The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

“So we’re supposed to pay for her brothers to get a free tour of the country?” Justin asked, not getting on board with it. “I don’t understand why we’re the ones paying for it.”

“I don’t think you’re paying a cent toward it,” Becca said as they walked down the hall and headed for their rooms.

Lucy learned that the majority of the crew was forced to double up with people they knew, but not the middle management. They were given special privileges. Lucy was grateful for that. She wouldn’t be complaining about anything anytime soon.

“This is me,” Lucy said as she stopped outside her door and slipped her keycard into the lock and listened for the latch to unlock. She turned and gave them a soft wave goodbye. “Goodnight, guys,” she said softly.

“Night, Lucy,” Becca said cheerfully, always dazzlingly kind and considerate.

Justin never said anything, like he was chronically terrified of saying goodnight to someone. As Lucy stepped into her room, she wished that James was in there, waiting for her, but there was nothing but the darkness. She stepped into the darkness and flicked on the light, illuminating the room. It was the familiar layout she was slowly starting to get into the habit of understanding. There wasn’t much of a difference between hotel rooms and she was kind of grateful for that. There was something that became homelike to the place. She stared at the furniture and all she cared about right now was dropping down on her bed and reading the note James left her.

So she did, flopping down hard and tearing open the top of the envelope in one slick, solid movement.

“Good evening, Beautiful,” the letter said. “Today, I was going to try my hardest to sneak away and see you, but there was something that took up my time.”

She understood that there was probably something that definitely took his mind off of her tonight and it probably came in the form of two hulking men that were flanking his betrothed. She didn’t hold that against him and she wasn’t ever going to. She knew they were playing a dangerous game and she was going to make sure that they stuck together for as long as possible before they got caught, if they ever did. She didn’t want to get caught. She wanted to keep this a secret.

“I want you to know that there was something on my mind today that I couldn’t get rid of. I couldn’t get it out of my mind and then I realized it was you.”

She smiled at that, running her fingers over the hand written note he’d given her. She’d thought about him a lot today as well. It was hard not to think about him. He was the kind of thought that she definitely couldn’t get rid of. She liked having him in her mind, though. He was the friendly kind of thought she could get used to and truly enjoy. She would smile as she thought about him and there was no way she’d ever get him out of her mind. It was like he was a prisoner and a guest just as much as he was an obnoxious irritant. All she wanted was to know that he was thinking about her just the same.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he wrote to her. “I want you to know that I am falling for you, Lucy. I’m in a troublesome position. I think that you’re the kind of person I’ll never get over. Then there’s only one thing I can see on the horizon and that’s the fact that I have to get you all to myself, no matter what.”

She smiled and touched the letter where he’d signed it. She liked him a lot more than she could ever admit to. She didn’t want to tell him and she didn’t want to tell herself. In fact, she didn’t want to feel this good about an affair she was having with a man who was promised to another. There was no dignity in that and there should have been no pride in it either, but she had both. She shook her head and lay her head back on the pillow, certain that when they did get caught, because it was inevitable, there wouldn’t be a single person that was going to feel sorry for her. There wasn’t going to be a single person that was going to think that she had a side to the story to tell.

Nope, they would all look at her like she was a harlot and she supposed that this was a just mentality. This was the thought they should have for her, because in the end, she was having an affair and it was going to devastate Violet when she finally found out. She sighed, her heart heavy with grief. But she knew that this was her chance at happiness and she would be a fool not to take it.

* * *

In the morning, she heard the sound of her alarm going off and knew there was nothing more foolish than ignoring the alarm. The alarm was life and death in this business and if you missed the alarm that was going to get you to the buses on time, or to breakfast downstairs, then you were a fool and there was no real hope for you. She got up and quickly showered, getting dressed, and making sure that there was nothing left in her room in an hour and a half’s time. All of this was getting down to a routine and a system she could handle and take care of in a record time. She didn’t think she ever got ready this fast before. She definitely knew there was nothing that could keep her down now.

What was her excuse going to be when she got back home and gave up this pace? She figured there was probably going to be a day when she took her time, but she hated to think of that day. All she wanted to do was take one day and really let herself take her time. It was going to be something special when she had that moment to herself.