Page 20 of A Royal Menace

The second we’re inside the room, I sit on the edge of my bed and yank the devil’s shoes off my feet with a relieved sigh. Then I grab my pajamas and march into the bathroom without a word to Royal. If he needs to get in here, he’ll just have to wait.

After locking the door, I strip out of the pink dress and turn on the shower before removing the rest of my clothes. Hopingthe hot water will sober me up a bit, I stand under the spray for a long time before shampooing and conditioning my hair. After rinsing it clean and washing the grime of the day away, I feel much better.

That is, until I dry off and pick up the t-shirt I brought with me to sleep in. I stare at it with pinched lips and a scrunched nose, but there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s all I brought. Pulling it over my head and slipping my arms through the short sleeves, I pull it down and grimace at my reflection.

It’s my most comfortable t-shirt, which means it’s also worn and threadbare, a relic from college with my university’s mascot printed on the front. The ram is almost completely faded out after washing it so many times, and the thin material does nothing to hide the curve of my breasts or, more distinctly, my erect nipples.

“Why are you hard?” I murmur under my breath as I press my palms over them in an attempt to…I don’t know what.

Groaning, I pull on the tiny shorts I brought to wear with the shirt. Pulling off the towel I’d wrapped around my wet hair, I use a wide-toothed comb to remove the tangles as my eyes stay locked on the reflection of my nipples trying to poke through my shirt.

They’re not going anywhere.

Dropping the comb on the counter, I brush my teeth before smoothing on some night cream. Unlocking the door, I yank it open and exit in a rush of steam, my arms crossed over my chest to hide, well, everything.

I try not to look at Royal and fail, and my steps slow to a crawl as my gaze roams over him. He’s propped himself up against his headboard as he stares at his phone. He’s changed his clothes and is now wearing athletic shorts and a sleeveless shirt that bares those thick muscular arms in the most dangerous of ways.

My mouth fills with saliva as I stare, but when he lifts his gaze from his phone to peer at me, I jerk my eyes away and stomp over to my bed without a word to him. Climbing in, I turn on my side and give him my back before yanking the covers up to my chin.

Thankfully, Royal doesn’t say a word to me. I hear him get up and go into the bathroom before the door clicks shut quietly. I lie there, rigid and unmoving until he reemerges, and I hear the springs on his bed squeak as he climbs back in. The lamp beside his bed clicks off, and the room is plunged into darkness.

Only then do I relax, sinking deeper into the mattress. The edges of my mind quickly grow dark, and I send up a silent thanks to the sandman for letting sleep come for me quickly.

I need this day to be over. I need the fresh start tomorrow will bring.

And I need to stop thinking about the man in the bed next to mine with his gorgeous arms and mischievous grin.

For God’s sake, I don’t evenlikehim.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Royal

Callie rolledonto her back sometime in her sleep, and as I study her relaxed profile in the early morning light, I think about last night. The anger, which quickly morphed into a strong protective streak when I saw her falling for the wiles of that asshat, Jeremiah Helmsman. And then later, in the elevator, when the alcohol buzzing through her system made her grumpiness even cuter than it normally is. So cute, in fact, that I stupidly blurted it out, admitting to her for the first time that I find her attractive.

Sure, “cute” isn’t the word most grown women long to hear when being described, but the way it affected her, you’d think I said I wanted to strip her down right there in that elevator. To say she looked shocked would be an understatement.

I instantly regretted saying it, but not because I didn’t mean it. She was cute. Sheiscute. Beautiful, actually. No, I regretted it because she obviously felt weird about it, and I don’t want tomake this room-sharing situation anymore uncomfortable than it already is. Not for her. Not for me.

Because I sure as shit was uncomfortable when she finally emerged from the bathroom, all pink and dewy from her shower in those tiny shorts and that too-thin shirt that hid nothing. My cock began to pulse the second I laid eyes on her, and I had to look away and mentally recite baseball stats to try to get that fucker to calm down. I’m just thankful Callie didn’t look at or speak to me as she climbed into her bed and gave me her back. I had to slip into the bathroom for some deep breathing exercises and a mental pep talk before I was able to relax enough to actually fall asleep.

But that didn’t stop me from thinking about her, just a few feet away in the dark. About what she might do if I slipped out of my bed and into hers. The erection those thoughts created was damn near painful, and there was no getting rid of it.

It was a long, sleepless fucking night, to say the least.

Sliding out of bed and gathering my clothes as quietly as possible, I slip into the bathroom and click the door shut gently. Turning on the shower so it will warm up, I strip out of my clothes before brushing my teeth. When I climb in under the spray, the hot water soothes my tired muscles and the crisp, citrus scent of my soap wakes up my senses.

After rinsing off and twisting the knob to turn off the water, I climb out and dry off. I feel better. More in control of my body. Whatever I felt last night was a one-off. A result of my own slight beer buzz and Callie’s adorable antics.

Nothing has changed. Everything isfine.

When I walk out of the bathroom, my eyes find her, sitting up in bed with the covers pulled up to her chin as she scrolls on her phone. She looks over at me with a sheepish expression that makes me smile.

“Good morning,” I say, injecting a little too much exuberance into my voice.

“Good morning,” she replies softly.

We stare at each other for a single, charged moment, then I clear my throat and walk over to my bag. Digging through it, I pull out a small bottle of aspirin before grabbing an unopened bottle of water from the mini fridge. Holding the items up like a peace offering, I walk over and set them on the nightstand next to her.

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