The Heir And The Spare

#16

SIXTEEN

'Rule with the heart of a servant. Serve with the heart of a king.' - Bill Johnson  

"Well, you two sure seem close,"

The voice punctures Henry and my's kiss like a knife. I feel Henry stiffen in front of me and I don't need to turn to know it's James standing behind me. I watch Henry swallow and I spin around.

"How long have you been standing there?" I ask, finding my voice. This is beyond awkward.

"Long enough to see you shoving your tongue down my security's throat," James' face is hard. He almost looks angry. I try to read his expression but it doesn't make sense.

"Got a thing for Australian boys, don't you?" he sneers.

"James." Henry's voice rings like a warning and the expression on James' face only twists.

"Watch yourself, Henry." ne

Judging from the expression on Henry's face, he is fighting to not say anything back.

"I came to see if you were alright mate," James continues. "I had no idea where you were. Asked the guard on the door and he said you had stormed out here. I wanted to make sure my father hadn't fired you."

If that was a way of explanation, it is a good one. I don't even know where to look or if I can live this down. It feels like another bullet of ammunition James can toss in my face, but I can't get the irritated look he had out of my mind. It was almost like seeing me kiss Henry bothered him.

I shake my head as if this will shake out the image of his face.

"You're excused," James says to his head of security. "I need to speak to Eva alone."

Henry nods once and I suddenly can feel the chill from the absence of his body.

"You don't have to be so rude," I tell him, folding my arms. "We kissed, so what? I would put money on knowing you've got balls deep with at least one member of my staff."

James smirks, "balls deep?"

"I'm in no mood for this, Prescott,"

James' face hardens once more. "You aren't to go near him again," he says, "you aren't to touch him or let him touch you."

"Pardon?" He can't tell me who I can and cannot touch.

"I mean it, Eva. He cannot be distracted, it's his job. Enough has already happened. I've just had to argue on his behalf, on both of their behalfs."

I bite down on my lip. He's not wrong but from the look on his face, I can tell this isn't it.

"You don't like it, do you?" I narrow my eyes. "The idea of him touching me, kissing me. It gets under your skin."

James lets out a low laugh, "of course you get under my skin,"

"It's more than that, though, isn't it?" I take a step closer to him and in James' defence, he stands his ground.

"You've got a funny perspective on how I see you,"

"It bothers you, more than you would like to admit. Why, James? Why don't you like seeing somebody else kiss me?"

I haven't got a fucking clue what I am doing right now. On the one hand, my heart is racing in my chest, but on the other, there is a thrill of knowing I am right.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Eva." James reaches out and twists some of my hair around his finger. "You haven't even had a glimpse at the rule book yet."