I stared, my smile small. “Yes, it will.”
Lord Belshazzar flicked a finger between the two of us, his eyes still on his screen. “You two should probably cut that shit out then. It could be construed as flirting. If you do that in front of the media, they’ll eat you alive, and the press conference will be for nothing.”
I scratched my nose. “All right.”
Lord Belshazzar’s ice blue eyes peeked up from his phone, hard and cold. He lifted a black brow. He tossed his gaze to the Overlord’s back, then back at me. “Practice makes perfect.”
My eyelashes hooded my gaze. I spoke sweetly, “Of course, my lord.” I turned my attention away from him and placed my hand on Lord Pippin’s knee again. “Go on and sit in your chair. Or keep pacing. I think we’re done walking down memory lane right now.”
The Overlord was upset.
He was just an expert at hiding it.
Lord Belshazzar sighed heavily. “For fuck’s sake, do not touch him during the press conference either.”
I snatched my hand back from Lord Pippin’s heated knee. I hadn’t even noticed I’d done that.
Lord Pippin snorted, humor lighting his gaze. “Maybe I should do the talking with the media. We’ll put you in the back.”
I shooed my right hand at him. “Hush. Off with you now, my lord.” I picked up my pencil and twirled it in my fingers to keep my hand from wandering where it shouldn’t. I stared down at the paper before me. “I have to fix this shit. In a hurry.”
Chapter Eleven
Gwynnore
“You two are not sitting next to each other ever again,” Lord Cato snipped. He snapped his fingers at Lord Pippin and me and stood over us inside the private jet. “One of you, vacate your seat. I’m taking it.”
My chuckle was soft. “The press conference wasn’t that bad.”
Lord Xenon dropped onto the leather seat directly across from me. “You have to be jesting. The thing ran over by an hour. Neither one of you would shut up.”
Lord Pippin’s lips trembled, and his eyes danced with delighted humor. “We can’t help they liked our jokes.”
Lord Cato ground his teeth together. “The simple fact that you two made any jokes during that media frenzy still astounds me.” His eyes narrowed. “I swear, the world now wants you together. You’re the please-Lord-let-it-happen ‘it’ couple. They’re already shouting for royal babies. It’s fucking ridiculous.”
I kept laughing, enjoying his dismay. “Stay up all night reading blogs?”
My father peered down his nose at me. “No.”
Liar.
“The Queen’s reputation is now even better than before. They handled it very well. No one can say they didn’t. Crisis averted.” Lord Belshazzar strolled down the aisle of the plane, heading in our direction. He stopped next to my father and stared into his eyes. He lifted an expectant black brow. “Even if some of us are sleep deprived.”
Lord Cato snapped his mouth shut, and his black brows creased. “Perhaps I am tired.” He stopped hovering and took a seat next to Lord Xenon. He groused quietly, “I may be grumpier than I’d thought.”
“We hadn’t noticed.” I snickered quietly behind my right fist.
My father’s brown eyes narrowed.
I cleared my throat and controlled myself. No need to irritate him further. He’d finally shut up.
Lord Belshazzar’s attention turned to the lord sitting next to me. He snorted and shook his head. “You know that’s my seat and window. Move your ass.”
Lord Pippin rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you there are no assigned seats on our jet?”
“And how many times do I need to yank your ass out of my chair before you realize I don’t give a fuck about your little opinion?” Lord Belshazzar grinned. A shiver worked up my spine at his chilling expression. “Please. Move.”
Lord Pippin turned his head toward me. “Don’t let him fool you. Lord Belshazzar always gets this way before take-off. He doesn’t like flying, and he has a thing about sitting backward on a plane. It makes him sick to his stomach.” He winked and pushed up from the chair. He swept a hand at the empty seat, with a shit-eating grin on his face. “It’s all yours, my lord.”
Lord Belshazzar grunted. But he didn’t comment as he took, apparently, his seat next to me. He stretched his long legs out in front of himself and pushed the curtains aside so he could see outside the window. Take-off was scheduled in fifteen minutes. The lord’s long, black hair shaded his face while he watched the comings and goings of the ground crew placing our bags into the cargo hold.
His fingers began thumping on his knee.
An unconscious nervous tic.
Lord Pippin winked at me again. He mouthed, Told you.
He was absolutely right. Astute observation.
Lord Pippin took a seat on the other side of the aisle next to Lord Otto. The other lord was already passed out with his seat reclined. Sleep looked good on Lord Otto, his surfer good-looks even more dashing in his relaxed state. Since he was sleeping, the ordinarily vocal—obnoxious—lord was blessedly silent. It would make for a more peaceful trip.
I sighed and relaxed in my chair.
Then the damn Original druid arrived.
Master Niallan strolled into the jet. His sharp green eyes constricted on all of us, fire lighting his scrutiny. “I know vampires are normally assholes, but you left me alone in the damn terminal! Do you forget we’re headed to my stronghold? Did you think you could get in without my permission?”
I swallowed down my laugh.
None of us opened our mouths, silent.
Like a bunch of school kids, we’d left him while he’d been in a bathroom. We hadn’t even discussed it. All six of us had stared at the bathroom door he’d disappeared through—without a word from him about security issues from deviating off course. Then we’d immediately continued on our way without him, all in silent agreement that he was a douche bag and deserved whatever happened to him.
Though, sadly, he appeared healthy and whole.
I stared at his broad shoulders.
Why the heck did the druid have to be so damn attractive? It was rather annoying. The outside shell was hot as fuck with his sexy looks, but the gooey inside was ruined with his cockiness. He left a spoiled taste in my mouth every time I talked to him about anything remotely serious. It still shocked me I’d enjoyed his behavior during our sexual encounter…
I sniffed and turned my attention away from him.
The man really shouldn’t look that good.
Master Niallan’s feet stomped toward us, the druid in a huff. “What? Now you’re all ignoring me?”
As if everyone should pay attention to him.
All. The. Time.
Lord Belshazzar lifted his hand in a stopping gesture, his attention finally moving from the window. “You are not allowed to sit with us yet, as you haven’t passed your Challenges. Only royalty sits in this section.” He flicked a finger toward the back of the jet. “You’ll sit with our guards during this flight. And if you pass your Challenges, you may sit with us on the flight back.”
Master Niallan’s green eyes narrowed. “Are you being serious right now? I had to deal with humans trying to find this plane.”
I scratched my nose, locking my muscles down.
It was so, so hard not to laugh in his face.
“Next time, you won’t break security procedures,” Lord Belshazzar stated, then another flick of his finger to the back of the plane. “And you breaking the rules has nothing to do with your seating arrangement. As I explained already, only royalty sits here. And you are not royalty.”
“I am royalty here. Or have you forgotten that, Lord Belshazzar?” Master Niallan ground his teeth together. He quirked a blond brow. “I somehow doubt that’s slipped your mind, though.”
Lord Belshazzar smiled, baring his teeth—no fangs. “Vampire royalty. You are not that.”