Page 52 of House of Royals

“DON’T TAKE OFFENSE BECAUSE I genuinely want to know,” I say to Rath as we eat dinner on the veranda. The cook has outdone herself today, and the girl who serves us won’t look me in the eye, as usual. “But what do you do all day?”

Rath looks up at me, and I can’t read his eyes because he’s wearing sunglasses, which only makes me wonder about his species all the more. “I manage the affairs of the Estate.”

“Yes, I know,” I say in exasperation. “But what does that mean?”

Rath sets his wine glass back on the table. I’ve notice that he drinks one glass with dinner every night. Never more, never less. “I manage the crew that takes care of the grounds. I order supplies. I handle the financials involved with the Estate. That occupies most of my time.”

I take a sip of my sweet tea, something I’m coming to like. “Henry should have left the Estate to you, not me. You deserve it. It’s easy to see you love this place.”

“I do love it,” Rath says as he leans back in his chair and overlooks the grounds. “But my devotion has always been to the Conrath family. I don’t need money or the esteem. I am here for you, Alivia.”

I observe Rath for a moment. His expression is sad, regretful. “You miss Henry, don’t you?”

Rath doesn’t look back at me when he says, “I do.”

“You more than just worked for my father,” I say as I pick up a roll and pick at it. It’s dry. Mine are better. “You two were best friends.”

Rath sits back up and begins cutting his steak again. “Bonds run deep when loyalty is proven in both directions over and over again. When you’ve been through trials of fire and still stand by one another’s side. Your father was my brother.”

It’s hard for me to imagine such loyalty and love. And not the romantic kind of love because I don’t think that’s what this is for one second. Which is what makes it so strange. I never knew Henry, never saw him with Rath. But I can see what Henry’s death has done to Rath, it’s there in his face, in his very countenance, every day.

“Thank you for being here for me,” I say, reaching out across the table and resting my hand on Rath’s wrist. “I know we don’t know each other well, but it’s comforting to have you here. Like…there’s still a small part of my father that’s lived on through you. It’s far better than having nothing. And thank you for your loyalty. That isn’t lost on me.”

Rath looks up at me and with his free hand, removes his sunglasses. His eyes are so dark that I can’t tell iris from pupil. “You are always welcome. And my loyalty will always lie with your family, even after you resurrect.”

In three and a half months. I should tell him that. But somehow it feels like a defeat.

We finish our meal in silence, but it’s comfortable. A new bond has formed between us. Not many words were spoken, but the meaning runs deep.

Just as Angelica has come to clear our plates, there’s a knock on the glass window behind me. I turn to see Ian’s eyes searching the property behind us.

“Excuse me,” I say to Rath, who simply goes stony-faced and nods.

I walk back into the ballroom and find myself looking over my shoulders, checking for Bitten spying on us from the shadows of the trees.

“I parked off the main road and walked in,” Ian says quietly for some reason. “Why is your driveway so damn long?”

I laugh and slip my fingers through Ian’s. “Don’t blame me, that was all Henry.”

Without thinking about it, I lead us upstairs because the staff is still going about their duties on the main floor. They all usually wrap up around seven, and it’s just past six-thirty.

We slip into my bedroom and close the door behind us. And the second it is, Ian wraps his hands around my waist and brings my lips to his.

“I’ve missed you,” he growls into my mouth.

“It’s only been a week and a half,” I tease him. He backs us into a wall and that sends an explosion of sparks shooting through my body. My hands snake under his shirt, tracing over his muscular back.

“A veritable eternity,” he breathes as he lets me slip his shirt off over his head.

“You shouldn’t go getting ideas in your head about this,” I say as our lips reconnect. “I just really need some of…this.” I run my hands up over his abs, over his very defined chest muscles.

“It’s all yours,” he says with a smile against my lips.

Ian hoists me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. Like I weigh nothing at all, he turns and crosses the room to the bed. He topples us onto it.

“It really has been a long ten days,” Ian says as he runs a hand along my cheek and looks down at me. “I couldn’t get away from work and Lula was in a bad way for a few days.”

“It’s okay,” I say, absentmindedly tracing a finger up and down the valley between his abs. “I’ve been busy, too.”

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