After a few hours of tinkering away, I decide to pack up my tools and head back inside for some lunch and to get working on my afternoon tasks. As I’m exiting the garage, I see Jai and Penny strolling across the lawn, and instinct propels me to dive behind one of the perfectly trimmed hedges, Boyd following after me.
“Are we hiding from anyone in particular, sir?” Boyd’s features are set in their usual stoic expression, but I have a sneaking suspicion he would love nothing more than to smirk at me right now.
“We’re not hiding, Boyd. I’m simply admiring the foliage,” I say, rather unconvincingly. “Do you know what kind of plant this is?”
“You’d have to ask the gardener, Your Majesty.”
I nod. “I’ll do that.”
After a few moments of silence, Boyd asks, “So, are we done admiring the foliage, sir?”
I look through the gap in the hedge to see Jai and Penny have disappeared inside the palace. “Yes, I’m done.”
“Very good, sir.”
We get to our feet and I glance down at the bottom of my trousers and the hem of my coat, annoyed to see clumps of mud staining the fabric. Well, that’s what you get for diving into the bushes on a wet October day, idiot!
Boyd, of course, is pristine as ever, having merely crouched down next to me rather than diving for cover as though a bomb was about to explode. Idiot.
Later that afternoon, Veronika stops by my office and I’m beyond relieved to get a break from the tedious minutes and notes I’m attempting to pore through, even if the reason for her visit seems rather ridiculous to me.
“I wanted to talk to you about Halloween.”
“Halloween?”
She nods. “Yes, it seems the children are very excited to go trick-or-treating.”
I stare at her for a moment. “What on earth is that?”
“It’s where children dress up in costumes and go around knocking on people’s doors. The people who answer will give the children a treat of some kind—candy usually. And apparently if the person doesn’t provide them with a treat the children will pull some kind of prank.”
“Let me guess. This is an American thing?”
She purses her lips together, but I can tell she’s close to smiling. “Yes, it’s apparently very popular there. Both Lennox and Mr. Winters have mentioned it several times.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “No wonder the children are so excited.” Halloween is certainly not a foreign concept to us here in Korova, but this trick-or-treating is not something that’s done here, as far as I’m aware. I fix Veronika with a stern look. “The royal children will not be knocking on strangers’ doors begging for candy. And they certainly won’t be pulling pranks of any kind. We’ll have to come up with some kind of compromise to make sure they’re not disappointed.”
She nods, offering a soft smile. “I’ll see to it, Your Majesty. Perhaps we can organize something here at the palace.”
Veronika gives a curt bow of her head before exiting my office, and once she’s gone I stand and make my way over to the large window that overlooks the rear gardens.
My eyes zero in on two figures crossing the path from the palace doors toward the stables. Jai, with Katya’s hand clasped in his, obviously on their way to her riding lesson.
It’s beyond obvious that my little girl—both my children, actually—are completely taken with their new tutor. And that means, regardless of my own feelings about the man, he’s here to stay. My children’s happiness will always be my number one priority, and if they want Jai around, he’ll be around.
I let my eyes fall closed, my fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of my nose, as the memory of the other day once again floods my mind. The taste, the scent, the sound, the feel of him inside my mouth. The way he used me for his own pleasure. The way I loved it. And for the briefest of moments I allow myself to enjoy the thoughts swirling in my head, before once again pushing them aside.
If only things were different…
9
JAI
Surprise, surprise, after our little interlude in the sex room, the king returns to basically pretending I don’t exist.
I, meanwhile, can’t seem to get the incident out of my head. And who could blame me? Lukas Romansky, the fucking king of Korova sucked my dick like it was the best thing he’d ever had in his mouth. That’s not the kind of thing you just forget about and move on with your life.
I’ve spent the last week running an endless frame-by-frame replay in my head, still not entirely convinced I didn’t just imagine the whole thing as part of some wild hallucination brought on by all the rich food I’ve been eating.
“Oh my goodness, you’re not even listening to me, are you? Hello! Earth to Jai!”
I see a hand waving in front of my face and blink a few times to see Penny’s exasperated expression come into focus. I offer her a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
“What the devil has gotten into you lately? Whenever I talk to you you’re always off in la la land.”
I cringe. “Sorry. Just been a bit distracted.”
“Care to share?” She arches an eyebrow, offering a teasing smile. “It must be something good, you’re getting drool in your stew, there.”
I glance down at the bowl of beef stew I’d forgotten I was even eating. Pushing it away, I take a sip from my water bottle and lean back in my chair, facing Penny.
“I can’t really tell you.”
Penny’s eyes light up. “Ooh, even better!”
I let out a sigh of resignation, knowing she’s not going to let me off the hook. “Okay, fine. So there’s this guy. I can’t tell you who he is, though.”
“Why not?”
“He’s straight. Or, at least, I’m pretty sure he’s straight. He acts straight. Except for one time when he acted very not straight.”
“What happened that one time?” Penny presses.
I take a long sip of my water bottle, keeping her in suspense. “He
