Don't Promise (Don't 3)

“The olive groves?”

I nodded. “Oui. That one.”

“What about it?” She cocked her head to the side, exposing her neck. I couldn’t resist kissing her skin. I inhaled her scent. This woman had me upside down.

“We’re headed there this morning. It’s an overnight trip. I thought about what you said. I need to speak to the farmers. I need to see the groves. How else am I going to convince the cabinet without first-hand accounts?”

“You want me to go with you?”

“You are going with me. Isabel can’t handle the country side anymore.”

“Excuse me? Are you asking or telling me?” She wiggled out of my hands.

I scowled. “Is there a difference?”

Molly crossed her arms. “Yes.”

I sighed. “Let me guess. You would like me to ask you to go?”

She nodded. “That’s usually how it works.”

“I don’t have time for usual. I need you to go with me.”

“But you haven’t asked what I have going on. How is this different from when security picked me up at the library? I realize you are the king, but you can’t order me to do things, Damon. Ask me.”

I saw the sapphire hues shimmer in her eyes.

“I don’t think that’s necessary—”

She held her hand forward. “Ask me.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets. No one spoke to me this way. “Molly Washington.” I gritted my teeth. “Would you like to go to Sangreaux to tour the olive groves with me?”

She smiled sweetly. “Yes, I’d love to.” She threw her hands around my neck and I felt the tenseness loosen in my chest. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

I stared at her. “Same result.”

She laughed. “Not the point. At all.”

“We now have thirty minutes.” I untangled her from my neck. “There will be a bag packed for you. Would you like to speak to Ayla about personal items? She will be assigned to you.”

“Assigned to me? What are you talking about?”

I folded the lodestar and stacked it on top of my desk. “You need a royal manager to assist you on the trip. I trust her. Kenley would be better, but she’s with Dominic today. She knows how to deal with him.”

“I don’t need a manager. And I’m capable of packing my own bag.”

I faced her. “Have you ever attended an official royal event of any kind? A tea? A dinner? A ball?”

She shook her head, her eyes falling to the floor.

I lifted her chin. “That is why you have a royal manager. Ayla will prepare everything. She will get you through it.”

“This seems intense.”

“It’s life as a royal.” There was no other way to explain it.

I saw her fidget with the T-shirt. “I need to call my roommate. Brooklyn is probably freaking out. And my laptop. Shit, I forgot about it. All my notes.” She covered her eyes with her palms. “Everything is at the library.”