Royal Recruit - Susan Grant Page 0,41

impersonal. There was no stamp of individuality anywhere, not even a scarf thrown over a chair or a pair of shoes left by the door. No signs of human habitation.

He remembered the warm, rich colors in the room where he’d first met Keira: the big pillows, the plush carpets. None of that was here. These rooms were a blank slate, ready for personalization. “This is my apartment only?” he confirmed with his escort. “Not the queen’s?”

“The queen has her own chambers. This is where you will live.”

“I see.” Jared wasn’t an expert in protocol, but when he pictured married life, it was sharing the same room as his wife. In fact, he expected to be in the same bed too. But separate apartments? Not a chance. It was just one more thing he and Keira would have to discuss.

Another young man came in. Like the first escort, this one was slight of build and feminine. His voice was high and he had no facial hair. Eunuchs, Jared realized. In fact, he hadn’t seen a single normal male since leaving the hospital, and that was well outside the royal chambers. They’d been “fixed,” like Evie’s cats. If done at puberty, castration all but guaranteed a man wouldn’t develop most typical male traits. Cavin had told him that only eunuchs were allowed to attend the queen to ensure she stayed in unspoiled condition. The same was probably true with him—she might think beautiful slave girls serving him might be too much temptation.

If only she’d seen him with the supermodel. He’d been a model of restraint.

“Your Highness, can I be of any further assistance?”

Jared interrupted him. “Don’t call me that.”

“What is the manner of address you prefer?”

Good question. His staff would need to feel they were using respect. “How about sir? Just plain old sir. Call me that. Not Your Highness.” He added, “We’re more casual on Earth.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very good,” Jared said. Apparently these eunuchs were quick studies.

Another young eunuch entered the room. How many were there? He was losing count. “Sir, your bath is ready.”

“I prefer a shower.”

“There is no shower.”

Great. He’d have to put in a request for one to be installed. While he enjoyed a good soak in a hot tub, he didn’t intend to spend the rest of his life taking bubble baths.

“Shall I show you to the bathing chamber, Your Highness?”

“Sir. Just call me sir.”

“Yes…sir.” The attendant’s mouth seemed to have a tough time adjusting to the word. He carried several folded towels in his arms, almost reverently, as he preceded Jared into the bathroom.

Bathroom, hell. It was a chamber. “Holy…” Jared stared, stunned at the enormous room. In the center was a huge tub. Perfumed steam thickened the air, blurring the outer edges of the room. Exotic plants and flowers twined around metallic statues of nudes. The ceiling was so high that he had a hard time focusing on the paintings. Cavorting goddesses seemed to be the theme. And they were buck naked like the statues.

If this was a device to get him in the mood for his night with Keira, they didn’t have to worry. His desire to get a little closer with the woman—hell, a lot closer—had only strengthened as the day wore on. Too much buildup over the past months, and too little contact; it made for an explosive feeling of anticipation.

“Your clothes, Your High…er, your clothes, sir.” The eunuch held out his arms to take them.

Jared paused with one hand on his shirt. Did he ask the guy to turn around? Well, no. Technically, the eunuchs weren’t interested in him sexually. But their feminine ways made him uncomfortable. Just pretend you’re in the locker room at the gym.

He pulled off his clothes, shoved the pile in the eunuch’s arms and dove into the tub. He broke through the surface at the opposite side, shoving fingers through his hair. Leaning on the edge of the tub, he watched dozens of busy eunuchs going here and there. Privacy, he thought, was going to be a commodity.

He pushed off the wall and swam back to where the first attendant crouched next to a basket of bath supplies. Jared plucked one of the soaps and a scrubber out of the basket. Sliding back on one of the steps, he got to work cleaning up while the eunuch silently waited with nothing to do. It felt a little weird having company, but hey, what could he do? Once he settled in to palace life, he’d make changes. Taking