Page 43 of Resisting Royal

“Take good care of your niece. We shouldn’t be more than a few hours.” He shut the door after that, and I stood looking at the wood.

Niece? I never really had much of a family besides my father, but a niece? I felt a sudden burst of panic. What would I do with her? How should I treat her? Relax, I chided myself. She’s just a kid, just spoil her like aunts are supposed to do. So, as I walked to the kitchen, I resolved that spoiling the sweet little girl was exactly what I was going to do.

By the time Troy and Royal returned home Genie, and I had gotten manicures, hit the toy store, gone grocery shopping, and had artfully constructed her favorite meal, tacos. I had to admit, having a little lady around who enjoyed the indulgences of tacos was like having a new-found best friend. Sure, Natalie and I went out, but it was a rare occasion when I could get her to break her diet and have anything other than a bowl of lettuce or a protein shake.

When our boys walked in, Genie was standing on a chair, a tiny knife in hand as she sliced through green onions. Her dad’s eyes widened. “What are you doing, Genie baby?! You will cut yourself.”

She turned to Troy, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Relax, dad, these aren’t even real.”

“They sure as fuck look real! I just saw you slice through the onion!” he pointed out as he walked toward her.

Genie cleared her throat. “Language. You are in the presence of ladies, after all.” I heard both men snort. “These are specially designed children knives, made of heavy-duty plastic and serrated edges, designed specifically for the aspiring chef in mind.”

I could see Royal was fighting not to laugh and I wasn’t too far behind him. “Princess, are you sure he’s your father? You’re too classy to be a part of our crew.”

I saw a look cross Troy’s face before he quickly dismissed Royal’s words. “He’s just jealous because he knows you had to be taught your class somehow.”

She scooped up the onions and placed them in a bowl before hopping off her chair and adding them to the line of stuff already chopped on the bar. Then she instructed the men to wash their hands before she set the table with plates and water glasses. I was too busy watching Genie work that I nearly jumped when a wet hand snaked under my shirt and rested on my bare stomach.

“I seem to have misplaced the towels,” Royal rumbled into my neck.

I tried not to lean into him. “Use your pant legs.”

“That seems counterproductive, now doesn’t it? Cleaning my hands just to dirty them on my pants.” I swore I heard him inhale against my skin. “You girls have fun today?”

“We did. We got our nails done, toy and knife shopped, and hit the grocery store for dinner supplies,” I explained, trying to ignore the heat of his body against my own.

He hummed his approval. “I see, nice nails, by the way.”

I looked down at the deep purple that coated my fingertips, the color one might classify as a royal color scheme, then cursed. Damn it. He was always in my head even when I didn’t realize it. “Genie picked it out.”

I lied, but judging by the sound he made in his throat, I suspected he knew that. He didn’t call me out on it, though. Instead, he ignored my unwillingness to admit that I thought about him non-stop and asked, “Genie pick dinner, too?”

I looked down at the big pan overflowing with ground beef. “She insisted.”

“She has good taste.” I felt his nose graze my neck lightly as he moved down the column, but his lips refused to touch me. “I like tacos.”

“Who doesn’t?” I tried to keep my breathing level because damn it, if he knew he was affecting me, he’d already won at the game he’d created.

He inhaled one more time before pushing away from my body. “We have to talk later.”

I looked over my shoulder, searching out his face, trying to gauge the type of conversation we’d have, but his expressions gave nothing away. “Good or bad?” I finally asked when I couldn’t decode his look.

“Meh, it’s neither good nor bad, it’s just a talk.” He walked away, heading toward the table to sit with the others, and even though he said the proposed conversation was neutral, I suddenly had butterflies invading my stomach because if there was one thing I’d learned, a discussion with Royal never ended neutrally.

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