I hated that he didn’t trust my words.
He gave me a small smile, though sadness lingered in his eyes. He got up from the chair and walked over to me. He held out a hand. I looked at it for a moment. Was he using sex as a distraction? A way to get out of this conversation? Probably.
“Would you like to show me to my room, milord? I wouldn’t want to get lost in this castle.” His grin was what did me in, full of mischief.
I put my hand in his and stood. “I suppose I can do that.”
Chapter 6
Jaq
Three years prior
I hopped out of the bed and grabbed the towel I kept on the nightstand. After so many years of doing this thing with Erich, I knew that any time spent with him left me sweaty, in the best way possible. I was also left boneless and tired, again, in the best way possible. The only solution was to keep supplies at the ready at all times.
Erich lay on the bed, still breathing heavily. His bare chest was glistened with sweat. Meanwhile, cum dripped from my ass. My breathing was still labored and cum dried on my stomach.
It was early morning. He had woken me up with a way-too-loud knock on the door. I thought perhaps something was wrong with my nephew and Thomas needed me to watch them or something, or perhaps some terrible incident had occurred. But no—it was just Erich standing there, smiling way too broadly for how early it was in the morning.
“My flight just got in,” he’d said.
I looked up and down the hallway. We were alone, except for the bodyguard that always trailed near him. The help had long since realized what the two of us were up to. I didn’t know how much his guards chatted with the other guards, but as far as I knew, my brother had no idea. I wanted to keep it that way.
Now, an hour later, I was perfectly sated, though no better rested. My eyes drifted closed, though I really needed to get up and start my day. It was too warm here with Erich by my side. Moments like this, I could forget that this was just a casual thing. That was all it could ever be.
Erich never stayed the night in my room. I always found some way to usher him out the door. Though each time I let him linger longer and longer. I was reluctant to let go of one of the more positive things in my life.
“Are you going to that event thing today?” he asked.
I raised a brow and looked down at him. I was leaning against the headboard, while he was starfished out on his side of the bed. I hated how good he looked in my bed and how much I wanted him to stay there. Maybe I just wanted to crawl in next to him and stay at his side. I’d never even seen his room.
“Um, yes. I am watching the kids while Cort, Thomas, and Iain work their magic. And I think they wanted to make sure to get some pictures of the kids helping with packing the supplies.”
We were attending an event where we packed meals for school children to take home with them over the weekends. I think there were other activities, coloring books, and other things that got included in the weekend survival packs. It was an initiative that Iain had begun after he returned from his year-long adventure doing charity work overseas.
“It’ll be nice to have you there,” Erich said.
A year ago, I accepted the job as manny for the royal family. It hadn’t taken much convincing. I loved being able to help my brother, and I loved that I got to spend so much time with my nephews. If the rumors were true, my bio dad had called Thomas and lectured him on having proper staff around him. Thomas never said anything to me.
Now that I was watching Thomas’s children, I attended more and more events with the royal couple. I kept to the background as much as I could, though every so often a picture of me did land in the tabloids. It was odd to see my name in text, Jacques Kingson, brother-in-law of His Majesty, Cort Sentjohn, instead of Jacques, bastard son.
Not that anyone had ever printed my name in such a way. The implication had been there. Illegitimate son was one I saw quite often, and that was before my father had banned the press from calling me his son at all.
“Are you going?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s why I came home early. My parents want the whole family there, for whatever reason. And it’s been too long since I’ve seen my nephews. Thank you for the gift ideas, by the way. I picked up the books you recommended, and I do hope Julien still likes trains, because I went slightly overboard and now he has a whole conductor outfit.”
I had to smile at that. Erich went overboard with gifts for the kids on all his travels.
If all of the royal family were there, why did I have to go mind the children? Not that I minded. I was grateful that my brother provided me with this job, even if I felt out of my element more often than not. I was a certified teacher. I wasn’t qualified for early childhood development, but I was doing my best.
“Hey, did I hear right that you’re taking courses at the college? Cort said something about it when I spoke with him last month.”
“Yeah. I—I have my degree in education, but it’s mostly the late elementary grades and middle school. I wanted to do some early development, childhood stuff. Now that Cort, I mean, His Majesty, and Thomas are having kids and I’m watching them, I just wanted to make sure I was qualified for the job.”
Erich smiled. He ran his fingertips over my stomach. “Of course you’re qualified. You’re their uncle.”
“Illegitimate uncle.”
