The Crown Jewels (6 page)

I was stuck here. In a palace with the fucking Prince of Sweden. I thought of my best friend Sally back home. She’d never believe what was happening. She knew all about Will, and had even predicted I would run into him while I was here. But she never could have predicted this.

“Jewels, look at me,” he said. He was standing right next to me, but I was trying to avoid those damned hypnotic eyes, and he wasn’t about to let me get away with it. I looked over at him again, only because I didn’t want him to know how much he affected me. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.

“What?” I demanded, trying to draw on the only emotion I felt comfortable with. Anger.

“I’m sorry I left that morning,” he said.

“You didn’t just leave, Will, you left the fucking country! After everything we had been through. And you just left me. All alone. At the worst possible time! How could you do that to me?”

“I made sure you were taken care of,” he replied.

“I’m not talking about the money,” I replied, my anger rising. “Just forget it.”

“Jewels, I did what was best for you. I was a mess back then. If I had stuck around, I would have only broken your heart.”

“Right,” I agreed sarcastically. “As if you didn’t do that anyway.”

“Okay, fair enough. I did it the best way I knew how. By taking myself out of your life.”

“Fuck you, Will,” I said, turning away from him once again.
There, I’d said it
. Exactly what I’d been wanting to say since I woke up the day that he had disappeared from my life. I wanted to punch him, too, but I was pretty sure I’d end up locked away in chains in a dark dungeon for the rest of my life if I punched a member of the Royal Family.

Waves of electricity shot through my body as he came up behind me and put his arms around me.

“Jewels, I’m sorry, I didn’t know what else to do,” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear. I twisted out of his embrace, trying to catch my breath. Every time he touched me it was like a blow to the gut. “But it was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it? Tell me you didn’t think about me over the years? Replay those nights we spent together in your head?”

“Shut up! Just leave me alone, okay?” I lowered my eyes, refusing to look at him again. I couldn’t let him see how much he hurt me, or how much he still turned me on. I’d been foolish to even say anything now, but I couldn’t help myself. He was right. What was in the past was in the past. It was time to move on. Time to focus on my father’s happiness.

Will and I were over a long time ago, and seeing him now didn’t change that one bit, and it never would.

It was time to accept that. And I could do that, as long as I didn’t have to look at him too long. Because every time I looked at him, sparks shot right through my heart.

“Just go, please,” I asked again. I heard him sigh, and then watched his feet disappear from my room. He whistled, and Willy jumped up, following him out the door. When the door closed behind them, I fell on the bed, my mind and body completely at odds, wrestling with every emotion under the sun.

I refused to even acknowledge my heart.

WILL

The door closed, and I tried to push away the feelings of guilt that were washing over me. Despite the pain in her eyes, I knew I had done the right thing.

On the way to my room, I thought about our past. I’d never intended for things to turn out the way they did. I only meant for it to be a fling. And that’s how it started out. But a month later, I’d taken Jewel’s virginity and so much more.

But what a month it had been
, I thought. After convincing her to tutor me and then to go out with me once, I found I enjoyed it rather immensely. She was smart as a whip, and was able to hold a conversation with me about much more than what the other girls could. Jewels could talk about history, geography, politics…it seemed there was no subject she wasn’t an expert on, and after a few weeks, she was arousing not only my cock, but my mind, too.

We were having so much fun together; I didn’t even miss the other women. We’d spend our evenings talking late into the night, and fuck until the sun came up. It was wonderful. And then everything went horribly wrong. I did my best to fix it, to make things easier for her, as much as I was able to. And I left because it was for her own good. I didn’t want to, but I did.

By the sound of her voice, and the steely look of anger in her eyes every time she looked at me, she still hadn’t forgiven me.

I’d be an asshole if I said I blamed her.

And sure, it was weird that our parents were getting married. But I wasn’t about to pretend I didn’t still want her. That I didn’t still have feelings for her. That I didn’t want to rip that sexy red dress off of her last night and take her right there on the table in front of God and everyone. Why should I lie about my feelings?

I wasn’t in the habit of pretending to be someone I wasn’t, so why start now? She was just going to have to get used to the fact that we were destined to spend lots of time with each other now. Were we destined to be together again? If I had any say it, we did.

I guess only fate knows the answer to that, but me and my throbbing cock were sure going to make sure the question was answered sooner than later.

JEWELS

He was infuriating. How could he claim he was trying not to hurt me? To leave me all alone to deal with everything on my own? How could he possibly think that wouldn’t break my heart? He’d been an idiot. An arrogant, clueless, idiot!

I’d have been all alone if it weren’t for Sally. She’d stood by my side throughout it all. I hadn’t called her since I’d arrived in Sweden, waiting till I had somehow wrapped my head around everything before I could explain it all to her, but I was done waiting. I needed to talk to her now.

Pushing away the thoughts of how much an international call was going to cost me, I dialed her number.

She answered on the first ring.

“Julia!” she exclaimed, her voice a welcoming beacon in my dark nightmare. “How’s Sweden?”

“Hi,” I said, sullen and sad.

“Uh-oh. What’s wrong?”

“Well, do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

“Good news, always the good news first.”

“Right. Well, Sweden is beautiful. It’s buried under a foot of snow, and my father is doing well.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said.

“It is. In fact, he’s so wonderful that he’s getting married.”

“Oh. Wow. That’s huge. Is that hard for you? With your mom and all…”

“Surprisingly, that part isn’t an issue for me. I’ve been wanting him to find someone for a while now.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem?”

“It’s not what, it’s who…”

“Okay…are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?”

“It’s who he’s marrying. You’ll never believe this. Are you sitting down?”

Laughter peeled through the phone.

“God, Julia, you make it sound like he’s marrying the Queen of England or something…”

“Close,” I replied.

“Huh? Jewels, just tell me!”

“My father is marrying the Queen. Of Sweden. Queen Victoria of Sweden is marrying my father.”

“No way! Wait!” she gasped. “But that means — no, Julia, no! Oh, my god!”

“Yep, you’re quick.”

“But how can that be? That’s totally bizarre!”

“It is quite the coincidence, isn’t it?”

“I’ll say! Wow. So when do you meet her?” she asked.

“I already did. And her son.”

“Oh, my god, you saw Will?!”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Oh, honey! Oh, shit, that’s crazy! I’m so sorry,” she replied, her voice full of the anguish that I was feeling. Talking to her was just what I needed. Someone who understood the magnitude of all of this. “Wow, this is so nuts!”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“God, of course! Are you okay?”

“No, not at all, honestly,” I replied. “It’s a nightmare. I had to have dinner with them last night and now I have to stay at this castle and Will’s wing is just down the hallway and —,”

“— wait, what? You’re staying at a fucking castle with him?” she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

“Not with him. But I’m staying at the castle. Unfortunately, she insisted. I couldn’t refuse Vicky, it would have been rude.”

“Did you just call the Queen of Sweden,
‘Vicky’
?” she asked, her laughter echoing through the phone.

“She insists we keep it casual,” I replied, and suddenly I realized how hilarious this whole thing really was. Her laugh was infectious and I began giggling myself.

“It’s so absurd. God, I wish you were here,” I said.

“I wish I was there, too! This is better than a telenovella!”

“Shut up!” I replied. “And don’t you dare tell anyone!”

“Not even TMZ?”

“Oh, my god, don’t you dare! I’ll kill you!” I replied, laughing with her. It felt good to laugh. I missed laughing. I hadn’t laughed since I got off the plane.

“Alright, I’ll keep it to myself. But you must keep me posted! I want to hear every juicy detail!”

“Alright, alright,” I rolled my eyes and shook my head, feeling grateful that I at least had one person to vent to. Images of Will filled my mind, and I tried in vain to push them away.

Maybe it was just something I was going to have to get used to.

Again.

WILL

“Catherine, are you coming for dinner?” I asked my sister when I ran into her in the hallway on the way back to my room. “Mother said she wants everyone there.”

“Yes, I saw that on the itinerary for the day. And Ben is coming with his daughter, right?”

“Yes. Catherine, there’s something I need to tell you before dinner,” I replied.

“What is it?”

I looked down the hallway and saw two maids polishing a mirror.

“Come to my room,” I whispered. She followed me in, and I shut the door behind us.

“Oooh, juicy secrets!” she said, clapping her hands together and sprawling on my bed. “I love secrets! What’s up?”

For a future queen, my sister was less than regal. She’d grown up in the palace, surrounded by the finest things in life, and forced to live a life of boring rituals and ceremonies, bound by boring agendas that were made months in advance. Because of this tedious life we lived, we both craved spontaneity and rebellion.

“There’s something you need to know about Ben’s daughter,” I said.

“Oh, let me guess! Is she ugly?”

“Hardly,” I scoffed, thinking about how beautiful Jewels had become over the years.

“Okay, is she a nun?”

I laughed out loud, remembering the look of wanton desire that had crossed Jewel’s face when I made her tell me she wanted me to fuck her.

“Absolutely not.”

“Okay, is she a drug-addicted rock star? Mom would hate that,” she replied, with a devilish gleam in her eye.

“God, no. Just stop and listen to me. Do you remember me telling you about a girl I met in America at school? Julia? We were together right before I came home.”

“Of course, I remember, how could I forget? You sulked around the palace for weeks afterwards like a forgotten puppy. All the while you insisted it was you who ended it, even though you were clearly the one with the broken heart. It took a month before you would even talk to me about it. Good thing you brought Willy back with you or you’d have surely killed yourself.”

I cringed at her description of me.

“That’s a little dramatic, but whatever,” I continued. “Catherine - Julia is Ben’s daughter.”

“What!” she exclaimed.

“I know; I know…” I replied. “And she’s here. Staying in the Blue Room, actually, right down the hallway.”

“Oh, this is good, this is
so good
! Does Mom know?”

“Nobody knows! We told Mom and Ben we met in college, but that’s all. They don’t know what happened between us. As far as I know, nobody knows but you. And it had better stay that way, Catherine!” I warned. My sister was known for having a big mouth, but she was usually pretty good at keeping my secrets. We’d grown up together in this huge palace, feeling terribly alone, and thankful we had each other. I couldn’t imagine enduring childhood at the castle without her. I was so glad I could trust her, for the most part.

“Hush, you know I won’t say anything, Will.” She grew quiet for a moment, and I sighed, trying to figure out how I was going to handle all of this. The chemistry between Jewels and I was still strong between us, even after all these years, and I knew there was going to be no ignoring it.

“So, what’s she like?” Catherine asked.

“She’s beautiful…” I said, distractedly.

“Uh-oh,” Catherine replied.

“What?”

“You know what. You better keep it in your pants, dear brother. Mom will have a fit if she finds out you’re sleeping with your future step-sister.”

“Shut up, Catherine! I’m not sleeping with her. Not anymore, at least. I can control myself.”

“Ha! Yeah, right!” she scoffed.

“I can!” I protested.

“Yeah, like a runaway train. Good luck, little brother.”

Luck.
Is that what I needed?

My cock was definitely ready to get lucky.

JEWELS

Dinner at the castle was a whole different scenario than the restaurant. Everything was so formal this time. I was even more uncomfortable and underdressed than last night, and I knew immediately I would have to go shopping tomorrow if I planned on staying here any longer.

Not that I wanted to. I still wanted to jump on a plane and disappear, but here I was. Still underdressed. Still feeling guilty. Still feeling confused about Will. Still feeling like an awkward, backwards, uncouth American.

The dinner guests included Vicky, of course, and my father. Catherine, Will’s sister, the future Queen of Sweden, Will and Catherine’s Great Aunt Ora, who looked to be at least a hundred and fifteen and could barely keep her head up on her own, and two cousins that were visiting for the holidays - Cousin Beatrice and Cousin Elizabeth, as they were introduced to me. The two were twins, and they were both a lot like you would imagine real-life royalty to be. Young, blonde, gorgeous, and with their noses stuck so far up in the air they’d probably drown in a good downpour. Catherine, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. She was down to earth and sweet as pie. I liked her immediately. She reminded me a little of Sally, and that put me at ease right away.