𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄 ~ | 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘤

III

Chapter Three

~ Check the tyers on my spaceship earthling ~

One of the great pleasures of flying on a private jet is not what you would expect. It's not the comfortable leather seats or the gourmet meals or even the ability to drink champagne whenever you want.

No, no.

The real pleasure is watching as Charles squirms in his seat, hands white-knuckled on the armrests, knobby knees jittering up and down. The way his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he worked his jaw.

I swear, the man could be in a rocket of a car going two hundred miles an hour around a track, pulling a minimum of eight Gs, and he'd still be the picture of calm.

You put him on a plane and he turned into a white-knuckled, quivering mess. It was almost comical to watch. I couldn't help but wonder how this man, who was so used to being in control, could be so terrified of something as simple as flying.

He was a mess, and it was glorious.

I glanced over at him, my lips twitching into a tiny smile. He caught me looking and immediately tried to hide it, straightening his spine and clasping his hands in his lap.

I wasn't about to pass up this opportunity to torture him, so I got to my feet and waltzed over to him, dropping into the seat opposite him.

"Hey there bud." I grinned at him, my voice sweet as syrup. "How are you holding up, champ? You look a little...shaky."

Charles glowered at me, his jaw clenched. "I'm fine," he ground out through gritted teeth.

I leaned in closer, my grin growing wider. "Really? You don't look so good to me, buddy. You're even more pale than usual." His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"First of all, again, I'm fine." He paused, taking a deep breath before adding, "And secondly, stop calling me buddy. It doesn't suit you."

"And what am I allowed to call you then?" I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "Your highness? Your excellency? Maybe your grace?" I gave him a little wink, enjoying the way his cheeks flushed red at my taunting.

"What's gotten into you?" He managed to let out a chuckle.

"Nothing. Just seeing you out of your element is very amusing to me and I need to take advantage of it." I grinned, unable to keep the glee from my voice. "Hang on, am I supposed to call you... what was it again? Duke Percival?"

"Lord." He corrected me firmly.

"There it is." I grinned, satisfied. "Lord."

"Did you have something in mind when you came over here? Or were you just looking for an excuse to get a little closer to me?" He raised an eyebrow, a hint of challenge in his voice.

"Quite the contrary. I just like that you can't even say anything ungentlemanly in front of Caroline." I turned my head, lowering my voice slightly. We both glanced at where the little girl was immersed in her coloring book, oblivious to our conversation.

"What would you classify as ungentlemanly?" He turned back to me, arching an eyebrow.

"Telling me you want to bend me over a table," I replied calmly in a soft voice to not arouse suspicion from the child.

"Ah, that. I mean..." He smirked.

"Don't." I cut him off with a knowing smile.

There was a small silence. His eyes trailed back to his daughter and as I looked at him I saw a softness in his expression that made him seem almost kind. I paused.