Ozzy shoots me a look and tries his best not to snicker at us.
“Would you give us a moment, Oscar? I’ll meet you in the hallway once I’ve finished speaking with Charlie. Do not let anyone disturb us. Am I clear?”
He nods and I’m pretty sure he mumbles something that resembles ‘good luck’ but turns and leaves us alone once more.
“You do not need to join us. I can assure you that I can handle this meeting just fine on my own.”
“I don’t recall saying that you cannot handle it, Julius. But, if my own husband isn’t going to give me answers, after he’s been shot I might add, then I will indeed find those answers myself.”
“Enough with calling me Julius. It’s infuriating.”
“Not nearly as infuriating as being awoken from slumber by gun shots.” A shiver runs up her spine. “Andthenbeing left in the dark as your husband runs off and gets hurt but won’t tell you Goddamn thing.”
I run a hand over my face and blow out a breath. “I’m sorry for leaving you. There was an urgent matter that I needed to attend to. It’s been addressed and we are all safe once more.”
“Did you do it?” she asks.
“Did I do what, exactly?”
She punches me in the chest again. “Stop being so damn difficult. Did you kill him?”
“You were there. Yes, I killed Anderson. It was an act of self-defense after he broke into our room and tried to kill us. I would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant ensured your safety.”
“And Anderson? Is that where you went? To kill him too?”
“You’re a smart woman, Charlie. But to answer your question, no. I did not kill him. I did ensure that he was in fact dead, but I am not the one who killed him.”
“Oh,” she gasps and covers her mouth.
“It had to be done, Charlie. Neither of them deserved to live another day. As it was Anderson was already sentenced to death and Sebastian would have been too,” I tell her, pushing her tussled blonde hair away from her face. “I made a vow to keep you safe. While I’ve done a shit job of that so far, I was not about to let some lunatic kill you in your sleep. I also vowed to protect the people of Herefirth which be default means keeping myself out of harm’s way too. I did my job, and I will not apologize for it.”
“I almost died…again. Jude, someone snuck into our bedroom and tried to killus.That’s the second time in how many days and we’ve not even been married a month!” she begins to hyperventilate.
“Charlie, breathe. It’s been dealt with. No one is every going to harm you as long as I’m alive,” I vow to her.
“I wasn’t prepared for this,” she whimpers.
“Neither was I,” I confess.
Sure, being a King comes with its own set of curses and we do have a thousand plans in place for all sorts of scenarios, but I don’t think any one of us believed things like this happen.
“The important thing is that we’re all okay now,” I wrap my arms around her.
“Jude, I don’t think I can stay here. I cannot possibly spend another night in that room. Not after what happened tonight.”
“You won’t have to. I have a plan. I just need you to trust me.”
“You ran out on me, Jude. I was terrified. What if you had died? I cannot lose you. Not now. Not after all of this. I need you. Ottiline needs you.”
“And you all have me. I’m here. With you. Right now.”
Knowing exactly what will settle her enough for me to get through this meeting with the palace guards, I do the most selfish thing and slip my hand under her robe and the thin silk nightdress she was wearing before she was hastily removed from our bedchamber upon my orders, and cup her sex.
Charlie lifts her head and her lips part in a pleasured sigh. “Jude,” she tries to scorn with far less conviction in her voice then I’m sure she intended.
“Shh. Let me take care of you, my love.”
I find her sweet spot with my good hand and rub gently at first. Once I’m sure she’s ready for me, I push my bottoms down far enough to free my dick. Sitting back on the exam table, I tug Charlie’s willing body into my lap and fuck her quickly while reveling in the way her body moves straddled across mine.