Page 8 of Daniil
TSAR: So, she’s married and afraid you’ll embarrass her.And if that’s the case, you better stay the fuck away from her.I’m serious.If she’s happy and doesn’t want her new husband to find out she used to party with a prince, that’s her prerogative.
DANIIL: If she’s married, why can’t we find any record of that?Joe checked.Hell, I personally ran multiple checks.
TSAR: I don’t know, but tread carefully.Chains is a friend, someone who’s saved my life in the past.That isn’t a relationship I want messed with.
DANIIL: I won’t.You have my word.
I put my phone away and stare out at the streets of D.C.
The more I find out the more confused I get.
This all feels…personal.Like it’s me specifically she wants to get away from.I don’t know where that thought came from, but my gut kept me alive for a decade in exile and I can’t stop relying on it now.
Something happened.
Courtney and I were together for two days during and after the wedding.Then she left.She had to go back to work, and though she didn’t say goodbye, I didn’t think much of it.I would have liked to see her again, but she was in the military in the U.S., and I’m very much tied to my position as a working member of the royal family and a Royal Protector.I don’t get assigned regular duty shifts like the other Protectors do, but I protect the King when we’re in Parliament or if we’re traveling together.
And of course, during any attack on the palace, of which there have been far too many.
That was the last time I saw Courtney.
Almost sixteen months ago.She came to visit Lennox, who was getting close to her due date.Pregnant with twins, it was an exciting time for my brother and his tough-as-nails wife.Courtney and I had hooked up the night before—the night my friends watched us go at it—and the next day she went with Lennox to hang out with Casey, the queen.
Erik, Sandor, and I were all away from the palace when the attack started.
Even eight months pregnant, Lennox got Casey and her young son into the secret tunnels—just as her water broke.When she couldn’t go any farther, it was Courtney who guided Casey and Levi to safety, helping them rendezvous with the rescue team.
We were together again that night, comforting each other in the midst of the chaos because the palace had been badly damaged, a handful of guards killed, and our feeling of safety shattered.
I think that was the night I started to have genuine feelings for her.So beautiful, but also strong, tough, unflappable in an emergency—absolutely Royal Protector material.But she turned down Joe and Lennox when they offered her the opportunity, saying she had military responsibilities, that she wasn’t sure she was ready to make a lifetime commitment.That’s what being a Royal Protector is—a commitment to serve for the rest of your life—so of course we respected her wishes.
Then she left again without a backward glance.
I reached out to her once and she gave me some stereotypical brush-off about how she’s not ready for a relationship, it’s her, not me, blah blah fucking blah.
I’d respected that too, assuming she’d come to visit Lennox and the twins at some point, and maybe I’d find a way to win her over.
Fifteen months later, no one can find her.
If it was just me, I’d take that with a grain of salt and move on.
But she and Lennox were close, so for her to disappear the way she has means something is going on.
And I intend to find out what it is.
Chapter4
Courtney
Club Inferno isa BDSM-themed sex club.I’ve done security here a couple of times since I moved to Las Vegas, but it’s not my typical assignment.I’ve been working for Westfield & Carruthers Security—owned by Darryl “Chains” Carruthers, thanks to Landon.He got me the job even though I was pregnant and only able to take the most mundane assignments.Luckily, my military experience—ten years as a helicopter pilot in the U.S.Marines—provided me with a skill set that translates well in bodyguard and security services.
Landon was supposed to work here tonight but he’s still recovering from some mysterious mission he went on that was off the books.He didn’t provide a lot of detail, and I didn’t ask.It’s our own version of “don’t ask-don’t tell” so that I don’t worry and he doesn’t betray confidences.But he knows I can use the money, and he offered to stay home with the baby.
Win-win, right?
I’m in no way a prude, so I’m not offended by the naked bodies or sex acts going on, but it does remind me of my own lack of intimacy.I haven’t had sex since the night Micah was conceived—which was almost sixteen months ago.I have a vibrator that does a lovely job of getting me off, but it doesn’t compensate for the lack of intimacy.Kissing.Or my own kinks.
Sex isn’t a priority, but I don’t know how much longer I can go without physical touch that goes beyond that of my son or brother.Sometimes, you just need to get fucked.Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the opportunity for one-night stands, so for now, I’m out of luck.
