The King’s Prisoner

Chapter 10

~Tori~

“Girl! He is fine as hell.” My sister dramatically fanned herself.

My mother agreed. “He is a very nice looking fellow. But I’m more interested in seeing this ring.” I smiled as I lifted my hand. Man, it was hard being fake, but somehow I managed to do it.

“It’s beautiful, Tori. I’m so proud of you,” my mom hugged me again and it felt good to be in her arms.

“Me too, sis. Good job on bagging a hot guy. I never thought you would even consider not only marriage but a relationship after what happened.”

My daughter’s birthday was coming up soon and I just wanted to be alone reliving the good memories. “Please Gia, don’t bring that up.”

“Have you told him?” She asked.

“No, not yet.”

“You guys are about to get married.”

“Oh trust me, I’m aware. Anyway, when are you settling down?” I asked her, changing the subject. I knew she had my best interests at heart but I didn’t want to be reminded of that part of the past.

“Oh no, don’t flip the attention to me. You are newly engaged, little sis. We want details. Where did you meet?”

I explained the lie that Adrian and I discussed and was surprised how well it flowed. They bought it without a single hesitation.

“Well he look just like the late King’s son. God rest his soul,” my mother blurted out. Poker face, Tori.

“Really? I’ve never seen the King’s son. You know I don’t pay attention to royal family. We have our mayors and government here in Adenville.” The royal family has the final say in the laws before they are rejected or passed. Only the king and queen made public appearances. Adrian was probably there, blending in. Now he’s front and center of it all.

We set the table and made everyone’s plates. We all sat down and my dad said a prayer. After that, we dug in. The hot steamy taste of broccoli was delicious. Mom loved to make big dinners. This time was no different, she made a lamb shoulder with broccoli with roasted potatoes, fresh bread and red wine. I was overflowing with joy as I reunited with my family. I knew that I would have to go back to the kingdom, but I pushed that back for now. Even Adrian seemed relaxed. He and dad mostly talked about sports. Mom and Gia had their attention on him. They were like little schoolgirls. The food was great as always. My mom was always a great cook. My dad said that's one of the reasons he fell in love with her. It started to get late and I knew that it meant that it was time to go.

“Mom? Dad? Thank you for dinner,” I said.

“Yes, thank you. The food was delicious. It’s getting late and we should head back home.” He looked at me. “We can stop by your place tomorrow to get your things.” I knew he was playing it off as if I’m moving with him.

“Okay.” I went to hug my parents and my sister one more time before I left. I held back the tears. “I love you guys.”

“We love you too, Tori,” my dad grunted as he gave me a gentle squeeze. I pulled away reluctantly and joined Adrian as we walked back to the car. Once we got inside the car and pulled off, I broke.

*****

~Adrian~

Watching her cry made me feel guilty for making her do this. As I sat with her and her family, I watched how close they were. One thing for sure, she was telling the truth when she said she was a nurse. James, showed pictures of Tori and her sister attending nursing school and when they graduated. Apparently, James and Marlene Adwell are doctors. Was what Tori said this whole time true? What if she was at the wrong place at the wrong time? What if she was pulled into this mess just for trying to help him? So many unanswered questions.

I didn’t know how to comfort her. Her face was soaked as she used her hands to wipe her tears. They just kept falling and I did the only thing I can think of to make her feel better. I pulled her close to me and laid her on my chest. She didn’t fight me and rubbed her back to soothe her.

“Can you just kill me now?” She asked, taking me by surprise. I looked down at her. “Please. I don’t want to continue to lie to them. Everyone believes I killed your father including you.”

I wanted to scream that I believe her because I’m really starting to, but I still felt conflicted. The thought of killing her didn’t sound as appealing as before. I had to get to the bottom of this before I made any decision that I would regret.

“I’m not going to kill you,” I whispered to her.

“Why not?” She said as she became angry. “You made me lie to my family! You accused me of killing your father and you said that I will be punished then do it! Punish me!” She began to punch my chest and I stood still letting her release all of her anger. “Why aren't you saying anything? Say something, you son of a b***h!”

Suddenly, I grabbed her face, crashing our mouths together in an electrifying kiss. It felt like times stopped when our lips met. In that moment, nothing else mattered. My heart pounded in my chest as I deepened the kiss, tasting the sweetness of the red wine she drank earlier. I could only focus on how soft her lips were as I became addicted to her. She was vulnerable and it was wrong of me to kiss her. I broke the kiss and we stared at each other.

Out of the blue, her hand smacked me across my cheek. She was angry, as we stared at each other in shock. No one has ever slapped me before. Our breaths were panting and unexpectedly, she pounced on me. I was sure if I was dreaming or if this was actually happening, but the raw emotion in her kiss made me hypnotic for her. My body tingled as I felt her small frame against mine. Her tongue ran across my lips and I opened up wanted to taste her as bad as she wanted to taste me. She moaned without breaking our kiss and our tongues danced against each other. No, not like this. As bad as I wanted to rip her clothes off, I held her waist in place and broke the kiss again.

“No, Victoria, this isn’t right.”

“Why not, we’re engaged, right? You said you can have any woman. Have me, Adrian.” Believe me, I wanted her so badly. She wasn’t in her right state of mind. I grabbed her waist and placed her next to me.

“Tori, this isn’t you. As bad as I want you right now, I’m not going to take advantage of you. When the time is right, we will explore that together.” She was mad at first but she quickly felt ashamed. I held her chin. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. Trust me when I say, I loved every minute of it.”

She laid on my shoulder and I placed my arm over her so she could lay on my chest. Shortly after, she was asleep and I kissed her forehead.

We finally made it back to the castle and Tori was too tired to wake up. It didn’t feel right having the guard carry her to her room especially since Victor. So, I picked up her small soft body and carried her all the way to her room. I laid her in her bed. I sat on the end of her bed and watched her chest rise and fall in a steady slumber. She looked like an angel, her facial expression was relaxed.

“What are you doing to me?” This beautiful woman has me in trance that I don’t want to get out of. I stood up and dragged myself away from her room. I made it into my room and removed all of my clothes. This has been a long day and I needed to unwind. She practically threw herself at me and I turned her down. What a coward. I needed to do something to get my mind off of her. She was starting to consume my thoughts. I could easily call a mistress and have her take my mind off of her, but it would be no use because she would just find a way to get right back there. I laid down in bed and struggled to fall asleep. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

*****

~Tori~

The next day, we pulled up to my condominium. Adrian, Sir Henry, and several other guards along with Emily and Sophia helped me pack. When I stepped foot into the place, it felt foreign. Considering I haven’t been there in over a month, I wasn’t surprised when I saw the five day notice on my door. I was always on time with my payments so it stung a little to see that. Adrian took the paper and balled it up. Of course considering he paying to break the entire lease. He smiled at me and I nodded my head understanding his silent gesture of saying don’t worry about p*****t. I assigned everyone a place to start packing. I wanted to do my bedroom. I had personal things that I didn’t want to show anyone, especially Adrian. I didn’t take me long to gather what I needed. I made a donation box for some of the clothes and scrubs that I will no longer need.

Two hours passed and everything was finished. Adrian and I went to the leasing office and returned the keys. The look of the leasing agents as they recognized Adrian made me shake my head. “You’re the-“

“Shhh,” Adrian cut the young man off. “I believe you all agree that I was never here and her debt of this place is free and clear.” One of his guards passed out a paper, an NDA to be exact, for them to sign.

He nodded his head, “Yes, your Majesty.”

“Good, now my fiancée and I have a long day.” He looked at me. “Shall we be heading out?”

“Yes, please.” His chuckle rumbled through my heart. I could feel myself cracking and I didn’t like that. I wanted to hate him but being around him and marrying him would make that very difficult.

We made it back to the castle and the servants began to work at arranging my things. Emily made me a bath and I playfully scolded her because she and Sophia worked so hard today. I told her that they both have the night off and if Adrian have a problem with it, then he could take it up with me. She giggled. “You’re going to be my favorite queen.”

“I hope so,” I smiled. “Now go.” I laughed as I kicked her out of the bathroom. I got out of my clothes and stepped into the tub. One thing that I do like about living in the castle was their gigantic soaking tub. I spend a lot of my nights here. The water was perfect and soft on the skin. The soaps smelled so good. It was as if they were made from scratch. I took the time and soaked my body before washing up and getting out. I wrapped the towel around me and walked into the bedroom. The door opened and I turned and jumped, dropping my towel.

“Oh shoot, I’m sorry.” Adrian said as he stared at my naked body. I quickly picked up the towel, failing to wrap around myself.

“Can you turn around?”

“Oh..yes, sorry,” he chuckled.

“It’s not funny.” It was embarrassing. What if he didn’t like what he saw? “What are you doing barging in here anyway?” I looked up to see his back was still turned.

“I knocked a few times and when you didn’t answer, I just came in. Now I can see why you didn’t hear me.”

I grabbed a gown and quickly put it over my body. “ You can turn around now.” Unfortunately for me, my body was still wet so my n*****s were peaking through the silk material. Oh well. “What did you want?” I asked.

He studied me from head to toe before speaking.” I was just checking on you.”

“Well as you can see, I’m fine. Now get out. I’m going to bed.”

He laughed which caused me to tilted my head. “What’s funny?”

“You are,” he answered with his accent.

“Yeah, sure. I don’t have time for this.” I escorted him to the door. “Goodnight, Adrian.”

“Wait!”

I breathed in and then released it. “What is it?”

“Did I do something wrong?” Yes, you dipshit! You saw me naked and now I don’t know what you’re thinking.

“No, now goodbye.” This time, I slammed the door in his face.