SEPTEMBER: THREE MONTHS AGO
“Oliver.” Knox knocked on the door of the school’s storage closet. “You’ve got to get out here.Now.”
I pumped harder and faster into Adelaide Levy, bracing her against an empty space of wall between two supply shelves. The world could be on fire and I wouldn’t care because this was exactly where I wanted to be. I no longer cared that I was meant to be mingling with guests at the fundraiser gala Adelaide had organized. This woman had a way of making me forget about all of my princely duties when I was with her.
“Do,” Adelaide took in a quick breath and continued to pull on the hair at the nape of my neck, “you need to go?”
“No,” I answered as I thrust up again, living for the way she moaned.
Another knock on the door rattled the dimly lit space.
“Oliver,” Knox said again, alarm in his voice.
Something serious must have been happening because Knox knew exactly who was in that closet with me and, as my best friend and pseudo brother, I knew he’d never cockblock.
“I’m coming!” I yelled to both Knox and Adelaide.
“Me too,” Adelaide gasped as she rode the high of her orgasm, biting my shoulder.
I set her down on the floor, making sure she had her feet under her. I grabbed a roll of paper towels from the ample supply on the shelf beside us, tearing a piece off and offering it to her to clean up.
She snorted a laugh. “Always the gentleman.”
I hurried and discarded the condom in the trash, wrapping it in a paper towel first, and fixed my clothes as another knock came from the door. This time it was Faxon, my personal security guard.
“Your Highness, there’s a situation out here. I need you to come out, or I’m going to have to come in.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. “I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll call you, okay? Is your phone number still the same?”
“Yeah,” Adelaide said as she straightened her dress and fixed her hair. We had been so desperate for each other that we hadn’t bothered to properly undress. I could have sworn I saw her roll her eyes, but perhaps that was a trick of the light.
We hadn’t even had a chance to finish the conversation we’d been having; the need to touch each other had gotten in the way of that. Adelaide had said she wanted a quick, fun time, but the look on her face as I slipped out the door told me everything I needed to know.
I swallowed my regret at leaving her and transitioned back into “prince” mode. Faxon was standing alone in the dark corridor; Knox was nowhere to be seen.
“What’s going on?” I asked as Faxon and I hurried through the halls of school, more than a little irritation in my voice.
“I have Whitesnake and we’re walking to the front,” Faxon spoke into his hidden earpiece. “Your brother is here,” he said, this time to me, as he gave me a sideways glance.
“Let me guess,” I huffed out. “He’s under the influence.”
“Of what we’re still unsure, but yes. He’s under the influence. He arrived and promptly began harassing a man who was standing several paces from the door. He was irate that the gentleman, who is a janitor here, didn’t announce his arrival, even though the man is simply a guest tonight along with his wife. Prince Xavier started yelling at him that he is the Crown Prince and deserves more respect. The young man was clearly upset and didn’t know what to do.”
“Good grief.” I rubbed a hand down my face.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time that Xavier had shown up to a royal event under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Typically when he used before an event, he chose something that calmed him down, ultimately sitting quietly in a chair and dozing off at inopportune moments. That night, it seemed he had chosen something other than his usual downers.
“King Leroy and Queen Isobel quickly approached Prince Xavier and tried to usher him away, but he pushed the king and that’s when security had to step in. We need?—”
“Is my father okay?” I interrupted. Guilt knotted my stomach. I was hooking up with Adelaide in a closet while my brother made a scene and ruined the event that she had worked so hard on.
“He’s fine. But you know the protocol, and our job is to protect the Crown at all times.”
“Of course.”
“Security escorted Prince Xavier out of the building. Mr. Henderson is out there with them now, getting him into a car to head back to the palace. But Cordell is flustered and needs to speak with you.”
I took a deep breath, knowing that Cordell, the palace’s press secretary, was going to be a high-strung mess trying to fix this. I also knew I was about to have to step in and help with damage control. None of this was new; this had been my life for the past decade.
