Fateful 2-Fractured (23 page)

That is until she saw one of the passengers
strolling down the walkway as if he were headed toward the
bathroom. His look reeked of vampire mercenary, and she barely
resisted a shudder as his searching gaze slid toward her. Panicked,
she tugged Richard to her by his leather jacket and tried to hide
behind his bulky frame, feigning a hug. However, Richard turned her
innocent attempt at concealment into a kiss on the mouth. Her
fingers shot to his hair, and she tried to pull his head away, but
ended up only making it look like she was really into it. She
didn’t even want to know what Ethan would think of this, and the
guilt that twisted her insides was excruciating.

After the man passed by, Richard smirked and
said, “You saw him, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I told you we weren’t alone.”

She rolled her eyes. This prince was a
pompous jerk…. And she wished she hadn’t noticed how handsome he
was. His long, honey-colored hair waved nicely past his ears. The
features of his face were angled harshly, but in a pleasing manner,
and his hazel eyes nearly smoldered every time he looked at her.
Could that have been anymore unnerving? All of this made the guilt
over the accidental kiss that much worse. “Eth—”

Suddenly his lips were on hers again and she
tried to shove him away, but couldn’t budge him. After smothering
her for far too long, he finally let go again. “Damn you. Eth—”

He silenced her with one finger and a deadly
look. “Do not speak his name out loud. I’m tired of your dwelling
on your ex.” He winked at her, then lowered the volume of his
speech so low, she barely heard his next words. “Apparently you
didn’t see him coming back through.”

“No,” she mumbled and then said what she
wanted to say, but edited. “He is so going to kill you.”

Richard snorted at the threat. “He’ll thank
me.”

His arrogance was just too much, and wanting
to get away from him she stood, but he jerked her back into her
seat. “Where the bloody hell do you think you’re going?” he growled
in a deep angry voice.

“I’d rather sit by Cedric…” She grunted when
his arm landed against her chest shoving her back into the seat
when she tried to stand a second time.

“That wouldn’t leave the right impression,”
he ground out.

“Then I need the restroom,” she shot back,
though quietly.

“I don’t believe you.”

She
was
bluffing. They stared at each other for a
minute before she mutely backed down and turned to face the window.
For three more hours.

Incredibly relieved when they landed,
Danielle ignored her guards as they drove to Glenwood Springs.
Again, they’d taken the long way, and again switched cars three
times before they actually arrived. Only after they entered her
home did the guards back off, and she felt like she could finally
breathe.

Setting her purse onto the table along with
the hat and wig, she then dropped onto the sofa and began to peruse
her new home. Ethan had selected this place, and apparently had it
decorated.

The colors of the living room were soft
shades of tan and cream with touches of dark brown and deep red.
The style was understated, but a little bit shabby chic. She loved
it, and wondered if he’d chosen these colors himself, or just hired
someone. Figuring it was probably the latter, her eyes landed on a
painting over the loveseat and she shot upright. “A Jack
Vettriano?”

Hearing the men chuckling from the
other room, she wondered if they were laughing at her outburst as
she stood from the sofa and went to the piece of artwork. It looked
like an original of
The Singing
Butler
. “But it can’t be.”

“Ethan told me it was,” Cedric said from
right behind her, and she jumped. “Relax.”

“Then don’t sneak up on me.” She turned back
to the painting when Cedric simply shrugged his shoulders. “It
can’t be an original.”

“Ethan said it was.”

“I’ll ask him myself.”

“Fine, do that.”

“Fine, I will.”

“Stop it. You sound like a couple of
children,” said Richard.

“We are children compared to you, old
man.”

He grinned like a genuine rakehell. “You
don’t kiss like a child.”

“That wasn’t by choice!”

“As I recall it, you’re the one who grabbed
me first. And I didn’t feel you resisting.”

“You weren’t paying attention then. I would
have thought you’d be more observant.”

Richard laughed and reached for the
phonebook. “What are you hungry for, Danielle? Ethan said to make
sure you’re fed.”

“Fed? You really just said ‘fed’? Vampires
feed, I’m mortal, I eat.”

“What would you like to
eat
then?” Irritation flashed in his
eyes.

She folded her arms feeling irritated too.
“I don’t care. Whatever!” She turned on her heel and headed for her
bedroom, only then wondering where it was. Must be down this hall,
she thought turning into it.

Richard sighed before she’d left earshot of
him. “Order something for her, Merrick,” he commanded, like some
military general.

Merrick’s happy tone followed her down the
hallway. “Something healthy like salad with chicken and nuts on
top,” he said, before adding, “Chick’s love that kind of stuff….
And strawberries, I was told that’s her craving.”

“Indeed. Command and concur, Merrick,”
Richard rumbled.

Danielle rolled her eyes as she reached for
a door handle to check if this room was her bedroom. It was going
to be like living with some sort of medieval-alpha-male-warrior,
she decided. Danielle couldn’t believe Ethan had left her alone
with these three, especially him. For at least a week! She just
might consider running away if it goes longer than that.

* * * * *

Danielle gasped in wonder when she
entered her and Ethan’s bedroom. It was decorated almost exactly
like the suite in Le Meurice where they’d spent their honeymoon,
except it was a little more understated. The thought occurred to
her—he wanted this room to be a constant reminder of that romantic
time together, and she smiled as she explored it. The room had
peaked ceilings, fabric draped archways, and carved wooden beams
that divided a sitting area from the bed and the bath. The fabrics
were in soft shades of blue and cream. They were simple, without
much pattern, creating a clean yet romantic feel. Just above the
sofa was another Jack Vettriano painting,
Dance Me to the End of Love
, and then across
from the bed hung a collection of framed, sepia wedding portraits.
Suspecting the big empty space on one wall was for the painting of
the ruins she’d painted for Ethan, she smiled and decided she
needed to talk to him, to thank him.

Slipping off her shoes, Danielle pulled her
phone from her pocket, flipped it open, then strode toward the
bed.

She dialed Ethan’s number, and then settled
down onto the white bedcovering as it rang. Suddenly the phone was
snatched from her hand and closed. Danielle screamed in
surprise.

The narrowed gaze of an angry prince stared
down at her as he said, “No calls.”

Danielle swallowed, unable to speak,
thinking it looked like he was fighting really hard to keep his
anger bottled and leashed.

After a long pause where their gazes held
uncomfortably, his expression softened, but he said nothing and
left her alone, taking her phone with him.

Irritated with that, she curled up on
the bed.
Maybe I will leave before the
week is over
, she mused.
I’m
sure this isn’t what Ethan had in mind
... and now she
couldn’t call him, or Beon, or her parents, or anyone…. At least
she had Cedric, and Merrick seemed all right, but this
Richard….

Soon after that, she fell asleep, glad to be
exhausted from the flight so she could sleep, even with all the
thoughts in her head.

* * * * *

“
Danielle,” a deep voice said. The
rumbling sound ripped a shudder from her.

She furrowed her brows. “What?” The word was
thick with sleep.

“Your food is here. Wake-up so you can eat
it.”

Danielle rubbed her eyes and then
pried them open. She blinked. All three of her guards stood next to
the bed, each holding a paper bag or plastic box. This confirmed
her suspicion that she was going to have very little privacy with
these guys. They’d probably barge in while she was in the bathroom
if they felt she was in danger, or trying to make a phone call, or
needed to
feed
.

“Your salad, my lady,” Cedric said, opening
the takeout box and setting it onto the bed next to her.

“Strawberries, dipped in chocolate, lass.”
Merrick opened another box and set that next to the salad.

“Bread and soda,” Richard grunted, holding a
paper sack and a thirty-two ounce cup.

“But, I-I don’t drink soda.”

“I told you she’s one of those healthy
eaters, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Richard scowled and told Merrick to shut up,
then asked her, “What do you drink then?” in a kind gentle tone.
She suspected that maybe he was attempting to make up for his rude
behavior earlier.

“Water…. Please?”

His mouth twitched and she thought he almost
smiled as he set the bag down onto her lap. He left to retrieve
water, she thought. The other two filed out after him.

Danielle was surprised to find that the
bread was warm, and for some reason that touched her. Maybe because
they’d gone to the trouble of gathering a meal she would enjoy. She
knew those strawberries couldn’t have been easy to get this time of
year. Even Richard had made the effort to get her a drink and bread
that was so fresh it hadn’t yet cooled. In light of this, she
thought perhaps these men weren’t so bad after all. She broke off a
piece of bread, and the wonderful smelling steam rose to her nose.
Chewing, Danielle felt her mood shifting from fear and irritation
to acceptance, and hoped that the remainder of her time with these
men would continue like this.

She was working on the salad when Richard
returned with a goblet filled with water.

“Thanks. This is all very nice.”

“You’re welcome.” He was in the process of
wringing a napkin in his tense grip. A napkin that she figured was
probably meant for her. “I’ve been told that I need to apologize
for my ... er ... abruptness earlier.”

“It’s all right. I know you couldn’t help
it,” she said, unable to resist the tease.

He blinked. “What do you mean by that?”

“You must be called the
Black
Prince for a
reason.”

“They never called me that until long after
my death. But I think it was because of my black armor, nothing to
do with my character.”

Sure
, she
thought.

He then noticed what he was doing to the
napkin, ironed it with his fingers, and then handed it to her.

She took the wrinkled linen. “Thanks.”

“Is there anything else I can get you?”

Danielle dragged the container of
strawberries to her lap. “Nope. But thanks again.”

“Just call if you need anything.” He swept
into a bow and then left.

Perhaps they should have called him the
Indecisive Prince, because it seemed he didn’t know if he wanted to
be a grouchy brute, or a chivalric gentleman.

* * * * *

When she emerged from her bedroom she found
the three of them lounging on the sofa watching football.

“This American football is prissy compared
to our British sport,” Richard commented dryly.

Before the others could reply, they noticed
her, and all of them scrambled to their feet. She almost laughed
because she didn’t expect that kind of respect from them, but
suspected it was one of those things engrained so deep in their
mannerisms they couldn’t break the habit.

Then she noticed Richard’s muddy, booted
feet as he stood on the new cream-colored rug. “Hey, you’re making
a mess!”

The prince frowned at her, then dropped his
gaze to his big feet. After heaving a big sigh, he removed the
offending footwear and tossed them to the entryway, which made a
mess of dried dirt clods as they bounced. “Better?” he asked.

“Um,” she managed, then noticed his socked
feet, and smirked at the big toe sticking out of the hole in his
left sock. He noted her gaze, tore off the socks, and chucked them
toward his boots with a curse.

This earned him a round of chuckles from
Merrick and Cedric, whom he punched soundly in the arms for it.

Danielle scooped her purse from the table
and slung it over her shoulder.

“Whoa!” Richard bellowed as he lunged for
her. “You’re not going anywhere!”

“I just want to go see my parents and my
brother.”

“You can’t leave this house until Ethan is
here.”

“But he doesn’t know when he’s going to be
here.”

“Did you honestly think you could leave on
your own?” he bit out as he confiscated her purse, lifted her from
the floor, hauled her to the sofa and set her down onto it.

“No, I knew one or more of you would be
following me. But—”

“I heard about your
freedoms
before now! So you thought
it would be like that again, where you could go anywhere you
pleased and we’d just tail behind?”

Yes
…
but apparently not
…. She had thought
she could be stealthy about it, and figured that no one was looking
for her here, especially if she was believed to be
there.

“There will be no more of that!” he
bellowed, leaning over her in a threatening stance. “I’m commanding
this guard and you will not be leaving this house, not even to go
to the garden!”