The Controversial Princess (The Smoke & Mirrors Duology #1)(20)

“Like the terrible two are back together,” Damon quips, taking my smoked cigarette from me and stubbing it out in a nearby marble plant pot. “I’m sure Felix is as delighted as you are.”

“Oh”—I wave a dismissive hand at him—“Felix relishes the challenges I present him with.”

“What, like fixing things?”

“Well, yes. After all, he’s so good at it.” I grin wickedly.

“You’ve given him a lot of practice, Your Highness.” His arm slips across my shoulders and he leads me to the doors. “Because you are very good at misbehaving.”

“Fun is prohibited when you are a royal, Damon. You know that.”

“Not for you, though.”

“Never.”

“But tell me one thing, ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking.” He stops us and looks down at me, clearly pensive.

“What, Damon? Anything.” My staff is not like the King’s stuffy aides, in particular Sir Don and Major Davenport, who have a permanent stick up their bottoms. My staff is more laid-back, but that is not to say they do their job any less effectively. All of them are so great, and I would fight tooth and nail if my father ever tried to replace them. But I am particularly fond of Damon. I don’t know how old he is exactly, but he’s been with me for ten years now, after retiring from MI6 due to an injury sustained during a secret mission. I guess he’s nearing fifty, maybe a smidgen older.

“Are you truly happy, ma’am?”

Damon’s question gives me pause, too long of a pause for me to pass off with a laugh, though I do try. “Of course I’m happy.”

He nods sharply, though I sense he’s not convinced. “Then that’s the most important thing.”

“Yes, you are right. I mean, it’s not like I will ever be required for anything more than keeping up royal appearances. What I do in private is my own business. I’m never going to be Queen.” I shudder at the mere thought. “It’s oppressive enough being a backup to the backup heir, and it is entirely unfair that I am expected to live a life of suffocation because I happened to be born to the King of England. So, if it is all the same to my father, I will be having some fun. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you, Damon?”

He rolls his eyes. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I understand, ma’am.”

“Good. Now then, let me get back to my belated birthday celebrations.”

“As you wish.”

We both turn, but neither of us go anywhere, because someone is blocking the entrance into the library.

“Josh,” I breathe.





“YOUR HIGHNESS.” HIS STRAIGHT LIPS do not sit well. Not well at all. I fold on the inside, grabbing at air, unable to fathom why he looks so annoyed, and more significantly, why I am bothered by it.

“Ma’am?” Damon questions, looking at me.

“I will be fine, thank you, Damon.” I give him a forced smile that most definitely does not have him fooled. He leaves me, nevertheless, closing the French doors behind him and taking up position inside.

“Can I help you?” I ask, trying to convince my mind to level out. That is not going to happen while I’m staring at him, only two feet away, so I turn on my bare feet and take the steps to the granite pathway that weaves through the botanical gardens.

“It’s a cold night,” Josh muses, tailing me.

“Then perhaps you should go back inside. Or better still, go home.”

“Anyone would think you’re trying to get rid of me.”

“I am.” I take a right when the path forks, wandering slowly as I study the white gravel in the beds that edge the pathway. The small stones sparkle with the help of tiny spotlights embedded between the plants, illuminating the neatly trimmed display. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“It’d be rude to decline an invitation from a prince.”

“It is rude to spank a princess, but that didn’t hold you back, did it, Mr. Jameson?”

“The princess was begging for it. Flirting. Goading.” He takes a deep breath and sighs dramatically. “But it would seem she couldn’t handle me.”

I slow to a stop and scowl at the open space before me. “I wasn’t begging for it.” I lie. “And I most definitely could handle you.”

Josh’s front meets my back, his mouth at my ear. Sparks ignite the simmering flames within me, my eyes closing, my breathing becoming short, my body refusing to break the contact. “Your Highness, do you feel like you’ve met your match?”

Yes. Yes, I do, and it is freaking me the hell out. Josh Jameson strips me of my trusty sass with one smoldering look. “You realize they will chase you out of the country if they get a sniff of your interest in me.” It has happened before when my father has found out about some of the men who I’ve kept company with, and it will happen again and again until I relent to my father’s demands and marry Haydon Sampson.

“Then I’ll work hard to make sure they get no sniff.”

“The King has a way of finding out things.”

“I don’t think you’re scared of the King, Adeline.” His tongue meets my ear and licks slowly up the shell, spiking wild activity in every nerve I possess. “I think you’re scared of me.”