I motion to the corner seating arrangement. My room is huge and not only has a massive four-poster king-size bed but also a small dining table that seats six, a desk, and a living area with a couch and two wingback chairs, all done in a heavy blue-and-gold brocade.
The king shakes his head, and Dmitri steps away from the door, catching my attention. “Camille turns twenty-five in eleven days,” the big Russian says.
I nod my understanding. “Once she turns twenty-five, she can name a secret heir apparent and thus the threat to her life lessens significantly.”
“Yes,” the king intones. “We should be able to get back to normal and hopefully have the issue with my cousin wanting us both dead wrapped up.”
“But until then,” Dmitri continues, “she’s at her greatest risk.”
I don’t reply. They’re not telling me anything new, and it’s been a source of worry for me. It’s going to be a long eleven days.
“We’re vetting all palace personnel again, adding extra security, installing metal detectors, and performing random searches. All nonessential personnel have been given a paid sabbatical and sent off palace grounds.”
“Seems like you have it all in check,” I say, because it’s exactly what I would do. Well, I’d probably lock her up in a steel vault with me being the only one who knows the code, and I’d stand watch outside with a machine gun ready to take out anyone who approached. But some might consider that extreme.
Dmitri steps closer, glances over, and the king again waves his hand as if he is fine with Dmitri carrying on the rest of this conversation. When his gaze comes back to me, he says, “But we do have one big event, and that’s a party in five days that will celebrate Camille’s birthday and her ascension to heir apparent. Foreign dignitaries from all over the world will be flying in. There will be extra people coming in to deliver flowers, caterers, cleaning crews. It will be when she’s most vulnerable.”
My jaw tightens over the danger, but the solution is simple. “Cancel the party or move it until after she turns twenty-five.”
“Not an option.” Dmitri rubs at the back of his neck. “It’s tradition. This is a big event in Bretaria’s history. The party will go on, and to make sure we have the best security protocol in place, we want you to stay on as her personal guard until she turns twenty-five. We’ve already run this by your employer, Mr. McGrath. He has given permission for you to stay but said it’s your call.”
Narrowing my eyes, I turn toward the king. “Did Camille ask for this? Was this her idea?”
Thomas frowns. “Of course not. This was Dmitri’s idea, and I concur. Whether Camille wants this is irrelevant.”
I’m not sure how that makes me feel. I’d feel she was prolonging the inevitable by forcing me to stay, and I don’t like being manipulated. But the fact she didn’t ask for me to stay grates on my nerves a bit. It would extend our time together—which is stupid for me to even want something like that. The break needs to come and come fast so we can move on with our lives.
“The only thing Camille asked for was that you be given access to her plane to take you back to the States so you don’t have to fly commercial. Given your refusal earlier of my gift, the least I can do is offer her plane. But I am begging you to extend your stay until after her birthday.”
I turn from the men, rubbing my jaw. I give the impression I’m thinking about the offer, but in truth, there’s no way I can say no. I’ve been worried about leaving Camille. While I know I’m just one man, I’m one who can be closest to her and her last line of defense.
On top of that, while I know the right thing to do is make a clean break and go—because they can get anyone to guard her, really—fuck if I want to leave her just yet. Eleven more days with her sounds really good.
Knowing I’m probably going to regret the further entanglement, I turn back and incline my head to the king. “I’ll gladly stay to help protect Camille until her twenty-fifth birthday.”
“I expect you to stick to her like glue,” the king demands imperiously.
I have to bite my tongue not to laugh. I’d lay my life down for her, but he has no clue how close I can get to Camille. How close I intend to get to her at every opportunity.
“I’ll protect her with my life, Your Majesty,” I assure him. “I won’t let her out of my sight.”
Thomas frowns slightly, as if he thinks I might have a double meaning in my words, but ultimately decides he got what he came for—my agreement to protect his daughter.