The King's Maid

Chapter 5

Erika’s POV

“Do you have any suspects?” Becky asked--- way too cheerful for my exhausted state.

“I’ve been there for barely a week,” I grunted, pulling off my shoes and cooling my blistered feet against the cold interior of the car. “I’ve barely gotten around to knowing my way around the palace.”

Not to mention that my feet were absolutely killing me!

Big shout out to all the maids out there – I salute you!

I grunted and leaned back, knowing I should give my handler a more detailed encounter of everything that had happened, but I just couldn’t muster up the energy. Becky wasn’t just a coworker and my best friend since the academy, but in most cases also my partner. The only reason she couldn’t take this assignment was that she had broken her arm on a previous assignment. So now she has played the role of my roommate who dutifully picked me up after her own work shift ended. But in reality, I reported to her and she related everything I said to Chief Stick-Up-His-Ass---

Oh sorry! I of course meant Chief Sanders…

He was a textbook definition of a man-chauvinistic pig! And the fact that I’d f****d the guy only solidified my belief in that fact. On my first day on the job, he’d told me to go fetch him coffee. I told him I wasn’t a secretary and he could fetch his own goddamn coffee. He didn’t give me a single case in almost a month for that comment; that was unheard of even for a newbie like me. I marched into his office and demanded an explanation. Plainly put, he told me to go on my knees and suck him off--- or never see a real case in my life…

Yes, I went there.

I hated every second of it, but the very next day he called me into his office and gave me this assignment.

I’d say that’s a win for the good guys…

And yeah, I had a boyfriend but as long as we weren’t mated, things like that didn’t count, right? I mean, it wasn’t the first time I’d gone down on somebody for a favor. Seriously, what’s the harm in a b*****b, right? I didn’t care and as long as I got something out of it as well, it was just another dirty job that needed to be done…

Right?

Becky ranted about something that I didn’t pay attention to and instead leaned forward to rub my sore feet. It was late afternoon. All the people who were off the clock now, rushed to their cars to get home, while everyone who had just got to work, cursed and fussed over finding a parking spot. Luckily, Becky had managed to find a spot close enough to the entrance, so I didn’t need to walk another mile to get to her.

Which I right now was very thankful for…

A huge figure appeared in the servant's entrance and I glanced up--- only to catch another sight of LJ Stone. I hated to admit it, but my heart skipped a beat seeing that man. He was so f*****g HOT he should come with a warning label. His red hair was dark, like the cooling flames of glowing coal and although his blue eyes had a cold color, you could see mischief and humor glint in them every time he caught me ogling him. His tall frame and perfectly sculpted body only made him more appealing. Seriously, he looked like he didn’t do anything BUT lift weights all day. His biceps rippled every time he moved – making me drool with the bucket load – and his toned, broad chest---

No wonder I was having wet dreams about the guy…

He stretched and in the process the T-shirt he was wearing lifted and exposed some of his ripped abs. Along with that well-defined V-line that automatically had my eyes lowering, wondering if he was as big down there as the rest of him…

Wondering had me practically panting…

Suddenly, he turned back to the doorway--- and started to act strange. He looked around as if checking something and then turned back to the doorway and nodded.

I frowned, leaning forward, and tried to get a better look. Luckily, although parked close to the door, the car was partly hidden behind a pillar, letting me see him pretty clearly--- but not the doorway.

“What are you doing, Stone?” I cursed to myself, trying to see who he was talking to. But no matter how I moved, he remained hidden.

“What?” Becky asked and tried to lean over to see what I was looking at. I squinted my eyes--- and my heart dropped when I saw him hiding them.

A flash drive!

Discreetly, he hid it under his jacket, that hung over his arm, but I’d seen enough of them to recognize it for what it was. Why would he be taking a flash drive out of the palace? And who was that guy he was talking to?

It was too suspicious to ignore…

“Hey, can you give me a background check on an LJ Stone?” I asked, turning to Becky--- and hating that my wet dream guy just flew to the top of my suspect list. “He’s---”

“OMG!” Becky squealed, cutting me off, and had the car allowed it, I would have jumped six feet in the air. “Levi J. Stone, future alpha of Black Lunar?” She continued her fan-girl moment and her eyes practically had stars in them. “Is he there? Is he a suspect?”

I frowned…

Why did she sound so excited about that?!

“I’d like to see if he has a criminal background, but…” I replied, unable to hold in my curiosity. “Why do you sound so excited about that?”

My best friend gawked at me.

“Have you been living under a rock or something?!” she exclaimed and rolled her eyes at me. “Not only is he hot as hell, but he’s also part Dire Wolf.” She moaned loudly, fanning herself. “He’s hot danger and smooth s*x all rolled into one seriously steamy package. Oh, and he’s ginger!”

She exclaimed that last part as if it was some kind of added bonus. Ok, I’d admit that I wasn’t blind. The guy was hot! Freaking, seriously f*****g photoshopped gorgeous! I also knew that he was a considerate boss and had a heart of gold by the way, he handled those guards on my first day here. He seemed like a really nice guy--- and it annoyed me that Becky seemed to know more about him than I did. And I just hated – HATED! – how jealous that made me feel!

“Which means what?” I snorted, trying to keep a neutral tone, but failed miserably. “He has a pot of gold?”

The sly look she sent me said it all…

“From what I hear,” she snickered and winked. “All his girls have seen the end of the rainbow!”

And now I also knew he was a man-w***e!

“Get laid, Becky!” I sighed, feeling strangely disappointed by that revelation. “And get me that background check!”

I didn’t know why I felt that way and I did everything in my power to suppress that feeling. It’s not like it was any of my business what or who that player did.

I had a boyfriend--- and I was perfectly happy!

I pushed to door open and tiptoed back to the doorway, hoping to get a scent of who had given Stone that flash drive. I tried not to draw any attention to myself, strolling up to the door. I didn’t have the best nose, but I still had a better nose than the average human. But the only scent I could pick up was familiar to me. Pine and--- something else! Something I couldn’t identify, but I just knew was uniquely LJ. I’d scented it the first time we met, and it had haunted my dreams ever since. The scent of something… other! Something---

Dangerous…

*

“Hi babe,” Dave greeted me with a smile and gave me a quick peck on the cheek as he passed by. “How was your day?”

“Terrible,” I replied exhausted, and closed the door to our condo behind me. “I…”

“Fantastic,” he cut me off, handing me a glass of wine. “I helped Dad close a business deal today for 400 million dollars! It’s a big deal, but for these people, it’s practically pocket change!” He excitedly shared, clinking our glasses together. He took my hand and pulled me down on the sofa with him, not caring that I was hungry or the fact that I didn’t like wine. He was in his celebration mode and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

“I mean, I need to get more into the business if I’m to run it one day, but…”

He went on like that for a while and I nodded in all the appropriate places, widened my eyes from time to time in surprise, and muttered a ‘hmm’ and ‘uh’ from time to time. I knew what I had to do to keep him happy and later, he’d be even happier when I rode him into oblivion, despite not having the energy to do it.

But he was celebrating and expected certain things when he’d “done well”…

I knew how to make Dave happy. How to make him smile and what to say, not to embarrass him in front of his friends--- although he’d never returned the favor. I knew how to dress up for his fancy dinners, how and when to smile and laugh. I knew how to dance, knew all the etiquette, and how to dress appropriately…

I knew what I was doing!

But deep down…

I had no idea what I was doing!

I wasn’t happy and every time Dave brought up the subject of us becoming mates, I cringed. But life isn’t about being happy, right? I had to see the practical side of this. He was well off financially, so I could be economically independent. We both worked odd hours, so he never complained when I wasn’t home much, and he had a lot of connections if I ever needed a favor – a real one that is…

That’s all I needed!

Right?

Tired and mentally exhausted, I did all the above, and once Dave finished, he rolled over and fell asleep. Tired, I rolled to the other side of the bed and got up. I closed the bathroom door before turning on the lights, knowing that Dave would be pissed if I woke him up.

Not that he was one to return favors like that…

I was tired and just wanted to wash up. But the unfulfilled s****l desire had my body aching and tingling all over. I grabbed the shower head and pointed it at my c**t, taking the easy way out. I covered my mouth so as not to make any noise when I orgasmed.

I turned off the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around my body, before turning around and coming face to face with my own reflection. Even I had to admit, I looked terrible. I was going to need an extra layer of make-up to cover up the black bags under my eyes and the redness across my cheeks. I sighed and went back to bed, turning my back to Dave.

Was this it for the rest of my life?

It had to be, right?

It’s the logical and sensible thing to do. I’d be set for life.

It’s what I wanted…

Right?