That earns me a nasty glare from her. “It’s honest. And it’s not as though I was asking you to do it for free. I’ll pay you quite handsomely, if that is indeed your issue.”
I grind my teeth. “It’s not.”
Annika looks between us. “Momse, you have to realize that this is a bad idea. I mean, Erik is just… so stuffy and boring! He’s a control freak. You can’t expect me to just go along with this scheme.”
The Queen Mother stands, running a hand down the skirt of her white dress. “Annika, my dear. You have been disappointing my expectations for most of your life. You would do best to sit down, keep your mouth closed, and be a little more demure. That’s good life advice for you generally, but in the next few months? It’s not an option.” She slides a glance at me. “For either of you.”
Annika crosses her arms, wearing a pout on her glossy pink lips. “I think you’re being ridiculous, Momse.”
The Queen Mother scoots past Annika, heading for the door. “I don’t care.” She pauses in the doorway, looking back. “This is what the royal family needs right now. It has given you both so much… so try not to disappoint my expectations.”
With that, the Queen Mother exits, her head thrown back regally. I raise my brows, unsure how to respond to that.
Sure, the royal family has done a lot for me. They fed me, put me through the finest schools. I served as a major in the military because that was the rank assigned to Stellan. And for the past three years, it has allowed me to slowly amass my personal wealth while acting as Stellan’s right hand.
But also… fuck that.
Annika looks at me, scrunching up her face. “She is such a bitch. Momse acts like Stellan walks on frigging water… meanwhile, she is so high-handed when she deals with literally anybody else. I can’t stand it.”
Leaning my elbows on my desk, I rub my temples. My headache has only intensified since Annika and the Queen Mother stepped into my office, that’s for sure.
“I have a very bad feeling about how the next three months are going to go,” I murmur.
Annika stands up, surveying my desk. She picks up my coffee cup and takes a sip out of it. Then she wrinkles her nose.
“Ugh! That coffee has turned to ice.”
I stand up, pissed off, and pluck the coffee cup from her grip. “Jesus, Annika. Learn some fucking boundaries.”
She heaves a sigh. “You’re just going to have to accept me for who I am. Get used to it.”
Glaring at her, I put my feet back up on my desk. “You know what? I’ve been treating you like a princess. But I think from now on I’ll treat you like the brat that you are.”
Her eye roll is unmistakable. “Great, then join the club. The rest of my family treats me like either I’m impossible to control or I don’t exist at all. So… welcome. Get cozy. Because no matter what happens in the next few months, I’ll still be the only princess of Denmark.”
Then she turns on her sky-high heels, strutting like a model on the runway. I watch her walk away, biting my bottom lip.
I can’t help but look at her legs and ass as she goes, which I know is exactly what she intended. But the fact that I grow hard at the sight of her tanned inner thighs…
That definitely makes me feel like a fucking pervert. I’m too old, too common-born, and too sensible for this… this attraction that I feel.
I close my eyes and sit back in my desk chair, sighing.
The next three months are going to be dark. I’m as sure of that fact as I’ve ever been of anything, ever.
4
Annika
I measure most days by the number of toffee hard candies I need to get through the day. Some days are good; they only register as a four-candy day. That’s the sweet spot, no pun intended.
But today? Today is definitely a ten-candy day. I unwrap another piece and pop it in my mouth, savoring the sweet caramel flavor of the toffee. I try not to focus on the fact that every piece of candy is a few extra carbohydrates as well as surplus calories.
I have bigger issues today.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” I mutter, glaring out the window of the SUV. The city has long since fallen away; now I look out at the coastline, little bits of scrub brush clinging to the sandy ground. Below that I get glimpses of a seemingly endless beach and restless ocean waves.
Erik looks at me from the driver’s side seat. “This beach vacation has been on the books for three months. Stellan has been going on and on about it. Were we supposed to stay in Copenhagen just because you can’t behave yourself?”
I glance back at Kalindi, who is asleep in the back seat, sprawled out with her mouth open. Lucky her; she doesn’t have a frigging babysitter on this trip.
I scowl, scrunching down in my leather seat. “Lower your voice,” I whisper. “Kalindi is asleep. And for your information, this is not about me behaving myself. I think you know that, though.”
He snorts. “Ja, okay.”
I scrunch my face up. “Aside from being an uptight stuffed shirt, you are also a total jerk. Just in case you were wondering how I feel about you.”
He gives his head a slow shake. “I wasn’t… and now that I know, I still don’t care.”
I glare at him, crossing my arms. “Fine.”
He looks unimpressed. “We are almost to the beach house. Can you just shut up until we arrive?”
I direct my glare out the window. “Sure thing, oh Benevolent and Great Dictator.”
He just shakes his head but doesn’t comment. I stare out my window and watch the massive mansion that we are heading to appear over the horizon. It is extremely Scandinavian in design, appearing as a sleek black block. When I can make out the details, I see a lot of chrome and glass, with almost a third of the house taken up by soaring windows and skylights.
Most importantly, there is a whole huge patio set between the house and the beach. It’s an outdoor barbecue, a number of wicker chairs, and picnic tables. All surrounded by tall posts, from which twinkly lights and colorful lanterns are strung.
It actually makes me smile and lifts my mood a little. We have been coming to this particular beach house since I can remember. I will have a good time here, hell or high water.
Kalindi stirs just as Erik pulls up to the front of the beach house. She yawns. “How did we get here so fast?”
I glance and her, wrinkling my nose. “You slept through most of the drive. That’s how.”
Her cheeks glow pink. “Ah. I guess I needed to catch up on my sleep. Being on the medical track at university is slowly but surely draining my life force. I pulled four all-nighters this week alone.”
I scrunch my face up sympathetically. “I’m glad you got some rest, then.”
Erik gets out of the SUV, stretching his big arms out over his head. I get out too, my gaze taking in the mansion again. Three stories and excitedly modern looking, I see the brick fireplace running through the entire house. Erik is unloading the bags from the back of the SUV and piling them on the ground.
Kalindi yawns again and takes a few steps toward the dark wood front porch. I take a step toward the house.
“Hey!” Erik calls out.