She burst into a laugh. “Yeah, you two are pretty bold, especially considering Princey here pretty much has a running list of his conquests online.”
“And such horrid accusations of the things he does with his advisor.”
“I’m certain those are just rumors,” Alethea said, her eyes alight with enthusiasm as she laughed again.
“Are you good with us heading out?” I asked.
“Oh, Prince Owen is a much more considerate lover than others have let on. Yes, I have to meet my friends for brunch later, so this will give me a chance to freshen up in private.”
We slipped out of bed, scrambling for our clothes, since we didn’t have much time before we had to be at the palace, which would be a twenty-minute Lyft ride across the city.
Catching some morning traffic, we found ourselves closer to thirty minutes before we were heading through the Great Hall, toward the North Tower Conference Center.
“You seem on edge this morning, Your Highness,” Frederick said. “I would have thought a good night with a sexy woman who was demanding our cocks inside her would have made you more jubilant.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Exhausted.”
“Well, you didn’t even drink, so at least you’re not exhaustedandhungover. I think one less Fireball shot would have served me well.”
“One less? Yeah. Okay, sure. But I definitely could have gone for one more round with Alethea.”
“She had some kind of stamina, didn’t she? And now she’s up and heading off to brunch. We’re getting old, Owen.”
“Early thirties isn’t old, and she didn’t seem to be complaining.”
“No, she said a lot of things, but none of them sounded like complaints.” He wore a satisfied expression as his smile curled into his dimples. “Can I be honest? That breeding thing surprised the hell out of me. I had to check the condom twice after I pulled out.”
We shared a laugh.
“Don’t act like it didn’t make you come,” I said.
“Of course it did, but that’s the first time I’ve ever met a woman who enjoyed that.”
Frederick wasn’t just my advisor. Our families had been close since we were kids, so we’d played childhood games, watchedMighty MorphinPower Rangers, and even had our first jerk-off sessions together. And since we’d come of age, we’d shared far too many hammered nights and more than a few women, but usually orgies that didn’t involve us sharing the same woman at the same time. Although, that wasn’t our first time in that department either.
As we continued down the hall, I muttered, “The prime minister must know what I’ve been up to and calling early meetings just to piss me the hell off.”
“I’ll pass the information on so that she can make your life that much more unbearable, Your Highness,” Frederick said, his tone laced with sarcasm.
“Stop calling me Your Highness this morning.”
“Remember: I can’t call you a Royal Ass in the middle of a political meeting with the prime minister.”
We snickered as we approached the two guards standing on either side of the dual doors leading to the conference room. They pulled open the doors, granting us entry into a room with several more guards positioned around it. My brother, the King, stood at the wall-length window overlooking the courtyard. Turning, he offered a smile, not like a brother, but the way he might have to a diplomat.
“You can turn off the royal charm. It’s just me,” I teased, which seemed to annoy him.
As his brother—and as a member of the royal family—I had my own appointed obligations to the Crown. My work was primarily as an ambassador, working with many of our foreign allies and philanthropic causes our family funded and offered aid to. I assumed this was why my presence at the meeting was required.
Frederick and I approached and offered our standard salutes, right hand against our chests, over our hearts—the usual greeting to the King.
“Good morning, Owen,” Lucas said. “Did you sleep well? Rumor has it, you had to entertain some company last night. I hope you didn’t find yourself occupied too late.”
“Ah, I found I was occupied very early, actually,” I confessed. “But don’t believe everything you read on the Prince Watch blog.”
“Well, perhaps I’ll stop believing them when their news becomes less factual.”
I should’ve figured they already had the scoop, considering they were pretty good about paying off hotel employees to spill the details. Although, I preferred a hotel rumor to bringing them back to the palace.
