms on me?” Lucie was mortified. What was he talking about?
“Why wouldn’t my mate have the scent of my saliva on her? It’s different from my skin scent. You should be wearing it and I should be wearing yours. So, how do you want to swap spit?” Ryan smirked, tilting his head at her.
Oh, he was having too much fun with this. The idea of having his saliva on her skin was repulsive. She hoped they had bleach here, because she was going to be bathing in it.