Uncharted - A My Sweet Prince Novel (2)

An Invitation

Chezem and I walk through the palace, shaking with cold. He gently nudges me with his shoulder, and I look over. "The bath will help," he says, taking deep breaths, trying to control his shivering. "It's a big bath, but I still think it best if we wear swimming suits. Because of your...situation."

I smile at the floor, my cheeks reddening. "Good idea," I say. "I brought one or two, just in case." I chuckle and slip into my room to change quickly. It is not as easy as one might think to put a swim suit on an already wet body, but I manage. I rejoin Chezem out in the hall and we continue on, pausing at his room so he can do the same.

By the time we reach the baths, I am ready to dive right in. Steam rises from the water and I carefully slide in, the warm water like heaven against my skin. Chezem follows suit and moves away from me, leaning against the wall of the tub, giving me space. "You know they will talk amongst themselves," he said, his head tilted back, eyes closed.

"Your brothers?" I ask, doing the same a few inches away. "I imagine they will."

"You don't have to tell them what you told me," he says, voice serious. "But we should tell them that you don't like sudden or unexpected touches. Especially Mel." When I lift my head, he's looking at me again. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

I stare. "Yeah," I say softly. "That wouldn't be good." I can only think about how I likely will, no matter what happens. Asaka got her happy ending, but me? There was no future for a girl like me and a prince.

We chat quietly while we both warm up and, when we are sufficiently warm, we climb from the bath, wrapping ourselves in towels. "I had a fun time today," Chezem tells me suddenly. "More fun than I've had in a while."

We walk from the room and I am looking back at Chezem, so I don't notice Jun and Asaka until I bounce off King Jun's chest. I make a startled noise and look up. He lifts an eyebrow and flicks his eyes to Chezem, who is blushing, making the whole situation worse.

"I'm not naked," I announce, as if that makes things better. "Uh, he's not either. We got caught in the rain and Ivan drew us a bath to warm up and, see?" I open my towel like a complete idiot to show him my swim suit. Jun chuckles and reaches out, grabbing my towel and forcing me to wrap it around myself again.

"Thank you," he says with a smirk. "But I do not care to look at my bride's best friend nearly naked." He glances at Chezem. "You two could have been in there having wild sex, and I still wouldn't care."

Asaka throws a look in my direction, watching for a reaction. I roll my eyes and shake my head. "No, no," I say. "Maybe later."

Chezem makes a choking sound, and I glance back at him, trying not to laugh. "What?" he says, voice higher than usual.

Asaka grabs my arm and blows out a sigh. "Sex, no sex - it's all good! Two consenting adults can do what they want. Let's go, Lina." She tugs me away and stares holes into the side of my head. "You kissed?" she hisses.

I glance at her. "If you want to call it that," I say, feeling badly for saying it like that. Even as simple as it had been, I still felt it all the way to my toes. And I would be lying if I said I didn't want to do it again. "It was just a...a thank you," I say.

"One hell of a thank you," Asaka mumbles. "I take it you two are getting along?"

I nod, pushing my damp hair back. "I told him," I admit quietly. Asaka says nothing for a few minutes, but she finally looks at me and smiles.

"And you survived!" she exclaims. "He obviously still likes you." She pauses and chews on her lower lip thoughtfully. "Hey, Lina?"

I look over as she stops walking and frown. "What's wrong, babe?" I ask, looking her over nervously. "Are you okay?"

She nods. "Yes, just nervous about the wedding," she admits. "I know I love Jun and I can't wait to be his wife, but being Queen is...a lot. It would make things a lot easier if...well, if I had you."

"You want me to move here...permanently?" I ask in surprise. The thought had never crossed my mind, but now I had told Chezem about my past, and how could I just leave my home? Of course, I didn't have much going for me back there.

"We have the room," she tells me, taking my hands in hers. "And we always used to say we would raise our children together. Will you consider it?"

I pace the hall, clutching the towel to me tightly. "I...well...I mean," I mutter. It was sorely tempting to think about. But how could I? This was not my world. A memory of laughing gold eyes flashes through my mind and I shake my head. "I'll think about it," I tell her.

"Think about what?" Melchiorre asks, walking over to us. He grins, hooking his thumbs in the waistband of his pants and rocking back on his heels. "I'm always interested in the latest gossip." He looks at me for a long moment, lifting an eyebrow slowly.

"None of your business, Mel," Asaka says with a laugh, bumping him with her shoulder.

"Actually," I say suddenly. "Prince, will you walk me to my room? I would like to speak with you, but I need to get changed as well."

Melchiorre looks genuinely surprised, but quickly recovers. He sends a sweeping bow in my direction, a grin on his face. "But of course, my lady." He holds his arm out to me and I take it easily enough. I wave to Asaka as Melchiorre leads me down the hall, toward my room.

"What can I do for you?" he asks me once I have gotten dressed and met him in the hallway again.

"Well," I begin, fidgeting. "Chezem told me I should tell you, so here I am," I mutter. "Look, you seem nice and all, and I know you just like to flirt, but can you...not touch me? At least without some warning?" I peek over at him, awaiting his response.

He looks surprisingly pensive. He glances at me and smiles, but it is devoid of his usual charm. "Of course," he says after a moment. "You do not have to tell me," he says after another moment. "But...someone was not kind to you, yes?"

I wince. "Yeah," I say softly. "You could say that."

He stops and turns to face me fully, dropping into a graceful bow, all traces of mockery gone. "You have my word, lovely. I will treat you with the utmost care and respect and ask only that you remind me should I forget my place." He holds his hand out, and after a pause, I take it. He kisses my knuckles lightly. "You will never need to worry about such a thing from me," he says sincerely. "I would never." He sends a conspiratorial wink in my direction. "And Chezem is as gentlemanly as they come."