Page 70 of A Girl and HER Prince
As if the donkeys would start listening now! Every time Livvy tried to shoo them outside and lead them into their stalls, they’d start up their crying again and then find another way to get in somehow, which wasn’t incredibly hard since she’d discovered a wall smashed in the study, but how did they keep getting out of the barn? “They’re escape artists!”
“Steve,” Venice called. “Come, come!” The donkey just stared at him. “Steve?” Venice turned to her. “Isn’t that the little wannabe horse’s name?”
“Yes, but he has selective hearing.” The donkey’s constant mewling tugged at her heart. “He’s scared after the hurricane, I think.”
Venice threw his arm around the donkey’s neck to lead him back outside into the rain. Steve planted his hooves into the carpet. “This storm won’t be anything like last night’s,” Venice said. “Now go home. You’ll have soft hay there.”
“Good luck,” Livvy said. She leaned up against the door frame to the salon, shoving her fists into her hips. “They just keep wandering right on back. I guess we’re just going to have to get used to living with barn animals.”
“Well…” A helpless grin played at his lips. “You’d better not know how to open doors, Steve.”
They did—that was the problem, but maybe they would leave the prince’s room alone—not that he was acting very regal at the moment. Venice made a sound of exasperation and, leaning heavily on the bannister, headed back up the stairs to the bedrooms.
Livvy hid a giggle when the donkey shadowed him like he was making sure he didn’t fall. Venice reached the top of the stairs at the landing and gave Steve a stern look. “You’re not jumping on the bed and trying to cuddle with me in the covers when the lightning hits. Just get that out of your head right now.”
Livvy laughed at the ridiculous scenario, though she already knew from experience that Steve was a blanket stealer. Venice’s eyes went to hers, and he gave her a devilish look. “You, of course, are always free to cuddle if you’re scared.”
“Ha!” Livvy had no intention of following through with that. She was already trying to untangle her feelings from her best intentions of staying away from him. He’d told her he was meant to be a king, and though he wasn’t sure if he’d accept the call to rule Tirreoy, getting together with him would mean a change that would turn her existence upside down. Already her life was topsy-turvy with him in it. And her biggest problem was that she liked it.
She followed them up the stairs, leaving BamBam and Ronnie to frolic downstairs. She’d tried to close as many doors as she could. Hopefully, the animals would get bored of the humans and wander back into the barn for a midnight snack of sweet hay.
Livvy pushed open the door leading to the elegant bedroom she was borrowing for this night’s sleep.
Venice had claimed the one next to hers—it just so happened that the best accommodations were side by side with enough bedding, clothes, and shower supplies. The connecting door showed that the suite was clearly meant for the man and woman of the house, though she’d never seen a married couple have such separate spaces before. She hoped the owners weren’t too annoyed that they’d taken over their place as if it was their own.
The suite worked for what they needed—enough privacy to sleep and dress, but close enough to hear each other scream if anything bad happened.
Please, let nothing bad happen.
They had to be past that danger now. There was no way the Myrdons could know that these mansions were uninhabited and that they’d lost all communication to the outside world—for all they knew, the prince was on his way home to his father’s protection.
Ronnie knocked Venice’s back from behind. The cream-colored donkey had rambled up the stairs to join the party too. Venice groaned. “Well, let’s hope they work as a good alarm system, if nothing else.” He pointed at Steve. “Don’t wander into the kitchen and eat all the food!”
Steve gave a displeased honk at the insult.
Venice glanced over at Livvy as she leaned against her door. “I’m pretty sure he’s telling me off right now.”
“Good thing we don’t know donkey language—it sounds pretty rough.”
Venice’s sparkling eyes met hers. “Hmm, I’m not sure it’s safe for me to leave you with them.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll lock my door.” He wasn’t getting away with teasing her.
“We have locks?” He checked his door and found the bolt on it. “Finally, we have some security!” He glanced over at her. “What about that connecting door between us?”
She nodded. Strange for a married couple—maybe they weren’t.
His expression sobered. “Be sure to keep it unlocked in case of an emergency.”
“Okay, but…” she decided to give him just as hard a time as he was giving her, “… I’mnotcomforting you if you get scared.”
He laughed, and she was happy to see the stress that had been building up throughout the day desert his face. He left his door and caught her fingers in his.
Her heart jumped in anticipation. This guy needed to stop touching her because it made her feel absolutely breathless. “I’ll try to be a good boy.” If he was, he wouldn’t be pressing her against the doorway, seconds before his lips were pressing into hers, too. The thick fringe of his lashes tickled against her cheek before his gaze swept to hers. “Goodnight, Luvvy.”
Was that her name now? It sounded sultry with that British accent of his. She stepped back, not knowing up from down and which foot to put in front of the other, she was feeling so twitterpated. He pointed to her door. “Lock this when I close it.”
She managed a feeble wave back at him and headed through the door as he shut her firmly inside. Livvy stumbled against her bed, running her fingers over the luxuriously silky sheets. Venice sure knew how to pack a kiss. Her nerve endings were exploding with pure bliss as she thought over his every look, his every touch, his every word. It was almost dangerous how much she liked this guy.
