“We need to feed you,” I say simply. “I don’t want your blood sugar or blood pressure getting too low. It’s already the afternoon and you haven’t eaten since this morning.”
“Fine,” she groans. “I’d argue, but I’m starving.” Her stomach gives a rumble right on cue, making us both laugh. “As long as you promise to give me at least three orgasms after lunch and another few tonight.”
“Demanding little vixen.” I give her ass a firm swat. “You’ll get what I give you and be grateful for it, or perhaps I should put you on your knees and my cock down your throat to remind you who’s in charge of your pleasure.”
She gives a delicious little shiver, her cheeks flushing at the thought. “Perhaps you should. But first, let’s go eat.”
She hops off me and, without waiting for me, starts walking toward the house we’re staying in. For an island larger than Sicily not even two hundred kilometers off the coast of Messalina, there weren’t a lot of options for places for us to stay.We require a lot. A lot of space and privacy and rooms for royal attendants.
I had wanted to take her to Greece or Croatia, but the thought of being that far from my children and her father paralyzed us both. I can’t remember the last time I went on a real holiday, and I won’t lie and say I’m completely at ease with being away. I haven’t left my children in years, and it’s a knot that grows tighter with every day we’re here.
I roll over onto my stomach, watching her for a moment before I move into a plank and jump to my feet. I grab the blanket, but just as I lift my phone, it starts to vibrate in my hand. It’s Rowan, and my heart is instantly pounding. He’s acting as regent in my absence, but he rarely calls and only ever if there’s an issue. When I speak to the children, it’s usually Emily, my primary housekeeper, who calls, and that’s so I know not to worry.
“What is it?” I answer, my eyes on Bellamy, who hears me and turns, her brows furrowed in concern.
His answer is immediate. “We’ve got a situation.”
3
BELLAMY
“We’ll land in an hour,” Sebastian tells me, holding my hand as the royal jet shoots high into the air, the sparkling blue-green water of the Mediterranean and the warm tan of the island growing farther from us. I nod. It’s all I’ve got. It took us less than fifteen minutes to pack and get out the door, but my heart hasn’t stopped racing since his phone rang.
My dad fell and broke his wrist.
Worse is that he fell because he was having a coughing spell. Rowan said the doctors feel it’s just a cold, but that doesn’t settle my nerves. I need to talk to the doctors. They were trying to calm him down, but they were having trouble when Rowan called. His dementia makes him agitated and combative, and it’ll only be worse with a broken wrist.
“I shouldn’t have left him,” I murmur, feeling nothing short of sick and guilty.
“Don’t do that,” Sebastian comforts, squeezing my hand and shifting me closer to his side. “He was doing well before we left and has a team of nurses and caregivers on him at all times.You deserved a break, and you have nothing to feel guilty about. He would have fallen no matter where you were.”
“Maybe.” My gaze lingers out the small oval window, impatient to be home now that we’ve left. “I just hate that I wasn’t there.”
“I know. But you’ll be there soon enough and he’s in good hands. It’s why we didn’t travel farther away for our honeymoon.”
I nod and turn to catch his eyes. “I’m sorry we had to cut our honeymoon short.”
His fingers stroke along my cheek. “Bellamy, we have a lifetime of vacations together. Your father is more important.”
“He’s sick, Sebastian. And I’m not talking about his cold. Every day he slips farther and farther away from me. Now this. He won’t understand that he has a broken wrist. He won’t know to take it easy. If he’s combative and even more disoriented, as much as I hate to say it, I don’t want the children around him. It’s not safe for anyone, but more importantly, I don’t want that to be part of their memories of him.”
“I know and I thought of that too. But let’s hold off on any major decisions until we see with our own eyes how he’s doing.” He runs his fingers through my hair and nips at my bottom lip. “You’re very beautiful when you worry about our children.”
“I always worry about them.” Even though I can’t help but love the flutter I always get when he refers to the children as mine. Still, there is something in his voice. Something I noticed almost instantly along with a flash of consternation that momentarily hit his eyes while he was talking to Rowan on the phone. I turn fully and look at him and it’s there again. That faraway look. The way he’s holding his body, almost too still and stiff. “What aren’t you telling me?”
A frown twists his lips, and he blows out a heavy breath. “There’s been movement on Desta.”
My eyebrows knit together and now it’s my turn to squeeze his hand. “What does that mean? Movement?” As far as I knew, Desta was kidnapped when she was an infant. Sebastian’s father was killed as he tried to stop it, making Sebastian king far too young. I know Sebastian and especially Rowan have been searching for her since, but as far as I know, it never led anywhere.
“The police were called to a home on the southern Italian border of Messalina. Evidently, there was an abandoned cottage in the middle of nowhere where teenagers were having parties. The home was raided, and a blanket was discovered.”
“A blanket?”
“Desta’s baby blanket. It’s…well, famous, I suppose. At least the description of it is well known since that’s what we reported and spread everywhere when we were trying to find her after she was taken. The blanket found is identical and Rowan said it’s been taken to a lab and is being tested for DNA.”
My jaw drops. “Oh, my god. Sebastian.” I start to shake. “But no woman was found, right? Just the blanket?”
His icy blue eyes pierce mine with burning intensity. “Just the blanket, but we have a team of people going through the cottage now, searching for clues on who previously lived there. The press got wind of the blanket, but we’re trying to quiet our involvement down. I don’t want this getting out of control before we can see what’s really there and what isn’t. It might lead to another dead end. It might lead to the person who took her. Desta’s body was never found. There is a chance she’s still out there somewhere.”
