Page 44 of Rogue Royal
Douglas sighed and stood, threading their fingers together. “I’ll be back in a minute, Kat.”
“No rush on my account. See you soon, Mav.”
Mav grinned over his shoulder. “I’m sure you will. Have a good evening, Kat.”
His smile faded the closer they drifted to the lift. Mav put the bag on the floor while he slid his shoes on, then flung it over his shoulder, not wanting to meet Douglas’s eyes.
“Look at me.”
Mav inhaled and lifted his head, staring into those crystal blue orbs. Douglas was a classic fairy tale prince in appearance, and anyone would appreciate him on their arm, but he hid something else behind those eyes. Something few people got to see, and it scared Mav. It would be too easy to fall for Douglas’s charm and ignore everything else, but he’d experienced too many close calls in his past to ignore the voice telling him to be careful.
Douglas cupped his cheek, his thumb brushing over the skin beneath his eye. “Are you okay with everything that happened today?”
The question shouldn’t have surprised Mav, but he was. “Everything except your father.”
Douglas grimaced. “Understandably.” He drew in a long breath and leaned their foreheads together. “We will do whatever we want to do, Mav. My father can deal with it if he doesn’t like it.”
Mav pulled away. “No! I won’t become fodder for the media so you can put your middle finger up to your father.”
“That’s not what I meant. Why should he choose who I can and can’t see?”
“Because it’s not just about you. You have a responsibility to the cr—”
“I have a responsibility to be who I want to be! I’m sick of being shoved into this mould that I don’t fit in.” Douglas gripped his hair with both hands, pacing in front of Mav, then stopped and stared at the floor. “Sorry. Not your problem.” He rubbed his hands on his thighs. “I can understand not wanting to be in the media. We can do this however you want.”
As much as Mav thought distance was the best option, he couldn’t help but be drawn to Douglas, stepping closer until he could cup the back of his neck. “Day by day, okay? Nothing more, nothing less. One day at a time.” He lifted his head, brushing his lips across Douglas’s mouth in a soft caress. “See you tomorrow.”
He pressed the lift button, and it opened immediately. Facing forward, he gave a small smile and kept eye contact with Douglas until the doors closed. Then he sighed and stared at the floor, trying to sort through the thoughts bouncing around inside his head. He was no closer to it when the ding of the lift reaching the car park sounded. He threw the bag into the passenger seat and climbed into the car, starting the engine and sitting for a moment. Everything felt like a dream.
Rubbing his hands over his face, Mav groaned and drove home. By the time he dropped onto his bed, his brain had gone on hiatus. There were too many conflicting thoughts battling it out, and he had no hope of figuring it out that night. Instead, he pulled the covers over him and slept.
****
Mav stared at the grainy photograph, rubbing his fingers across his mouth, unable to look away. Douglas leaned against a doorframe with one hand, the other cupping the guy’s jaw. Douglas’s lips were on the man’s cheek, and a smile played around both their mouths.
Mav’s stomach churned, roiling like he’d eaten bad eggs, but he couldn’t stop. He’d believed every word out of Douglas’s mouth, but as the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Eyes burning, Mav closed the website and blinked rapidly, breathing heavily to assuage the nausea. He needed to work on a rebuttal or something to stop the rumours, but he couldn’t do it right then. He needed a minute.
Coming to a stop in front of the window, he gazed across the enormous expanse of grass and flowers, not seeing anything but a slideshow of what he and Douglas had shared two nights ago. Mav was deluding himself if he thought it had meant something to Douglas. Why he was so bothered when he’d already decided nothing more could happen between them, he didn’t know. His brain had made it into something more.
He spent several long minutes staring outside before his phone chimed, and he peeled himself away from the window. Mav’s stomach became a mass of butterflies when a message popped up saying King Andrew wanted to see him in an hour. He replied in the affirmative and sat down at his laptop. He had less than an hour to do some damage control.
Mav posted a few photographs of Douglas at one of his chosen charities—an LGBTQ+ shelter that helped abused and homeless people. He didn’t point out any correlation between the two, but for those who invested their interest in the royal family or Douglas, they might figure it out.
Once he’d covered all the social media platforms the prince was on, he flipped to the schedule. Douglas had been busy in meetings between the new charities, the events his parents wanted him to attend, and the club, but he hadn’t complained once, which was refreshing. They hadn’t spoken about what happened between them, and Mav was inclined to ignore it from that moment on.
He refused to be a fool once more, and staring at the photo, Mav was sure Douglas had been leading him on. It didn’t appear to be a wellbeing check on a sub, as Douglas had explained before.
Checking his watch, he scrambled to retrieve his tablet while smoothing down his shirt and waistcoat and headed out the door. When he arrived at the king’s rooms, he knocked and waited, breathing deeply and slowly to calm his nerves. As he received the word to enter, his hand trembled while reaching for the handle. One final deep breath had him entering and closing the door behind him.
He bowed to the king and queen. “Your Majesties.”
“I’m assuming you’ve seen the most recent picture.” King Andrew was a force to be reckoned with usually, but today, his words whipped across the room with more force.
“Yes, Your Highness. I have added some photographs and information regarding Prince Douglas’s recent charity visits to the different social media accounts. I have a statement ready for you to check over if you require one at any point.”
King Andrew rested his arm along the back of the sofa he was sitting on. “Have you spoken to Douglas this morning?”
