Page 13 of Falling for the Queen Mother

The kiss the night before had been... spectacular, but being close to Alaina as they'd slept was comfortable and intimate in an entirely different way.

"I'll meet you down there." It wasn't the right moment to discuss things further, not when they both had things they needed to do and quickly.

But before she could leave, he took the chance to kiss her again. Nothing like the kiss the night before, but wonderful nonetheless.

A guilty flush covered her cheeks as she let herself out of his temporary quarters.

Nate closed the door behind her then started for the balcony to pick up the blanket and close the door. Before he made it across the living area, a knock called him back.

Could she have forgotten something?

He glanced around as he went back to the door, but nothing caught his eyes. When he saw who was on the other side, he knew why.

His breakfast had arrived early.

The aide who'd brought it refused to look at him directly, something Nathaniel took to mean he'd seed Alaina leaving a moment earlier.

"Thank you." Nathaniel pulled a small stash of cash out of his wallet and started to peal a few bills off.

"No, sir." The man shook his head. "No tips needed. Not only is it against the rules, but we're paid very well and don't need to supplement our salaries with tips, like they do in other places."

"It's a habit I picked up when I lived in the States for a time," Nathaniel admitted as he put the money back in his pocket. "But I also gladly compensate further for anyone who goes above and beyond in some way. I did that even before living where it was expected."

"Just the thought is appreciated, sir." The aide tipped his head toward the Nathaniel then left without another word.

Fortunately, he hadn't ordered anything that needed to be eaten either hot or cold, so Nathaniel took the chance to get ready for the day before sitting down to eat.

An hour after Alaina left, he was escorted to the archives by a member of the security staff. When he arrived, his first meeting was with Kathleen, who would be the second in charge. Nate let her knew he had no intention of being an overbearing boss - or even a boss at all, really. She was the one who knew the local artwork and artifacts. He could often identify paintings with something obviously wrong, but if something was a very clever fake, he'd never know to look more closely.

She was the Southern Santieran expert. He was, allegedly, the currently-local expert on the ancient pact.

They organized everyone into teams then each team began looking through their first set of assigned items.

He had noticed that Alaina hadn't shown up when he'd expected her to, but he didn't want to appear overly interested in the Queen Mother and invite speculation.

He and Kathleen continued going over the long list of items to be checked and noting which ones seemed like they could be worth investigating more closely sooner rather than later.

Halfway through the morning, the phone rang. Kathleen spoke for a moment and glanced toward him a couple of times, but once she hung up, she didn't say anything to Nathaniel about the nature of the call. Instead, they continued working for about twenty minutes when a member of the king's security team walked in.

"Mr. Dougherty, can you please come with me?" He didn't explain further.

Nathaniel glanced at his temporary coworker, but she seemed very intent on the list she'd already studied at least twice.

With a nod, Nathaniel followed the security team member.

They didn't speak as they went through the palace halls. Only parts of it were familiar to Nathaniel, but eventually he realized they were headed toward the executive office suites. Maybe the king wanted to discuss his call with Madeleine in greater detail?

Something inside told him it wouldn't be quite that simple.

It was also entirely possible he wasn't going to see the king at all.

That question was put to rest when they went into the largest, fanciest of the outer offices.

Of course the king would want to speak with him after what he'd witnessed the night before.

Everything about the area screamed that someone important occupied the space. The doors leading into the office itself somehow seemed more imposing than they had the day before.

But when Nathaniel entered the office, he was surprised to find the king wasn't alone or only accompanied by a member of his security staff.