Page 104 of The Trophy

The sun would have been setting soon anyway, but the storm that’s threatening to hit Star Cove any moment now, made night fall earlier than normal.

I gave Luigi the night off, the man’s devotion to me and the royal family is beyond any doubt, but I wouldn’t mind being alone with Lake tonight. I wish she could come spend the Christmas break with me, but I get it that she needs to go home to her family.

One of the reasons why she declined my invitation to go to Nebraska for Christmas and Montebello for new year is that I wasn’t the only one who issued an invitation to meet my family. Cash and Blaze invited her too and I’m pretty sure part of the reason why she said no is that she didn’t want to disappoint one of us.

There are going to be plenty of occasions to take her home to see where I grew up. Maybe this is for the best after all that she’s going to meet il Re (the King) on her own turf when Papà comes here for Heloise’s orientation, rather than at the royal palace.

I should also probably invite Blaze and Cash to Montebello, I’m sure they’ll love the ice rink I had built in the palace just to practice when I visited home.

Of course I’m not under the illusion that I’ll be able to hide our relationship with Lakyn to my father. I know he won’t like it but if he’s in on the truth, we can find a way to justify the closeness with my two friends and teammates to the rest of the world.

Maybe we could give them a knighthood and an official royal position as men in waiting or royal advisors or whatever the King likes, so that it won’t look too suspicious if they’re always around. Because one thing is for sure. I’m going to marry Lakyn one day and there’s no royal protocol, law or tradition that can persuade me not to.

With my mind made up, I open the double glass door of the main library building.

I spot her immediately at the reception desk, busy tidying up and shutting her computer down before closing.

The library is pretty much deserted, all the students who are already done with their finals, have already gone home for the long winter break.

The only ones left are pretty much students who were so unlucky to have a final today—the last official day of the academic year—some student athletes who had games yesterday, like the hockey team and the students who have jobs in administration or campus services that were open today.

“Ciao bella,” I smile, covering the distance between the door and the front desk in a couple of long strides. “I missed you.”

Her face lights up in a gorgeous smile and she cranes her neck, pushing herself a little on the desk to meet me halfway, as I lower my head to kiss her.

I can never have enough of Lakyn’s soft lips and I can’t resist the urge to deepen the kiss, slipping my tongue into her mouth and giving her a taste of the way I’ll tease her clit later.

We probably kiss for several minutes, but I’m addicted to this woman and I’m never going to be sorry about it.

“I missed you too.” She whispers, smiling as I cup her jaw with one of my hands.

“Ready to get out of here?” I ask, eager to get her alone so that I can show her how much I missed her in painstakingly clear details.

“Just one second,” she says, wiggling the mouse, to wake up the screen of the main computer. “Just let me make sure that this has finished shutting down, we’ve had some problems lately with the network. If this thing starts a scan or defrag or whatever, I don’t want it to stay on until we return in the new year. Bobbie wouldn’t be pleased and I was on shift alone after she left earlier today, so she would know exactly who’s to blame.”

I shrug. “We’re in no rush, I have everything I need right here,” I say, letting my eyes rove over her perfect tits encased in a tight pale pink sweater, her narrow waist and sexy hips clad in a black mini skirt I can’t wait to take off of her once I get her alone.

“I don’t want to keep Luigi waiting,” she says, clicking twice on the mouse in rapid succession.

“I gave Luigi the night off,” I smile. “I don’t fly to Omaha until tomorrow afternoon, so we have all the time in the world. Do you know what you want for dinner?” I ask.

She looks at me for a second without saying anything, but the way she looks at me, her tongue darting out to lick her pink lips, tells me that I’m not the only one who would gladly skip to dessert.

The air between us is charged with sexual tension, crackling with electricity… quite literally.

Thunder flashes from outside, followed shortly by the deafening noise right before complete darkness descends on the library’s main floor.

“Oh no,” Lake groans. “Now the computer will be totally fucked up. Do you think I should go look for the fuse box?”

I turn on the light on my phone, walking toward the main door and look out of the double paned glass of the top half. “I doubt messing with the fuse box will help. It looks like the light is out all over campus.”

Lakyn turns on the light on her phone too. “I think the computer had just turned itself off before the power was cut. But I don’t know if I should wait until the power is back on to be one hundred percent sure.”

Maybe I’m a little selfish, because I want to get out of here and be alone with Lake asap, but I shake my head. “Nah, there’s no point. The power could come back soon, or it could be hours before it does. I’m sure your boss doesn’t expect you to stay here way past closing time.”

Lakyn nods. “You’re right. I’ll text her to be sure though. At least she’s gonna know that I didn’t just leave without checking.”

She’s so conscientious and loyal. That’s only one of the many things that made me fall for her. I don’t just love Lakyn and find her so attractive that I’m constantly hard just thinking about her, I actually trust her. I know without the shadow of a doubt that Lakyn Woods is a good person, who would never willingly hurt anyone; she’s truthful and kind and she would do anything for the people she loves.

---