Heir Untamed - By Danielle Bourdon Page 0,26

keep her and Mattias's conversation under the radar. It did not. A hush fell over the garden, broken only by the trickle of water from the fountains and the chirp of birds. In periphery, she saw Viia and Aurora both staring their way. The guards at the doors stared, too. Fidgeting, Chey glanced from Mattias's chin to his eyes. He looked both devious and mischievous, like he knew very well the scene he was creating. Chey widened her own eyes a little, as if to say, What the hell are you doing?

He touched her shoulder with his palm. “You're doing a fantastic job. Keep up the good work.”

“Thank you, your Highness.” Chey matched the slight raise in volume to allow everyone else to hear what they were saying.

Mattias winked and stepped away, strolling with familiar leonine grace toward the formerly arguing women. “Ladies.”

Chey caught an absolutely feral look from Viia. Refusing to show any kind of emotion or response, she went back to adjusting her gear, preparing for the session.

A round of greetings ensued with the group, in their own tongue, and shortly after, Paavo joined them. He passed a cordial, distracted smile to Chey and gathered Aurora into the circle of his arm.

Mattias's voice sharpened enough to draw Chey's attention back to the quartet in time to see Viia's expression falter. Whatever he said must have been withering for her to lose her austere poise.

“It will just be us this afternoon, Miss Sinclair. Commence when ready,” Mattias said after turning away from Viia.

And so the session began. Chey knew ahead of time what the Royals wanted in general terms for photos. The women alone, with their man, the brothers both together and separate. She had been informed that the King and Queen would not be attending as originally planned, probably due to the shooting though no one confirmed it. Allar and Urmas hovered in periphery, ready to go between should it be necessary.

Once, when Chey made eye contact with Viia, she recognized a clear warning in the other woman's gaze. What did Viia think she was going to do...make a try for Mattias? The thought was laughable. Mattias flirted with Chey because he had an agenda. He wanted private pictures of Viia, that was all. Maybe it was in his nature to be a rogue as well as a Royal.

At least he didn't have a stick lodged up his backside, like some of the women.

Finishing the session just before dark, Chey began breaking down her equipment. As the Royals filed out of the King's garden, Chey caught Mattias's gaze.

He smiled with his eyes instead of his mouth before escorting a haughty, openly irritated Viia into the castle proper. Bemused, Chey carried the camera and the tripod back toward her room. An aid assigned to help Chey with her equipment followed in her wake with the rest.

Arriving at her bedroom, Chey discovered the door open and a cart sitting outside in the hallway. Ingel, the head of the household staff, was inside with another, younger woman with fresh towels folded in her arms.

“Miss Sinclair, we will be out of your way shortly,” Ingel said with a friendly smile. She wore her silver streaked brown hair secured into a tight knot at the back of her head, one hand smoothing the strands near her nape.

“No rush, Ingel. Take your time.” Chey, who had several interactions with Ingel already, returned her smile with a sincere one of her own. The woman, who exuded professionalism from top to bottom, also had a motherly air Chey found appealing. Ingel's eyes warmed with affection often and the faint wrinkles around the sides of her mouth only made her look sweeter, instead of older.

The younger woman, black haired and brown eyed, bobbed a nod before taking the new towels into the expansive bathroom to replace the old ones that had been already removed.

Chey set down her camera and the tripod, mouthing a hello to the young woman, and gestured for the aid to leave the rest of the equipment by the door.

“Thanks, I'll get it from here,” Chey said.

He gave Chey a curt nod and departed.

“You have finished another session?” Ingel inquired, straightening the corner of the coverlet on the bed.

“Yes. My second full shoot since I've been here.” Chey moved the equipment closer to the wall out of their way. The young woman swept past on her way to the cart, bringing in a few little bottles of body oil and lotion, among other things.