A Bodyguard For The Princess (A Bad Boy Romance) (15 page)

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said and hoped she would leave it at that. He should’ve known better.

“You’re regretting we slept together? Is that it?” she asked. The hurt in her words almost brought him to his knees, hating himself for what he was doing to her, but he had to think of her immediate safety. One day, she’d get over her hate of him.

Matt shook his head and turned his back to her. “No, course not, but we both know what it was. Lust, pure and simple,” he said casually and hated himself for it.

“That’s not what you said last night,” she snapped and grabbed his arm to turn him around. “Matthias, look at me, you bastard.”

“There’s nothing for it, princess. I’m your bodyguard, and you’re royalty. It was one night and we need to leave it at that,” he told her firmly. Matt waited for her to lash out at him, but her face went blank—frighteningly blank. The instincts that always warned Matt when an enemy was near went on red alert as she stalked past him to the trellis.

“Are you coming or not?” she said quietly before climbing back down.

Matt had no other choice but to follow her back down to the balcony where Jeremiah and Marie waited. By the time his boots hit the stone, the women were in Daphne’s bedroom with the door shut.

“What happened up there?” Jeremiah asked.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Matt said with a sigh.

Jeremiah’s frown said that wasn’t entirely true, but he didn’t press Matt further. “Mind taking over the rest of the evening? I know it’s still technically your night off, but there are a few things I want to check on.”

“Sure, I have nowhere I need to be,” he said and ran a hand over his face.

Jeremiah patted him on the shoulder in thanks and left Matt in the living area, staring at the mess in the room. He called for a broom and dustpan, and once a servant dropped them off, set to work cleaning and telling himself this was the only way it could be.

***

Daphne leaned her head against the window and considered telling her parents they should just add bars to them all and be done with it. She knew that was a little overdramatic, but at the same time, all her hopes of a change happening were shattered. Up on the roof, right before Matt dragged her away, the thought of stepping out into nothingness had crossed her mind. She would never have done it, but the thought frightened her all the same.

How desperate was she becoming to get out of there? And allowing herself to think for one night that Matt had been serious about everything he’d told her… Daphne glared at her reflection in the window. It was all a joke, a horrible disgusting joke, and she was stuck like a damn puppet in the middle of it. Unable to be free. Unable to do anything except play her part.

“Did you hear me, Daphne?” Marie asked, and Daphne jumped. “You need to eat something. Please.”

“I told you I’m not hungry,” she replied and plopped down in the armchair in the corner. “Really, Marie, I’ll be fine. You can go.”

“I think I’ll stay a while longer,” Marie said brightly.

Daphne couldn’t help but grin. Marie was, after all, her friend, and she loved her for always being there when she needed someone to talk to. “I don’t know what to do.”

“With your parents or Matthias?”

Thinking of what Matt had said on the roof, Daphne glared at the far wall. “Both. Why would he say that? Why tell me he wanted it to be more and then act like what we shared last night meant absolutely nothing to him?”

Marie sighed and sat next to Daphne. “And this is why I wish you had more exposure to the menfolk.”

“I’ve had exposure,” she argued.

“Not with a man like Matthias you haven’t,” Marie corrected. “Listen, what he told you today, there’s a reason he’s trying to push you away.”

Daphne rolled her eyes. “No, there’s not, except that he’s a bastard.”

“Right then, and on that note, I’m going to run to the kitchens and bring you something to eat.”

“Wine, too?”

Marie grinned. “Several bottles of wine. Jeremiah is just outside the door if you need anything. Please don’t stay cooped up in your room all night, my lady.”

“Thanks, Marie,” Daphne told her with a smile, and once she was gone, she sank back into her chair, tapping her fingers on the arms. Staying in her room the entire time her parents were gone did seem childish, and she never threw tantrums. After a quick trip to the bathroom to wipe her face and pull her messed up hair back into a ponytail, she changed into jeans and a tank top and walked out of her bedroom.

When she spotted the dark head of hair on her couch and the clenched jaw, Daphne froze.

“Princess, how are you feeling?” Matt asked quietly.

“How am I feeling?” she repeated on a breath. “How am I feeling? That’s all you have to say to me? Where the hell is Jeremiah?”

“He had to take care of something,” he said shortly.

Daphne shook her head. “Course he did,” she muttered and really looked around her room. The shattered lamps, the glass, the overturned table… All of it was gone, and the floor had been cleaned. “Did you do this?” Matt nodded once. “You didn’t have to, and you can leave.”

“No, my job is to protect you, and that’s what I’m going to do,” he said, settling even deeper into the couch. “Even if it means from yourself.”

“Can you protect yourself from me?” She stalked across the room but steered well clear of the couch and him. “I should’ve known, should’ve seen right through your damn lies last night.” Her words were quiet as she gazed out the closed balcony doors, taking in the moonlight playing over the water.

With each white-capped wave she saw, her mind replayed the last few years of her life and the last conversation she’d had with the king and queen. Her life was planned out for her, every damn day of it, and she could only sit by and watch. Even with Matt, she didn’t get a choice. He made it for her, just like that, as if she didn’t matter.

But what about what Marie said
, she argued with herself.
Was he lying last night or lying on the roof?

Between Matt and learning what her parents had done to her, Daphne hit the end of her rope and words poured out of her mouth before she could even attempt to stop them. “You’re a coward,” she snapped, whirling around to glare at him.

“I’m a what?” Matt asked with a frown.

“You heard me. You’re a damn coward! You told me all those other women meant nothing to you, but the second you meet me and realize you could care for someone again, you run from it instead of facing it head on,” she bit out. “I saw it in your eyes last night. You can’t hide it, not from me.”

He shifted but didn’t get up. “I told you, we can’t let it go further.”

“Why not? And don’t give me that shit about me being a princess. That’s not why you’re doing this.”

“Just stop, Daphne,” he warned, his eyes darkening.

“No, I won’t! I’m tired of being pushed around and told what I can and can’t do! I’m goddamn tired of it!” Her hands curled into fists as she fought the urge to stomp her foot in anger. “I’m willing to take this risk and you—you’re just a damn coward!”

Matt was across the room in a blink and stood before her, his hands gripped tightly around her shoulders as he glared down at her. “Coward? You think I’m scared to let you see how I feel?”

Daphne’s body shivered with want, but she narrowed her eyes and jutted her chin out. “Yes, I do. You—” The kiss was fierce and would have knocked her off her feet if Matt hadn’t been holding onto her so hard. He crushed his lips to hers, claiming her mouth fiercely as their tongues danced around each other, fighting for dominance.

When he pulled back, Daphne sucked in a breath. “You can’t… can’t just kiss me like that…”

“Or what?” Matt asked and kissed her again, hotter than before. She groaned when his hands cupped her ass and he ground his hips against hers. She felt his need grow against her belly and nipped his lip.

“You really think you can stay away from me?” she whispered against his lips, her words rough from her anger. She dug her nails into his back, and he cursed when she pressed herself even harder against his body.

“If it would keep you safe,” he insisted.

“Stop being scared of this,” she told him. “I’m not.”

“You should be.” He squeezed her rear tighter and rested his forehead against hers. “What we’re doing… It’s dangerous in more ways than you understand.” When she frowned, he sighed. “And yes, I’m scared as hell about what you do to me. Can you blame me?”

Daphne kissed his lips gently. “Why?” She searched his face for answers, and where she usually wouldn’t be able to read anything from his stoic face, several emotions flickered loud and clear back at her.

He wrapped his arms around her and she felt his holster at his side. “You are under my protection, Daphne. If I’m distracted at all by my emotions for you, it won’t end well.”

“So you’re going to toss me aside and act like last night meant nothing?” she accused him and pushed herself from his arms. “Damn it, Matt, my life’s always going to be in danger! I’m royalty. That’s how this world works, but I don’t want to lose out on whatever this is.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“Yes, we do! Stop telling me I don’t have a choice! It’s my life, and I’m going to live it!” She stormed towards the balcony and threw the doors open.

“Where the hell are you going now?”

She glanced out over the city. “Out. I’m going out.”

“The hell you are,” he muttered and stalked towards her. “Daphne, you can’t go.”

“Says who, you? You have no control over me, and the king and queen are gone.”

“It’s not safe, damn it! Stop arguing with me and get back inside,” he growled. When he enveloped her in his arms, she aimed to slap him, but he caught her wrist. “It’s not safe! Do you hear me? Your cousin is out to get you!”

Daphne stilled instantly at his words. “What did you say?”

He released her and stepped back, running a twitching hand through his hair. “Just please, stay inside until we sort everything out.”

“First, my parents, then you, and now Dion,” she whispered, turning her back to Matt. “I give up. I’m done. I can’t… I can’t keep doing this and plaster a smile on my face.”

“Daphne? I’m sorry,” Matt told her.

But those two words were the last thing Daphne wanted to hear, especially when she knew he did care about her, saw it in his eyes no matter what he said, and wanted her just as badly as she needed him. “You’re not sorry. Not yet.”

“Wait a damn minute,” he growled.

“No! I’m going to my room.”

“You’re not going to run away from me,” he muttered. “Not until I explain.”

Daphne didn’t want to hear any more. She kept walking, but Matt turned her around, and as she opened her mouth in protest, he picked her up and kissed her. “Damn you for being right,” he groaned against her lips as her arms closed around his neck, unable to resist him even in her ire.

“Right about what?” she breathed.

“Everything.” He carried her to the chest of drawers nearby and set her on top of them. “This is going to be trouble.”

“Good. It’s about time I had some trouble in my life.” Daphne groaned as his hands massaged up her thighs to her hips.

She returned his heated kisses just as fiercely, her fury and her desperate need for him competing inside her mind. They would finish their conversation later—much later. All she wanted was his hands on her skin and his mouth on hers. She wanted him buried deep inside her until she couldn’t take any more.

Matt slid the straps of her tank roughly to the sides and kissed a trail of fire down her neck to her bare shoulders as her hands fumbled for his jeans. She’d almost unbuttoned them when a knock sounded at the door. Quickly, Matt pulled away, and Daphne hopped down, fixing her tank top.

“Who is it?”

“Marie, princess. I brought dinner for you.”

Matt reached over and fixed her hair, his eyes smoldering as they took one long look up her body before he nodded and returned to his seat on the couch. Daphne told Marie she could come in. Marie glanced from one to the other with a raised brow but said nothing as she set down a tray of food with two bottles of wine.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Marie said, winking at Daphne as she curtsied. “Goodnight.” The door clicked shut and Daphne let out a breath of relief.

“You see why this is dangerous,” Matt muttered. “If it had been anyone but Marie, what do you think would’ve happened?”

He had a point, but she wouldn’t admit it out loud. “You want to stop?” she asked instead.

“Hell, no,” he said and closed the distance between them in three quick steps. He took her hand in passing and dragged her into the bedroom, closing and locking the door behind them.

Daphne’s chest heaved and she reached for him slowly in the dull light of the table lamp. His hand met hers, taking it, and pulled her to him. He turned her so her back pressed against his chest and a shiver ran down her spine when he tugged on her earlobe with his teeth. Her head fell back on a sigh, and those warm lips moved down her neck, languidly kissing each spot they touched. The tips of his fingers trailed over her arms, a touch telling Daphne exactly what Matt wouldn’t admit. He cared for her a whole hell of a lot more than he could ever hide.