“Yes, I understand, Madame Camara, but the King and I both feel that–”
“It is not a matter of feeling, Your Majesty. Rather, budgetary concerns make the Ministry hesitant to move forward with the bill. You understand, I’m sure.”
I smiled tightly across my desk at Milane Camara, the education liaison for the Cordonian Ministry of the Interior. We’d been pushing to pass an education initiative for the past three months and this woman had stalled our progress at every opportunity, citing “budgetary concerns” each time. Once again, we were at an impasse, and the governing body of Cordonia would review the bill for possible cuts. It was a never-ending cycle and, today, I was completely fed up; right now, I needed three things: a drink, sex, and to punch Mme Camara in the face. Unfortunately, only one of those three options were currently available to me; Liam was in Portavira discussing a possible new port to increase the export of the Cordonian Ruby and wouldn’t return home until the following day, and I didn’t want to cause a scandal by harming an esteemed Cordonian politician.
“Yes, of course, I understand, Madame. We will table this discussion until further review by the Ministry.” I rose from my chair, Mme Camara following suit and giving a quick bob of a curtsy before leaving the room. Once the door closed behind her, I slumped back into my chair, demoralized and exhausted. I glanced at my watch; just after 4:00. “Well, it’s five o’clock somewhere,” I muttered, leaving my office in search of the drink I so desperately needed. I looked forward to a night alone in our rooms, drinking wine and watching bad TV, and probably masturbating to the thought of –
I mentally shook myself as my brain began meandering down a dangerous path. It had been almost two weeks since the night I spent with Maxwell and Drake, but the explosive chemistry I’d felt that night stayed with me. The evening kept running through my mind on repeat: Drake’s mouth on my sex; Drake’s heated kisses; Drake’s long, thick cock inside me, plunging and thrusting and making me–
Yeah. There was a common denominator in all my memories from the night, and they started and ended with one shaggy-haired, sexy-as-hell commoner. Speeding up, I tried to get to our private wing as soon as possible, because I knew my face was flushed from the thoughts flashing through my head. I definitely needed my vibrator, and I needed it soon. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t see the body in front of me until I’d crashed into it.
“Oh!” I cried, reaching out to grab the shoulders of whomever I’d run into. My gaze slid up to see the signature smirk and green eyes I’d come to love. “Olivia!” I cried, “I didn’t know you’d be here.” She smiled thinly and extricated herself from my grasp, ducking her head to air-kiss both of my cheeks before stepping back.
“I came to see Liam to discuss the contract extension for the labor agreement in Lythikos, but I see your darling husband has escaped yet again.” She turned and joined me as I finished the trek to our rooms, following me inside. “Yeah, he’ll be back tomorrow,” I replied, kicking off my heels in the direction of my closet, then crossing to the bar cart where a bottle of my favorite Cabernet sat. I poured a healthy glass for myself and gestured to Olivia with my eyebrows raised. “Want a glass?”
“Well, I’m here, I may as well have a drink,” she grumbled, taking her own glass from me. She took a healthy gulp of the garnet liquid. “Ahhh, I see you’ve decided to drink real wine, as opposed to those old grapes you used to favor.” I smiled and sat in one of the wingback chairs near the window, across from Olivia.
“I heard that the vintages from Lythikos were the finest in the country; I thought I’d give them a shot.”
Olivia grinned at me over the rim of her glass. I took a long sip of my own, feeling the tension from my day of meetings begin to ease away. The wine burned a warm trail through my body as I drank, filling me with the pleasant buzz only wine could bring. “So,” Olivia said, interrupting my relaxing reverie, “I haven’t seen you in nearly two weeks.” A wicked, sultry smile crossed her face as she watched me carefully. “Did you enjoy your night with Maxwell and Drake?”
A blush stained my cheeks and I took another drink. “About as much fun as you had playing with Liam and Hana,” I answered. Olivia laughed loudly, something she only did in the company of her closest friends; it was an endearing sound, and over the years I’d grown to love seeing the fiery duchess comfortable enough to relax around me.
“Then I’d say you had an amazing night,” she countered, setting her glass on the side table between us and rising to grab the bottle of wine. She set the bottle on the table and returned to her seat, kicking off her own heels in the process. “Ahhh, that’s better,” she murmured, wiggling her toes into the plush carpeting of our suite, then crossing her long legs. As she did, her black pencil skirt rose higher on her thigh and I couldn’t help but admire her body. I briefly imagined those legs wrapped around me, her mouth on mine, just like it had been the last night we were all together.
“Like something you see?” Olivia purred, raising an eyebrow as she swirled her wine glass in her hand. I flicked my eyes back up to hers and felt my cheeks flame yet again. “Perhaps,” I shrugged noncommittally and finished my glass of wine. I reached over to pour another and gestured to Olivia with the bottle, filling her glass at her nod. She leveled her gaze at me as she took a sip.
An hour later, the bottle was gone and Olivia was giggling as she opened another. “And then, Liam turned around and Liana was right behind him! She’d heard every word he’d said and you should have seen how he blushed! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that embarrassed.” She flopped back down into her chair. “That poor boy was so smitten with her, and she only had eyes for Leo.” Swallowing a gulp of wine, Olivia continued. “That was the night that I told him the best way to get over a girl was to get under another.”
“And I’m guessing you knew just the girl to help him with that?” I giggled, the warm glow I felt from the wine rapidly transforming into full-blown tipsy. Olivia innocently shrugged, her eyes lighting up.
“I mean, I was fifteen, and Liam was seventeen. It seemed like a fitting proposition. Plus, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Leo and Bertrand always talked about their sexual conquests; the rest of us wanted to know if it was as amazing as they claimed.” Olivia snickered. “It was.”
The thought of Liam losing his virginity to the woman sitting across from me should have bothered me more than it did, I assumed. Yet I knew how much Liam and Olivia cared about each other, how much history they had between them. I also knew that, given where my thoughts had been straying for the last two weeks – months if I was being honest with myself – that I had no right to be jealous that my husband had a past with Olivia.
“Does it bother you,” Olivia inquired, giving voice to the thoughts that were running through my head., “that I’ve slept with Liam?”
“Liv, you slept with Liam two weeks ago. It’s not exactly a surprise.” I countered. “Besides,” I continued, “you’ve also been with Drake and Maxwell, right?” I shrugged my shoulders and took a big sip of wine. There was something about the way my stomach clenched when I thought of Drake with Olivia that unsettled me, and I needed the alcohol to numb the mixed emotions I felt. She watched me carefully as I drank; her ability to read me like a book was unnerving.
Olivia set her glass down on the table beside her. “Anything you’d like to share with the class, Char?” she asked, primly folding her hands in her lap, a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile creeping across her face.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Olivia,” I replied, avoiding her gaze and returning to the bar cart for another glass of wine. My hand shook as I poured; I had to get myself under control. I loved Liam, desired Liam. There was no question about that. So what was this obsession I was forming for his best friend? Olivia broke my reverie.
“Fine, Queenie, keep your secrets. But you’ll be very happy to know that any feelings I had for Liam or Drake are well in the past.” Something in her tone alerted me, and I spun around in time to catch a flash of longing cross her face. Suddenly, it clicked.
“Olivia,” I breathed, “Maxwell?”
A flash of pain lit up her eyes. “Oh, god,” she moaned, hiding her face in her hands. “I’m so embarrassed!” Shaking her head wildly back and forth, Olivia stood and began pacing the room. “This is absolutely ridiculous. I’ve known him for so long, and that whole time he’s just lived to annoy me. I mean, yeah, the sex is amazing, but he’s just so … Maxwell … and … and …,” she threw herself onto the love seat and looked at me forlornly.
“I think I’m falling in love with him.”
“Oh, Liv,” I rose from my chair and sat next to her on the couch, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Since when?”
Olivia looked at me miserably. “We hooked up at your masquerade ball last year. It had been eons since we’d done anything like that, I mean, honestly, years and years, but we were drinking and talking about when we were younger and how much fun we’d had. It kind of just happened, but now it keeps happening, and damn it, I want to be annoyed with him for being so playful and irresponsible, like a child, really, but he’s so sweet, and he makes me happy, and he makes me laugh, and my whole life has been so lonely.” A tear slipped down her cheek. It was rare for Olivia to let her guard down like this; I knew she was really hurting. I rubbed her arm.
“Have you talked to him about this? Maybe he feels the same way?”
She pulled away and grabbed her wine, finishing it off and getting up for more. “He doesn’t. He told me the other day how glad he is that I’m not demanding more from him.” She shook her head firmly. “It’s fine. I’ll get over it. I refuse to let a man, especially one as ridiculous as Maxwell Beaumont, keep me down for long.” She sat back down and glanced at me defiantly, but I saw the sadness in her eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but she stopped me, holding up a hand.
“Please, Char,” Olivia begged, “let it go.” I paused for a moment and nodded. If she wanted to talk to me, she would. “So, what kind of shenanigans can we get up to tonight?” she asked playfully. “When the King’s away, and all that, right?” She stretched out on the couch and settled her feet in my lap, her wine glass held by one hand on her flat stomach. “Well–” I began, cut off by my phone, chirping with a new text message. I reached over to where my phone lay on the table to see that it was Liam. Smiling softly, I read the message he’d sent:
“Is Olivia with you, Love? She sent me a message earlier that she was coming to see me, but I’ve been in meetings all day.”
My fingers flew over the screen, typing out a reply:
“She’s here, we’re getting wine drunk and coming up with ways to get in trouble.”
“Oh, is that Liam?” Olivia asked, sitting up to read over my shoulder. “Tell him I’m pissed that he wasted my time by not telling me he was away.” I rolled my eyes and smiled, translating Olivia’s words into something nicer. Before I could hit send, Liam’s new message popped up:
“I can think of something you ladies could do. You’d have to tell me all the details, though.” My eyebrows raised, I turned to Olivia and showed her the phone. A mischievous grin split her face.
“You want to play, Char? I could stay the night and just handle my business with Liam when he returns tomorrow.” Her fingers brushed mine when handing the phone back to me, sending a pleasant tingle up my arm. I was so, so horny, and I definitely needed the stress relief …
“Would you like me to play with Olivia tonight, my King?” I sent the text to Liam and waited. Olivia’s fingers came up to play with the ends of my hair as we stared at the phone.Only moments had passed before his response came:
“I fucking order you to, Charlotte. And I expect the two of you to show me exactly what you did when I return tomorrow.”