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We spoke only loud enough for the other to hear, but to my paranoid ears, we might as well be shouting.
“Then you better keep quiet, hmm?” Rhys’s hot breath slid over my skin as he reached around to pinch my nipples. Another jolt of lust rocketed through me.
“Bridget.” Mikaela sounded impatient now. “The door’s locked. Is everything okay?”
“Y-yes. I’m”—Rhys slammed into me with a particularly brutal thrust—“coming!”
My last word devolved into a gasp as my orgasm crashed over me in a tidal wave.
I buried my face in my arms and bit down to stifle my screams.
Rhys’s breathing changed, and a second later he came with a quiet grunt before sliding out of me.
We didn’t have the luxury of basking in post-coital bliss, and the aftershocks of my orgasm were still rippling through me as we cleaned ourselves up.
“One minute!” I called out for Mikaela’s benefit.
I glared at Rhys, who’d fixed himself up in record time and looked like he was trying not to laugh. “This isn’t funny.”
“Nice double entendre there at the end,” he said with a smirk.
I’m coming.
I flushed as I finished straightening my clothes and hair. A quick glance in the mirror told me I still looked a bit disheveled, but I could blame that on running around the palace all day.
“I almost miss the days when you were an overbearing, overprotective ass.”
“Then you’ll be pleased to hear I’m still an overbearing, overprotective ass. And princess.” Rhys’s voice stopped me when I was halfway to the door. “You’re forgetting something.”
My face flamed when he held up the vibrator.
“You are trying to get us into trouble.” I snatched the vibrator from him and wrapped it hastily with a tissue before shoving it inside a desk drawer. I’d deal with it later.
“It’s Mikaela. She doesn’t notice anything that doesn’t have to do with parties and society gossip. You could shove an elephant in front of her and she probably wouldn’t notice. You think I would’ve done that had it been Markus or Elin at the door?”
Okay, Mikaela wasn’t the most observant person on the planet, but Rhys was exaggerating. In this case, though, I hoped he was right.
I opened the door and finally let my annoyed-looking friend in.
“What took so long?” she grumbled. “I have to meet my mother—” She stopped when she saw Rhys. “Oh, hey, Rhys. What are you doing here?”
He was technically off duty when I was in the palace, and I scrambled to think of a plausible excuse.
“We were going over security plans,” I improvised. “For Nik’s wedding. Some of it is, uh, confidential. Which is why I took so long to answer.”
Nikolai and Sabrina were still in California, but they were getting married in Athenberg and preparations were in full swing.
Mikaela frowned. “Just the two of you? I thought the Royal Guard was handling that.”
“Personal security plans,” I amended quickly.
“Oh.” The confusion in Mikaela’s eyes cleared. “Is now still a good time to meet? I can come back if not.”
“Now works,” I said, even though all I wanted was to shower and take a nap. I was just grateful she didn’t ask any more questions about why it took me so long to unlock the door. My excuse would’ve unraveled faster than a cheap sweater under any scrutiny.
“I’ll see you later, Your Highness. Lady Mikaela.” Rhys inclined his head and left, but not before shooting me a wink.
I bit back a smile.
“It’s too bad,” Mikaela said, her eyes lingering on his backside a tad longer than I would’ve liked before the door shut behind him.
“What is?” I absentmindedly shuffled some papers on my desk and tried to push aside the mental images of what I’d been doing on that exact spot ten minutes ago.
“That Rhys is a bodyguard.” Mikaela returned her attention to me and plopped into the chair opposite mine. “He is so gorgeous. I don’t know how you see him every day without drooling. If he weren’t a commoner…” She fanned herself. “I would be all over that.”
My entire body stiffened, for multiple reasons.