Page 25 of Her Royal Daddy
He shrugged, rolling his eyes, removing the beaded headband from his head and running an irritated hand through his hair. “This thing is a nuisance,” he grumbled, handing it to one of his father’s nearby attendants. “Frankly, so is discretion. Meet me in my room in thirty minutes.”
He walked away then, joining his father and Jax at the head of the table, leaving me to stare after him in annoyance. He hadn’t even waited for me to agree, taking for granted that I would meekly do as I was told without so much as an argument. Was he getting even cockier?
Did it matter? He was right.
I huffed as I left the room, and I quickly walked toward my small quarters at the opposite end of the palace. No matter how annoyed I was, I already knew that in thirty minutes I would be in his room, just as he had asked.
What I didn’t know for sure was what would happen once I got there, but a part of me was starting to think it might be better for us both if I found a way to wean myself off my ‘drug.’ I knew I wasn’t being naïve. The media coverage surrounding him was only going to intensify from here on out; there was not going to be any room for discreet in his life. And he was getting tired of it, anyway. And as much as I wanted him, I knew I wasn’t wrong. This wasn’t Disney. In the real world, Cinderella did not get to go home with Prince Charming and live happily ever after. The real world had a precedence, and the last time a girl born outside of royalty fell in love with a prince, while they did indeed get married, first he had to abdicate.
Osei couldn’t afford that.
I would be selfish beyond measure to stick around long enough even to make that a possibility. This had to end. For both our goods, I had to stop it. Now, while we could both still walk away without it hurting more than I knew it already would.
The only problem was Mazi. Thirty minutes later when he came strolling back to his room, I was calm and rational as I laid it all out for him. He even agreed with me—we couldn’t keep going on like this. But where I was reasonable and ready to walk away, pride and heart as intact as they could be after losing a man I was starting to think I actually might love just a little, he was the complete opposite. He not only refused to think about parting ways, he wanted to take our relationship to the next level. He was tired of discretion; he wanted to hold my hand in public. He wanted to kiss me when people were looking. He wanted to introduce me to his father as more than just the family media consultant.
“Mazi,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and trying my best from my diminutive height to stare him down. It wasn’t working very well. Little girls did not stare down their daddies, not even when they were breaking up. “You’re being ridiculous,” I added for good measure.
He not only mirrored my stance, he improved on it with stern eyes and a quirked eyebrow. “I’m being ridiculous? I invited you up here to get frisky, and you’re breaking up with me.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. The man was impossible. We had been going around in circles for ten minutes at least, and he just wouldn’t listen. “In order for me to break up with you, we would have to have some kind of commitment between us first. We don’t. We aren’t even dating.”
He frowned, his jaw clenching. “Exactly what do you think we have been doing?”
This morning, when on the phone with my best friend, I had called it dating, but he didn’t need to know that. He was crowned prince today. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, that changed things. I would admit, however, that it did surprise me a little when my eyes started burning and I had to blink back tears as I told him, “We’re nothing. We’re having fun. A fling. Fuck buddies. A one-night stand that got extended. Vacation sex. Take your pick. It didn’t mean anything. It was fun and now it’s over. Time to move on.”
I watched his frown deepen with every barbed word I threw out there. It nearly killed me to do it, but someone had to. He was a prince, and I was no princess.
His jaw worked from side to side as he stalked slowly toward me. Refusing to flinch, I willed my feet to stay firmly planted. Mazi was good at breaking down my walls. It was one of his many skills. How many times had he already done this? He’d advance on me until there was no space between our bodies, then close his lips over mine and kiss me until I was breathless with need. It was his signature move, and it always worked. This time I was determined not to give in.
Maybe he saw it in my eyes, because he walked right past me, stopping literally beside and a little behind me. He looked at me. I stared straight ahead, willing my back not to prickle at how clearly I imagined I could feel his breath on the side of my neck.
This was just another power play. And damn, but did he have a power over me.
Right up until he spanked me! His hand swatted the seat of my skirt so hard, my butt stung. He landed three brisk smacks in quick succession before I had time to react.
I spun around, covering my smarting ass with both hands while he smirked down at me, his face a mask of smug anger. He looked pretty pleased with himself.
I was not so pleased.
“You don’t get to get your way all the time,” I blustered. “You particularly don’t get to get it by spanking me every time I say something you don’t like!”
“I beg to differ. First, I’m a prince, so... yes, I can. And second, you were lying to me.”
My heart was pounding in my chest.
“Don’t,” he said, when I opened my mouth to deny it. “Whatever you’re trying to say, just don’t. I can see it in your face, it would be another lie and you’ve just seen how I’ll handle it.”
I scowled, annoyed at how easily he could see through me.
And then, of course, like any fairytale prince, he spoke the words my soul longed to hear. “Don’t leave me, Norah. I need you.”
My will began to crumble. I knew what I had to do, but Mazi just didn’t play fair.
“I can’t,” I said, begging him to understand. “I am not princess material, Daddy. I can’t date you now and I sure can’t date you when”—when your father dies; I just couldn’t say it—“when you become king. This thing we’ve been doing... it can’t go anywhere. It just can’t. I need it to stop before it’s too late.” Before I fall in love with you. Except that I already have.
“You’re scared.” Nodding, he took a step closer, closing the last bit of distance between our two bodies. Score one point for his signature move. “I get it. I am too. This is scary, real, life-changing, straight-out-of-a-fairy-tale stuff. But I need you, Norah. I knew it the first time I laid eyes on you. I was going to talk to you that night. I haven’t told you that before, but I was. Only I went backstage first, and that’s when I got the letter. I had to force you out of my mind in order to deal with this, but then I saw you again on the plane, and I knew it was fate. No matter what else happened, with my father, whatever, I knew my life had been forever changed. We were meant to be together. However briefly, our paths were meant to cross that night at the club. Think about all the events that had to line up just so for both our lives to change on the exact same night and then to end up here in Osei. If that’s not fate, I don’t know what is.”
It was a powerful argument. But the big problem still remained. And despite his talk of fate, it was insurmountable. In a few weeks, he would be a king.
