Page 43 of House of Royals

I nearly drown myself as I whip around in the water. My grip on the side of the pool slips and my head half dunks under the water.

Ian stands there in the doorway into the house. His hands half in his pockets, his feet spread wide, relaxed as can be, with a coy smile on his lips.

I swear as I clasp my hands around my breasts because there they are, and the water isn’t going to hide much. “Seriously, Ian?” I scream. “I thought all you males here were supposed to be Southern gentlemen.”

“I never made that claim,” he says shaking his head, and still smiling with pride.

I swim to the other side of the pool, using just my legs. Finally out of his view, I hurl as much water as I can at him.

“Damn, Liv,” he says with a laugh and mild annoyance in his voice. He’s half soaked. It was a good wave I sent his way. “Now look what you’ve done.”

“Serves you right, asshole,” I growl at him, even though a smile is fighting its way onto my face. “Just standing there and gawking like an Neanderthal.”

“How could I not?” he teases me with that wicked smile. He grabs the hem of his soaked tank and pulls it up and over his head. My face heats, and I turn my eyes away, but not before catching the sight of his sculpted chest, the rock hard stomach.

“What are you doing?” I hiss at him, fighting off a smile.

“It’s hot,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “You got me all wet, and I thought I’d join you in that very refreshing water.”

“Like hell you’re getting in here!” I protest. But really, the thought has my insides doing all kinds of acrobatics. I just stare at the tree on the edge of the river.

Ian is quiet for a minute. And suddenly something drops in the water right next to me.

My bra and panties.

“Better?” I look up at Ian who’s raising an eyebrow at me. He’s wearing only his boxer briefs and a smile.

I snatch my underthings in the water and glare at him.

It only takes me a minute to get them back on, and I only feel slightly less turned-on-embarrassed once I’m covered in all the important places. The second I give him the okay, Ian cannonballs into the water.

He surfaces, flicking his hair out of his face. He needs a haircut, but it suits him. Not entirely put together—free and wild.

“You really should quit staring, Liv,” he says as he swims over to me. “You’re going to give me all these wild thoughts that you want something from me.”

“In your dreams,” I breathe, trying to tease him off and totally failing.

“Many, many times since the day I met you,” he confesses with no shame. He’s stopped only a foot and a half away from me. He treads water with ease, and his eyes are intense on me. “You blew me off on Sunday. And haven’t answered any of my calls all week. You avoiding me?”

Water droplets cling to his lashes. His lips are wet and oh so close. Ian shifts in the water and without thinking, I move with him.

I bite my lower lip without thinking. My body is freaking out. “I had some thinking to do.”

“Hmm,” he says contemplatively. “So, you heard from your new friends since the ball?” he asks, whiplashing the moment.

It takes me a second to pull my thoughts from what’s happening in my lower belly to the question he posed.

“Uh, no,” I say. “It’s been a week, but there hasn’t been a single word. I’m guessing they’re all still trying to decide what to do with me.”

“They want to claim you,” Ian says.

“But they’re afraid of what will happen when the King comes,” I fill in.

“I’ve heard the stories,” Ian says as all the heat dies from his eyes, leaving me with a sense of longing. Like he waved the biggest box of chocolate in my face and then ripped it away, saying,just kidding. “He’s got this pretty sick sense of entertainment. He visits all the Houses from time to time. He gets bored easily after living for so long. Likes to play games.”

“Like what?” I ask, my brows furrowing.

“I heard he rounded up a dozen humans once,” he starts. “Whoever hunted down and fed on the most of them won a million dollars. Blood and money. Two of the King’s favorite things.”

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