Just when I'd convinced myself to get up and leave, to sleep on the floor if I had to—wouldn't be the first time—Rafe swung his legs off the bed and stood up.
Fuck!Now it was going to look like I was just following him again—
My internal argument was cut off when Rafe leaned down and lifted me into his arms. For a second he held me close, face all but buried in my hair like he was breathing me in. Then he straightened and walked us into the bathroom.
It was huge, with an ornate, bespoke ceiling like his bedroom and a giant shower-tub-thing in the center of the room. Almost like he had a pool. Rafe flicked a switch near the door, a stream of water tumbled out of the ceiling, and now his pool had a waterfall.
"It's filtered water from the lagoon outside," he told me softly. "The healing properties of the water will help your cuts and bruises."
And now he was being caring again, and I didn't know how to unpack all of the emotional baggage he was leaving me with. When he set me down in the tub, I shifted so the warm water tumbled over me. I grit my teeth at the initial sting, but the pain soon calmed and I could have cried at how good it felt to be standing in this water.
"Relax," Rafe said, indicating I should take a seat in the built-in bench on the side of the bath.
I blinked at him, realizing that he was not getting in with me.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said at my confused expression, and then he turned and left the room.
Chapter 12
It took me longer than I'd like to admit to give up on waiting for him to return. I understood the words "see you tomorrow," but part of me didn't quite accept that he had just dropped my ass into his bath and then bailed.
Fuming, I cleaned myself with what I found in the incredible array of bottles in his shelves, and even found packaged toiletries so I could brush my teeth, wash my face, and moisturize once I was out.
Figuring I'd sleep naked and worry about clothes tomorrow, I left the towel on his floor, hoping he'd get in trouble. Then I decided it wasn't fair to the staff that no doubt cleaned this place, so I picked it up again, wiped all the benches down, and dropped the towel into what looked like a hamper.
When I got back into his room, I ignored the wall we'd fucked against, focusing just on the bed. We'd fucked a lot on that too, and as the scent of Rafe wafted up at me, that dark rich spice that was just so uniquely his, I pondered sleeping on the floor.
If I weren’t in so much pain from my cuts and bruises, I would have, but tonight I'd just have to deal with his scent all over everything.
Snuggling down into the impossibly soft mattress with equally soft sheets and blankets over me, I sighed, my head aching with so many emotions. Despite my exhaustion, the memories of everything kept me awake for a long time. Jordan's beautiful, hurt face, the anger with which he’d spoken and acted, and the fear in my heart that I was slowly losing both the princes.
And even worse... maybe it was for the best. There was no world that existed where I could keep them both anyway, and maybe this way, with no one having to choose, we'd all be able to move on and live our lives.
They'd both go on to marry princesses and rule kingdoms. And I... I'd end up exactly where I’d started.
With nothing and no one.
And on that depressing-as-fuck note, I fell into the most restless, nightmare-filled sleep I'd had in forever. When I woke again, my heart was pounding and the sheets around me were damp with sweat.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, and I rubbed at my gritty eyes while trying to slow my breathing. Whatever I'd been dreaming about had been chased away with the light of day, but the panic it'd spiraled my body into remained.
Rafe hadn't returned, and rather than walking around the Swiss palace stark naked, I borrowed some clothes from his closet. They hung loose on me, but again... better than being naked.
It was a new day, which meant we needed to talk with Jacinta and Felipe about everything that had happened with the Society. We needed to pass the responsibility back to the people in charge because no one could seriously expect an eighteen-year-old orphan girl and her two princely lovers to actually save the world. Right?
I found the queen in a sunroom overlooking the natural springs, sipping on a delicate cup of tea and scrolling through the news on a holographic reader. She was so effortlessly stunning, even without makeup on or her hair done. She wore a blush-pink satin robe, and her feet, poking out from under the table, wore fluffy slippers.
Such a stark contrast to her moody, scowling firstborn, who ate his breakfast like it'd personally offended him. Or maybe that was because he'd just spotted me standing there.
"Violet, sweetheart," Queen Jacinta greeted me with a warm smile. She pushed back from the table and stood up with her arms outstretched, indicating for me to embrace her. "I'm so relieved to see you're okay." She hugged me tight, like I was one of her own children, then kissed my unbruised cheek. "Or as okay as a girl can be with a shiner like that. I hope whoever hit you came off second best, darling.” She clicked her tongue in irritation and ran a gentle thumb over my tender cheek. “Anyway, my awful son should have woken me up the instant you all returned last night. I feel so rude for not receiving you after the ordeal you went through."
Rafe didn't react to her teasing insult, just took a gulp from his coffee instead.
"Not at all," I murmured back, shaking my head. "We didn't want to wake the whole palace up. How is King Felipe?"
Jacinta indicated I sit down, and a servant hurried over with a plate and silverware for me.
"He's doing so much better now," she told me with a warm smile. "He's absolutely overjoyed that the three of you are home. These last few weeks have been... so distressing." The warmth in her smile slipped, and I felt for her. Not only had her husband been critically injured in the resistance attack and her firstborn son captured by rebel leaders, she would have also been expected to single-handedly run the world’s most powerful kingdom in their absence. Oh, and parent the twins... who were probably a full time job in themselves.
