Page 36 of The Royal in Room 3

“He used me,” Jude said quietly. “And I let him. Not knowingly, but I ignored things I shouldn’t have.”

“What happened to him?”

“He disappeared and left me to face the music alone.”

My throat went tight. “Daddy, that’s terrible.”

Jude’s eyes softened. “I took a plea. Five years inside, three years on parole. I lost my license, my career, most of my friends, and a version of myself I don’t actually miss as much.”

“But you were innocent. It’s unfair that you’re the one who suffered because of something he did.”

Like the way I’d suffered because I’d been used and betrayed just the way he had.

“I wasn’t the mastermind.” His gaze dropped to my foot in his hands. “But I wasn’t blameless either. I gave someone access to a part of my life that should have been protected. People trusted me with their money, their futures, and I trusted the wrong man with mine.”

“That doesn’t mean you deserved prison.”

“But that was a long time ago, and eventually the law did catch up with Darren because he did the same thing to his next partner. He confessed everything and turned over records proving he’d used my credentials without my knowledge and deliberately made me the fall guy.” Jude’s thumb moved absently over the arch of my foot.

“Did you get your license back?”

“No, but by then I no longer wanted to be in that line of work anyway. While in prison, I learned carpentry through one of the vocational programs. At first, I only signed up because it gave me something productive to do and got me out of my cell for a few hours. Then I discovered I liked working with my hands.”

His thumb moved slowly over the top of my foot, and I concurred. He was extremely good with his hands. And his mouth too.

“Wood made sense to me,” he continued. “If something was damaged, I could see where it had gone wrong. I could take my time, repair it, and make it useful again.”

“So you left prison a carpenter?”

“Not quite.” He smiled. “Prison taught me the basics. After I got out, I worked under a furniture restorer while I was on parole, took more classes, and spent years learning the finer work of restoring antiques.”

Wow. He’d been through so much and had somehow come out of it a better person. I would never have guessed all that he’d been through. And here I was, wallowing in my own pity because I was no longer a prince. At least I was free. I could have been locked up for treason instead of deposed.

“That’s how I became the first person here,” he said. “Although back then, it wasn’t called Halo House. Phoenix and I had a trade-off. He’d desperately needed a Daddy to help him deal with his grief, and I’d needed somewhere to stay.”

“You mean you and Phoenix were⁠—”

“Totally platonic,” he said quickly. “Through his husband, Phoenix was already well known in the Dom/sub scene, and it was easy for him to get people on board with supporting Halo House.”

“So you’ve been involved with Halo House since the very beginning.”

“Hmm.” His hand inched under the hem of my skirt. I’d snagged it from the closet, all because he’d told me he liked the look this morning. “Did you wear this for me, little prince? No wonder you were disappointed when I didn’t show up on time, but Daddy’s here now.”

He urged me closer, and I rose to my knees, inching over to him. Jude’s hands came down on my hips, and he let his gaze wander over my bare arms.

“My little prince, do you know how much you turn me on?” he asked. “Since the first time I saw you, I knew there was something special about you.”

“Special? How?” I rested my hands on his shoulders and stayed still when he pressed his lips to the curve of my neck over and over.

“You’re making me break my rule about sleeping with a sub and you haven’t even moved in yet.”

“Would that be so bad?” I gasped when he nipped my skin with his teeth.

“I can’t tell yet, but I’m going to do it anyway.”

13

JUDE