Royal Watch (Royal Watch #1) - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,79

say or where I was even going. I stared at my hand gripping his, his skin warm and calloused, fumbling with my thoughts.

“What?” he said lowly, stealing oxygen from my lungs.

I peered up at him, my head wagging, full of nothing.

“What, Spencer?” he rumbled with a bite of irritation.

“I don’t know.”

I miss you. I want to see you more. Be friends again.

All those statements felt wrong to voice out loud. Like it was improper. And none of them seemed to fully express the sentiment cramping my chest anyway.

He tugged out of my grip. “You don’t know or just can’t say?”

“What?” My head jerked up, my foot stepping back. In a flash, anger soured my expression. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing.” He gripped his cell with his other hand, taking a step back from me as well, widening the gap between us. “Put back on your heels and pretty smile… You are fitting in well here.”

“I’m sorry?” My mouth parted, anger burning up my spine.

He shook his head, circling around, heading for the path.

“Don’t walk away from me!” I yelled, jogging after him, the soles of my feet crying out in pain as they hit the gravel.

“You ordering me to stop, Duchess?”

“Don’t call me that.” I rolled my hands into fists, still trekking after him. “And yes, I’m ordering you!”

He whipped around the same time I caught up with him, forcing me to jump back, my head cranking up.

“You can’t command me.” He leaned into my face, his mouth only an inch from mine. “I don’t work for you, remember? I work for the king.”

“If you want to keep your job, you will.” The moment I said it, I wanted to pluck the words from the air, pretending they were never said.

His nose flared, his jaw settling in a strong line.

“I-I didn’t mean that.”

“Yeah, you did.” Fury lined his forehead, his huge frame puffing even more over mine. On flat feet, I felt tiny under his furious shadow. “It’s fine, Duchess… I’m nothing more than the help.”

A strangled scream stuck in my throat, huffing out my nose, and my gaze burned with ire. I wanted to punch him, strangle him, kick him like my trainer had taught me.

At six a.m. and without coffee, I hadn’t even wanted to kill my trainer the way I wanted to murder Lennox.

“Fuck. You,” I seethed.

A smirk tugged the side of his mouth.

“You seem to have more of a problem with your position than I do.” I didn’t back down.

“Because you like me under you?”

“Wha-what?” Lava bubbled under my skin. I was overly conscious of his proximity, his body, his mouth. “I don’t think that is appropriate to say.”

The word sounded snotty. Exactly like an uptight, spoiled rich girl.

“Wow.” He stared down at me, forcing my pulse to hum in my ears. “I meant under you as in my position here… not literally under you.” His eyes scrolled down me. “You are one of them. And it has nothing to do with the dress and heels.” He lifted an eyebrow before he swiveled away, striding back up the path toward the palace, his shoulders in a rigid line.

My gaze dropped down to his fleeing rear end, the slacks hugging them every time he stepped. Fuck.

“Arrrghh!” I flung my arms, spinning myself away, fury at myself and him vibrating out of me. Especially him.

What was I thinking? I did not miss that arsehole. We didn’t even resemble friends.

I missed Landen and Mina. Lennox was a desperate plea for me to contact my real friends. I longed for a night like we used to: eat pizza, sneak booze from our family’s liquor cabinet, giggle and talk about everything and nothing.

Now everything was about RH. From the moment I woke up, I breathed, ate, and drank royal life. Nothing felt like mine anymore.

It was worth it. Being with Theo was worth it, but I needed a break.

Swiping up my heels, I tried to walk back without them, but gave up halfway, slipping them on.

It was easier to put them on than getting shredded over the rocks.

Easier.

Why did I feel my heels were a metaphor for my life?

Late for my lesson, I took a shortcut through one of the many sitting rooms, cutting down one of the quieter hallways.

“Princess.” A familiar man’s voice drifted from around the corner, slowing my feet. “You know I’m only trying to protect you.”

Dalton?

“Protect me?” Eloise’s acidic laugh smashed into the walls, halting me in place, something telling me I wasn’t supposed to be