For King and Country (19 page)

A
s the first light of dawn stole through my bedroom window, I woke with a start. What had I forgotten? Then it hit me—Alexander was in my bed. He was still sleeping, breathing softly, his eyelids flickering slightly as he shifted and rolled onto his side. Biting my lip, I brushed a finger down his cheek. He’d taken off the mask he always wore last night and showed me the monster behind it, but all I had seen was him. Alexander was beautiful but broken. He was sexy but jagged. And although he’d revealed part of himself to me, I knew now that I’d only skimmed the surface of his darkness.

Before last night, I’d felt torn between unraveling his mystery and running as fast as I could from his brutal sensuality. Now I no longer had a choice. Not only because I’d seen past his facade, but because he’d forced me to see past my own. What he’d shown me should have terrified me, but it only made me crave him more.

I slipped from the bed, gliding across the floor in bare feet, so I wouldn’t wake him. He was at peace for the moment, and I knew his demons waited for him when he awoke.

Belle was in the kitchen, sporting pajama shorts, as she pushed eggs around a frying pan. Even with her hair piled messy on top of her head and no makeup, she looked gorgeous. After my decidedly rough night, I didn’t even want to look in a mirror.

“I was worried when you left the ball early,” she said, blowing me a kiss, “but when I got home, I realized you didn’t leave alone.”

My cheeks flamed and I reached into the cupboard for a glass. I’d been so caught up in Alexander last night that I hadn’t considered she might be home. This building had survived the Blitz, so I could only hope that meant it had sturdy and
thick
walls. Turning on the faucet, I filled the cup with water, hoping that the nonchalant gesture would hide my embarrassment.

“You want some birth control to go with that?” Belle asked. “’Cause judging from the sounds coming from you bedroom, you need it.”

“You’re hilarious,” I said, the rosy glow on my cheeks staining deeper.

“Don’t I know it? And I haven’t even started on all the puns I came up with when you kept me awake with your moaning last night.” She scooped some eggs out of the pan and onto a plate.

I groaned. “I can’t wait.”

“You’ll see, it’s going to be a real scream,” she said with a wink. “Oh wait, you already did all the screaming.”

“Make sure you get some of ‘your mama’ or ‘that’s what she said’ jabs in there when you’re coming up with this ground-breaking material,” I advised her.

“Pass me the beans,” she said.

I slid the bowl to her and she ladled some next to the eggs.

“Thanks,” I said, “I’m starving.”

Belle wagged a finger at me, her eyebrow arched suggestively. “I bet you are, but these aren’t for you. I’ll make you some next. Believe it or not, you weren’t the only one who got some action last night.”

I tugged at the hem of my thin tank top. “Is Philip here?”

“Yep, I left him in bed.”

“So maybe all that screaming you claim occurred wasn’t just me,” I teased.

“Philip’s not really a roller coaster ride,” Belle said, adding quickly, “not that I’m complaining.”

Now her cheeks were flushed, but I smiled at her. “Hey, no judgment.”

If every man were as amazing in the sack as Alexander, no one would ever leave bed. Society couldn’t handle that level of virility in the standard package.

“Crap, I forgot the sausages.” Belle threw some into a pan and flipped the hob back on. “So you couldn’t even find time to say goodnight last night before you had to rip his clothes off, huh?”

I hesitated, unsure of how much to tell Belle. On one hand, she was my best friend. On the other, explaining the complexities of my relationship with Alexander wasn’t exactly going to be easy. Still trying to hide what was really going on was by far the most unhealthy thing I could think of, and I needed a confidant. “Actually, I did leave alone.”

“I guessed,” Belle admitted. “Alexander found me when he was looking for you. He seemed worried, although it is hard to read that man. What happened?”

Tell me about it.
I was only beginning to understand him myself. But last night’s sudden departure actually had very little to do with him. My stomach churned as I thought of how I’d been treated last night by his friends and family. “I don’t know. It all seems so silly now. Let’s just say I met his family and they aren’t very nice.”

“Imagine that,” Belle said dryly. “The Royal Family is a bunch of assholes.”

Despite feeling sick, this made me laugh. “I know, right? Someone alert the media.”

“I can’t believe you just made an alert the media joke after making fun of my jokes earlier,” Belle said, sticking her lower lip out in a well-practiced pout.

“I’ll admit it’s not my freshest material,” I said.

“And that blonde—what was her name again?” Belle asked.

I wished I could forget her name. If there was one thing I didn’t want to even think about, it was Pepper. How could someone so beautiful be so incredibly ugly? But I knew the answer to that. Pepper could have any man she wanted, but the trouble was that she wanted mine.

“Pepper Lockwood,” I said, releasing a pent-up sigh of frustration.

“She was the one in the tabloids, right?”

“The one and only.”

“Oh god. I suppose it doesn’t help that she’s even prettier in person,” Belle said, throwing an arm around my shoulder and leaning against me. “She looks like a bitch.”

“That’s not just a look.” I recounted to Belle that after Pepper’s fake friendly introduction, she’d revealed her true colors. Belle’s eyes narrowed a little with each new piece of information. They were slits by the time I finished.

“What a capital B,” Belle said.

“You totally knew it, too,” I said, referencing Belle’s warning look the night before.

She shrugged modestly. “I hoped I was wrong.”

“You were right,” I admitted. “And the worst part is that I can’t tell Alexander what she said or how she acted, but it’s clear she’s done a number on the entire family.”

“Someone has to be smart enough to see past her little act.”

“Morning!” Philip said he shuffled into the kitchen.

Belle and I startled apart, and she glared at her fiancé as though he was to blame for our skittishness. I knew exactly why we were on edge. It could just as easily had been Alexander walking through the door.

“Lovely to see you, Clara,” Philip said, seemingly unaware of our reaction to his entrance. He rambled over and grabbed the kettle from the hob, pouring some hot water for his morning tea. “I didn’t get a chance to say hello last night, although I heard you looked fabulous.”

“That’s not all he heard,” Belle said as she handed him a loaded plate.

He frowned at her, obviously not as impressed with her wit as she was. “Thank you,” he said stiffly.

“Of course.” She shrugged as if this was no big deal, but I saw the gleam as she turned around. There’d been some question as to her ability to be a proper wife, but certainly having breakfast ready proved a thing or two about that. “Should I make a plate for Alexander?”

I hesitated, torn between making certain that he felt welcome and not wanting to disturb him. There was also the fact that I had a hard time imagining Alexander sitting down to Saturday morning breakfast. It was too normal.

“Alexander is here?” Philip asked, abandoning his fork and knife to stare at us.

“Who on earth did you think was making that noise last night?” Belle asked.

“A neighbor,” Philip responded in a clipped tone. His gaze flickered over me before returning to his plate, but I caught the flash of disgust—and pity—in his eyes. I’d never been a huge fan of Sir Philip Abernathy, but this was the final straw. He had no right to look at me that way.

“Ignore him,” Belle ordered me under her breath. Out loud she said, “What does Alexander like?”

I wasn’t sure. I’d seen him eat a burger, but I had no clue how he took his eggs or if he preferred coffee or tea with his breakfast. These were the kinds of things you were supposed to know about a guy
before
you slept with him. At least I’d known all of them about Daniel.

“Tea. No milk,” Alexander said, coming into view. He was dressed in his undershirt and tuxedo slacks but his feet were bare. I ached to tear the clothes off him and take him back to bed where things between us actually made sense. “As for breakfast,
everything
. I’m starving. I worked up an appetite last night.”

Alexander flashed me a sly smile that suggested he wasn’t simply hungry for food. If he wasn’t careful, poor Philip was going to be eating eggs while watching me mount Alexander on the counter.

I expected a smart-ass comment from Belle, but none came and when I turned to goad her, she was staring at Alexander with a dreamy expression plastered to her face.

“I’ll get it,” I said, snatching the plate from her hand and filling it up before she’d even turned to see what was happening.

Alexander took a barstool next to Philip, and they sat there quietly. I’d been under the impression they knew one another, but if they did, then they certainly weren’t on friendly terms. My thoughts jumped to the bedroom. I wished I were in there with Alexander instead of watching the cold war at the counter.

Belle handed me a mug of tea and shrugged, as if to say
what can you do
? “What do you want, Clara?”

“Oh, I’m fine.” There was no way she’d made enough for the four of us.

“Absolutely not. What do you want?” she repeated.

“Some eggs and toast, I guess.” There was no use fighting her on it. She’d see the food got in my mouth whether she had to force it down my throat or not.

Belle shot me a
what now
look, glancing toward the bar, and I frowned. Philip struck me as a type who often disapproved of people and how they spent their free time. If I had to guess, Alexander’s past wasn’t something he took lightly, and if he had read half the stories that were posted about Alexander to sites like TMI, I couldn’t blame him. But he didn’t know him. They were related in some distant way, but that didn’t mean they were family.

“What are your plans today?” Belle asked me, obviously desperate to break the tension in the air.

“Not sure,” I said.

“Let’s go shopping.”

I looked to Alexander without meaning to, as if to see if this was okay. But as soon as I realized what I was doing, I shook myself. I didn’t have plans with Alexander, which made me free to make other plans.

Alexander saw the look and spoke up. “I have a family thing, and I’m certain my father will require a few hours of explanation as to why I left last night.”

I mouthed
sorry
to him, but he shook his head, dismissing the apology, and smiled reassuringly.

“Then let’s go!” Belle clapped her hands in excitement. “There’s a new boutique in Notting Hill.”

“Notting Hill on a Saturday will be a mad house,” Philip threw in, but we both ignored him.

“I need to shower and then we can go,” I promised her. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

“I would love to, but duty calls,” Alexander said grimly.

Next to him, Philip guffawed.

“Is that funny?” Alexander asked.

“I find the idea of you and duty rather amusing,” Philip admitted.

“Philip!” Belle protested, but it was too late.

“I served in Afghanistan and Iraq for seven years,” Alexander said in a low voice, radiating with contempt. “I know more about duty than the average Englishman can fathom.”

“And what of honor?” Philip asked. “Did you manage to find some over there? Or is it too late for that?”

Belle’s shocked face mirrored mine, but neither of us spoke. We could only watch as Alexander stood and stormed to my bedroom, appearing again a moment later, carrying his jacket and shoes.

“You don’t have to go,” I said in a quiet voice.

“I have things to do,” he responded gruffly, moving past me toward the front door.

But he pivoted at the door and grabbed me around the waist, crushing his lips against mine in a possessive display that clearly wasn’t meant for me. He was marking me for Philip to see. I knew that I should stop him, but I’d already melted into him. When he broke away, he brushed a finger over my bruised lips and smiled grimly.

“Have fun today.”

I swallowed and bobbed my head, doing my best to look chipper. “We will. Notting Hill is my favorite place in London.”

Alexander paused as if he wanted to say something, but he opened the door instead. “See you soon, poppet.”

It was hardly the farewell I was hoping for. With the integrity of his phone compromised and this morning’s disaster, I had no clue when
soon
might be. A cold chill rippled up my spine as I considered that I might not see him again at all. We hadn’t spoken about what had happened last night in bed. Had things gotten out of control?

Belle appeared at my side as I shut the door and whispered, “It’ll be okay.”

Part of me wanted to spin around and yell at her for what Philip had said, but it wasn’t her fault. I wasn’t feeling so forgiving of Philip though.