Page 57 of The Royal's Pet: A MMF Ménage Royal Romance

I curl my fingers at my lips as I watch the clouds zip past in puffs of white. Rory and Ben have vanished into the aft cabin. Tanner sits in the back, and every now and then I hear his newspaper flutter as he turns a page. I tap my signet ring against the window just to hear it click.

Rory falls into the seat in front of me and whirls it around so we’re facing each other. Gravity has a weird effect on her. It seems to pull her down more rapidly than anyone I’ve ever known, making her ginger hair fly out around her. For such a small girl, she throws her body around like a wrecking ball.

“Ben’s taking a nap,” she announces. “Apparently he didn’t sleep well last night and isn’t worried about snipers when we’re 40,000 feet in the air. Did you know you have a full-size bed back there?”

The edge of my mouth lifts. Rory always knows how to make me smile. “Yes. I’m aware.”

Rory cranes over to glance once at Tanner before she turns her attention back to me, dropping her voice so we can talk privately. “You look anxious.”

“That’s because I am.”

“Is it about your mom? I know it’s hard going back, but… she’s your mom. She’ll forgive you.”

“Going back isn’t the hard part.” I turn my gaze to meet Rory’s. “She’s not going to take it very well when I tell her I have no intention of staying at the palace.”

“You don’t?” Rory chirps.

I shake my head. “How would you feel about running away with me?”

For a second, Rory gawks. “Running away… from the palace? Can you do that?”

“I’m the prince. I can do whatever I want. We’ll leave the palace. All of it. We can spend a month on the Greek Islands. Soaking in the sunshine. Sipping martinis on the beach.”

Rory’s nose crinkles. “I don’t want martinis.”

“No?”

“No. I want adventure.”

“We’ll hike the Nepalese mountains, then. Meet some Buddhist monks. Explore the ruins.”

Her eyes seem to glitter at that. “Now you’re talking.”

“I don’t care where we are,” I explain. “As long as I’m with you and Ben, I’m happy. We’ll shag our way through every country.”

Rory fidgets in her seat and rubs her hands over her skirt. “Just… don’t jump into this. It’s not all peaches and cream. Before I ended up at the palace, I’d been three months without a private shower. That’s showering in communal bathrooms with a plastic curtain separating you from strangers. I got bitten by bugs and lay awake at night praying they weren’t venomous. I got ripped off by probably every taxi driver in the world. Without fail, I’ve gotten lost in some of the sketchiest places where no one spoke English. Are you sure you’re up for that? Up until now, everything’s been handed to you on a silver platter.”

“And look how well that’s turned out for me,” I interrupt bitterly. “I’m tired of living that way. I never wanted my life handed to me. I see that now. I look at you and… you make me hungry. I want to see the world with you, Rory.”

“Have you talked to Ben about this?”

“Not yet. But he’ll follow us.”

“Why? Because you order him to?”

My mood darkens. “No. Of course not. Because he loves us, and he’d follow us to the ends of the earth. That’s Ben.”

Rory stares out the window, her eyes following the streaks of white. She’s quiet for a long moment, contemplative, but then finally, she utters a single word. “Okay.”

My muscles tighten with surprise. “Okay?”

A small smile graces her lips. “Yeah… where do you want to go first?”

That smile. I want to kiss that smile. I hook my hands underneath her knees, draw her forward, and close my mouth over hers. I can taste the curve of her lips. Here, my mouth still brushing hers, I murmur, “Right now… I don’t want to be anywhere but right here.”

Rory gets up and curls into my lap, and I wind my arms around her as the plane purrs underneath us.

Reginald doesn’t speak to me when we get to the hangar bay again. He’s traded in his personable smile for a deep scowl. I can’t blame him. He was duped by the prince of England, an arrogant boy used to getting what he wanted. Is his job on the line? I certainly hope not. I’ll put in a good word if it is. Pull some royal strings. No one should have to suffer for my pride.

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