Page 35 of Royally Scr*wed

It doesn’t take long for both of us to yield to the undeniable pleasure. Charlie’s head falls forward onto my sore shoulder, but I refuse to acknowledge the pain as she moans my name and shudders.

It’s over nearly as quickly as it began – a rarity between us – though useful in this situation.

Once we’ve both caught our breath, I straight myself up and brush her robe down before kissing her forehead. “I must go now and deal with the security issues. Perhaps you can seek out my grandmother and Willow who are now awake and relax with them for a bit. I’ll find you after and we can discuss things all at once.”

Charlotte looks up at me with that lust filled haze in her eyes that I love so much. “You are not off the hook, Your Majesty. An orgasm is hardly an apology or an explanation, nor has it satisfied me. Just so we’re clear.”

“I’ve not satisfied you? I find that hard to believe based on the way you just came all over my cock, Charlie,” I smirk.

“Don’t flatter yourself. That was not what I meant, though I do prefer our lengthy lovemaking over simply being used for a quick fuck as a distraction.”

“Charlotte Summer Rexford,” I tilt her chin up forcing her to look directly at me. “Never are you a distraction.”

“Ah, but your intention was to distract me, was it not, Julius Hugh?”

Leave it to Charlie to call me out and hold me accountable.

“You are well aware of my intentions. But make no mistake, every time I take you, it is much more than a mere fuck and it’s never to simply divert your attentions. Instead, remember that it is me proving my love to you over and over again. It is me, giving myself to you and only you.”

Charlie rolls her eyes at me, and I fight back a laugh. “You’re something else.” She seems to settle at least a little. “Get on with your duties. I shall find Agnes and summon Queen Lily and Princess Willow to prepare a delightful breakfast and tea for after your meeting.”

“I love you,” I remind her with a kiss once more before exiting the room.

She follows me out the door but heads the opposite direction, no doubt to follow through on her promise to assist in making a breakfast fit for a king.

CHAPTER 14

CHARLIE

“Will you have to…uhm…stand trial for…” I can’t bring myself to say the words.

Jude has not confessed to what happened after he killed Sebastian, but I don’t need him to. I can read between the lines.

He runs his fingers up and down my bare arm as I lay cuddled in his arms in a different bedchamber further down the hall from where everything happened earlier today. Neither of us can sleep though exhaustion hangs over me.

“No. What’s done is done. It was self-defense. And it was not I who killed Anderson though I would have without a second thought.”

“Oh.” A small amount of relief fills me. How would I have felt if he indeed killed Anderson? Sebastian was one thing. He had a gun pointed at our heads; Jude had no choice. But could he really kill a man in cold blood? Even though that man took so much from him. And could I blame him for wanting vengeance?

“Charlie, I served in the Royal Marines for four years. You do realize that is not the first time I’ve shot someone. I have plenty of demons.”

I stiffen. “I hadn’t thought about it. I thought that members of the royal family didn’t actually see war?”

He chuckles. “No. Especially not when you enlist in the middle of a war. I wasn’t a prince in the Marines, I was just another jarhead.”

“I…I had no idea.”

“Does that change your mind about me?”

Does it? That’s a good question.

I think about it for a minute. “I don’t think so. You were doing a job. Defending your country.”

“The same as I did today. I was defending my country and my wife. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

I don’t know that I could ever do the same, but I know I cannot hold it against him. Knowing that he would risk his life and never hesitate to save mine is sexy in its own very dark way.

“There are so many pieces to you. I feel like I haven’t even began to uncover who you really are,” I confess.

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