Royally Not Ready(97)

I place my hand on Lara’s and say, “That’s probably some of the best advice I’ve gotten. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She takes my hand and squeezes it. “I want to see you succeed. There’ll be people in the public who want nothing more than the girl from Miami to fail, and they’ll be vocal about it. But just know, the core people who are surrounding you, they aren’t waiting for you to fail, they’re excited to watch you succeed.”

My emotions get the better of me as I say, “Thank you, Lara. That truly means a lot to me.”

“Well, you mean a lot to us.”





“Are you ready?” I ask Keller, who still seems to be in a weird mood.

“Ready for what?” he asks as he stops in the middle of the living room. He’s been up in his bedroom all day working on the welcoming and preparing the staff, so much so that I haven’t seen him. And the way his hair is all rumpled from his hands running through it, and the stiff set to his shoulders . . . it makes me want to loosen him up in all the right ways.

“Two things.” I hold up my fingers. “Thing one, I have some tricks to show you that I’ve learned. And thing two, I made something for you.”

His eyes narrow skeptically. “Did you finish your fish?”

“I did.” I gesture toward the windowsill. “Right over there, in all its glory, my Torg fish. Compliments will be accepted.”

He walks to the windowsill, picks up the fish, and examines it. I spent a great deal of time carving out the scales, which he told me I didn’t have to do since I was a beginner, but I wanted to. And then I painted only the head and the tail in a pale blue. I put a clear coat over the whole thing and—voilà—a fish!

“You carved the scales.”

“I did.” I rock on my heels. “Impressed, aren’t you?”

“I am. Very impressed. You did great, Lilly,” he says softly. “I only wish I could keep it for myself.”

“Funny that you bring that up,” I say as Lara chuckles behind me.

Keller turns to face us, confusion on his brow. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I told you I made you something. And this . . . this is all for you. Hold out your hands and close your eyes.”

Still eyeing me skeptically, he does as told, and that’s when I take the mini boob, no bigger than a golf ball, out of my pocket and set it on his palms. Hands clasped together in glee, I say, “Okay, open your eyes.”

His eyes flutter open and zero in on the mini boob in his hands with its . . . adornment. Then they flash up to mine as he clutches his long fingers around it.

“Lilly . . .” he says in that bedroom tone of his.

“Yes?” I ask innocently.

His eyes flash to Lara, who’s still chuckling behind me, and then back to me.

“Do you like it? Can you tell it’s a mini replica? I made the nipple extra hard for your liking.”

Lara laughs out loud now, and I can see Keller waver between loving it and wanting to reprimand me.

“Can I speak to you privately?” he asks.

“Uh-oh,” I say to Lara. “Looks like I might be in trouble.”

“Lilly,” Keller snaps as he motions to the entryway. Still smiling, I fall in line behind him, and when I reach the circular room, he moves in on me, trapping me against the wall.

He holds the boob in front of me and asks, “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Well, Keller, dear, you see, it’s a boob. And that boob is supposed to be placed in your pocket, so whenever you think of me, you can caress it, you know, since we won’t be able to be all ooey-gooey, lovey-dovey at Strombly and in public.”

“You shouldn’t be carving boobs. You’re the future queen. Where’s your decorum?”

“Waiting for me at Strombly.” I smile at him and then move my hands under his shirt, feeling his rippling abs beneath my fingers. “Tell me you love it, because I know you do.”

He lets out a heavy sigh and then says, “I fucking love it.”

“Ooo, I knew you would.” Now calling out so Lara can hear me, I say, “He loves it, Lara, he’s just trying to act all tough.”

He pinches his brow with one hand and asks, “Why are you like this?”

“You love that I’m like this, admit it.” I bring my hands to his pecs, and they twitch under my touch.

“I do.” His eyes meet mine. “I really fucking do.”

“God,” I breathe heavily. “I’m going to suck your cock so hard tonight.”

His eyes turn dark as he lowers his head so it’s closer to mine. “Watch it. You can’t be saying those things, not anymore.”

“I can and I will, but I’ll whisper them to you instead. Despite my role moving forward, I want you to know that I’ll always and forever want your cock in my mouth.” I smile brightly, causing him to shake his head and laugh.

“You’ve got to be the dirtiest future queen ever.”

“I’ll wear the title proudly.”

He leans in closer and cups my cheek. “How are you doing? I’m sorry I’ve been busy all day.” His thumb drags just under my eye.

“I’m doing great. Made my man a boob, finished my fish, and I have some other things that I’ve worked hard on to show you.”