Page 23

23

P aisley

I’m trying really hard not to watch Arctic. He’s doing a great job of ignoring me, which is good. It’s how it needs to be. He’s mingled with various Tributes tonight. Plenty of them have hovered around him like bees to freaking honey. In the last half hour, Hannah has latched onto him and won’t let go. His little buzzing bees are still nearby.

It’s fine, though.

He needs to meet and get to know the Tributes; it’s why he’s here. It’s how it has to be. He promised he wouldn’t sleep with anyone else while we are messing around, and I have to trust him. I do trust him.

I glance over there, and Hannah is laughing at something Arctic is saying. She takes his bicep, holding on to it for what feels like an age before letting go. She’s wearing a shimmery gold dress. It has an open back and is fairly short. It’s evening wear, even though we asked everyone to dress casually for the evening. I’m in jeans and a tank top. I’m wearing a pair of sandals.

It’s a karaoke evening, yet many of the Tributes are dressed to the nines. Even Cathy is wearing a sequined top with black slacks and heels. At least the guys are dressed down in jeans and T-shirts, so I don’t feel quite so underdressed.

Arctic glances at me, looking away immediately and saying something else to Hannah, who laughs again.

It really can’t be that funny.

“Excuse me,” one of the ladies says as she sashays past me, giggling. She has her hand in the hand of a shifter, who is grinning as he looks down at her adoringly.

It’s really sweet.

“No problem.” I smile, watching the couple head to the stage to sing their karaoke tune. There are quite a few couples here tonight. Some of them even arrived together. And a couple of people are getting quite cozy.

The others are mingling nicely. The cocktail-making competition was a hit.

Smoke and Jacki won it. They’re at the bar together right now. It looks like Smoke is flirting and that Jacki is lapping it up. There’s lots of giggling and subtle touching. A hand on an arm. A—

The next song starts, drawing my eye back to the karaoke couple as they take to the stage, grabbing microphones. They sway to the music with the spotlight on their faces and then sing with enthusiasm but not too much talent.

I giggle. This is fun.

The crowd doesn’t care. Many sing along. Some of them are dancing.

“Great party,” Lauren tells me, shoulder-bumping me as she sidles up.

“Heeeey.” I give her a quick hug. “How are you doing?”

“I’m great. All good.”

“I’m sorry I missed you having your stitches out yesterday. I was stuck in a meeting.” I widen my eyes.

She flaps a hand. “It was all good. Really quick and easy. Dr. du Pont is sweet. And Burn came along to hold my hand.” She points to a massive shifter at the bar. He smiles as soon as he sees Lauren looking his way.

Her cheeks go blood red when he winks and blows a kiss at her.

“I might be just a little bit in love.” She bites her lip and lifts her shoulders for a few moments. “I’ve never met a gentler person. He’s like a cuddly teddy bear.”

A teddy bear that could rip you into pieces using just one hand. I get what she means, though. He keeps smiling at her, looking all goofy like only someone in love can.

“He looks sweet. I’m so happy for you.”

“I can’t believe I ran like that on the first day. It seems like it happened months ago, when it was just last week. So much has changed since then. I’m so happy.” She looks back at Burn, and the look the two of them give each other is scorching. There is no denying the chemistry.

“I’d better get back over there. I’ll see you soon, Paisley,” she says as she walks away.

“You can count on it,” I yell over the music.

Lauren practically skips over to her shifter, jumping into his big arms. He catches her, lifting her off her feet, and they share a kiss that is almost too sexy for public consumption.

My gaze moves over the reception hall, going back to Arctic. I look away when he catches me looking at him…again.

Arghhh! I need to get better at pretending. I hope I’m not being too obvious.

Cathy walks over with two glasses of champagne. She hands me one. “Here you go.”

“We’re still on the clock.”

“This evening is a success. The party has started to wind down; I saw a few people leaving together. We can have a little toast. You won’t get drunk from half a glass of bubbles,” she taunts me.

“You’re right.” I smile at her, taking a glass.

“To the success of the pilot program.”

“To what is starting to look like a success.” I decide to be more conservative. I wouldn’t want to jinx the program.

“Cheers,” Cathy says as we touch glasses.

“You’re doing a great job,” I tell her as we take a sip. “So, tomorrow is another free day,” I say. “Maybe we should move the picnic up if the weather holds. There are storms forecast for Saturday.”

Cathy shakes her head. “We can’t do that. It’s going to be a bit of a rough one for the Mistveil community, especially for Arctic and the royal family.” She looks at me strangely before looking away. “Surely you must know—?” She stops talking and smiles in a flirty way. I look over in the same direction just as Arctic looks back at Hannah.

“I think he’s been watching me,” Cathy says. “Like checking me out, I mean. His eyes are on me alllll the time.”

Cathy and I have spent a lot of the evening together. Maybe Arctic has been watching me far more than I realized. Shit! Turns out we both have to get better at being undercover.

“Who?” I frown. “Arctic?” I decide to play it down. And to play along.

“Yeah. What do you think I should do about it?” She looks genuinely concerned.

“What do you mean by that?” I frown.

Where is she going with this?

“I mean, should I talk to him about it? Do you think he might be interested in me?”

What?

“He’s a candidate, Cathy.” My tone is clipped. “You’re not a Tribute. He’s off limits.”

“He’s the king. Surely, he makes the rules? If he’s interested in me, then…” She giggles and smiles, fluttering her lashes. “Don’t look now, but he’s looking over here again,” she whispers. “I swear he’s into me and doesn’t know what to do about it. I just know it.”

I want to roll my eyes or laugh my head off or both. Then again, Cathy is very beautiful. I’m sure she’s used to getting plenty of attention. She would immediately assume it’s her, which is a good thing, or we’d be busted.

“I think you should leave it well alone.” I should take my own advice. “Don’t go down that road. You could end up without a job.”

“Yeah, but if he wants me but doesn’t know how to approach it and I don’t act on it, I could have some serious regrets. I can see myself at his side. We would make a great couple and have beautiful babies.” She gets this wistful look.

I want to roll my eyes but hold back. Maybe I’ve been too nice to her because she’s almost forgotten that I’m her boss. I could fire her for even having this conversation with me. Of course, I won’t. It wouldn’t be right. She hasn’t actually done anything wrong, and she has come to me to talk it through.

“If you go after him and you’re wrong, he could fire you on the spot. I would tread carefully. I wouldn’t read into it too much. I’ve noticed he keeps an eye on all his management staff.”

“Oh, really?”

I nod. “Yep. Don’t jeopardize your career.”

She makes a noise of frustration. “You’re right, Paisley. The voice of reason.” She smiles at me. “Thanks for talking me down, but if he hits on me, I’m all in. I’m sure he could get me into the program, and we could be together.” She has stars in her eyes. “I hope he comes clean. I really hope so.”

She’s convinced Arctic is into her. I almost feel sorry for her.

“Just watch yourself,” I tell her. “There are plenty of great guys on the island.”

Why can’t I take my own advice?

She smiles. “I know, but they feel like they’re all beneath me.” She laughs. “God, I sound conceited.” She shakes her head. “I’ve always aimed for the top.” She takes a sip of her champagne.

I suddenly remember our earlier conversation.

“You said that something is going to happen on the island tomorrow. It sounded like something bad. Something to do with the royal family.” I lift my brows.

Cathy makes a face and laughs. “You mean you don’t know? Do you live under a rock? Has Arctic not discussed it with you? I thought you guys had a meeting. Almost everyone knows as of today.” She shrugs.

“I did have a meeting with Arctic earlier, but he got called away soon after I got there. I’m sure he was planning to tell me about whatever it is. Otherwise, I was working. I ate lunch at my desk. Dr. du Pont didn’t mention anything.” I realize that I’m talking too much and force myself to shut up.

“Arctic’s younger brother is being put to death tomorrow.”

I gasp. “What? Are you serious? He must be a prince…surely,” I almost say to myself.

She nods. “Yes, it’s Frost’s twin brother. He’s younger by only a few minutes.”

“Why is he being put to death?” I can’t believe that Arctic didn’t say anything. That we were only told today and that I’m the last to know, even though I’m sleeping with him. It makes me feel…weird.

It’s also a stark reminder of what our relationship is and what it isn’t.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Cathy says, taking another sip of her champagne; her eyes are glinting. “He was responsible for the death of Arctic’s wife.”

My mouth falls open.

“He organized a hit on Arctic. He wanted the crown for himself. Anyway, his wife ended up taking the bullets instead of Arctic, who was only shot once and obviously not fatally.” Cathy is talking quickly. “They only found out a few months ago that Ice was involved in the whole thing. How awful is that?”

My gaze goes back to Arctic. No wonder he’s so damned hurt. No wonder he’s still grieving Anya. Why he’s so broken. It was his own flesh and blood who caused the death of his mate. It’s almost inconceivable to me.

Being a king isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

“Anyway,” Cathy goes on, “the beheading is tomorrow.” She shivers and pulls a face. “Sounds awful. All the shifters are going to watch.” She makes a gagging noise. “I couldn’t think of anything worse. So that’s why we need to keep the picnic scheduled for Saturday, but we could move it to Sunday or Monday if…”

She keeps talking, but all I can think about is Arctic. I feel terrible for him. I can’t even begin to imagine what he must be going through. I just wish he would have confided in me. Actually, he probably would have if we hadn’t been interrupted.

I’ll talk to him when he comes by later.

I look at the message I received from him not so long ago.

Wear a robe with nothing underneath. You better not have touched yourself, Paisley!