Pressing the elevator button at least a dozen times in the span of a second, I just wanted to run. The pain in my shoulder was completely gone and replaced with a new pain. I tried to push the thoughts out of my head as I got onto the elevator, but they came anyway.
I could taste the wine on her lips. I thought and licked my lips. The moment I did, I wanted to slap myself. She’s my fucking cousin! Adopted cousin? We weren’t biologically related.
Why the hell am I making distinctions now?
“Where to, sir—”
“Home now!” I snapped at him when I got into the car.
Sitting in the backseat, I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I silently prayed for my cock to come back to its senses. Instead, I found myself still thinking.
She’s actually my adopted second cousin. Uncle Declan was my father’s cousin. Marrying your first cousin is legal in twenty-five states. Some lists claim that twenty-six states allow cousin marriage... No states ban marriages between second cousins. Why the hell do I know this?
Why the hell am I even thinking this?
Helen is my best friend. She is my cousin. Nothing else.
“Sir, we’re here.”
I glanced out the window at the mansion for a moment before getting out. I didn’t speak. I couldn’t speak. I just walked past our butler, O’Phelan, the maids and made a bee-line into my room, fearing someone would ask me what happened. I was right outside my room. So close to putting this night behind me when a familiar red head suddenly appeared beside me.
“Good evening, sir. I was just about to leave dinner in your room,” she said softly, her blue eyes met mine.
It was far too late for dinner. And the odds of her just so happening to bring it when I got back were slim to none. But I opened the door for her anyway.
Helen is my best friend. She is my cousin. Nothing else.
“Do you need anything else, sir?” She asked when she put the tray down in the corner of my room.
“What do you think I need?” I asked back, and with that she slowly unbuttoned her blouse. I didn’t have time for slowly.
Closing the distance between us, I ripped the blouse off her, kissing her lips before lifting her up, her thighs wrapping around my waist. And I pushed down the nagging feeling I had in the pit of my stomach.
ELEVEN
“The less you reveal
the more people can wonder.”
~ Emma Watson
HELEN
Buzz.
Buzz.
“Hello?” I muttered into the line, still not opening my eyes.
“Wake up. I’m mad at you.”
I didn’t need to open my eyes to know who it was. “Dona, I have a really bad hangover, can you call back—”
“You are aware it is improper to not answer the phone when a princess of a foreign nation is calling you, right?” she asked, obviously not giving a damn about the fact that it felt like my brain was trying to escape out of my damn ears.
Sighing, I turned over on the couch and brushed my hair out of my face. “Last I checked you weren’t married, only living in absolute sin. Therefore, I’m not being improper by screening your calls.”
“Do I look like an idiot to you? I made him sign the marriage license before I got off the damn plane.”