Rule (Roam Series, Book Five) (9 page)

“No-…,”

“Please, if you’ll allow me to speak,” I shouted, and the uproar settled into silence within seconds. Their immediate obedience gave me the courage to continue. “I know that… I come from another place, and I speak differently. You don’t trust me,” I added, wishing the room would stop tilting on an axis. “But I promise to get to know all of you, and earn your loyalty and trust.”

Proud that my voice remained even through my entire speech, I turned to Will. He watched me with an admiring smile, nodding in encouragement.

He lifted
my hand to his lips lovingly, a gesture that I knew was meant only for the people. As he did, I noted his holstered side arm as his coat lifted.
Beretta M9.

“You are all cordially invited to celebrate our wedding tomorrow evening. In her highness’s honor, you are excused from your place of employment for the next two days.
Celebrate your future queen,” he added, taking a step closer. Cheers sounded, replacing the hushed commentary from only minutes before.

He is going to kiss me… really kiss me, in front of all of these people.
I held my breath, my eyes shifting nervously to the crowd. From the corner of my eye, I watched as a man stood alone near the back of the hall, at the doorway. He was dressed differently from the servants and musicians, and yet took no part in the desserts that were being distributed to each grand table.

His eyes focused on me. As his left arm
tucked inside his dark cloak, near his hip, I reached for Will, slipping my hand inside his coat.

“
Get down,” I shouted, going for his hip and removing the Beretta from the holster. Will tried to still my movement, but I already held the pistol securely in my hands, aiming for the man. I worked the slide, racking the round into the chamber before the cloaked man had time to make his decision.

“Eva!” Will’s voice did not startle me; focused on the man, I watched Eric follow the path of my eyes, calling orders to his men.

“
Stop him!
” I aimed at his knee, knowing that the intruder had decided to run.

He came to kill me… or
Christopher…

Or
Will.

I knew I could be accurate, but I wasn’t sure if my target was warranted. Squeezing the trigger and fully prepared for the jolt, I kept my hand steady. My decision to fire, fueled by over-indulgence and surreal self-confidence, sent the people in the hall into screams and unreserved panic.

Will grabbed me from behind, pulling me down behind the table. His hand covered mine as a return gunshot shattered a strange, icicle-like chandelier and dropped it to the floor.

“Stay
down
,” he pried the semi-automatic pistol from my hands, and I lowered my eyelids slowly.

“I don’t think… I can get up,” I admitted with a giggle, holding my head. “Will, I think I got him… he had a gun, didn’t he?”

“Your majesty,” Eric hovered near us, his rifle aimed at the back of the hall as we remained crouched behind the table. “He is disarmed and secured. I’m moving you both to your chambers.”

“He was armed?”

“Yes, Will.” His dark eyes scanned my face in disbelief. “She shot him in the knee. From more than one hundred feet.”

Will turned to me, anger darkening his glare. I shrugged, my eyelids fluttering.

“Sorry… my lord.”

“Eva!” he burst heatedly, lifting me into his arms. Eric led us from the hall, and I looped my arms around Will’s neck, resting my head on his chest.

“He had a gun. He was going to shoot me… or you. I have… to have situational awareness. At all times.”

“Situational…,” he kicked the door open, cursing as he stormed to the bed and dropped me unceremoniously to the thick mound of pillows. “Who taught you to shoot like that?”

“My dad,” I lifted my right slippered foot into the air, kicking at the heel with the toes of my left. “These shoes hurt.”

“We’re going to question him, below. You’ll stay with her?” Eric’s voice from the door made little sense to my inebriated mind.

“Of course. She’s in no state to be left alone.”

“I’m perfect… perfectly fine… to be alone,” I murmured, grunting at the struggle with my shoes. Finally freeing my foot from the silver slipper, I kicked the obnoxious thing across the room. Eric watched it hit the wall, smirking.

“Your majesty, if I may,” he gestured to me, and I waved at him with a lopsided grin. “As…
spirited
… as she may be, she may have saved one- or both- of your lives tonight. Be gentle with her.”

Will shrugged off his jacked, nodding tersely.
“You will see to your own affairs,” he snapped.

Eric bowed before leaving the room.

I turned my head, narrowing my eyes. “Where are we?”

“My private chambers.”

“Are we going to take a castle tour?” I asked, sitting up excitedly. As the blood rushed from my head, I fell back against the pillows, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Stop. Spinning.

“Eva, you detected a threat from more than one hundred feet before any of my men did, disarmed me, and took a potential assassin down in less than thirty seconds. Intoxicated.”

“Hey, I’m
so
not intox… intoxi…
drunk
,” I argued, running my hand over the cool, luxurious bedding. “This feels
so
expensive.”

He moved to the bed, and I scooted to the side, patting the edge.

“Are you asking me to sit?”

I nodded with a mischievous grin, dropping my arms behind my head to the pillow and into my mass of curls.

Reaching for his shirt, I used the fabric to pull myself up to a sitting position. His hand clamped over mine, and he followed be back down to the pillows.

“Maybe it will be easier…
this
way
,” he hushed, his lips lingering just over mine. I waited, inhaling the warm, inviting scent of his breath. “I have questions for you.”

“What questions,” I reached for his hair, eager to feel the thick, dark silk beneath my fingertips.
“Wait… it’s too quiet in here,” I lifted my hand in the air, drawing a slow circle.

Marvin Gaye’s
Let’s Get it On
cast an impatient shadow over his face, and he caught my hand in the air as I leered at him, winking obnoxiously.

“Off. Now.”

I scowled, reversing the circle and returning the room to silence.

“You must be honest, Eva,” he touched the tip of my chin, tracing slowly down the center of my neck.

His hand, so unexpected, stole my breath. Moaning softly, I closed my eyes, disappearing into his beckoning trance. My body moved beneath his slightest touch, and I tried desperately to still my rapid breathing.

“Yes,” I could feel my heart pounding in my ears as his fingers stopped, just over my breast.

“Yes, what?”

Keep touching me!
“Yes,
my lord,
” I cried, digging my fingernails into the back of his neck.

“Do you have another motive for being here?”

“Motive?” I repeated, squirming wantonly.
Jesus. He’s only touching my neck and I’m melting.

“For wanting to be queen?”

“Wanting to be queen…? I just want to protect my brother,” I opened my eyes, blinking away stunned, impassioned tears. “And…
be mortal
,” I added, soaring on the honesty of more than half a bottle of wine. “And… you.
I really like you,
” I admitted.

His fingertip continued downward, skipping over the bodice of my gown and sliding along the side of my breast. I closed my eyes again and ground my teeth, flattening my palms against the bedspread.

“And you have no intention of crossing me,” he added, curving his hand beneath my back and tugging my waist to his chest.

“Crossing you…? You’ve kept me alive… for all of these years. Me
and
Christopher,” I added, reaching for his shoulders. His hand slid against my side again, and the up and down motion of his touch over the fabric of my gown stealing my breath.

He sensed my need, finally stopping
at my waist. As his thumb began stroking lightly, over and over my stomach, I gasped, lifting my eyes. His face, so close to mine, drank me in, heavy-lidded, and his other hand gently cupped my breast.

Aroused beyond any state I’d ever known, I vanished into his touch, all hope for sobering thoughts replaced by adamant urges.
Oh my God… please just kiss me…
He teased me with his hovering mouth, driving me to near madness as I waited for him.

“
You have perfect lips,
” he said, his deep voice rumbling against my chest as he pressed against me, his fingers working over my gown again and creating a friction that left me nearly panting. “And…
I believe you.
”

His
deep voice detonated my need for him.

I tore at his shirt, pressing my body into his. “Wait…
wait, little one.
Not like this,” he caught my hands, dragging them to his lips.

“
Don’t go,
” I begged, disappointment overwhelming as he tugged the blanket over me. “I thought you were going to… kiss me.”

“I’ll be here when you wake.
Close your eyes.
”

I remembered his hand in mine, and then nothing else.

The irritating thud continued in my ears.

I tried to stuff the pillow over my head, but the pounding only increased. As the last remnants of my dream escaped me, I realized that the pummeling noise in my head was…

My head.

“Help,” I croaked beneath a dried tongue, rolling over to my back. The light in the room assaulted my stomach, and I covered my eyes with my palms, moaning.

“I swear to you, it will pass.”

His voice was amplified through a bullhorn. I covered my ears, crying out in protest.

“Why are you shouting?”

“I am not shouting, Eva.”

I forced my eyes open, finally focusing on the man lying next to me. Fully clothed, he stared at me, and I tried to gather enough strength to smack the amused smirk off of his face.

“Do you think this is funny? You’d be arrested for this, in my world,” I coughed, which only added to the throbbing in my head.

“Arrested…?”

“Underage… drinking and… sex.”

I could feel him stiffen on the bed.
“I slept here with you, Eva. That is all.”

“Will… I think I’m dying.” I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the bright light that would surely come at any moment.

He chuckled. “I assure you, you shall live. First, you must drink.”

“I’m so thirsty.”

“This is vegetable juice,” he tried to put a straw to my lips, but I turned my head in disgust.

“Gross.”

“Just drink.”

“Water!”

“Eva,” he lifted my body up, propping me against the pillows, and I dared to open my eyes again. Slapping my hands over my chest, I realized that I was completely naked beneath the sheet.

“Where are my clothes?!”

“The maids undressed you… However, I dismissed them when you refused to put on the sleeping gown.”

“Was I really mean?” I cringed.
Great. More apologies.

“You threatened their lives.”

“I really don’t like to sleep… in anything. But… I guess you didn’t need to know that.” I tightened the sheet over my breasts, glaring at him. “Okay, juice.”

“Good girl.”

After one sip of the liquid, I gagged. “There’s alcohol in this!”

“Just a small amount. Let your body deal with this new alcohol, and forget about the old.”

“Did you learn that in medieval medical school?” I shook my head, taking another long drink and gagging again.

“No, I learned that from experience. However, the hangover for an immortal is quickly remedied in little time.”

“Of course.”
That’s why I’ve never felt like this before.
I threw my hand up in the air, shoving the drink at him. “Take. This. Disgusting. Shit.”

“Language, Eva.”

“We’re
alone!
” I cried, gesturing toward the vast, empty chamber. Only then did I realize the room was completely different from the one I’d spent the evening in, preparing for the feast. “Is this your bedroom?”

“Yes.”

“And we… didn’t have sex.”

“No.” He sat up, placing the glass on the table at his side. He was fully dressed, already showered and freshly shaved. The first two buttons of his shirt were undone, and I blinked, turning away from the enthralling view of his chest.

We almost kissed, though,
I remembered, sliding my fingers over my throat as I stared at him.