Page 21 of Palace of Betrayal

Eight

Like a coward, Bebe had escaped to the bathroom once they returned to Leo’s rooms. The kiss and the conversation had all been too much and she could feel her barriers falling. As she let the warm water fall over her skin, she tried to push thoughts of her parents, and all the hurtful things they’d said to her after her sister had died, away.

How it was her fault. How she’d failed her family and what a waste it had been to give her life. Leo seeing her as a Queen was a joke, and perhaps he’d meant it that way. She wasn’t sure, but it had hit a nerve she hadn’t expected. She cared way more than she should about how he saw her and that was scary.

Over the years and her time with Zenobi, she’d come to terms with her past as much as she could and vowed never to let it affect her present. What happened in the past shouldn’t matter, and neither should the future. It was the moment she lived in that made the seconds count.

She’d been in the moment with Leo when he’d kissed her, throwing away every thought but him. He was such a complex man. A Prince, a soldier, but she saw only him, the whole person, each facet of him melding like the jewel she was here to protect.

That was what she needed to focus on, her job and finding out who was involved. Right now, she had very little to go on. Stepping out of the large shower cubicle onto the cool tile, she wrapped her thick hair in a towel and tied the robe tight around her body. The length of the robe was clearly built for a man, coming to the bottom of her calves, leaving only her feet and ankles exposed. She wriggled her foot, watching the flower tattoo she’d had done to remember her sister move as if the wind was blowing the flower around. Orchids had always been her sister’s favourite, and maybe it was fate that had brought her here to the place with the largest orchid farm in the world.

Stepping back into the bedroom, she saw Leo making up the couch with sheets and paused. He stilled as if sensing her, his muscles freezing in place before he went back to what he was doing. “You can take the bed if you prefer.”

Leo straightened but kept his back to her. “It’s fine.”

He went to move past her into the bathroom and she stopped him with her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

Leo angled his head to her, his face closed, and she thought she detected hurt beneath his eyes, which was crazy. Nonetheless, she wanted to fix this, to get the easy partnership they’d acquired so quickly back in place. “There’s no denying the chemistry between us, Leo. But to take it further, no matter how much we want that, would be foolish.”

“I agree.”

Bebe blinked, her mouth falling open as she felt him turn into her body, and begin walking, forcing her to move or get ploughed over. “You agree?”

Her throat felt dry as her knees hit the back of the couch, his body pressed to her, and she wondered if he could feel the beat of her heart reverberating through her chest.

“An absolute disaster and yet we both know it’s going to happen. This,” he motioned between them, “is too hot to be extinguished.”

He leaned in so his lips were almost touching hers and she struggled to draw oxygen past the thick blanket of need filling the air.

“We’ll get burned.” Her warning was just as much for herself as for him.

“I don’t give a fuck if the world burns down around us, Bebe, but this is going to happen.”

With that he stepped away and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Bebe drew in a shaky breath and moved to the vanity. She began to brush through her long hair as she processed the words Leo had spoken to her. The repetitive action calmed her frayed nerves. He hadn’t sounded any happier about it than she felt but he’d seemed to accept whatever was between them easier than she did.

Lifting the towel, she dried her hair, rubbing the strands together before brushing it once more. She should dry it, or it would be a wild mess by morning, but she also wanted to be in the safety of her bed by the time Leo came out of the bathroom.

Stopping, she listened, moving so her ear was pressed to the door of the bathroom. She could hear the water running but also something else. A groan, her name spoken on a low growl that had her clenching her thighs together, her clit pulsing at the sound of him getting off to thoughts of her. It would be so easy to open that door and join him, to step into that shower and feel the hard, wet ridges of his body against her own. To let the lust consume them, but it would also complicate an already complex situation.

Instead, she shut out the light, put on panties, threw on an old t-shirt that belonged to her friend Waggs and had gotten mixed up with her laundry, and climbed into bed. The cool satin sheets were heaven on her fevered skin. She lay back, moving her damp hair to the side and knowing she’d regret not drying it properly in the morning.

As the shower kept running, Bebe slid her hand down her body, the slight touch making goosebumps break out on her skin. Pushing her panties aside she rolled her fingers over her aching clit, a moan escaping her as she imagined it was Leo. His hands on her, his big body over her, inside her.

Pleasure seared her skin and she lost herself in the feel of ecstasy that rippled over her flesh. A flood of light hitting the room had her hand stilling as Leo walked back in, a pair of grey sweats slung low on his hips. His physique was impressive, muscular and lean. The ripples in his back as he moved to the couch made her mouth water with the need to taste him. To see what he looked like when he lost control, gave up the fight, and just let the beast inside him free.

A man like him, who’d seen the hell of war, seen friends die and lived to come home, would hold themselves in check, but a King in waiting? He’d have an even tighter leash on his emotions.

Bebe dared to imagine how beautiful he’d be when he let that control go. To be on the end of his kind of intensity would feel like the world was at your fingertips. Even after only a short time together she knew he could love. That he could be everything to someone. A husband, a father, and a King, and he’d do it to the best of his ability because anything else would be a failure to him.

She wanted to feel that, to know that kind of love but was she enough? Could she ever be enough for anyone, let alone a man like him? A woman who’d killed, seduced, fought, and lost the biggest battle she’d ever faced.

It was why she lay there, looking at the ceiling, long after he’d slipped beneath the sheets of his couch.

“You should get some sleep.”

His deep voice in the silent darkness made her jump and she rolled to her side to see him watching her. “I’m trying.”