Chapter 33

Connie

The butterflies in my gut were going crazy, the way Raylon looked at me. I could see the desire in his eyes as his gaze took in my body, but he held it back.

He wore a dark-blue top that showed just enough of his toned body to make me lose my mind, but not too much to look like the shirt belonged to a child.

A pair of black pants with heavy-looking shoes and his short hair, still wet, made my heart skip a beat. Out of his usual clothes, he looked taller, and so much more handsome.

There was no sign of the mask at all, and as he came toward me, I again felt like this is all a dream. ~Guys like this don’t go for girls like me. He should have a model on his arm.~

He led me to the massive two-story windows in the front of the lounge and turned me to look at him.

“I spoke to my brother. They will be here at sundown. Speaking of which…Laylar?”

He waited for the connection to be made but his eyes stayed fixed on mine.

After a moment he said, “Your father will be here at sundown. Return to the house.”

He nodded and stepped in front of me.

I swallowed as I met his eyes, feeling nervous again. “We should get started then.”

“Get started on what?”

I frowned. “Dinner? We need to set the table, get the food ready, start a fire—”

“Connie,” he interrupted me with a smile. “The only thing we have to do is to decide on what food we want cooked. The bot will do everything else.

“Besides, you look far too perfect for me to allow you to get dirty with food and fire. All I want to do until my brother arrives is look at you.”

~Damn, this guy has a way with words. But~…

“I’m not a doll, Raylon. You can’t just put me on a shelf and look at me. I need to do something.”

“Very well. What would you like to do?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Umm. I don’t know. Maybe we can sit and talk for a while. How long until the sun goes down?”

Raylon turned to the window and looked out at the sky. “It won’t be long now,” he said. “The days are short on this planet.”

I walked back to the seats and sat down. Raylon followed me and sat down beside me. Not too close, but close enough that I could touch him if I wanted to.

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Tell me about your family.”

He shifted on the seat to get comfortable and looked at me. “Well, Laylar, the eldest of my nieces, is just like her mother. She is fearless, beautiful, kind, and incredibly smart.

“I would never say this in front of my brother or anyone, but she is my favorite.

“I love them all, but she holds a special place in my heart. She is not afraid to tell me or her father what she thinks.”

I watched him talk about Laylar with a smile.

“And the other two? What are their names?”

“The middle princess is Asytar, the troublemaker. Always doing things she is not meant to. Fearless and reckless. A few times my brother and I have had to save her from danger.

“Once she climbed up a tree to try to catch a small bird, but she slipped and fell into the lake by the palace. The one I showed you the night of the ball.

“The Timix had only just been fed, so her life was spared, but one of us had to go in and pull her out. I will let you guess who that was?”

I laughed. “I would have to say the doting uncle who would do anything for them?”

He smiled. “Correct. I was bitten over thirty times by the Timix, but that didn’t stop her from climbing up the same tree only a week later.

“Eventually, my brother was forced to have the tree removed.”

“She sounds like a right little terror. Good for her.”

“Then there is Tomlee. She is the youngest of the daughters. A sweet, kind, and caring child. Anything that crawls, or flies or swims is her passion. She loves all things nature.

“She also has this way of reading a story,” he trailed off with a smile, “that pulls you in as you get lost in her voice. I could spend hours listening to her read.

“Then there is the prince, Azmurtas. He is still only a young boy, but already he shows his father’s fire and spirit. He will be the king one day.”

“Your family sounds perfect.”

“They are, in my eyes. They have their faults, but I do not see them. Even my brother is a good and fair king. I know that your first impression of him was not a good one.

But he is not like that normally. I think he simply took the joke on me too far and didn’t think of how you would feel.”

I scoffed at that, then met his eyes.

“You do not agree?”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.”

“Why do you say that?”

I looked at him with one brow raised. “You don’t see what he’s done? Telling your men to stand down on the ship? The ball?

“Making me feel terrible until I run off through the only available door, which happens to lead to the same garden you were in?

“Sending you to make peace with me? It’s all classic matchmaker stuff.”

I saw Raylon smile with realization. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “I thought my brother’s behavior was strange that night.

“And for him to ask me to apologize to you after was also out of character for him. I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”

I leaned over and took his hand. “It’s fine. I don’t mind. It worked, didn’t it?”

“Yes. Remind me to thank him.”

I was about to speak when the sound of the door opening followed by Layla’s voice cut me off. I was about to let go of Raylon’s hand, but he held it tight and shook his head.

Layla came in with a wide smile, and Rein walked behind her with a somewhat nervous demeanor.

“Did you have a good day?” Raylon asked her. She turned to Rein with a smile. “Yes, we did,” she said, and I didn’t miss the blush on the kid’s face.

~Oh boy! Someone was doing something they shouldn’t.~

Layla met my eyes. With a wide smile, she said, “Oh, Connie, you look stunning.”

~Mm-hmm. Nice change of subject.~

“Thank you,” I said, and returned her smile.

Raylon stood, pulling me up with him. He let go of my hand then and went over to Rein.

“The king will be here soon. Remember that you are my personal guard.

“The king will bring his own guards with him, so just follow what they do, try to not stare at Layla, and whatever you do, do not go near her. Do you understand?”

“Yes, My Lord,” Rein said with a short bow. “And thank you. Truly. I have never seen Laylar so happy, and that is thanks to you, My Lord. I am forever in your debt.”

Raylon turned to look at Laylar, saying, “The smile on her face is all the thanks I need.”

Rein saluted him with a stiff back and a fist over his heart before he stepped away and took his post by the front door.

When Raylon looked at me again, I smiled. ~Does he realize he doesn’t have his mask on? And that Rein saw him?~

He came to me and smiled. “What makes you smile like that?”

~Should I tell him?~

“Nothing, just you.”

“Me? Why? What did I do?”

I stared into his eyes for a moment, wondering if he would realize, but when a loud boom came from outside, followed by two more, I broke my stare to look out the window.

Laylar came to me and grabbed my hand. “Connie, my father doesn’t know about—”

“Laylar, say no more. I know. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Please, Connie. If my father finds out, he will kill Rein.”

“Hey,” I said, turning to her. “I swear to you, I won’t say anything. As far as I know, Rein has stood by that door all day.”

She smiled and murmured, “Thank you.”

I nodded to her and went back to Raylon. He took my hand and as the hum of the shuttles landing above us grew louder, he stepped closer and gave me a soft kiss.

“Are you ready?” he whispered.

I nodded. “I am now.”