Page 15 of The Prince and the Double Shot (Runaway Prince Hotel #2)

PHIL

A day of leisure. Layla forced me to take a day off from working in the gardens.

I enjoyed my work, and it really didn’t feel like a chore.

It felt like life. A reemergence of the magic coursing through my body that I had denied myself for too long.

Nature was healing, and the therapy that it provided had already unlocked a path where my future didn’t feel like a black hole.

Magic – if you deny it, it withers and so do you.

I was blossoming again. It was strange to feel again. I had been so numb with my grief that even colors had changed their hues. Now, it felt like the sun had started to brighten, and the world was more vivid. It was a nice change, even if it was a melancholy one.

Life moved on.

I had taken the first steps of walking a new path without Petra by my side. Somehow, I didn’t feel alone. Maybe his essence–his energy-was here with me, comforting me as I began life anew. I would never be able to touch him again, but I could believe that a part of him stayed.

Nature had helped me find him.

Nature had helped me find myself.

Nature had nurtured me back to the land of the living.

I suppose… I mean, I would have to give a small amount of my growth to Zane.

Being around him was… It had started out weird and awkward because of how much he resembled Petra.

It had made me uneasy and emotional to look at him at first. But they were so different.

Those differences had helped me to put aside their similarities.

Zane had become so easy to be around. He made me laugh and feel protected.

It was odd. I barely knew him. We had confided none of our secrets to each other, even though we had spent many nights talking in a bar or walking on the beach.

But that kiss… Then the conversation after. Two weeks ago… I totally destroyed the moment, the momentum between us.

It had to be done, for him and me.

But it left me feeling empty and sad.

Finding someone you enjoyed spending time with was a rarity for someone like me.

The life of a royal meant service to the country and its people.

Our time was spent running our kingdom and ensuring our citizens were taken care of and thriving.

It was meeting after meeting that usually filled our time.

Leisure was an activity that we rarely had time for, and when we did, it was still scheduled and usually for charity.

The phone call…

Mother…

I wasn’t surprised. I was aware of the rules governing our sovereignty.

To become king, I would need to have someone by my side.

It didn’t have to happen right away, but there was a timeline that the wedding had to happen within.

It was faster than I would have liked. But it was the reality of the situation.

All because of my great-great-grandfather, who stayed a bachelor.

The bloodline needed to continue. A suitable surrogate was found – a duchess who had also remained unmarried, and the child eventually became king.

It had been a tense moment within the monarchy.

Rules had never been in place before that covered surrogacy or an unmarried ruler.

New laws were put in place to ensure the bloodline. I was now a victim of those rules.

I also understood them, even if I did think they were outdated and silly. At least we weren’t one of those kingdoms that only gave power to the firstborn son. In our country, the firstborn, whether male or female, rose to power. I was an only child.

My country, my people, needed me. That meant I had to heal. I had to marry.

For years, I lived in fear and anger at that very statement.

When I became king, one of the first things I would do was to get Parliament to change the law.

Love is love, and it should be honored, regardless of the status of the people involved.

A commoner, a citizen of our country, should be able to marry into the family. It would happen too late for me.

A list was being made of the men I would eventually have to meet. Mother and her staff would go over each one until only a few remained that they deemed worthy, and without any baggage they might bring to the throne.

I hadn’t seen Zane for a couple of days.

My mind, after the phone call, was… spinning in chaos.

The last week with Zane had been lovely, if a little stilted.

I wanted to kiss him again, and to my amazement, I felt no guilt or shame about wanting it.

He held my hand as we went on our walks, but it felt like a small glass wall had been created between us.

I had only wanted to make sure that we were…

No… I was protecting myself. I was protecting my own heart.

I had been foolish. It was too early to talk about not being able to have a future together, but the feelings had come so fast. His kiss had unlocked something within me, and all I could do was crush any hope between us of ever being able to have anything more than what we currently had.

Even if it might have been the truth, I wasn’t wrong, but I had stopped the natural flow of two people who had found something special. The fire we both felt was diminished, I felt.

Well, not mine. I still felt it raging through me. But maybe his.

I didn’t blame him, but I didn’t want to stop seeing him. I needed to see him, and that was insane.

I needed to get out of my room and do something. All of the thoughts that spun through my head were only making me antsy and bringing back my anxiety.

I chose swimming. The hotel had an indoor pool, and honestly, I could use some exercise.

Maybe I could do laps. I grabbed a book that I had packed and never opened since I arrived.

American television had flooded my brain with its reality nonsense.

Seriously, I had binged an entire series of Real Housewives as I lay in my bed doing nothing.

It was wasteful of the time I had – before I went back and picked up my real life, once again.

I walked into the ample space and gasped. I almost dropped my book and towel.

I’m European, and I am used to boys in Speedos, so…

But…

I hadn’t been expecting this.

Seeing Zane standing there in a red Speedo and nothing else was one of the world’s greatest wonders of the modern world.

My eyes bulged out of my head as I stared at all of that gorgeousness with his hands on his hips.

The way the red fabric pulled against his bubble butt, the white skin of his broad back…

and then the mother fucker turned around.

I gasped.

The sprinkle of red hair against his hard chest. The treasure trail that led down over his very firm six-pack, and the bulge that threatened to rip the fabric was…

Well, it was impressive. It was mouthwatering, and I instantly felt a twinge in my own swimsuit that could lead to a very embarrassing moment with the other guests.

I should leave. I was just going to gawk at him if I…

He smiled and winked.

I melted.

“Are you off today?” He walked towards me, and I felt like a gazelle being stalked by a lion. He looked so powerful, and in one pounce, I would be devoured. I would like it. Of that, I was sure.

“Yeah, I…” I tried to look anywhere else, but my eyes were trapped by his visage. I couldn't pull my gaze away from this mortal god. I was weak, and he was inspiring in every way. Fucker.

“My eyes are up here.” He made his gorgeous pecs bounce, and the audible gasp that escaped was too embarrassing. “But I don’t mind if you… uh… enjoy the view.”

“You are so full of yourself.”

“You can be full of me too, if that’s what you want?”

He stopped and crossed his arms, letting the vocal foreplay shoot shivers across my body. How did that happen? I was literally dripping with perspiration.

“I… I…” I gulped.

“Don’t worry, it happens all the time.” He brought up his right arm and flexed, making his bicep explode into a very large bump. “I work very hard to look like this.”

“You are quite…”

“Yes?”

“You are quite a... What do Americans say? Himbo? I heard that recently on an episode of the Housewives.”

“Himbo? I think you might mean stud. Or, maybe you meant to say that I was beautiful? You are, too, you know. I find it hard to take my eyes off you, too. Now, don’t just stand there catching flies with your mouth.

I think you meant to go swimming, and you don’t need to worry – I give excellent mouth-to-mouth when needed.

Do you think you may require my services today? ”

“I hope not. I’d hate to make the news as a drowning victim.”

He walked the few steps between us and put his hand on my chest. “But part of you hopes so too, doesn’t it?

” He let his fingers slide down until they were at the bottom of my t-shirt, and he slowly started pulling it up.

His hot, large finger left trails of heat against my skin.

His hand under my shirt was making my legs weak.

His hot breath on my face – the room tilted.

His other hand steadied me. “If this is the reaction I get in a Speedo, I can’t wait to see what happens when we’re nude,” he whispered.

“You really are coming on strong. I thought that…” I looked up, and our eyes met.

“What do I have to lose? I’m tired of playing cat and mouse. I’m tired of… Let’s just be happy for whatever time we have, alright? No expectations, no thoughts of what it means – just us enjoying the moments that we have. The last couple of weeks have been killing me.”

I nodded. “Me too. Alright.”

“Now, let’s get these clothes off of you. I’ve been waiting. Are those your trunks? They look like they belong to a midwestern father.” He chuckled as he looked down at my baggy shorts.

“This was what they had in the shop. I didn’t think to pack a… Stop teasing me.” I shook my head and grinned. “Are you sure?”

“Like I said – I have nothing to lose.”

“I’m afraid that I might,” I said lowly.