To Bed a King (11 page)

“Really?” he asked in a sarcastic tone. “That’s why you won’t let Jared within fifty feet of me without growling. You know, I may have a reputation for being a slut, but I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Jared.”

“I know. And it’s never been your reputation I’ve worried about.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Raven mumbled.

“Obviously I did. The reason I didn’t want Jared around you in the beginning was because I wanted him. I knew if he spent much time with you, you’d win him over. You’re like that, you know?”

“Like what?” Raven asked.

“Likeable. No matter what was going on, you’d always show up with that damn goofy smile on your face. It’s sickening to someone like me.” Seb scowled.

“Yeah, well, didn’t your mother ever teach you not to judge a book by its cover?”

“No, actually she didn’t. She was a drug addict. She was so busy trying to find her next fix that she had little time to raise two boys.” Seb stared at Raven. “I grew up in foster care.”

Raven blinked. How could he have known Seb for so long and not known that. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“He died when he was young.” Seb shook his head. “I don’t talk about it.”

Raven nodded. “Understood.”

TO BED A KING

Carol Lynne

72

Jared’s soft voice called Seb’s name through the darkness.

“I think you’re being summoned,” Raven said.

“To bed, I hope. It’s been a hell of a long day.” Seb slapped Raven on the thigh as he stood. “I’m sure Ghazi’ll need you once he’s done sorting through his feelings. Do yourself a favour and be there for him.”

Before Seb could walk away, Raven had one more question for his boss, his new friend.

“Seb?”

“Yeah?” the man stopped and glanced over his shoulder at Raven.

“I wanna have a New Years dance for Brier and Jared. Can you come back for that?”

Seb scowled. “I don’t dance.”

“It’s not about you,” Raven said, throwing Seb’s words back at him.

TO BED A KING

Carol Lynne

73

“What time is it?” Raven mumbled.

“Well into the morning. Go back to sleep, love” Ghazi said, pulling Raven against his chest. As much as he wanted to seek comfort in the depths of Raven’s body, Ghazi knew if his lover woke fully, he’d have questions. More than likely, they would be the same questions Ghazi had spent hours asking himself, questions he still didn’t have answers to.

Raven’s face rooted around on Ghazi’s chest for several moments before he finally brushed his lips across Ghazi’s nipple.

Ghazi tried to soothe the man to sleep by slowly petting his back.

“I love you,” Raven whispered.

Holding his breath, Ghazi closed his eyes. How many nights had he dreamt of hearing those words from Raven? Although part of him feared the words were simply meant to make him feel better after the news of his father, Ghazi knew he might not ever get a chance to hear them again.

“Thank you,” he finally whispered back. A tongue swiped over his nipple several times before Raven rolled on top of him. Ghazi accepted Raven’s attentive kisses with a welcoming fervour.

Once Raven had worked his way up to Ghazi’s mouth, he frowned. He traced Ghazi’s eyebrows with his finger. “Don’t be sad.”

“I cannot help it,” Ghazi confessed. “Everything I thought to be true about my father has turned out to be a lie.”

“You don’t know that for sure. I’ve been thinking, and I believe I’ve come up with a way to trap Halim.”

“Why do we have to trap him? Why can’t we just ask him?” Ghazi asked, running his hands down Raven’s back.

“Because he’ll just deny it. He’ll point the finger at Nalu and his friends as liars.” Raven shook his head. “Those kids have been through enough already. It’s time we grown-ups show them we can be trusted.”

TO BED A KING

Carol Lynne

74

Wrapping his arms around Raven’s lean waist, Ghazi rolled them both over until he lay on top. “Can we discuss your plan in the morning?”

“Why? You have something else in mind?” Raven asked with a wide grin on his face.

Ghazi’s cock began to respond to Raven’s constant wiggling. “I’m sure something will come up.”

Ghazi started to move, rubbing his filling length against Raven’s. “Thank you for being here.”

Raven cupped Ghazi’s face in his hands. “You’re not your father. What he did or didn’t do should have no bearing on who you are.”

“And you’re not your mother,” Ghazi reminded Raven.

“It’s not the same thing. You’re royalty, regardless of your father’s actions. I’m the bastard son of a drunk.”

“No. You’re the adopted son of the Stone family. And from what you’ve told me about your mom and dad, you should be proud of them, proud of yourself. A man is not measured by his birth, but his aspirations.”

Raven chuckled. “See? You even talk like a king.”

“Good thing since I am one, right?” Ghazi leant down for a kiss. He swept the interior of Raven’s mouth with his tongue for several moments before pulling back. “I need you.”

“Yeah, I can feel that.”

Ghazi shook his head. “No. I mean, I need you here with me, beside me. I made a promise to my father to take his place when the time arose, but that promise doesn’t mean as much to me as you do. If you truly cannot live with a king, I’ll hand over the crown to Faris.”

“Faris is too young, and you know it. Besides, you didn’t make the promise to your father, you made it to your people. It’s about time Jurru had a king who looked out for them, and I have no doubt you’ll do that.”

“But will you stay?” Ghazi asked.

“As what? I’ve been here for months and not once have you needed a bodyguard. I need to feel useful.”

“What would you like to do?” Inside, Ghazi was jumping up and down. It sounded like Raven was serious about staying with him on Jurru. Ghazi would give the man the world if he asked for it.

TO BED A KING

Carol Lynne

75

Raven wrapped his legs around Ghazi’s waist. “You’ll need someone trustworthy to run Sanctuary.”

“You don’t think it should be shut down?”

“Not at all. Nalu was willing to prostitute himself for the privilege of living in a home with people who cared about him. Let’s teach those kids what a real home feels like.”

Ghazi nodded. “We’ll have to set it up before the newly elected Prime Minister takes office, but I know both men and there shouldn’t be a problem.” He kissed Raven’s neck, anxious to make love to the man. “Anything else?”

“Just two things, but they can keep ‘til morning.”

“Good.” Ghazi squirted lube onto his fingers before reaching for a condom. “My only request is to do away with these awful things.”

“I’m sure we can work something out.”

* * * *

The following morning, Raven hung up his phone and returned to his seat at the breakfast table. “Bram’ll make the arrangements. He’ll have Amir make the call. We figured since Amir speaks Farsi it’ll be less of a red flag.”

Ghazi nodded. “What time do I need to be ready?”

Raven reached under the table and put a hand on Ghazi’s knee. “You know you don’t have to do this, right? I’ll be at Sanctuary anyway to make sure the kids are safe.”

“I can go with you,” Seb offered.

Ghazi shook his head. “I need to be there. I want to look into Halim’s eyes and ask him why.”

Raven understood Ghazi’s position, but it would make things harder. “Okay. Can you call Fath and set up a meeting for this afternoon? You trust him, right?”

“Definitely,” Ghazi answered.

“Once Fath is enclosed in your office, you can use the escape passage to meet me. We should be at Sanctuary in plenty of time to avoid Halim’s detection.” Raven hoped Ghazi was right to trust his Minister of Finance. “Until then, keep Halim busy so he doesn’t have a chance to slip away and deliver the packet of information to Sanctuary.”

“Do you still want Johara to answer the door?” Nalu asked.

TO BED A KING

Carol Lynne

76

“Yes. Amir will request a young girl with long hair. Johara would be Halim’s best choice.” Raven scratched the side of his head. “Have I forgotten anything?”

“What do you want us to do?” Jackie asked.

“Nothing. Just make sure you’re seen milling around the palace. It’s imperative that Halim doesn’t become suspicious.” Raven popped the last bite of toast into his mouth. He noticed Ghazi had barely touched his breakfast and scowled. “Are you finished?”

Ghazi nodded. “I need to get to my office and call Fath before Halim arrives.”

“Mind if I come?” Raven asked.

“Of course not.” Ghazi stood and regarded the rest of his guests. “I do hope you’ll have a chance to enjoy the pool and the gardens today. If all goes well, tomorrow I will make time to show you the beautiful island of Jurru.”

Raven wiped his mouth with his napkin and followed Ghazi from the room. “Are you okay?” he asked when Ghazi threaded his fingers through Raven’s.

“Of course.” He led Raven into his office and shut the door. He leant against the edge of the desk and pulled Raven between his legs. “I called Ali. I felt he had a right to know what was going on.”

“And?”

“He’s coming to Jurru. Ali said I shouldn’t have to deal with this on my own. I informed him I wasn’t alone, and, hopefully, I’d never again be on my own.”

Raven wrapped his arms around Ghazi’s waist and buried his face against the spice-smelling skin of his lover’s neck. “I love you.”

Ghazi tilted Raven’s head up and gave him a deep kiss. “I love you, too.”

Even though Raven knew the King loved him, it was the first time Ghazi had spoken the words aloud. He grinned. “I like hearing you say that.”

“Prepare yourself because I’ll be saying it a lot.” Ghazi kissed him again, kneading Raven’s ass as they tangled tongues.

Raven was about to ask for his first favour when they heard a knock at the door.
Shit.

He pulled out of the kiss as Ghazi’s hands moved up to rest on his hips.

“Halim,” Ghazi whispered against Raven’s lips. “Just a moment,” he called out.

“I’ll go out and distract him while you call Fath.” Raven dug into his pocket and removed his cell phone. “Call him on this.”

TO BED A KING

Carol Lynne

77

Ghazi took the phone before brushing his knuckles over the obvious erection pressing against Raven’s zipper.

“Should I hide that from Halim?” he asked, with his hands poised to untuck his shirt.

“No. I no longer care what Halim deems proper in the palace.” Ghazi gave Raven a quick kiss. “It makes me happy to see the way my touch affects your body.”

Raven reached down and ran his hand down the length of Ghazi’s erection, hidden behind the yard of fabric. “I could say the same.”

“Good, then we agree. No more hiding while on Jurru.”

“I don’t plan on hiding, but I’m not sure Jurru is ready for PDAs between its King and his bodyguard.”

Ghazi cupped the side of Raven’s face. “You’re so much more to me than my bodyguard. My people are intelligent. They’ll recognise true love when they see it.”

* * * *

Slipping unnoticed into Sanctuary, Raven and Ghazi joined Seb, Nalu and Johara in the living room. For having no on-site adult supervision, the house was surprisingly clean. Ghazi was ashamed of himself for never taking a greater interest in the teenagers that lived at Sanctuary.

“Is there anything you need here?” he asked Nalu.

Nalu’s brows drew together. “I don’t understand.”

Ghazi gestured around the room. The white paint was starting to peel on the open rafters. Despite being clean, the room, and he suspected the entire house, was in need of basic repairs. “Sanctuary is now being run and maintained by the Zahar family. If you or someone could make a list of improvements that need to be made or items you have been doing without, we’ll see they are taken care of.” He put a hand on Raven’s shoulder. “Raven’s asked to take an active role in running Sanctuary. Our goal isn’t to come in and takeover. We simply want to put programmes in place that will make your lives easier.”

Nalu and Johara traded suspicious glances.

“At some point, you’re gonna have to learn to trust adults. You might as well take King Zahar up on his offer,” Raven pointed out.

“We’ll talk to the others,” Nalu finally conceded.

TO BED A KING

Carol Lynne

78

The sound of knocking on the side of the house interrupted their conversation. They had one of the teens out front on the porch to alert them to Halim’s arrival.

Drawing his weapon, Raven jumped up and went to stand just inside the kitchen while Ghazi and Seb stood out of sight in the hall.

Ghazi heard the sound of someone coming up the front porch and prayed no one would be hurt. Ghazi heard the front door open. Halim obviously believed he was too important to knock.

“What’re you doing here?” Halim asked.

“Just visiting,” Nalu said.

“I told you the King wants you at the palace where I can keep an eye on you. Do I need to remind you again what happens when you don’t follow my orders?”

“No, Guardian.”

Ghazi heard paper rattle as Halim evidently held the envelope out to Johara. “He’ll be here tonight. He’ll expect you to be in bungalow B11 by the time he arrives.”

“Yes, Guardian,” Johara mumbled.

The handing over of the envelope was all they had been waiting for. Seb made sure Ghazi was safely behind him before they stepped out into the living room.

“What’s this?” Halim asked.

Ghazi’s attention went to Raven. The Glock Raven normally carried was pressed to Halim’s head.

“Don’t fucking move,” Raven growled.

Johara walked over to Ghazi and handed him the envelope. With his free hand, Ghazi cupped the frightened girl’s cheek. “You did well. Thank you.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Halim demanded.

Ghazi opened the file and took a quick glance inside. “I think the bigger question is what’s the meaning of
this
?” he asked, holding up the envelope. “How could you do this?”

Despite being held at gunpoint, Halim squared his shoulders. “Following orders, Your Majesty.”