Page 32 of The Prince and the Double Shot
The phone call…
Mother…
I wasn’t surprised. I was aware of the rules governing our sovereignty. To become king, I would need to have someone by my side. It didn’t have to happen right away, but there was a timeline that the wedding had to happen within. It was faster than I would have liked. But it was the reality of the situation. All because of my great-great-grandfather, who stayed a bachelor. The bloodline needed to continue. A suitable surrogate was found – a duchess who had also remained unmarried, and the child eventually became king. It had been a tense moment within the monarchy. Rules had never been in place before thatcovered surrogacy or an unmarried ruler. New laws were put in place to ensure the bloodline. I was now a victim of those rules.
I also understood them, even if I did think they were outdated and silly. At least we weren’t one of those kingdoms that only gave power to the firstborn son. In our country, the firstborn, whether male or female, rose to power. I was an only child.
My country, my people, needed me. That meant I had to heal. I had to marry.
For years, I lived in fear and anger at that very statement. When I became king, one of the first things I would do was to get Parliament to change the law. Love is love, and it should be honored, regardless of the status of the people involved. A commoner, a citizen of our country, should be able to marry into the family. It would happen too late for me.
A list was being made of the men I would eventually have to meet. Mother and her staff would go over each one until only a few remained that they deemed worthy, and without any baggage they might bring to the throne.
I hadn’t seen Zane for a couple of days. My mind, after the phone call, was… spinning in chaos. The last week with Zane had been lovely, if a little stilted. I wanted to kiss him again, and to my amazement, I felt no guilt or shame about wanting it. He held my hand as we went on our walks, but it felt like a small glass wall had been created between us. I had only wanted to make sure that we were… No… I was protecting myself. I was protecting my own heart.
I had been foolish. It was too early to talk about not being able to have a future together, but the feelings had come so fast. His kiss had unlocked something within me, and all I could do was crush any hope between us of ever being able to have anything more than what we currently had.
Even if it might have been the truth, I wasn’t wrong, but I had stopped the natural flow of two people who had found something special. The fire we both felt was diminished, I felt.
Well, not mine. I still felt it raging through me. But maybe his.
I didn’t blame him, but I didn’t want to stop seeing him. I needed to see him, and that was insane.
I needed to get out of my room and do something. All of the thoughts that spun through my head were only making me antsy and bringing back my anxiety.
I chose swimming. The hotel had an indoor pool, and honestly, I could use some exercise. Maybe I could do laps. I grabbed a book that I had packed and never opened since I arrived. American television had flooded my brain with its reality nonsense. Seriously, I had binged an entire series of Real Housewives as I lay in my bed doing nothing. It was wasteful of the time I had – before I went back and picked up my real life, once again.
I walked into the ample space and gasped. I almost dropped my book and towel.
I’m European, and I am used to boys in Speedos, so…
But…
I hadn’t been expecting this.
Seeing Zane standing there in a red Speedo and nothing else was one of the world’s greatest wonders of the modern world. My eyes bulged out of my head as I stared at all of that gorgeousness with his hands on his hips. The way the red fabric pulled against his bubble butt, the white skin of his broad back… and then the mother fucker turned around.
I gasped.
The sprinkle of red hair against his hard chest. The treasure trail that led down over his very firm six-pack, and the bulge that threatened to rip the fabric was… Well, it was impressive. It wasmouthwatering, and I instantly felt a twinge in my own swimsuit that could lead to a very embarrassing moment with the other guests.
I should leave. I was just going to gawk at him if I…
He smiled and winked.
I melted.
“Are you off today?” He walked towards me, and I felt like a gazelle being stalked by a lion. He looked so powerful, and in one pounce, I would be devoured. I would like it. Of that, I was sure.
“Yeah, I…” I tried to look anywhere else, but my eyes were trapped by his visage. I couldn't pull my gaze away from this mortal god. I was weak, and he was inspiring in every way. Fucker.
“My eyes are up here.” He made his gorgeous pecs bounce, and the audible gasp that escaped was too embarrassing. “But I don’t mind if you… uh… enjoy the view.”
“You are so full of yourself.”
“You can be full of me too, if that’s what you want?”
He stopped and crossed his arms, letting the vocal foreplay shoot shivers across my body. How did that happen? I was literally dripping with perspiration.
