Nausea formed in her stomach, the uncomfortable sensation clogging her throat. If he broke up with her, he’d make things a whole lot easier. She wouldn’t have to get out of her shell and face her own ghosts. He’d be to blame, and she could carry on with her life as planned, without him to mess it up. Coward.
“I fired one of my uncle’s advisers because he’d hired hookers and had drugs in the castle accommodations. This was before you told me about Mary Roberts. I was thinking about it, and asked my internet security guy to look into who may have introduced the prostitutes and sold drugs to Rasheed. Maybe there’s a connection to the man who was with your stepmother.”
He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.
“Oh,” she said, barely able to string together full sentences. Relief softened her frown as she processed what he said. Good news, right? “What did he say?”
“He hasn’t said anything yet. He’s hacking his way into Rasheed’s former account to see if there’s any phone numbers or emails we can go by.”
“When he tells you—”
“I’ll have you with me. I only contacted him and asked for it because I wanted to get it out of the way before our date, and didn’t have much time. But when he texts with a time to meet me, you can come in my office and we’ll talk.”
She bit back a smile. “Thank you.”
He took her hand to his mouth and kissed the knuckles, sending shivers down her spine. “It’s my pleasure.” The sweet gesture led to more, as she pulled him to her, kissing him. Every part of her body recognized his, surrendering to the crazy pull between them.
He brought her to his lap, his hard-on poking her. When he wrenched his mouth from hers, they both panted. “We’re close.”
“I know,” she whispered, touching his cock and stroking it over the denim.
He placed his hand on hers and took it away from his member. “We’re close to the stadium. We’ll be there in less than a minute. You’re too sexy and too hot to be fucked in sixty seconds.”
Warmth spread across her cheeks. “Stadium?” She slid off his lap and looked out the tinted windows. The limo entered the empty parking lot of a large soccer stadium, with a dark billboard in front of it. The exterior seemed a bit run-down, with chipped paint and trash littering the entrance.
“I used to come here with my best friend growing up. Jonah. We loved this place,” he said, and when she turned to look at him, a twinkle of wonder flickered in his eyes.
The limo stopped by the closed booth, and he exited the limo and helped her out. Hmmm…did she ever have a safe place to go to in her childhood? When her birth parents had been alive, she always jetted to the kitchen pantry when they were using drugs. Sometimes she stayed there for hours, in that empty dark space, hoping they’d get help. Or hoping she’d get help.
“Everything okay?” he asked. “You seem lost in thought.”
“It’s fine,” she said, then slapped a smile on her face. “I’m good. Show me around.”
He stopped in his tracks for a moment, cocked his head to one side, watching her like he was about to ask her a question. Then he blinked and started walking toward the dozens of rows of metal benches facing the field with unkempt grass growing. “We used to watch games every Sunday. I’d tell my mother I’d be at his house, and he’d tell his mother the same. We came to watch the games. He had an uncle who worked security and let us in.”
“Why did it have to be a secret?”
“My mother didn’t like me going to these things. Back then, the attendees were too passionate about their team, and sometimes they got rowdy and brawled after the end of the game. Not safe for a child, she thought, especially a child with royal blood.”
“Did you have any special security when you were shunned from the palace?”
“Nope.”
She reached for his cheek and stroked it. A sad smile formed on his lips, and she wished she could erase the bad times he’d experienced. Wished she could hug him and make it all go away. He caught her hand and kissed it gently before letting go. Tenderness filled her heart, along with a…feeling she couldn’t pinpoint. Like she was about to burst.
“Jonah and I used to eat hot dogs from the stand. It was the best damn hot dog I’ve ever eaten.”
“Are you still close? You and Jonah?”
He cleared his throat. “Jonah died when he was thirteen.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry. What happened?” She motioned to touch him, squeeze his shoulder or stroke his forearm, but he took one step forward, the silent warning he was trying hard to rein in the emotions related to his dear friend.
“He needed a tonsil removal surgery. His mom took him to a public hospital. After she divorced his father, they didn’t have much money to pay for a private healthcare provider. A simple routine procedure went wrong and cost him his life”
She swallowed. The pain in his voice reached into her heart and clawed it. “I’m assuming public hospitals here aren’t good.”
“No. Used to be even worse. I made generous donations when I was a civilian, but as king I have access to laws and policies. I want to change things so no one has to die because of understaffed clinics or lack of supplies.”
