A Bodyguard For The Princess (A Bad Boy Romance) (7 page)

“Morning, Daphne, sweetie,” she said brightly and kissed her cheek.

“Mother, you’re awfully cheery this morning,” Daphne pointed out. “Coffee?”

“No, darling, and you shouldn’t be drinking so much caffeine. Not good for you,” she mused and took a seat opposite her daughter at the table.

Daphne picked up her coffee and sipped it, smirking as her mother clicked her tongue. “What do you need, Mother?”

“Your father and I want to know how the new bodyguard is working out. Do you like him or do we need to find a replacement?”

“Replacement?”

After yesterday, she wondered if Matt was a good fit as her bodyguard. He clearly regretted kissing her. He scarcely spoke a word to her, and those heated gazes she wanted so badly remained absent from his eyes.

“Daphne, dear. You’re doing it again,” Alexandria said and smacked her daughter’s hand gently.

Letting her hand fall, Daphne forced an apologetic smile on her face and tried to look ashamed at the action her mom abhorred. Alexandria asked again about Matt, and Daphne answered without even thinking.

“No, he’s working out quite well. He takes his duties very seriously,” she informed her. “I have no worries about Matt.”

“Good. Ambrose and your father will be happy to hear it. I was skeptical at first because of his background being strictly military, but if you’re happy, I will be, too.”

“Was that all you came by to ask?”

“Your dinner with Dion,” Alexandria said slowly. “I trust that went well.”

Daphne wasn’t sure how much her mom knew of Agnes’s recent threats concerning the throne, and she had enough to worry about already. “As well as can be expected. He’s worried about the education reforms.”

“Good, then, as long as there was nothing else on his mind.”

“No, nothing,” she lied and buried her face in her coffee mug.

Alexandria plucked an olive from the bowl and chewed it slowly. “I wanted to let you know as well that your father and I will be taking a trip inland in two days.”

“Where are you going? Can I come?” She hated how desperate she sounded, but Daphne jumped at any chance, no matter how slim, of getting off this island.

“Afraid not, darling. It’s only for a day trip, really. We’re trying to negotiate new border agreements with Greece,” she said. “It will be a terribly dull day, and you are busy enough taking care of things here.”

Busy enough researching Matthias
, she thought absently. “Will you be staying overnight?” she asked, hoping she didn’t seem overzealous.

“Yes, two nights. Very brief.”

Two nights might be all she needed—a chance to have the palace to herself and find out more about her new bodyguard. Marie hadn’t managed to snag his file yet, but said she would have a chance soon. One of the guards owed her a favor, and when Daphne pressed her about it, Marie’s face blushed and said that was a story for another day.

Her mom stayed and chatted for another hour before she was summoned away to meet Calix on the grounds. She kissed her daughter’s cheeks and left the room gracefully. Daphne glanced at the spread of food before her—muffins and scones—but nothing sounded good. There were too many other things on her mind. She finished her coffee and braced herself for a day of ignoring Matt, something she never did to any of the working people in the palace. If he could give her the cold shoulder, so could she. Today, Matt would see a side of her she never wanted anyone to see. Though she was still curious to learn about Matt, that didn’t mean she had to play nice.

Serves him right. Let’s see how he likes it
, she thought and walked to the doors, ready to start another long day.

***

By evening, Matt’s jaw ached from clenching it so hard throughout the day, though he wasn’t sure what he’d expected. He’d spent the day before avoiding her gaze and ignoring the brushes against his sides, trying to put distance between them. Today, Daphne returned the favor tenfold. There had been no “good morning” and not even a friendly smile nor attempt to catch his attention. She wore a shirt with a high collar and pants, covering as much skin as possible.

Even when she turned in for the night and he let his hand brush against hers, her whole body stiffened, and she moved quickly into her rooms, slamming the door in his face.

“Damn woman,” he growled through his teeth and stormed down the hall.

He had done it for her own good. He told himself over and over it was a good thing she ignored him. The distance would make it easier on both of them and keep them from doing something they’d regret. That was what he told himself, but damned if he believed it.

Matt skipped dinner, not hungry at all, and went straight to his room to crash. He begged sleep to come fast as he tossed and turned on his bed with her face hovering around him, his hands gripping the sheets, though he imagined they were her breasts—those lush breasts that fit so perfectly in his palms. He grew hard thinking of what else he wanted to touch on Daphne’s body, what he would do to her until she cried out his name.

The dream intensified, and suddenly, he wasn’t in a bed with Daphne moaning beneath him. He stood on a rooftop, rifle in hand, as he stared out over the open, deserted streets. The sky cracked open and rain poured from it, drenching him. Somewhere, a man called out his name, but the rain was too heavy. Matt couldn’t find him.

He screamed until his throat was raw, but still there was nothing to tell him which way to go. A gunshot echoed painfully in his ears, and when he glanced down, blood drenched his hands—

Matt shot upright on the bed, cringing as the last images of the all too familiar nightmare faded into the dark corners of his room. His heart thundered beneath his bare chest, and he punched the bed hard, struggling to find some semblance of control again. There was little chance he’d fall asleep again, so he tugged on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt before he padded out of his room and down the hall. The door to the surveillance room was open, so he walked in and found Jeremiah, his feet propped up on the control panel, watching the multiple security feeds.

“Evening, Matt,” he said through a yawn. “You’re not on the rotation tonight.”

“No, couldn’t sleep,” he said. “Anything exciting?”

“Never is. Hey, since you’re here, mind watching for a minute? Need to take a leak. Too much coffee,” he muttered, glancing down into his empty mug.

Matt told him to go and took over the chair as Jeremiah hurried from the room. His eyes scanned one monitor after the other—views of the halls and main rooms of the palace—and then the courtyards. He leaned back in the chair, waiting for his mind to relax, when he saw something moving in the east courtyard. He looked closer, using the controls to zoom in, and cursed.

“What are you up to, princess?”

Daphne crept along the wall of the palace until she reached a trellis and began to climb. Matt’s eyes narrowed, watching her climb it like a damn monkey until she disappeared out of the camera’s sight. He checked the others, but she didn’t appear again.

The second Jeremiah returned, he faked a yawn and said he was headed back to bed, but at the end of the hall, he turned and rushed to the east courtyard so he could figure out what the hell she was doing. He found the trellis covered in vines and bright purple flowers, then glanced around for the security camera. He shifted it away just enough so his climb wouldn’t be seen. He wrapped his hands into the vines and climbed up.

The trellis ended at a flat part on the roof, but Daphne wasn’t there. After a long look around, he noticed stones jutting out here and there against the side of the palace and craned his neck back to see how far up it went.

“At least I’m not scared of heights,” he muttered and moved forward.

The stone wasn’t too rough on his bare feet as he stepped up, using his bulging muscles to pull himself up higher and higher. When he neared the edge of the roof, he shot a glance over his shoulder as the sea air blew against his face, the salty tang filling his nose and mouth. It ruffled his hair, and he sucked in a deep breath. At this end of the palace, all he could see was the glimmer of the Mediterranean beneath the light of the moon and stars, a sight he never tired of after traveling so much away from his peaceful home.

He couldn’t hang there all night, so he finished climbing. This part of the roof was also flat, smooth white stone that sat level with the edge of the roof with a few lights here and there. Vines crept up along the sides, and there, sitting on the edge looking out over the front of the palace and the city, was Daphne. Her legs dangled off the ledge, and Matt tried to think of a subtle way to announce his presence so he wouldn’t scare her into falling off.

When she shifted, the light caught her face and his chest tightened. There was no fake smile on her face, no forced laughter slipping from her lips. It was simply Daphne, and Matt lost all sense of aggravation at her behavior. The woman sitting before him was completely different, her very presence giving off a longing so intense it drew him across the roof towards her. His feet shuffled along the vines, and she turned at the noise.

“Matt? What are you doing up here?” she asked as the mask fell back over her face.

“Wondering why a princess would sneak up to the roof in the middle of the night,” he replied. “Not the easiest place to run off to.”

“Scared of heights?” she asked with a raised brow.

He thought of all the places he’d had to reach in order to hit his target. “No, not at all.”

She stared at him for a long moment before she patted the space next to her. “Well, since you’re here, you might as well join me.”

“If that is what you wish, princess.”

“And drop the formalities. We’re alone,” she muttered, sounding more exhausted than he realized. “No one to say otherwise.”

He strode to the edge of the roof and sat down, his feet dangling into open air. There was another flat roof ten feet below, and he relaxed slightly, knowing that if she did fall, she wouldn’t fall far. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, gazing out over the lights of the city. It was the middle of the night, but the clubs were still open and bustling with people her age, partying it up and living carefree lives. If it was any other night, he’d be lost in that crowd, searching for the next woman to take home.

Except now, the only face that popped into his mind was Daphne’s.

“Why do you come up here?” he asked tightly. “Bit dangerous for a princess to climb up to the roof.”

“Need a place to escape for a while,” she said with a shrug. “Why are you up here?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said simply. “Saw you sneaking up the trellis. How is it none of the other guards know about this habit of yours?”

“Only one does. Jeremiah. He turns a blind eye when I come up here.”

Matt frowned with disapproval. “That’s not a very good practice.”

“I’m not allowed to go anywhere else,” she snapped. “This is the only place I can just be Daphne. If you have a problem with it, go back inside, but I’m not coming with you.” Her eyes flared at him with a fierceness he so often saw in the soldiers he had fought beside.

Daphne might not have served, but she would’ve been a damn good soldier with that fire raging inside of her. He bet she had a temper, too, when she was pushed far enough. Matt didn’t say another word as she turned back towards the view of the city. She was a soldier in a way, fighting for her people the only way she could, and from the weariness in the shadows of her face, she fought with everything she had. It took its toll.

“Daphne, the other day in your rooms—”

“Don’t,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Whatever you’re going to say, just don’t. You’ll ruin the moment, and I don’t get a lot of these,” she explained quietly. “Only when Jeremiah has night duty, and I don’t want to waste it. Not on such a perfect night.”

He fell silent and pressed his hands flat against the stone rooftop. He could hear the music from the clubs—not perfectly, but enough to tell what it was. Daphne sighed next to him, a light smile playing at her lips, except this one was real, and the sight of it making an appearance warmed Matt in ways he never thought he’d feel again.

“Sometimes, when I’m up here, I pretend I’m not the princess,” she revealed quietly. “I make up a story of being a plain old girl in the city. Dancing until the sun comes up. I see myself amongst them all. No guards, no servants, no one except me. Complete freedom.”

Matt couldn’t understand why she didn’t enjoy the life she had until he remembered what the other guards had told him. Daphne never left the palace.

She let her legs hang over the edge again and leaned forward. Matt’s whole body tensed painfully, ready to grab her, but she swung her legs out and laughed. “I have some of the greatest adventures all alone.”

“Being alone is not always as fun as you make it sound,” he argued darkly.

“No? Better than being followed around all the time. Never having a moment to show what I really feel or say what I want to.”

“But you’re the princess. Surely you can do and say exactly as you wish.”

Her laugh was harsh and short. “I’m expected to smile and be happy. If the princess isn’t happy, the people aren’t happy. Then the king and queen aren’t happy. Everything falls on me and how well I can fake a damn smile.”