His Princess (A Royal Romance)

Though I should just head back to the house, I find myself driving by the dentist’s office again. Not too slow. I don’t want to freak her out.

There’s something off about Rose. She gets my hackles up, among other parts of my anatomy, but something around her smells wrong, like she’s hiding some secret. My instincts are pretty good about this stuff, as a rule.

Let it lay, Quent. You have your own problems.

I head “home”, such as it is. I stop at the gate and the guard waves me through, and I roll on back to the house, pull up, and park.

There’s somebody in my backyard.

I bolt around the garage at full speed, my feet sliding in the grass. I don’t get a good look at the intruder, I just tackle them.

She lets out a high-pitched yelp, and I find myself sprawled in the grass, poised over a coltish teenage girl who looks a hell of a lot like Rose.

I’m on my hands and knees over a thirteen-year-old. Bad idea.

I throw myself back onto my ass and sit in the grass.

“What the hell are you doing in my yard?”

“Uhhhhhhh,” she says, “I… Ummm… I gotta go, bye!”

She rolls and shoots to her feet. I reach out and tug her ankle and she sprawls in the wet grass.

“What were you doing in my yard, kid?”

“Nothing! I swear!”

“Nothing?”

Panting, she brushes a red lock out of her eyes. “Okay, I was spying on you.”

“What? What the hell for?”

“I just wondered what was going on.”

“Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“Well… Yeah, but—”

“What’s your name?”

“Karen.”

“Okay, Karen. Get in the car.”

“I don’t think I should…”

“Get in the car.”

She flinches and rises to her feet. I’m up quickly, though my leg is on fire. Don’t show any weakness, Quentin. Karen gets inside and huddles in the seat as I drop in next to her.

“What are you doing?”

I don’t answer her.

“Am I being kidnapped?”

“Yes.”

She flinches. “I’m sorry, mister. I didn’t see anything, I swear.”

“Mr. Mulqueen. That’s my name. Karen.”

“O-o-okay,” she says.

So I drive.

I wave at the gate guard. Karen gives him a worried look.

She bites her nails the whole way back to town. When she sees where we’re going, all the color drains from her face.

“Oh God,” she says as I pull into the parking lot of the dentist’s office where her mom works.

“Out,” I snap after I pull the parking brake. “Don’t run, you won’t make it.”

Trembling, Karen stands up. I get up and motion her inside, and she opens the door. I hold it and watch her go in, then follow.

Rose looks up from her desk and her jaw drops. She bolts to her feet and darts around the desk to the door, storms out, and grabs Karen.

“What are you doing here?” Then she looks at me. “What are you doing with my daughter?”

I look at her. I blink. Then I walk outside.

Two seconds later she’s on me, her daughter in tow, sniffling and trying not to cry.

“What the hell is this?”

I round on her. “Ask Karen. I got home and found her sneaking around in my backyard, trying to get into my house.”

Rose stands straight up. “How dare you… I’ll call the…”

“It’s true, Mom,” Karen says quietly.

Rose’s face twists and she turns on her daughter.

“You’re skipping school.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Before Karen can answer, Rose demands, “What were you doing in his backyard?”

“I was curious,” Karen whimpers. “I just wanted to see what’s up with him.”

“There’s nothing up with him!” Rose almost shouts. “Damn it, Karen, I don’t need this. My boss is going to chew me out for making a scene here, and how are you going to get to school?”

The door swings open, and a man in medical scrubs steps out. Tall and skinny, graying hair, he looks about old enough to be Rose’s father.

His eyes snap onto Karen like a horny squirrel on a sexy peanut.

“What’s going on here?”

“Nothing,” Rose says, fear tight in her voice, like a strained note on a guitar string about to snap.

“Not nothing,” the old man says. “Who’s this?”

I might as well not even be here. He’s looking Karen over. His top lip pulls back over his teeth and there’s a hungry look in his eye, and the way his gaze roves up and down…

For fuck’s sake, she’s a kid.

“Hey,” I snap.

He looks up at me.

“Her eyes are up there.”

Rose turns beet red, and Karen shrinks back.

“Excuse me?”

“He didn’t mean anything,” Rose stammers out in a pleading voice. “Please, I’ll take care of this. I just need to get my daughter to school—”

“I’ll take her,” I volunteer.

Quentin, for fuck’s sake…

The old guy nods and gives Rose a tough look before slipping inside.

“That was my boss—”

“He was eye fucking your daughter,” I growl.

“You are not—”

“Yes I am. Get in the car, Karen.”

Karen squeaks and runs back to the Impala. I fold my arms.

“I can’t have trouble here,” she says. “I can’t get in trouble at work, Quentin. I need this job.”

“Your daughter—”

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