I shouldn’t have said it. The moment Molly offered to leave, I should have let her walk out the door. It would be easy to send her home. Watch that cute ass take a step on the other side of my residence and never let it cross the threshold again. But I couldn’t fucking do it. I always got what I wanted and I wanted her. Every part of her.

Membership in the society couldn’t dictate what I did as king. Lesage could fuck off he thought I cared about his code of honor.

This was my country.

My laws.

My way.

I waited in my office while she changed. I needed to review the itinerary for the day. It was delivered promptly at 8a.m. each morning in a black leather case. It was called the lodestar. It always had been. It sat on my desk.

I pressed my thumb to the latch. Once my thumbprint was recognized the device unlocked, revealing the official royal schedule. There was a complete listing of every event my brothers and sister would attend today, as well as the talking points I needed to address for my lunch with the prime minister of XX islands.

My sister Isabel was on the other side of the country representing my interests in the irrigation for the country’s olive groves. Although, we couldn’t match Spain, our farmers were out producing our neighbors per square acre. It was something I thought were investing in. Irrigation would double their production.

I ran down the list. Liam had a dinner with the Chinese ambassador. Trade was the number one topic. Klein was on the west coast for the opening of a data research center. Galona tax payers had funded the project.

I held my breath when I saw Dominic’s assignment. Sending him to represent the crown was always a risk. He had a late morning engagement at the children’s hospital in the city. I groaned. As long as Kenley stayed close by, we should be able to escape a scandal this morning.

I glanced at my aunts’ and uncles’ locations for the day. My cousins were also scattered. Nothing related to official crown business on the list. I folded the page and began to read the diplomatic situation with XX. I exhaled. I hated tiptoeing around the fucking obvious shit.

“Hi.” Molly tapped on the door.

I looked up from my notes, closing the royal briefing with a click.

I stood from my desk. She was wearing the clothes I requested. A slim black skirt that showed off miles of legs and a sleeveless silk shirt. She looked edible. And I knew exactly how sweet she tasted. My cock twitched. Fuck, she had thrown me off my game.

“Are you busy? Should I come back?” she offered.

“No. I was going over today’s agenda. I can look at it later.” I walked to the front of the desk, taking her palm and dragging her toward me.

My hand slid along her jaw, twisting her hair through my fingers. Her lips parted and I couldn’t resist. My kiss wasn’t gentle or romantic. My tongue plunged into her mouth, coaxing a moan from her throat.

I gripped her ass with my other hand.

“Ready to see the royal library, Molly Washington?” I teased.

She dragged her lips over mine. “Mmmhmm.”

“Let’s go.”

I straightened my jacket, positioning my cufflinks so that the family crest was upright. I pressed the button on the elevator.

Molly seemed to have more time to take in her surroundings. “Are there other people here?” she asked.

I cocked my head toward her. “You’ll have to elaborate. My staff is nearly 200.”

“Oh.” She fidgeted nervously. “Visitors? Tourists perhaps?”

I nodded. “Not in this part of the palace. There is a limited route. I try never to intercept them.”

“This place is enormous. What do you do with all the rooms?”

The doors retracted and we stepped into the foyer. Last night’s security had been replaced with two fresh faces. They stared straight as I guided Molly along the corridor.

“You’ve seen the king’s residence.” I winked. “I do share my roof with three princes and a princess. It can get crowded.”

“Your brothers and sister?”

“Yes. We all have apartments. The first two floors are reserved for official state business. Meetings, balls, state dinners, field trips for children. The living quarters for some of the staff and the kitchens. Then there are the art galleries, the gardens, and the recreational areas.”

“Holy shit, this is insane. It’s a city inside a city.”

I laughed at her language. Rules changed outside my residence. Decorum mattered.

“You’ll watch that dirty mouth.” I eyed her. “Save that for my bed, Sapphire.”

Her mouth opened in shock. Her eyes dropped to the floor. “I’m sorry.” She sucked in her bottom lip. “And you can’t call me that.”

“Don’t apologize. Just watch what you say. You’re in a royal household. I’ll call you what I want.”

I saw her back stiffen. Her heels clacked against the marble floor. It took everything in me not to smack her ass firmly and press her up against the wall next to the coat of arms. The knight could watch me fuck her. Watch her come hard as I defiled the family heirlooms.

“Here.” I pressed the small of her back. “The library.”

Her gasp was worth everything. She stood at the entrance. I’d never thought about what this room would look like through the veil of someone else’s eyes. But Molly gave me that glimpse. Her awe was palpable.

She walked toward the shelves, careful not to touch any of the volumes. Her fingers hovered just short of the spines.

“These are amazing. I can’t believe this collection. There are books in here that must be a hundred years old. I-I’m speechless.”

I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “You can touch the books, Molly.”

She shook her head. “No. I couldn’t.”

I walked toward her. I wrapped my arms around her back, sliding my fingers through hers. She sighed into my back. “Like this.” I reached our hands forward, gliding over a hardback.

She giggled. “You would pick XX. Such a rebel.”

“Not breaking any literary laws I take it?”

“Not with this one.” She leaned into me as she scanned the shelves upward toward the ceiling. It formed a stained-glass dome.

I couldn’t remember the last time I looked up in this room. I couldn’t remember when I gave a shit about ancient texts or what was in here. How many copies of Shakespeare were there? Did we have Keats and Kipling? How extensive were our American authors?

I straightened her shoulders so that she was standing upright.

“I have lunch with the prime minister.” I don’t know why I felt like I needed to explain my absence.

“Oh.”

“But stay.” I turned for the door. “And touch the books, Molly.”

She grinned slyly. It was the first glimpse of the girl in my bed this morning. “Maybe. If you think it would be ok.”

“I expect it.”

I closed the door behind me.