Chapter 199

Charles stared at me, starting to look worried. “Are you sure you’re telling me everything?” he asked. “Because you certainly don’t look okay. You’re pale and clammy.”

“I still feel a little ill,” I admitted. “But I think that’s to be expected given everything.”

“Why don’t you take a nap?” He practically pushed me into the bed, pulling back the covers and stuffing me in.

He started to undo my clothing, and I pushed his hands away. “That’s not going to happen right now.”

He made a face at me. “I wouldn’t want to do that with you right now, anyway. I need to make sure that you’re okay first. And you look like you need rest.”

He finished unbuttoning my blouse, and I pulled it and my slacks off, then crawled under the covers, surprised at how good being in the bed felt. A huge yawn cracked the corners of my mouth.

“When is our flight back?” I asked him.

“Not until tomorrow,” he said. “I’m going to take your phone and do one more drive in a different direction today to make it look like you’ve been all over the place. While I do that, you promise me you’re going to stay in bed and rest.”

“I promise,” I said, my eyelids sagging shut. And sleep overtook me.

I woke almost halfway through the night, ravenous. Charles breathed deeply in the bed beside me, sound sleep. So, I went to my bag and pulled out my covert laptop, the one that I use to access the dark web.

I pulled up my usual websites, poking around, trying to find any other direction that the supposed “missing heir” might have been. It felt like if I could just prove that wasn’t me, then everything that had happened with Monk Bligh would go away.

There would be no pregnancy test, and I wouldn’t be some horrible king’s missing daughter. After a couple of hours, I gave up and curled back up in bed, willing myself back to sleep until morning.

Charles woke me with sensuous licks to my ear and neck. I tickled him under his chin to get him to go away.

“I have to pee,” I said, scrambling from the bed.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked.

“Actually,” I stretched and then relaxed, “Yes. I feel much better. In fact, I missed dinner last night. And I’m famished.”

He sat up in bed, smiling at me. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling much better.”

“I’m going to use the restroom and take a shower.”

“And I promise to have something for you to eat when you get back, and then maybe you can tell me more about this visit to the doctor. Did you find anything else out about the heir?”

“We’ll talk about that after I’ve had a chance to pee,” I said, rushing for the bathroom.

I really did have to use the facilities, but it made an excellent excuse to dodge that question yet again. I still didn’t want to tell Charles about anything that happened with the doctor, and I hadn’t thought of a good way to get around the truth.

I took an extra-long time in the shower and then an extra-long time eating breakfast and talking about the materials I needed to gather off the dark web when we got back. If any of them noticed that I was avoiding topics, no one said anything, for which I was grateful.

I munched my way through breakfast. It tasted amazing despite being nothing but eggs, toast, and orange slices. Still, I couldn’t get enough. Thankfully, none of them said anything about me making a pig of myself, either. But I couldn’t help myself. Besides, I’d been throwing up so much lately that they were probably just happy to see me with an appetite at all.

This little bubble of distance from the subject matter managed to last all the way until after we’d made it through security at the airport.

While we waited in the first-class lounge, Charles drew me over to a private corner. “You’ve been avoiding the topic all morning,” he said. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“It’s because I just didn’t find anything important,” I said, hoping that the nervousness in my voice would mimic disappointment well enough to get rid of any suspicions he might have.

It didn’t work.

“Maybe I can help,” he offered. “Why don’t you tell me what you found out? And I’ll see if it has any deeper meaning for me. Remember, you don’t run in alpha circles. So, it might be something you’re missing.”

I slid my hand inside his jacket, letting my fingers into the space between his buttons on his shirt. There I rubbed the soft skin of his stomach warm, and tight underneath my fingers.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t in the mood last night,” I whispered, “but I’m feeling frisky now.”

“The airport isn’t really the place for such things,” he murmured, taking a deep breath off the top of my head, smelling me.

“It’s not really the place for the conversation you’re asking me to have with you, either,” I pointed out. “And which one do you think would be more fun to live dangerously doing?”

This time, I let my finger slip lower inside the waistband of his pants. He let out an anxious little huff, and I knew I had distracted him—at least for the moment.

“What did you have in mind?” he whispered into my ear, voice husky.

I glanced around. “Surely, we can think of something.”

I kept my fingers down the waistband of his hands and wiggled them until I could get them inside his boxers as well. He leaned back against the wall, just breathing, those breaths quickening slightly.

His gaze darted all around the room. “I have an idea,” he said.

He reached between us and discreetly pulled my hand from its compromising location. Keeping my hand in his, he led me over to the desk.

“Mr. Rafe, how may I help you?” the concierge asked.

“I was wondering if you had a steam room or a spa?”

“We actually have a few steam rooms,” she confirmed.

“Are they private?” he asked. “My fiancé hasn’t been feeling well, and I don’t want to expose her or anyone else and cross germs.”

She tapped on her keyboard, looking down at a screen below her. “They are private, and one of them will free up in ten minutes,” she said. “If you’d like to go to the changing areas, there are complimentary robes and slippers that you may use while you’re waiting.”

“Perfect,” he said.

The changing rooms were small with slatted doors for ventilation, and inside were racks of fluffy towels and plush robes. Charles and I crowded ourselves into one, and the moment the door was shut, his hands wandered all over my body.

He nipped at my ear. “Let’s start this quietly,” he whispered. “Remember, the door has slats and there are other changing rooms in here.”

He sighed and pressed his erection into my hip. He was impressively stiff. I had forgotten how much he got off on taking risks. Perfect. I needed to keep him distracted and happy so that he wouldn’t go back to the subject of what had happened at the temple.

Spreading my fingers across his chest. I slid down his body, taking my hands with and unbuckling his belt. Sometimes, men made it too easy.