Royal Rock:A Bad Boy Royal Romance(30)

His mouth began to suck and lick my clit. He ate me fast like a starving  man, and that tipped me over the edge. "Trip," I gasped, holding his  head close to my clit as his fingers kept fucking my tight pussy. "Oh  shit, Trip. I'm coming."

He worked harder, faster. I came, an explosive orgasm rolling over my  body. I couldn't control myself, but Trip could. He kept working me all  through it, pressing me past the edge and beyond, to the point where I  couldn't think and could hardly breathe.

Finally, it was over. It was so damn intense, and I could only breathe  deeply. He slowly came up and kissed me gently on the lips. I embraced  him, pulling him against me, hungry for his mouth.

We kissed like that on the picnic blanket in the middle of the meadow.  It was like a dream how my body felt, like a dream how Trip could make  me feel.

We stayed like that, our bodies pressed close, breathing deeply, the  horses tethered nearby. It wasn't a dream at all. It was real, so real,  and I could hardly believe it was me.











28





TRIP





I grunted as I threw the newspaper down on the table.

It was typical tabloid crap, and I shouldn't have been surprised by it.  Frankly, I was expecting them to have something to say about Bryce, and I  was a little surprised they had waited so long.

The headline read, "With Unrest in Stehen, King Flirts with American Harlot."

It was a little more elegant in Starklandian, but that was the gist of it.

I didn't know who had leaked the details of our time together, but I had  a media whore in my retinue. It was probably a servant desperate to  make some extra money; I was going to have to find out who, fire him or  her, and give everyone else a raise.

Part of me wished I still had control of the media. In other countries,  the dictator or the ruler had total control over the media, and the  media reported only the approved messages. Starkland was like that a  long time ago, but the monarchy decided to create a free press around  the turn of the century. We weren't really savages after all. My people  had freedom.

This was going to be a PR nightmare. I could already see Lynette's head  spinning around and around, fire shooting from her eyes. The thought  made me smile.

Sighing, I got up and opened my door. The servant stationed outside my door perked up instantly. "Get Maximillian," I told him.

He bowed and disappeared. The servant system was pretty good, but not  nearly as reliable as the intercoms in the castle. I was going to have  to upgrade the estate house, and soon. This just wouldn't fucking do.

I sipped my coffee, letting my mind wander back to Bryce. I wished I  could see her more, but after we rode back when the picnic was finished,  I was forced back into another useless string of meetings that kept me  tied up all night.

At least I was told that she spent some quality time with her father. I  wanted to go see her, but I knew I had other priorities, as much as I  wanted to blow them off for Bryce.

Soon, there was a knock at the door. "Come," I called, and Max entered.

"Sir," he said, bowing slightly.

"Did you see this?" I held up the paper.

"Yes," he said. "We're already investigating."

"Good. Find who leaked this, fire him or her, and then give everyone else a raise."

"Is that wise? Funds are tight in war time, Your Highness."

"Trip," I said, annoyed. "And yes. Do it."

"Very well. Anything else?"

"Yes." I paused, glancing down. "What are people saying?" I asked him.

"Why bother asking me? You'll just go to Lynette next and trust her opinion more."

I was surprised. "Max, are you angry about that?"

"No," he said simply. "I want to merely remind you that I've been a loyal servant to Your Highness for your whole life."

I laughed. "Okay, Max. You're right. Please, tell me what you think."

"They don't like her," he said. "People think she's a foreigner  corrupting you. They believe the democrats are winning because you're  too busy spending time with the American girl."

I sighed. "That's what I feared."

"Is it true?" he asked me.

That took me aback. "What?"

"Are you distracted, Trip? I'm not asking as your advisor. I'm asking as your friend."

I frowned. It was very, very rare for Maximillian to break protocol like  this, incredibly rare. In fact, I think he'd only done it once or twice  before in my entire life. He was normally so stuffy and serious, but he  looked genuinely concerned.

"Maybe," I admitted. "I enjoy her, Max."

"I know you do, but you must be careful. This country hasn't seen a crisis like this in a very long time."

"I understand," I said. "I know what my duties are."

"I know you do, but I only wish to counsel caution. Do not get overly  involved with this girl, at least until the current crisis is over."

"You want me to send her away?"

"Not necessarily," he said. "That would look bad in the press, truth be  told. But I do think you need to spend less time with her. Distance  yourself."

"I hardly spend time with her as it is."

"True," he agreed. "But unfortunately, every second of your time is  worth thousands of everyone else's, at least in this country. You're the  king, Trip, and that means your time is not entirely your own anymore."

I looked away, out the window. I knew that deep down in my bones, but I  hated to admit it. No part of me wanted to be indebted to anyone, not  even my own country, but I did owe them.







The rule of the country had fallen on me. It was my responsibility. They  were my people, nobody else, and I was the only one who could get this  country through the war.

"Damn," I said softly. "Fucking damn."

"Yes, I agree." Max stepped toward me. "The only thing I've ever wanted  for you is happiness, Trip. When you were still just the prince, when  your father and Leo were alive, I wanted you to find a woman like Bryce.  It's a shame you found her now."

"I found plenty of women back then," I said, grinning.

"You did," he agreed. "But did that fulfill you?"

"No. Not like she does."

"Therein lies your dilemma. Your country on the one hand, and your woman on the other."

"Yes," I said.

"I wish it didn't have to be so."

"Don't we all."

As I glanced out the window again, my mind getting tugged toward Bryce  once again, there was a knock at the door, insistent and loud. I nodded  at Max, and he opened up.

General Hardcourt was standing there, looking flustered. "Your Highness, Maximillian."

"What is it, Hardcourt?" I asked.

"Sir, a small rebel army was spotted in this region."

That surprised me. We were all the way out in the easternmost province  of Starkland. It was mainly poor farmlands and the estates of the lords.  There were no real strategic targets in the east that the democrats  could possibly want.

Except for my estate and me.

"How large?" I asked.

"Hard to say. Hundreds, possibly thousands."

"Where are they going?"

"Our scouts are unsure. We're tracking them with satellites. They seem to be moving in our general direction."

"Fuck," I said, standing. "They're coming here."

"My thoughts exactly, Your Highness." Hardcourt looked very serious.

"What's the closest detachment?" I asked him.

"Three days away. The rebels are two days out at best."

"How did they escape our attention?"

"They likely traveled separately and only came together overnight. We spotted them as soon as they moved."

"Bastards," I said.

"Your Highness, we can leave," Max said.

"Run?" Hardcourt asked.

"Yes," Max said. "Run and live another day."

"No," I said. "We don't run. We fight." I looked at Hardcourt. "How many men do we have here?"

A smile toyed at his lips. The old general could see where I was going, and he liked it, the violent old dog.

"Around four hundred or so. We'd need to leave at least one hundred behind in case this fails."

"Very well. Get them ready."

"Your Highness, you can't be serious. You're outnumbered."

"And they're out classed. We have superior firepower. We have drones and  high-powered rifles. They're a bunch of untrained assholes who want to  kill us all. We're going."

"I'll start preparations," Hardcourt said, and then he bowed and left.

"I'm going too," I said to Max.

"No," he said. "You can't."

"I'm sick of sitting on the sidelines. Leo rode into war as the king, and so will I."

"Look at what happened to Leo. He got himself killed, and that only made  the country less stable. Your Highness, we can't survive your death."

"Starkland can survive anything. We've survived worse."

"No. This is different. There's no direct heir. This hasn't happened in hundreds of years. Listen to me, Trip. You cannot go."

I furrowed my brow. I wanted the feeling of rolling down a rutted road,  gutted with bombs, crackling gunshots in the distance. I wanted the rush  as I tried to kill my enemy before they tried to kill me. I wanted to  be in the trenches again, so to speak.