Dirty Thief

He exhales dramatically and walks to the large window I stood at two nights ago. “Everything doesn’t have to be a battle between us, Rowan. When your father was alive, he and I shared a close confidence.”

“When my father was alive, you sided with Totrington in the fight that resulted in his heart attack.”

“No.” Reggie shakes his head and turns to face me. “You’ve tried to lay that at my feet before. Your father’s heart was weak. His heart attack was not my fault.”

It’s an old battle I’m not interested in revisiting. “Either way, you’re back. Don’t try and tell me how to feel about it.”

“Do you want my advice or not?”

He glares at me, and I confess, I have to take a moment to consider my answer. The queen mother urged me to let her brother back on the council. Her reason had been his years of experience. She’d said it was her idea to have Reggie infiltrate the Totrington group and figure out what they were doing.

All I’d seen was my uncle working with my father’s enemies. It’s why I kicked him out of the kingdom as soon as I had the authority.

Logan shifts in his chair, and he glances up at me. Freddie’s gaze never leaves his computer screen. Tension is thick in the room.

“I will listen to what you have to say,” I concede.

“Very well,” Reggie continues, “Ava’s work with the orphans pulls us directly into the crisis. We either need to downplay it—”

My stomach tightens. “Or what?”

“Or shut it down entirely.”

The muscle in my jaw moves. I feel my brow lower, and a memory enters my mind. Looking down, I notice my fists are clenched. Ava… my tells.

Relaxing my hands, I exhale a breath. “I will not tell Ava she can’t help these children.”

“Just think about how it makes us appear,” Reggie argues.

“So you’d have us return them to Greece? Let them starve to death?” My voice is rising. “That would make us look better?”

“Of course not,” my uncle grunts. “But remove the queen regent from the equation. Pass her work to the U.N. or some other, more neutral organization. Reduce the appearance that our doors are wide open to more.”

My eyes move to the clock, and I see it’s after seven. “It’s late. We should call it a day.”

I’m headed to the door when a hand catches my arm. Pausing, I look back at the grand duke. “Think about what I’m saying, Rowan. Sometimes being a king means putting sympathies aside for the good of your people.”

I can’t answer him. I honestly don’t know what to say. I’m tired, and I need to be with the one person who can erase this tension.

I’m through the wide hallway, making my way to the other side of the enormous palace, when my phone vibrates. Taking it out, I see a text from my queen. I’m waiting in the tub.

A grin curls my lips, and my pace quickens. I’m less than a minute away, I text back.

* * *

Ava’s soft breasts press against my chest. Her lips are fused to mine, and my arms are around her waist. The water is hot and scented with lavender oil. Jets create a swirling current around us, touching the ends of Ava’s hair.

Moving my mouth, I devour her. She keeps pace with me, and while our bodies are wet and slippery, our mouths are inseparable. Lips move, tongues chase. I pull her full upper lip between my teeth, and she sucks my bottom lip into her mouth. We’re making out like teenagers, and I move closer, cupping her ass to pull her flush against me.

My knees bend, and her hand drops between us, grasping my erection and sliding up and down. I groan into her mouth, and her tongue slides along the seam of mine. Her

hand moves faster, and I grip the back of her head, fisting her hair. She’s working me, and it feels fucking amazing.

“Ava,” I groan, breaking away, dropping my chin to kiss her shoulder.

She kisses my neck, just before I feel her teeth against my skin, just before she pulls it into her mouth. She’s sucking my neck, jacking me off, and fuck, I’m so close to coming.

My fingers tighten, and I pull her head back. “I need to be inside you.”