AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Now, now, Beck. A girl never tells.” As if to entertain me, she pulls my head down slightly so her lips reach my ear, and she whispers, “But he wasn’t half as attentive as you are.”
I simultaneously groan and growl. I left her in a flurry of rage, and I stormed the palace looking for my father, only to find he had left. That’s when I started to think something didn’t add up. Alistair Knight isn’t a man who tucks his tail between his legs and runs, and he certainly isn’t against being the dirty old man who loves the attention of a younger woman.
I could ask her why him, of all the men, but I don’t want the details. I don’t want to hear from her what he was like. I want to blot it from my memory.
“But I guess he’ll tell you otherwise.”
I tense but don’t waver on giving her full attention.
“All depends on whose side you’d rather believe.” She goes to move but hesitates, resuming her stance. “Oh, and Beckett?”
“What?”
“Raise a gun to me again, and I won’t be so courteous.”
I rub my jaw, laughing at the stupidity of that. “Don’t goad a man with a loaded gun and we’ll both be okay.”
“Well, you see, that isn’t quite fair. You go nowhere without your loaded gun, and I go nowhere without my impeccable ability to push buttons.”
I snigger because she’s right on both accounts.
“Both for protection, right?” I assume, knowing she’s always used her sass as a cover. “But what happened, Talia… that never should have happened. Like what happened with my father.”
There’s a sadness that lances in the dark hues of her eyes. “You really have the wrong idea of me, don’t you, darling boy?”
“I don’t know about that,” I mutter, my tone so acrid it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. “What I witnessed pretty much affirmed everything that we were told about you.”
“You know, for a clever man, I never had you down as the sort to listen to idle gossip, but I guess we really don’t know one another anymore.” This time, she gives me a little smile. “Shall we go? You’re already late.”
“Not yet,” I say, delaying us a moment. “What game are we playing now?”
“Nothing special. I know what tonight is about and I’ll show you that I’m not on the same level as any one of your lackeys. So, just sit back and watch because I’ll make you regret ever assuming I’m beneath you.”
She leaves with the manner and purpose she came back into my life.
Easing my bowtie away from my neck, I know I’m in for a long evening.
“C’mon, stud, we’ve got a party to go to.” Sebastian waits in the doorway; his smirk falls as he sees my expression. “Sorry, too soon for the flirty banter?”
I shake my head and close the gap between us. “Always did wonder why you always called me sweetheart.”
“I only use that one on your sensitive days.”
I smack the back of his head and hasten my speed.
“Now that’s just mean.”
Rolling my eyes, I keep going. “Come on, Sebastian. We don’t want to be late.”
* * *
I always hate when she’s right.
Natalia has done a good job to move around the room, schmooze so many people, and act like she wants to be here in the capacity I’m allowing her. I’ve kept Sean and Sebastian near her to make sure she behaves, and so far, Natalia is behaving like the queen she thinks she should be.
What she doesn’t know is I wanted to both test her and use her to my advantage.
The irony of it all is it would appear she wants to be here a lot more than I do.
