Natalie shot me a glare. “Not helping, Lucy.”
Hannah sighed. “Lucy gets me.”
We all shared a laugh as the dinner bell rang, and Preston appeared by my side to escort me.
As the grand procession from the sitting room to the dining room began, he leaned down to whisper, “How are you hanging in there?”
Scowling, I whined, trying to remove any trace of fear from my voice. “It’s uncomfortable.”
Chuckling, he replied, “Don’t worry, Princess. Be a good girl tonight, and you have nothing to worry about.”
That was easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one dodging invisible land mines all night. Bringing me to my assigned seat, he pulled out my chair, allowing me to gracefully fall into it before pushing me in and rounding the table to sit directly opposite me. Amy was seated to my right, and Natalie was on my left.
Amy leaned over. “Are you okay? You were walking a little funny.”
Leave it to Amy not to miss a single thing.
I shrugged it off, trying to remain casual. “It’s nothing. I just tweaked my ankle a couple of days ago. Should be right as rain by the wedding.”
She didn’t look convinced but dropped it as the first course was served. The conversation was light, primarily consisting of excited chatter surrounding the upcoming wedding, less than a week away. I sat silently eating my dinner as the din of voices faded into the background. I’d already had my fill of wedding talk.
“Lucette!” Uh oh. I was caught not paying attention, and Grandfather’s booming voice alerted me to that discovery.
Looking up demurely, hoping to portray an air of innocence, I asked, “Yes, sir?”
Immediately, I felt the buzzing between my thighs and clenched against the sensation, which only made it more intense.
What the hell did I do wrong?
Gripping the table against the rolling waves of pleasure, I felt my face heat.
Before Grandfather could repeat whatever part of the conversation I missed that required a response, my mother’s concerned voice called out, “Gracious, Lucy! Are you all right? You look flushed all of a sudden!”
The sound of Preston clearing his throat across the table caused me to glare in his direction, pleading desperately with my eyes to make it stop before I gave the entire dinner party a show.
Gritting my teeth, I forced out, “I’m fine, Mother. It’s warm in here, is it not?”
Everyone gathered shook their heads, uttering various words indicating they had no issue with the temperature of the room. I almost wept with relief when the vibrations stopped abruptly, but my heart still raced, trying to beat right out of my chest.
Smiling slightly, I fanned my flushed face. “Guess it’s just me, then.”
Conversation resumed around the table, whatever topic pertaining to me long forgotten as I returned to concentrating on my food. The main course was served, a rack of lamb with roasted potatoes and carrots, and my mouth filled with saliva at the intoxicating aroma wafting off my plate.
While waiting for everyone else’s meals to be plated, Grandfather made a toast to the happy couple. Everyone said, “Cheers,” and then we began to eat once more.
Barely two bites into the savory lamb, Grandfather commented, “It pleases me to think that all my grandchildren will be settled in a few short months. I’m proud of you, Lucette.”
I wanted to retort that he was prouder of himself for strong-arming me into a marriage I never wanted, but held my tongue, graciously accepting his false praise. “Thank you, sir.”
The words had barely left my mouth when the vibrations started again, this time more intense than the last. Fuck. I wasn’tgoing to make it out of here alive. My brain raced, trying to find a commonality between the two incidents as I desperately tried to stave off a very public orgasm.
“We are very grateful for your support,sir.” Preston’s voice was strong and clear, emphasizing that last word, and that’s when it finally clicked.
He set me up!
He knew that coming down here tonight, I would be required to address my grandfather—my King—formally and with respect, and he was punishing me for it.
There wasn’t much time to plan the ways I was going to kill him because the vibrations increased in intensity again, and a moan slipped past my lips as I placed a hand on my lower abdomen, struggling to hold back.
