AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Dunk her head in the fountain if she wants to swim so badly,” Ray said.
“No!” Kiera screamed.
Tristan carried her around the greenery and toward the bubbling center fountain. They couldn’t see her any longer but could easily hear as she protested and yelled that he was ‘the meanest brother’ and begged Ray to save her.
Ray smiled at Macey. “He won’t do it, but that’ll give you half a minute to watch the sunset.”
“Thank you.” Macey could not peel her eyes from his. Her breath shortened, and nothing mattered at this moment but this prince.
“Macey,” He breathed out her name so beautifully she had to put out a hand to steady herself on something. That something was Ray’s arm. His warm, firm arm.
She could see his pulse quickening in his neck. He eased a bit closer. Neither of them said anything, simply staring at each other, her hand on his arm. Somehow they inched closer, until she could feel his breath on her lips. She ached for his kiss like she’d never wanted anything.
Macey had learned young to work hard and keep herself as small and hidden as possible. Nobody but Gage had appreciated her being smart until college and Sutton and his guys. She’d learned not to hope for too much, keeping herself from hurt and disappointment. The only time she’d let down her guard as an adult was when she’d fallen for Steve. Right now she was hoping for far too much, and with a prince to boot.
Ray’s hand raised toward her face and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest.
The sounds of Kiera’s protests suddenly disappeared and just as quickly, Ray was standing a foot away from her, pointedly looking out at the view. Macey tried to still her racing heart as she turned as well. The sun was already gone. They’d missed the actual setting, but the wispy clouds were still pink and orange and it was beautiful.
“Beautiful,” Ray murmured.
She blushed, feeling as if he were talking about her. She wanted him to be.
“Time to swim,” Kiera yelled from behind them.
They both turned to see Kiera perched on Tristan’s shoulders. Kiera was beaming happily. Tristan was watching them both … carefully.
He knew. His blue eyes said he knew exactly what was transpiring between them. Had he seen them almost kiss? Oh, crap. Macey had to get this attraction under control. She was here on an important job and that job was not to fall in love with her fiancé’s brother.
“Let’s do it,” Ray agreed.
Tristan turned and walked in front of them, holding Kiera. Ray put his hand on Macey’s lower back and escorted her. Just like that, all resolve to not fall for Ray disappeared.
She was in so much trouble.
Chapter Six
Ray was in so much trouble.
His eyes and his body seemed to naturally gravitate to Macey. How could he keep the reasons she was here at the forefront of his mind? Research and hopefully help solve his mum’s murder, keep his twin safe, show the kingdom all was well with the royals.
But all wasn’t well in his mind. And he was certain T knew.
They showed Macey the state-of-the-art spa and talked Kiera into doing a circuit before swimming. They started with the steam room, ten minutes at a forty-five degrees Celsius and almost a hundred percent humidity scented with eucalyptus and spearmint. Ray had never found it so hard to breathe in the steam room, but suspected the problem today was because Macey was seated between him and T and her smooth arm kept brushing his.
They burst out of the steam room at the five-minute mark because Kiera was ‘cooked’ and jumped in the cold plunge pool. Ray got to watch Macey adorably leap out of the pool screaming, “Cold!” and admire how incredibly fit she was and how fabulous she looked in a one-piece pale blue swimsuit.
They hurried to the massage pool and sank into perfect warmth like a bathtub. Kiera took Macey through the pool’s jets, pushing each button so Macey could feel how the different overhead sprays and underwater jets targeted each muscle group. Kiera wouldn’t let them lie on the tile beds, and they were too wet to get into the massage chairs, so they made it to the Olympic pool within twenty minutes and their sister was thrilled.
Ray loved this pool. The cement patio was lined with retractable walls made of glass and a glass ceiling covered the pool section of the spa. This time of year, the walls were tucked out of the way and the perfect summer night air surrounded them.
Kiera, being the wild child she was, couldn’t just swim. They played ‘sharks and minnows’, ‘colors’, and ‘Marco Polo.’ Kiera showed off her impressive flips and seven-twenties off the diving board while they all cheered.
All the brothers tried to spend time with Kiera and especially play games with her any time they could. The boys had each other as playmates growing up, but Kiera was twelve years younger than Derek and Malik. She also hadn’t been allowed back to public school since their mum died. She had to be lonely. Her nanny, Lisa, was a sweet girl who worked with her in the morning on schoolwork, even in the summer, played with her in the afternoon, and read with her at night before their dad prayed with her and tucked her into bed. Their mum used to be the one to spend afternoons with Kiera and read with her before prayers and bedtime.
The games and horsing around was a lot of fun. Ray got a lot of opportunities to get close to and even touch Macey. Unfortunately, so did T. Jealousy kicked up so fast Ray could hardly see straight. He didn’t like being jealous of T. No matter how Chad, Ray, and all the brothers teased T about being the ‘woman magnet,’ Ray wasn’t jealous. He got plenty of attention from beautiful women and didn’t have to wonder like T did if the women were only interested in him as future monarch.
The only woman T had ever fallen for and felt loved him for him had left right as Mum died. To Ray’s knowledge Jennifer Shule, T’s love and the prime minister’s daughter, hadn’t come home even to visit her parents for over six months. In the wake of Mum’s death T and Jennifer’s relationship implosion had been swept under the rug. The prime minister had never acted like it was any big deal and T didn’t say much. Ray had felt sorry for T losing Jennifer, and impressed T could move on and date and tease. He had never been jealous of his twin.
