A Valiant Prince: The Poisoned Pawn Duet Part II Page 7

  “Careful, Anna. Let me hold you up,” I say to her. She relaxes her injured arm again, but her other hand is still tightly wrapped around me. I groan, feeling myself edging toward my release. I double my efforts and run my teeth over her clit and that’s all it takes for her to come, her cries stifled by my cock in her mouth which only pushes me toward my own release.

  I slowly move her over to the bench, and she shakily sets her good hand down on it. I unhook her also shaking legs and slowly lower them to the floor, her knees buckle, and she sags to the ground. I grab the soap, lift her up onto the bench and start to clean her. She slowly stands and lets me have access to her body. I massage her muscles and kiss her as I clean each inch of her, paying special attention to the still slick area between her thighs. She returns the favor before we head to bed.

  We’re both sated from our lovemaking, and she curls into a small ball against me. I hold her tightly and kiss her once more, not able to get enough of her.

  “Get some sleep, Princess,” I say to her.

  “Uh huh,” she says, her eyes closed.

  I grin and kiss her forehead, smelling her hair, her skin. I hold her as though she’s going to disappear if I let go. My need to protect her is growing with each day, each hour, each second. I only hope we can figure out this mess in time.

  Chapter Eight

  It’s the click-clack of the keyboard that wakes me. I open one eye. It’s not quite light out yet, the sky is that in-between blue color that only exists twice a day right before and after the sun rises or sets. I see the blue glare of Anna’s computer screen. I sit up in bed and rub a hand over my face. She has on her headphones, and she’s deep in code, or at least I think that’s what she’s doing. I watch her for a few uninterrupted minutes. This is where she is most in her zone, she filters out the whole world and homes in on letters, numbers, and symbols. I know nothing about hacking, coding, or any other computer things, but she is a genius. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it over the past few weeks, but it’s in this early hour, with her messy hair, her naked body, her injured arm in its brace, one leg tucked under her and the other curled up against her chest, the foot planted on the seat, that I see her for who she truly is. She’s more than a royal, more than a hacker, she’s Susanna, and the world is at her fingertips because she’s in control. I admire that about her, her strength and determination, her focus.

  She pulls the headphones down and turns to me. “I’m going to attempt a different approach,” she says, laying the headphones down on her shoulders. She leans her head to one side and then the other, cracking her neck as she does so. “I think I’ve been approaching it the wrong way. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it until now. I’m trying to go forward, but I need to go backward.”

  I hear her but what she’s saying makes zero sense to me. “Anna, I don’t understand a damn thing you’re saying but seeing as how you are a class A-level genius, I’m just gonna go with it,” I say.

  She giggles. “A class A- level genius, huh?” she says.

  “Yep,” I reply as I get up and walk over to her. I massage her shoulders, and she leans back into my grip.

  “Baby, how long have you been at this?” I ask her.

  She scratches her head. “Uh, I…maybe two hours or three?” she answers.

  “You need sleep,” I say to her.

  “I know,” she says on a yawn. “But I feel like I’m so close. Like I’m seeing the puzzle pieces but they aren’t quite fitting together yet,” she adds. “You know what I mean?”

  I shake my head. She sighs.

  “I just feel like we’re missing something, something really obvious. It’s almost like…” She trails off.

  “Like what?” I ask.

  “Like…Sten seems like the most obvious answer…maybe he’s too obvious,” she says slowly, contemplating each word as it leaves her mouth. My hands drop to my sides and consider what she’s saying.

  “You don’t think Sten is behind this, do you?” I ask her as I sit down on a chair next to the desk where she’s working.

  She shakes her head slowly. “No…I don’t,” she says. We stare at each other as we both process that.

  I know that there is no way that I’ll be tearing Susanna away from that laptop. And there’s also no way that I’m going to go back to sleep. That’s when I remember that I left the box of my mother’s belongings in the car. Maybe, I’ll do some of my own research.

  “I’ll be right back,” I say to her as I pop up and walk out of the room. Pete’s in the living room, a single lamp is on, illuminating his face in the otherwise dark void.

  “Where you off to?” he asks me.

  “I just forgot something in the car,” I say as I walk to the garage. I grab the box and head back to the room, glancing over my shoulder to see Pete look up from his phone briefly before continuing to text or peruse social media, or whatever the hell guards do in the early morning hours.

  I plop the box on the bed and take the lid off.

  “What’s that?” Anna asks, turning in her chair.

  “Some of my mother’s things,” I say to her.

  She leans over from her chair to exam the contents of the box.

  “Is that a…lover’s eye?” she asks, pointing to the locket.

  I nod. “You’ve heard of them?” I ask her, a bit surprised yet not. I hand it to her.

  “Yes, they are very rare, but…” She pauses as she examines it in her hand. She looks up at me.

  “This isn’t old. I mean, it’s not an antique,” she says, turning it over and putting it under a lamp to further examine.

  “I honestly don’t know where she got it from. I have a vague memory of her showing it to me when I was a kid. Actually, it was the day before I left for camp,” I say.

  “Strange,” she says as she hands it back to me. “It looks like your eye.”

  “Yes. I wonder now if she had it made with a photograph of me,” I ponder.

  She shrugs and looks back at the box. “Is that a photo of your parents?” she asks.

  I nod and hand the photograph to her. “I saw photos of your mom at your grandparents’ home,” she murmurs as she surveys the photo. “This was taken before Uncle Eddie was king.”

  “Yes, it’s around the time they met,” I explain.

  “What else is in there?” she asks, pointing to the box. I hand her a stack of newspaper articles and some photographs. She sifts through them.

  “What was she covering? I mean, she was in Europe to cover a story, no?” Anna asks, glancing back up at me.

  “Yes. I’m not totally sure, but I think it was some coverage of the anti-monarchist movement. That’s why she interviewed my father. She wanted the royal side of things as well. She covered some other things during her years there. Some business stuff, some other political stuff, but that was her big story,” I say.

  I watch her as she flips through the photographs and documents. She circles back to a photograph when she’s done.

  “What is it?” I ask her.

  She frowns and bites her lip. “This man here,” she says, pointing to a young man in a suit with blond hair and piercing blue eyes. “I think that’s Lars Clausen. He’s an old friend of Uncle Hans’s from when Uncle Hans started his company. And the man next to him is Sebastian Bach. He’s another businessman who some claimed was linked to the anti-monarchists years ago, but there were many false accusations back then. It was a bit of a witch hunt. I don’t recognize the others though. And Sten’s not in the photographs. Did your mother interview him?” she asks me.

  I shrug. “I honestly don’t know,” I admit.

  “Your mom was hanging out with some powerful people,” she says as she turns and goes back to her computer.

  “What do you mean? Because of my dad?” I ask.

  “And the others. The anti-monarchists were powerful in Montelandia’s parliament back then. There were famous businessmen, politicians, even distant members of the royal family that wanted the monarchy dis
solved,” she explains.

  “I wonder how my father feels about all of that,” I say. I stop and consider Anna’s thoughts about this for the first time. “Anna?”

  She turns back around.

  “How do you feel about it?” I ask her.

  “I…I’m not sure,” she admits. “I mean, would my country continue on without my family? Yes. But it’s more than that. The royal family is a symbol of my country. We also are a stable unchanging entity in politics. There are things to be said about the modern-day monarchies with elected parliaments and prime ministers. I can see why people want us removed but I also can see the good we do. I don’t know. It’s a strange philosophical question. There are whole courses taught about that sort of thing,” she adds.

  “Well, clearly you’ve given this some thought,” I say to her.

  She shrugs. “Yes…and no,” she says as she turns back around.

  I decide it’s time to learn about my father’s country. While Anna works on god knows what on her laptop, I pull open mine and begin to search about my family, Montelandia, and the anti-monarchist movement.

  I’m not sure how much time passes, but the sun begins to shine in the room, and when it reflects off the mirror above a dresser, I put down my laptop.

  “Coffee?” I ask Anna.

  “Yes, please,” she says without looking away from her screen. I want to say something about that not being good for her eyes but decide now is not the time to lecture her about proper eye care.

  I get up and head into the kitchen. I find Lucas sitting at the table.

  “Morning,” I say to him as I start to make some coffee. Thankful that we stopped for some necessities on the way here from the airport.

  I make us coffee and head back to the room. Anna takes the cup of coffee from me.

  “Thank you,” she mutters as she continues looking at the code on her screen. She takes a sip of coffee.

  “You know what would go great with this?” she asks without looking up.

  “No, what?” I respond.

  She finally swivels around from the computer to face me. “Double Stuf Oreos!” she exclaims.

  I raise an eyebrow. “You want Double Stuf Oreos with your coffee?” I ask.

  “You haven’t tried that before?” she says in mock horror.

  “Can’t say I have?” I respond.

  “Can we go get some? Do you think they have it at the grocery store?” she asks, clapping her hands like an excited child.

  “Uh, yeah, the grocery store most definitely will have those,” I reply with a laugh.

  She pops up out of the chair. “OK, let’s go,” she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the door. Pete is now back at the island holding a cup of coffee.

  “Pete, we need to go to the grocery store, STAT,” she says as she walks into the living room.

  “And why do we need to go there?” he asks.

  “Because Her Royal Highness has a hankering for Double Stuf Oreos,” I say.

  Pete’s eyes light up. “I’m in. Let’s go,” he says, grabbing car keys and heading toward the car.

  Amused, I follow Anna and Pete and get in the car. Pete calls Lucas and puts him on house detail.

  “Where’s the closest store?” he asks.

  I point him toward it. “Why are you two so excited about this? I mean they are good and all, but you’re acting like this is some rare delicacy,” I say, perplexed.

  “Oh,” Anna giggles. “It’s hard to find the Double Stuf ones at home,” she says. “I used to get them when I’d go to camp, and I told Pete about it and then it became our thing to find them when we traveled. He thought I was weird for liking them with coffee too, but he came around.”

  “Well, I guess I’m about to find out,” I say as we pull into the shopping center. It’s still fairly early, so there are not many people here. I lead them toward the cookie aisle, and Anna’s eyes about pop out of her head when she sees all the Oreo options.

  “Holy—” she starts.

  “Oreos, Batman,” Pete finishes. “Stay here. Do not move.” I watch as Pete quickly moves across the store and finds a cart. He’s back in a manner of seconds and begins loading our cart with every flavor of Oreo. And then Anna spots them, the Mega Stuf Oreos. You’d think that she just discovered the last of a rare species of animal, or the Holy Grail because she completely loses her shit in the middle of the grocery store. She jumps up and down and grabs five containers of them.

  “Oh. My. God. This is incredible!” she exclaims, hugging a package to her chest like it’s a prize.

  “Really?” I say.

  She shakes her head and pokes my chest with her finger. “Don’t even start with me. Now, Pete, let’s grab some other provisions while we are here,” she says.

  I follow the two of them around the store as they go batshit crazy over the strangest things. I’m half amused and half confused, but I keep my mouth shut and grab items as I am instructed. Thirty minutes later, we have a car full of groceries.

  “Well, that should do it for a while,” Anna says. She has Pete pull into a coffee shop and gets us all coffee before we head back to the house.

  Anna and Pete work in harmonious unity putting away the groceries. They laugh and reminisce on previous Oreo binge sessions. I take a seat at the kitchen island and watch them. It’s sort of fascinating. It’s like two old friends chatting when in reality it’s a princess and her bodyguard. Although, if Anna grew up with Lucas and Pete, then I suppose they are like old friends in a way. I’m deep in thought about this when Anna sets the Mega Stuf Oreos down in front of me.

  “It is time,” she says, taking the lid off her coffee and then motioning for Pete and me to do the same. She makes the “ah, ahhhh” sound as though this is some religious experience. I grab an Oreo and dunk it in my coffee and take a bite.

  I chew and consider. Anna waits patiently, her head propped up on her hands, her elbows on the countertop.

  “Soooo?” she asks.

  “What’s the verdict?” Pete follows.

  “It’s good,” I say. “I mean. I’m more of a milk and Oreos guy, but it’s good.”

  Anna tosses a hand at me. “Pish posh. Milk is so old school. Coffee and Oreos is where it’s at,” she says and grabs one, dunking it in her coffee. She takes a bite of the Oreo and moans, and I swear to god, her sound goes straight to my dick. I watch her lips move and her eyes roll back in her head, and I want to take her right here, right now.

  “God, I love these cookies,” she mutters as she grabs another. “This Mega Stuf is off the fucking charts! Seriously, why didn’t they think of this earlier?”

  I laugh. “Glad you approve,” I say as I grab a second cookie.

  “Breakfast of champions,” Pete says as he dunks his cookie into his coffee. I’m about to make a smartass comment when Lucas pokes his head into the kitchen.

  “Oreos?” he asks.

  I roll my eyes. I’m not sure what Anna has done to un-man these two when it comes to cookies, but I’m seriously worried about them right now.

  Hendrick walks and yawns. “What’s all the hubbub about?” he asks.

  “Sorry,” Anna says, her mouth full of cookies so it sounds more like “chworry.”

  “Oreos and coffee, huh?” he inquires.

  Anna nods enthusiastically. He shrugs, grabs a coffee and an Oreo, and takes a bite.

  “Not bad. I’m heading back to sleep unless we need to debrief?” he adds, looking over at Pete.

  “No, I think today will be a low-key day,” Pete says, glancing at us. “Do we have plans?”

  Anna shakes her head. “Nope, I’m sort of jet-lagged, so I want to catch up on my sleep. Do you all have anything from Shannon? I know she canceled my appearances for a while, but I probably should check in—”

  “Anna, no checking in. Remember, we are incognito,” Pete cuts her off.

  “Right, like sending us to where Logan’s family is from is going to make us incognito?” she questions. “I
get my dad wanting us to go overseas, but this seems not well thought out if you ask me,” she says with a huff, grabbing a package of Oreos with red cream and heading into the bedroom.

  I look at the three of them. “She does make a good point,” I say.

  “Well, Victor ordered it. He said it would be safer to have you all split up,” Pete says. I shake my head as I walk over to the bedroom and shut the door behind me.

  Anna has flopped on the bed on her belly, her legs are bent at the knee, and she is swinging her feet back and forth. Her laptop is now on the bed next to the package of Oreos. She looks up grinning, and I chuckle because she has cookie all over her teeth.

  “Good?” I ask.

  “Of course,” she answers and pushes the package toward me. “Try these.”

  I sit down and bite into an Oreo, as I grab my laptop. “Why does my dad sign his name like that?” I ask, pointing to a document I found online. It’s merely signed “Edvard R.”

  “Oh, both our countries adopted the same standard as the British monarchy. The ‘R’ stands for Rex for king and Regina for queen. It’s a long story having to do with our history, and its intertwining with various monarchies in Europe,” she explains.

  “Oh?” I ask. I know nothing about our small countries. Until a week ago, I could have barely located them on a map.

  Anna stops and looks at me. “You don’t know much about our countries, do you?” she asks as though reading my mind.

  I shake my head.