The Royal Romance: Cinderfella’s Adventures in Cordonia - Chapter Three
An AU of The Royal Romance with a male MC and a bisexual prince.
Liam and Callum enjoy some time alone together, Callum meets the other Beaumont brother, and Liam makes an uncomfortable request.
NSFW: sexy times in the garden maze.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
It takes me a few minutes, but I eventually find Hana in her bedroom, sitting on her bed and tightly holding a pillow, tears running down her face.
“Oh, Cinnamon Bun.” I sit next to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders, tugging her close. “Let it all out. I got you.”
She leans against my chest and sniffles. “What are you doing here?”
“Checking on you, duh.” I gently tug on one of the curls that have escaped from her updo.
“That’s so sweet of you, and you really didn’t have to. Thank you, Callum.” She manages to give me a shaky smile.
I give her a brief squeeze. “No worries.”
“I know I shouldn’t let Olivia get to me.” Hana wipes a few stray tears from her cheeks. “You probably think I’m acting foolish.”
“You’re acting human, Cinnamon Bun,” I reply, leaning back on the bed. “You had every right to be upset.”
“But…but Olivia is right.” She hangs her head in shame. “Last year my parents arranged a very advantageous match for me. And just a few weeks before the wedding, the groom called it off. It was handled quietly, but it was still regarded as rather scandalous. Since then my parents have been desperate to find me another match. They’ve all but thrown me into the competition here.”
I am confusion.
“So, do you like, get any say in this? You keep saying that your parents arranged this or that, but I’m not hearing a whole lot of what you want in this story.”
“It’s up to my parents to secure my future for me. And they do that by arranging the best match.” Hana wrings her hands.
My lips twitch into a cynical smile. “And your parents don’t get any advantages from you marrying someone higher on the nobility ladder?”
“It’s a common practice.” Hana glares at me.
“It’s fucking stupid, is what it is.” I’m still fired up from my earlier conversation with Liam, and hearing about another set of parents using their child as a bargaining chip further riles me up. “Can you look me in the eye and seriously tell me that you’re happy to tie your life to someone else’s based on nothing but your parents’ say so?”
“You’re American… you’ll never understand Callum. There are certain protocols, expectations, that I need to meet. And one of those is securing a good match for my family.” Hana collapses in on herself, looking defeated.
“Forced love is not love,” I whisper forcefully. I scrub my hands over my face, sighing heavily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you even more, Hana.”
She leans her head against my shoulder. “You’re not wrong though.”
“Never am.”
That earns me a giggle and a small smile.
“Alright, one problem at a time. We’ll focus on Cordonia’s archaic mating traditions another night, tonight we focus on Olivia.” I twist my body to face Hana. “You know that there is no shame in a broken engagement, right?”
She ducks her head and refuses to look at me.
“People break up all the time, Hana. You’re not the first and you certainly won’t be the last. I guarantee you that the only person who cares about your engagement is Olivia, and that’s only because she knows she can use it to make you upset.”
“Why is she so nasty?” Hana whispers, still refusing to look at me.
I shrug. “People like Olivia, when they feel threatened they try to tear down the people they feel are their competition. The problem is her, not you.”
“You really think she views me as competition?” She looks at me with wide eyes.
“Fuck yeah. Olivia’s a total smoke show, but so are you. You’re also charming, intelligent, and kind. You’re the whole package, Cinnamon Bun.” I shoot a couple of finger guns her way.
“You are absolutely ridiculous.” Hana laughs and bumps her shoulder into mine.
“I am also right.” I bump her back. “Don’t let her get to you, yeah?”
“I’ll try,” she promises. She presses her hands to her cheeks. “I probably look a mess.”
I shrug. “Eh….”
She throws a wadded up tissue at me, and we both collapse into a fit of giggles.
“You ready to go back?” I ask once I’ve calmed down.
“I’m going to freshen up a bit and then I’ll be down.” Hana waves me out the door and I slowly make my way back down to the ballroom.
Maxwell runs up to me once I re-enter the masquerade. “Callum! This is the last dance of the night, and I really think you and Liam deserve this one.”
We both look to Liam, engaged in conversation with Penelope, as the orchestra begins playing.
Maxwell winces. “It might be kind of rude to cut in but…”
I hold up my hand. “Say no more. I’m from New York, I can do rude.”
I sidle up to Liam, lightly touching his elbow. He gives me a broad smile while Penelope looks like she wishes I would drop dead. “I think they’re playin’ our song, darlin’.”
Liam blushes faintly at the pet name. “I believe you’re right.”
“But we were -” Penelope starts to protest.
“And now you’re not.” I smile and lead Liam on to the dance floor before sweeping him into my arms.
“You are trouble,” he says, shaking his head as he begins to lead me into the steps of an ethereal waltz. He doesn’t smile but the warmth in his eyes let’s me know he isn’t angry.
I smirk at him. “You love it.”
“I’m very glad I got a moment alone with you, Callum,” Liam murmurs.
I openly gaze out at the ballroom before looking back at him.
He chuckles. “Well, somewhat alone. I know you’re not used to all this yet, but I do have a trick up my sleeve.”
I shudder at the very thought of ever getting used to being stared at like an animal in a zoo.
Liam whirls us around the dance floor, guiding us through a pair of French doors and out onto a secluded balcony.
“We can get a little more privacy out here at least.” Liam smiles and reaches up to gently tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. “How are you? Are you being well taken care of?”
I nod. “I’ve been fine.”
I am also a lying liar who lies.
“What about Cordonia? What do you think of my home so far?” Liam looks so excited to hear my thoughts that I hesitate, afraid to hurt his feelings.
“Um…I’ll need time to adjust to a few things,” I hedge. “But it really is like something straight out of a fairytale.
One of Grimm’s fairytales. With child-eating witches and evil townsfolk.
Liam’s smile is beatific. “I’d hoped you would love it as much as I do. It would be rather…. unfortunate for a consort to dislike his kingdom.”
“Yep, I can see how that would be important.” I start gnawing on my lower lip, panic creeping up my spine.
“Especially given Cordonia’s recent history.” He frowns, lost in thought.
“What do you mean?”
Liam sighs heavily. “The past thirty years or so have been somewhat rocky for us. The first queen abandoned my father and older brother.”
I feel my eyebrows raise in surprise. “Did she say why?”
“She couldn’t handle the pressures of royal life. She came from a lesser noble family, so she hadn’t been at court long before the marriage.”
Vomit incoming.
“And my own mother died when I was a small child,” Liam continues.
“Oh, Liam.” I cup the back of his neck in my hand, gently running my fingers through the hair on the back of his head. “I am so, so sorry.”
He attempts a half-hearted shrug. “It was a long time ago.”
I lean down and press my forehead against his. “That doesn’t matter, darlin’. Not having a mother around… losing someone like that, it changes you.”
“Did you..?” Liam leans into my touch.
“Can’t lose what you never had around in the first place.”
“Callum…”
I press a kiss to his forehead, cutting him off. “It’s alright. Me and Pops got along just fine. Now tell me about the current queen.”
He nods, letting the subject go for now. “She’s a wonderful woman who has done her best to lead Cordonia alongside my father.”
A ringing endorsement.
“Instability in the monarchy is always dangerous for a small kingdom like ours. Weakened currency, a rise in crime, a decline in tourism… all because of the lives of the rulers,” Liam continues.
Welp, it’s been real Cordonia. Callum out.
“That’s why you care so much about finding the right consort,” I whisper, half to myself.
“Exactly. I can’t follow my heart… as much as I might want to.”
Ice slides down my spine and I stiffen in his arms.
“Brody, please don’t do this.”
“I love you; you know I do Callum, but I have to.” Tears swim in his big, blue eyes as he gazes up at me. “I’m so sorry.”
I reach out and my fingertips softly graze his cheek. He nuzzles into my hand and kisses his palm.
“I tried so hard to change his mind,” Brody sobs, tears falling hotly against my skin. “I tried so, so hard….”
“Callum? Are you alright?” Liam’s voice drags me out of the memory.
“Fine.” I swallow hard, keeping my tears at bay. “Just fine, darlin’.”
A disappointed frown mars his features at the waltz reaches its crescendo and he guides us back into the ballroom. He pulls me closer, stretching up to whisper in my ear. “The song is coming to a close, and The Masquerade with it. We’ll have to say goodnight soon.”
“Is this how it’s going to be the next few months? Sneaking around? Stealing a few minutes here and there?” I try to keep the hurt and frustration from my voice but judging by the expression on his face I’m not successful.
“As I said, things are different here. I should spend some time with the others to be fair to them. But please believe me when I say I wish this night didn’t have to end.”
I scroll back through my memory in an attempt to find some place with a decent bit of privacy.
No, no, no…. ah, yes. That’ll do nicely.
“Nothing says the night has to end here,” I murmur in his ear.
Liam chuckles. “The last time you looked at me like that I wound up on a boat in the middle of the night on my way to see the Statue of Liberty.”
“You looked like you were having fun.” He leads us into a turn and I take a chance, quickly lowering my head and nipping at his earlobe. “So let’s have some fun again, Your Highness.”
A shudder runs through his entire body, and he tightens his grip on my waist. “What are you proposing?”
“Do you have access to that maze out in the garden?”
“Mmhmm.” Liam’s gaze briefly flickers to my lips before returning to me eyes.
“Meet me there after this is over.”
He hesitates. “My bodyguards will never allow me to go out there alone.”
“You won’t be alone.” I trace the skin beneath the collar of his shirt with my fingertip. “I’ll be there. And I promise to take very, very good care of you.”
Liam’s cheeks flush and he bites his lower lip. “They’d like that even less, I’m sure. We really shouldn’t.”
“But you want to?”
“Oh God, yes.”
“I’ll be out there in twenty minutes. Don’t make me wait, Your Highness,” I murmur, my tone stern.
The waltz finally comes to an end, and everyone in the ballroom applauds. Before I manage to walk away, Liam grabs my hand and spins me close.
“See you in twenty, Troublemaker,” he whispers before releasing me.
Twenty minutes later Liam joins me outside the garden maze.
“Right on time,” I say. “Good boy.”
I smirk as he flushes in pleasure and smiles shyly.
Noted.
“I tried. I got caught in a conversation about the seating arrangement for tomorrow picnic, but I managed to tear myself away for you.”
I extend my arm to him. “Shall we?”
He takes my arm, and we slowly begin wandering through the maze. “The gardens were my mother’s vision. Sometimes when I walk through them I think of her.”
I lay my hand over his and squeeze gently. “I’m sure she appreciates that.”
Liam smiles up at me and lays his head against my shoulder. “Thank you, Callum. I have good memories out here too. Drake and I would spend hours playing tag and make believe in the gardens when we were younger.”
Liam’s voice takes on a lighter note as he recalls his childhood, and I’m happy to listen to him reminisce as he leads us through the maze. When we finally reach the center of the maze I stop in my tracks.
“It’s beautiful, right?” Liam grins.
“It’s really, really is,” I whisper. A giant tree sits in the middle of the maze, swing hanging from a sturdy branch, surrounding by hedges and flowering bushes. Tiny lights are strung up, casting a delicate, ethereal glow over the area.
Liam reaches up to touch my cheek, and I turn to fully face him, covering his hand with mine. We stare at each other for a moment, alone in our own little fairy world. I break first, surging forward to claim his mouth in a crushing kiss.
He gasps against my mouth before gripping my shirt in his hands and pulling me closer. I softly bite his lower lip, swallowing his groan and flicking my tongue against his. My hands move lower, gripping his ass and guiding him towards me so he can feel just how much I want him.
“Callum…Callum, wait.” Liam pulls away momentarily, looking conflicted. “We shouldn’t do this. I don’t know what will happen and I…”
I place my index finger over his lips, silencing him. “We’re alone right now. We don’t have to worry about anyone else in this moment. Now... do you want this? Want me?”
Liam nods, skin flushed and his pupils blown wide.
“Then for once, just take what you want, Liam.”
He slams into me, one hand pushing my hair away from my neck while the other jerks my shirt out of the waistband of my kilt. He slides his hands under my shirt, slowly teasing his way up my stomach as he kisses my neck.
“Mmm. I didn’t know you had this. You always have your hair down.” Liam uses the tip of his tongue to trace the outline of the rose tattoo on the side of my neck.
“I’ve got plenty more ink for you to discover, baby,” I growl as he mouths at the soft skin beneath my ear.
Liam’s answering moan turns into a faint noise of surprise as his hands roam my chest. “You have your nipples pierced?”
“Mmhmm.” I run my hand through his hair, grabbing a fistful and tugging his head back to claim his mouth once again.
Wait til he finds the other one.
Liam sucks on my tongue as he teases the barbells in my nipples with his fingertips, sending a bolt of heat straight to my cock. I grip his waist and pull his body flush to mine, gratified to find out he’s just as hard as I am. I roll my hips, rubbing our clothed erections together and Liam whimpers at the contact.
I kiss my way from his lips, across his jaws, and down his neck. I suck a delicate, rosy mark onto his fair skin as I grind against him.
“Callum!” Liam calls my name in a needy whine, urgently moving against me. “You’re going to..ah..leave a mark. People will..uh..ah..see.”
I press my face against his neck, letting him feel my lips curl into a wicked smile. I tug his shirt collar away from his neck and kiss the spot just above his collarbone. One of Liam’s hands snakes into my hair and his grip tightens.
“Yes,” he whispers.
I suck on the skin, leaving a small red mark. “Is this far enough down, Your Highness? Someone still might see this.”
Liam shakes his head at my teasing. “Don’t care.”
“You don’t?” I gently close my teeth over his already sensitive skin. “You like the idea of people seeing my marks on you?”
“Oh God, yes!”
That whispered exclamation, combined with the blissed out look on Liam’s face, snaps the fragile thread of my self-control. I fumble with Liam’s belt, frantically unbuckling it and popping open the button of his pants. I tug down his zipper and pull his cock free of his briefs. I stroke him with one hand, using my other to hold onto his hip and keep him still. I take my time, relishing the velvet feel of his skin under my hand, learning the soft noises his makes while I tease my way up and down his shaft.
Liam soon grows impatient to touch me and reaches beneath my kilt, pushing it out of the way and baring me to his touch. He lets out a choked gasp and I hide my smile in his hair as my rhythm stutters.
“You have that pierced too?”
“Mmhmm.” I lean down, kissing him again, urging his lips to part for me. His tongue grazes mine at the exact time his thumb flicks against my frenum piercing. My whole body shudders in pleasure and Liam grins at me in lusty satisfaction.
I take just enough time to bend my knees slightly and liberally spit into my palm before pressing our cocks together and taking them both in hand.
“What are you…oh, oh, oh my God,” Liam moans, leaning his head against my chest and closing his eyes.
I tip his head back with my free hand, eager to see his face as I pleasure him. I feel my breathing grow ragged as I take in the rosy pink of his cheeks, his eyes closed in bliss, his mouth parted open on the most delicious whimpers.
We’re both leaking pre-cum, and it slides down our shafts, easing the steady strokes of my hand. Liam shakes every time the barbell in my frenum rubs against his cock, the unknown sensation teasing out his cries of delight. Liam starts moving his hips, thrusting into my fist.
“Shit, baby,” I mutter, the increasing friction dragging my closer to the edge sooner than I would have liked. “Do you need to cum?”
He frantically nods against my chest. “Yes… need to,” he gasps.
I kiss his neck, slightly increasing the speed of my strokes. “How bad do you want to cum?”
“Bad…so bad, Callum.” Liam’s breathing is harsh now, and his voice is strained
“Say please for me baby. Then I’ll let you cum.”
His hips stutter as he momentarily hesitates. “What?”
I nip at the skin above his collarbone. “You heard me.”
Liam whines uncertainly as he starts moving his hips again. I stroke up, cover the heads of our cocks with my palm, then twist, smearing pre-cum and pushing us both a little closer to our orgasms. Liam gasps like the air has been punched out of his lungs.
“Please, please, please, Callum,” he whimpers.
“Cum for me darlin’.”
As soon as I give my permission Liam’s body tenses and his fingers dig into my hips in a painful grip. He thrusts into my hand once, twice, three times, before his hips still and thick, white cum gushes from his cock.
“Callum,” he whispers my name as he shoots the last of his load onto my hand.
The warmth of his cum coating my cock and that sweet little whimper send me over the edge into my own orgasm. As lights burst behind my eyes I kiss his collarbone before delivering a sharp bite and marking Liam.
“Mine,” I growl, as I cum all over his cock and my hand.
I grab the back of his neck with my other hand and guide him to me so I can claim his mouth in another ferocious kiss. We lean against each other for a few moments to catch our breath. The cooling cum catches my attention and forces me into action. I shrug off my suit jacket and wipe my hand clean. I swipe the worst of the mess off my cock and then quickly attend to Liam before rolling my jacket into a discrete ball and tucking it under my arm.
“It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough to get us back inside without raising too much attention.” I kiss Liam’s cheek.
Liam smiles at me, looking slightly punch drunk, as he tucks himself back into his briefs and does up his belt and pants. “You are insane and amazing and…. absolutely wonderful, Callum.”
He stretches up on his toes to give me one last kiss before taking my hand. “I hate to say this, but we should probably be heading back. If I haven’t been missed yet, I’m sure I will be soon.”
I groan in protest, and he pulls on my hand as he laughs. I yank him to me for another kiss, then release him so he can guide us out of the maze. We’re quiet as we make out way back through the maze, content to exchange soft smiles and enjoy our post-orgasm bliss. We’re nearly out of the maze when Liam suddenly stops, tugging on my hand to make me face him.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I immediately wrap my arms around him when I see the distressed frown on his face.
His arms go around my waist, and he relaxes into my hug. “I already care about you so much, Callum.”
“I care about you too,” I respond, confused about the amount of distress in his voice.
“I want you to have the same chance as the other suitors.”
“What do you mean?” I fight to keep my voice steady.
“You’re the only commoner in the competition, and you’re an American,” Liam’s voice is muffled against my chest. “The council, my parents, and Cordonians are all going to be judging you twice as harshly. My father especially.”
A faint buzzing starts at the back of my skull. “What are you saying?”
Liam tilts his head back to give me a pleading look. “Maybe you could adjust a few things to make a better impression?”
I drop my arms and take a step back, my entire body suddenly cold. “Like what?”
Liam winces even though I’ve kept my tone even. “Um, maybe take the pink out of your hair and get a shorter cut? And no more nail polish or make up for the time being.”
I can feel my shoulders start to droop and my stomach churns.
I’ve made such a mistake.
Liam’s gazes meets mine momentarily, then instantly drops back down to his shoes. “No kilts or skirts or anything else like that either,” he whispers, so quietly that I barely hear.
There’s a vague sound of distress that I eventually realize came from me. Liam reaches out to me, but I quickly evade his touch.
“I thought…” I start to say, then trail off.
“You thought what Callum?” Liam asks softly.
That you accepted me. That you cared about me. That I could be myself. That I mattered to you. That you might be different.
“What brought this on?” I finally manage to ask.
Liam glances away, refusing to look at me. “My father mentioned that he had some…concerns.”
He could have slapped me, and it would have hurt less.
“Oh,” is all I manage to say.
“He’s just a little old fashioned,” Liam rushes to explain. “And he already worries what it might look like to other, more conservative countries if my partner is a man. And if the man is like you…”
“So you want me to step back inside my little heteronormative box to make your father feel better,” I say woodenly, unable to absorb all the information Liam has suddenly thrust upon me. “If his son does the unthinkable and winds up with a dude then the dude better be masc as fuck, huh?” I laugh mirthlessly.
Liam’s eyes narrow and his gaze hardens. “That’s not fair, Callum. He’s offering his advice based on his knowledge of the political climate and our potential allies.”
I open my mouth to retort, but I’m suddenly just so fucking exhausted. All I want to do is go lay down in the shower in the fetal position until I wrinkle like a prune.
“I think it’s time for me to go to bed,” I finally say, turning to walk away.
Liam grabs at my hand. “Callum, wait!”
I skip back a few steps and cross my arms so he can’t touch me. “It’s been a long night, Liam. We can talk later if you want.” I turn and quickly walk away.
When I finally reach my room two wrong turns and fifteen minutes later, I come skittering to a stop when I see Maxwell and another man impatiently loitering outside my door.
Maxwell sees me before I can slink away to safety. “Callum, hi! I know it’s late but there’s someone you need to meet. Bertrand, this is the one I was telling you about… this is Callum!”
Maxwell’s brother has some of the best eyebrows I’ve ever seen, and he wears a sweater vest very well. He also looks like the last time he smiled was in 2003.
“This is who you’ve chosen to represent our house?” he finally asks.
Maxwell beams with pride. “Nailed it, right?”
“Nice to meet you, Bertrand,” I manage to say, eager to fall into bed and mentally kick myself in the ass for ever coming to this godforsaken place.
“The proper way to address a duke is “Your Grace.”
Tonight is not the night.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, close my eyes, and breathe deeply. Once again feeling somewhat centered I pop my eyes open and smile at him brightly. “Are you feeling well, Your Grace? You look constipated. Are you constipated?”
Bertrand glares at me before roughly grabbing Maxwell by the arm. “A word with you in private, brother?”
He drags Maxwell back out into the hallway and I kick my boots off before rummaging around in my suitcase. I can hear their voices rising and falling as I putter between the bathroom and bedroom, washing my face, brushing my teeth, and dressing in a pair of grey sweats and a white t-shirt. I’m in the middle of tying my hair up when the re-enter the room.
“Sorry to leave you alone my dear, but I had some important matters to discuss with my brother. While my brother has been traipsing around with the Prince, I’ve been back here doing the real work of running our house and estate.” Bertrand shoots a dirty look in Maxwell’s direction. “And that is where you come in, as it were.”
I quirk one eyebrow up in surprise. “Beg pardon?”
“Perhaps Maxwell didn’t fully explain it to you, but if our house puts forth the Prince’s choice, we’ll win fame and recognition.”
That explains it.
It’s my turn to give Maxwell a dirty look. “No. No, he did not. But it makes things a hell of a lot clearer.”
Maxwell has the decency to look guilty. “Well, those two things are something we really need a lot right now because…uh, we’re broke.”
Shit.
“Maxwell!” Bertrand barks. “You overstep.”
The younger Beaumont winces. “No one outside of our family knows how bad things are right now.”
“So, you get money if I marry Liam?” I link my hands behind my head and stretch, the new information about the brothers’ finances heightening my already sky high stress.
“Not…directly,” Bertrand hedges. “But we will be able to leverage that prestige to great effect. It would be best to get that leverage before others find out our situation. In the circles we run in, if word got out about our financial ruin, it would be a scandal.”
Just another reason this place makes me want to set myself aflame. If I never hear the word scandal again I will be so thrilled.
“But our name is still worth something!” Maxwell interjects happily. “At the very least, we can introduce you to the right people, get you invited to the right events. I only regret we can’t offer you more.”
I wave off his concern. “No worries. I have more than enough money to get whatever I might need.”
They look at me in surprise.
“But…you work in a bar,” Maxwell says slowly.
“And the social season can be quite costly,” Bertrand finishes his brother’s thought.
“I realize that.” I shrug. “Trust me. I may not have Liam type money, but I can cover the social season.”
If I even stay.
Bertrand looks at me doubtfully. “If you’re sure. While we’re on the subject of events, have you prepared for tomorrow?”
I stare at him dumbly.
“That’s the Derby,” Maxwell offers helpfully.
“Thanks for finally telling me about it, Beaumont,” I snark at him.
“You do know what a derby is, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I went to Keeneland for the races a few times with…” I start to say absently, before trailing off. “Yeah, I know what a derby is.”
Maxwell eyes me curiously as Bertrand speaks. “It will be your first opportunity to make an impression on the press. They’ll be covering the event.”
“Mkay,” I mutter distractedly, my thoughts bouncing in a thousand different directions.
“Everyone in Cordonia with be influenced by what they write about you,” Bertrand stresses.
“We’re a monarchy, but we serve the people. You’ll need their approval if you’re going to marry Liam,” Maxwell adds.
Too bad daddy’s already torpedoed my chances.
“Speaking of which, you should consider your attire for tomorrow. The Queen will be at the Derby, and the right outfit will go a long to earning her favor.”
Bertrand's advice is too close to Liam’s earlier offered words of wisdom and a pang of hurt thrums through me.
“Sure,” I say dully, watching with disinterest as they prepare to leave.
“I made you an appointment in the morning at the boutique,” Maxwell adds, looking at me with worried eyes.
“Sure,” I repeat, waiting for the door to click shut behind them.
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Bastien hadn’t been surprised when one of the guards assigned to the suitors reported a competitor missing from their room. He knew immediately that it would be the American.
Bastien watched the newcomer all evening and was impressed with how Callum had handled himself. He’d been surprised when Callum had talked the usually rule-conscious Liam into sneaking out of the palace and into the garden maze. He was shocked, and even somewhat troubled, at the way the prince and the American had parted after their romp in the gardens. Bastien hadn’t been able to hear their conversation, but Callum had looked so defeated when he walked away from Liam.
The bodyguard wasn’t sure why he cared about what had occurred between the two, but it was undeniable that there was something about the young man with the pink streaked hair and green eyes that tugged at Bastien. That’s why he was the one personally searching the palace grounds at two in the morning in an attempt to find the wayward suitor. The gardens are dark and silent, lights and music shut off, the nobles and their servants ensconced in their bedrooms for the evenings.
I am entirely too old for this.
Bastien grunts as he nearly stumbles over a tree root, pausing as a muffled sound catches his attention. A soft mew comes from somewhere on his right, followed by a deep voice rumbling in response. Bastien adjusts his course to follow the voice as it begins to sing, soft and low.
If you're gonna break my heart, just break it And if you're gonna take your shot, then take it Take it If you made up your mind, then make it But make this fast If you ever loved me Have mercy
Bastien stays hidden in the shadows, silently watching Callum as he sings quietly to the one of the stable cats he has cradled in his lap, the rumble of his deep voice sending a strange, shuddering sensation coursing through the older bodyguard.
“Come out, come out, whoever you are,” Callum murmurs teasingly from his seated position, never looking up from calico he’s scratching between the ears.
“I wasn’t aware you heard me,” Bastien remarks, stepping closer.
The American looks up with a crooked grin. “Yeah, well I got a lot-” He stops himself before giving Bastien a wary look.
Bastien finds himself drawn to the younger man before taking one large step back in an effort to remind himself of who he is and what his job entails.
“You’re a bit of a mystery, Mr. MacKenzie,” he begins conversationally.
“Hm?” Callum re-focuses his attention on the purring feline in his arms, strong fingertips stroking her spine.
Bastien idly wonders what those fingers would feel like against his skin before rapidly coming to his senses. He shakes his head in an effort to shake away the random thought.
“Lord Maxwell didn’t follow the proper procedure to bring you into the palace,” he continues, his throat dry. “You were supposed to be vetted and interviewed, as well as pass a background check from the Royal Guard before you could have access to Liam.”
Callum’s shoulders tense imperceptibly before he forcibly relaxes and Bastien finds himself disappointed at the thought that those basic procedures would cause him anxiety.
What are you hiding, little one?
“I wasn’t aware of this, sir.”
“It’s fine. We’re running your background check now; we’ll have results in a few days. And until then I’ll be sure to keep a close eye on you.”
Callum’s head shoots up and he stares at Bastien with wide eyes; because of the news of a background check or the flirty tone of Bastien’s statement, he isn’t sure.
He clears his throat roughly and offers Callum a hand to help him stand up. “It’s time we returned to the palace.”
Callum hesitates, holding tight to the cat. “Will she be ok out here?”
Bastien melts a little, despite himself. “She will. She’s one of the mousers that lives in the stables. She just likes to roam the gardens at night.”
Callum nods and reluctantly sets the cat on the ground. She butts her head against his fingers one last time before scampering off into the bushes. He reaches up and grasps Bastien’s hand.
Bastien shivers at the feel of Callum’s skin. He hadn’t expected the younger man’s hand to engulf his. He leans back and tugs, pulling Callum to his feet. Bastien tips his head back to look up at him, the size of his hand suddenly making sense. Glancing at Callum across the ball room hadn’t prepared him for the sheer size of the man; the top of Bastien’s head barely meets his shoulder.
“Thank you…?”
Caught up in his thoughts Bastien fumbles for a moment. “Um, Lykel. Bastien Lykel. Bodyguard to the royal family.”
Callum smirks. “I figured. I noticed you hovering tonight.”
“Perhaps in the future you could refrain from leaving the palace without informing anyone Mr. MacKenzie?” Bastien tries to look stern, a small thrill running through him at Callum’s admission that he had noticed him earlier.
Callum smirks at him as they slowly make their way back to the palace. “No promises.”
Oh, I am in so much trouble.
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