Page 108 of Trained Royal
“He did. At least, that’s what he’s saying. Currently, we have no way of confirming that because he has no evidence. He wasn’t being paid. Every message he received was from a burner phone, and every interaction he had was planned meticulously to ensure there was no evidence left.”
“He could be telling lies,” Henry said. Kieren nodded. “Then why is he being pronounced dead?”
“We don’t want to take the chance that his son will be harmed. If he’s listed as one of the deceased, his son should be free.”
“Should be.”
“As much as we can guess. We can’t guarantee it, but we also can’t send someone to check in on him because it will show an interest in him we don’t want to highlight.”
“What’s going to happen with Tobias?”
“He’s going to jail, no doubt about it. He has no remorse for it. How his uncaring nature was ever hidden, I don’t know.” Kieren rested his head back against the seat.
Patrick could see how much of a toll this had taken on him, on all of them. “This has to stop,” he said. “She can’t keep doing this to us. How much more can we take?”
“We will take as much as she throws,” Andrew said as he entered the room with William Senior behind him. “We will never give up because she’s wrong, and she knows it. She gets backing from those who feel the same as she does, or she blackmails people into helping her. By resorting to blackmail, she is becoming weaker, and those supporting her can see it. We see it through. Whatever she throws our way, we will weather because we are in the right. We stand by those who deserve to live in a free country, not scared to step outside their doors. We fight for them as much as ourselves.”
It was moments like that Patrick remembered why Andrew was king and why he should continue being so as long as he could. Freddie was becoming the image of his father, and Patrick was not at all concerned that something would change when his cousin became king.
“Damn straight,” Douglas said.
“Right. This is the end of this. As of now, Christmas has started. We’re still on high alert, just in case, but we need to forget about it for the next few days. I refuse to let one spoilt brat ruin Christmas.” Patrick muffled a laugh at his uncle’s description of Charlotte. “Tonight, we will have dinner and finish it as it should have been finished yesterday. Tomorrow, we can do whatever you want to do, and on Christmas Eve, we can spend it together as usual. There will be a couple of minor events I need to appear at over the next couple of days, but from Christmas Eve onwards, I’m yours.” He smiled. “Get some rest. I’ll see you at dinner.”
Patrick and Kieren said their goodbyes and headed for their suite, and once the door was closed, they sank into bed and talked until they dozed. Kieren, luckily, had set an alarm, and it woke them with enough time to have some time in the shower together. They’d both been too tired the previous night and that morning to do anything more than hold each other and kiss, but Patrick insisted on dropping to his knees and reminding Kieren of just what he was capable of.
As he worked Kieren’s cock with his mouth and played with his balls and hole with his hands, Patrick thought about their relationship in terms of a BDSM lifestyle. When they used bondage and impact play in the bedroom or club, Patrick was the Dom and Kieren the sub, but at home, anything was possible. And Patrick loved every minute of what they shared.
He remembered the first time he’d visited the club, scared it wouldn’t be anything that he wanted, and when he finally entered the building with Freddie, he’d been surprised. He’d been lured in by the possibilities of being able to play a body as well as he could his instruments, and at that moment, he believed he could play Kieren’s body better than he could his piano. There was art in giving someone an orgasm, music in the sounds they made, and a melody in the undulations of their body. As much as Kieren could capture that feeling on paper with his drawings, Patrick could work a body and capture the same emotion in real life. The pair of them together could be a force to be reckoned with if left to their own devices.
But his mind was running away with him. He needed to bring Kieren to the very edge and let him hover there for a short time before allowing him to fly. He wanted him wiped clean and relaxed, and they could enjoy the evening with their family because Kieren was part of the family now, too. And if everything went to plan, the ring hidden inside his sock drawer—hardly a unique hiding place—would have pride of place on Kieren’s hand by the end of their Christmas holiday.
He was scared Kieren wouldn’t be ready, but he would never push for him to say yes if he wasn’t in the right frame of mind for it. Patrick would wait however long Kieren needed him to. He was worth everything.
As Kieren finally cried out in release, Patrick climaxed at the same time, happy to share all this with him. For the first time in a long time, despite everything going on around them, Patrick was content.
And it showed in his music. When Andrew asked him to play for them, Patrick’s heartwarming Christmas melodies helped lift their spirits and remind them what they were working towards.
****
Chapter 33
Kieren
Everyone had been doing everything in their power to keep the spirits high in the run-up to Christmas. Patrick played the piano, George created games, Eddie made them Christmas drinks—much to the chagrin of the household staff—and Henry fascinated them with the history of Club Royal he’d found out in his research. Kieren had enjoyed every minute of it, but when Patrick suggested they take some time to themselves on Christmas Eve, he agreed wholeheartedly. According to Patrick, Andrew had cancelled their usual Christmas Eve black-tie dinner with the local residents this year, so they had the entire day free, and tomorrow, they would only need to attend the Church service in the morning.
“Horse riding?” Kieren said, staring at the horses currently eating hay in the stable. “I don’t know…”
“Have you ever done it before?” Patrick asked, opening the door that separated them from a large black horse.
“No. It never crossed my mind.”
Patrick stroked a hand down the horse’s shiny coat. “This is Beauty. She has been a favourite of mine for as long as I can remember. She’s gentle and easy to ride. You’ll be fine with her. We’re not going to go far or fast, and I’ll be by your side the entire time.”
“Okay,” Kieren said hesitantly.
Patrick got Beauty ready, then closed the door and entered the stable of another horse, this time a chestnut-coloured one. “This is Roman. He is Henry’s favourite. A little temperamental sometimes, but nothing I can’t handle.”
Kieren was fascinated with Patrick’s sure actions. “How many times have you done this? I would’ve thought—”
