A Royal World Apart

Her mouth fell open. “What?”

“My men made inexcusable errors. And even though I was not personally responsible for those errors, it falls to me to correct it. As I said earlier, it’s not about money. It is about reputation, my standing in the eyes of my potential clients. This may surprise you, but I generally aid in the protection of people who are under a much larger threat than you will ever find yourself in.”

“Like?” she asked, curiosity too piqued to allow her to be offended.

“Men who dare oppose despots in their rigged elections, people who fight for change and find themselves in danger as a result. Sometimes, my clients are less noble. Sometimes it’s simply an entitled sheikh who has offended the wrong people.”

“So this really is babysitting for you?”

He grunted. The sound was noncommittal, designed to drive her crazy without him actually having to insult her. Not with actual words anyway.

“Do you intend to walk for a while?” he asked, as they drove through the main street of old-town Thysius.

“That would be good. I could go to the coffee shop and then to a couple of the boutiques. I want boots.” She wasn’t sure that she really wanted boots, but it was as good a destination as any. Mak, spending time with him, was starting to seem more interesting than boutiques.

“I’ll park and follow you from a distance.”

She swallowed the rising lump of disappointment she had no business feeling. “And they say romance is dead.”

“Romance has nothing to do with this,” he said, his voice hardening as he pulled the car, quick and smooth, into a tight parking space against the curb and between two other vehicles.

“I was being facetious.”

“Wait,” he said, killing the engine and getting out of the car, rounding the back of it. He put on a pair of dark sunglasses. His movements were liquid-smooth, his focus on the area around them. There was no way he could blend in, which meant his only option was to adopt an air of absolute authority. No one would ever question whether he belonged. No one would ever question him, period.

He opened her door and rested his forearm on the top of the car, leaning in. “It’s clear. Put your sunglasses on. Let’s not draw a crowd.”

It was an old trick, and while it wasn’t nearly as successful for her as it was for some, it kept people from recognizing her at a distance at least. A person’s reaction to her was generally one of calm politeness, mixed with a bit of awe perhaps. Which wasn’t ego, it was just her title. She was a princess, and people were generally a little bit awed by royals.

But if a crowd happened to notice her, that was when things could get a little bit on the crazy side. And she wasn’t looking for crazy today. A bit of normal, that was the order of things.

Although, she was starting to wonder if normal was possible in Mak’s presence.

She slipped her large, round sunglasses up over her nose and took her handbag from its spot on the floor. “Ready.”

Mak backed up and moved to the side, allowing her the space she needed to get out of the car. She slid out beneath his arm, his body radiating heat. It was a warm afternoon, a coastal breeze blowing in off the ocean offering the perfect amount of relief from the Aegean sun. Even so, she found she wanted to lean into Mak’s body. To seek his warmth.

Denying that feeling before it could intensify, she moved past him quickly, stepping up onto the sidewalk. Mak looked at her, even with his sunglasses shielding his eyes from her she could tell, and she fought the urge to tug her dress down as far as it would go, to cover a bit more of her legs.

At the same time, she fought the urge to flaunt every bit of leg her simple black sheath dress revealed. She wasn’t sure where either feeling had come from.

“Just walk on,” he said.

“We just got out of the car together, Mak, it’s pretty obvious that I’m with you.”

“Just walk on,” he repeated, his voice firm as he closed the door behind her.

Frustration built in her chest, like a hardening knot. It was completely disproportionate to the situation, but that didn’t stop it from getting even worse.

“Fine,” she said, turning and heading toward her favorite coffee shop. It had been a long time since she’d been able to go out for coffee. Trips out on the town were a rare treat, typically reserved for the times when Marlo and Sidney were around and their security team joined forces with hers. They were always a spectacle, the three of them, with everyone giving them a wide berth. Often, their security detail would go into shops first and clear them of clientele before they went in.

It was all a bit over the top. And as far from normal as anything she could imagine. This would be a different angle on it. Still, hardly normal with a large, muscular man in a custom black suit stalking her like predator.

She turned and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He pretended not to notice, choosing to fade into the crowd around him. Not that he could really fade, not in the sense that he could go unnoticed. But he blended into his surroundings like something organic to the cityscape.

He looked more a part of Kyonos than she’d ever felt she was.

She turned away from him and focused on the shops that lined the narrow streets. English and Greek were spoken in Kyonos, and both languages were printed on signs in newer parts of the city, but in old town, it was predominantly Greek. Here there were still market stalls, with fish and fruit and homemade pitas. She liked it better than the polished, uniform look found deeper in the city.

She made her way into the kafenio, and she could feel Mak follow her in. She focused on the surroundings instead of turning to look at him. She always enjoyed coming here. It was small, with lavish details carved into darkly stained wood. Old books filled the shelves and mismatched armchairs were placed in front of small boutique tables.

It was intimate. Quirky. Everything the palace was not. Everything she looked for when she sought to escape the confines of her family home.

She approached the counter and spoke in Greek to the woman working the register.

“Coffee. Metrio, please.” The hair on the back of her neck stood up, a shot of adrenaline spiking in her veins. Mak had gotten closer to her. Strange how she was so certain of that fact. That she was so very aware of him. “And another please. No sugar.”

Mak didn’t seem like the sugar type.

Eva paid for both drinks and collected the white cups after the woman finished pouring the thick coffees. “Efharisto,”