I ran my fingers into his thick hair, reveling in the few waves that had defied his styling products. I wanted to mess this pristine valet up and see him flushed and debauched from fucking me senseless.
As he bobbed over my cock, teasing the crown with his talented tongue, I threw my head back in pleasure.
And almost knocked myself out on the headboard.
3
ARTHUR
I heardthe bang and looked up. Tears filled Max’s eyes suddenly and overflowed onto his flushed cheeks. I realized he’d hurt himself on the headboard.
“Cripes,” I said, crawling up his body to examine his head. “Baby, what happened?”
His beautiful dark eyes met mine. His lashes were deep black with shining droplets of tears caught in them. “Hit my head like an idiot.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” I murmured as I moved around to take a look at the back of his head. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m so stupid,” he said with a sniff. I moved his hand out of the way and felt gingerly for a bump. Sure enough, one was forming. I moved off the bed and began to throw on some clothes. He looked at me with wet eyes. “Where are you going?”
“To get some ice. I’ll be quick. Get under the covers and stay warm, alright?”
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I ruined everything.”
I smiled at him and walked over to kiss his forehead before clasping his face and forcing him to look at me. “You ruined nothing. I love to take care of people. Let me do this.”
He reluctantly nodded so I grabbed the key card and ice bucket before exiting the room in search of an ice machine. Once I found it, I returned and made up an ice compress with a hand towel. When I sat next to him on the bed, he automatically leaned in to my side. I moved us around until he was lying sideways on my lap and I could hold the ice on his head.
“How’d you become a valet?” Max asked. “You said you like to take care of people. Is that how you…?”
“It’s actually sort of an inherited position,” I explained. “My father and grandfather were also in service to the monarchy. So it was a natural thing for me to pursue.”
“Do you like, intern or something for that?”
“Sort of. I was sent to boarding schools and university to get the same education as Lior. It’s very different from a house servant or something like that. While many of my duties are domestic, I also help manage his life in ways people don’t expect. That’s why I need to have a high level of education. Because a valet is often someone a royal spends copious amounts of time with, we have quite a bit of influence on them. For that reason, there are very high standards of both education and integrity. At least, that’s how it’s done in our country.”
“Wow. I had no idea. That’s really interesting. Do you like it?”
I couldn’t keep my hands out of his dark curly hair. “I do like it. Mostly because I love Lior like a brother and making his life easier makes me happy.”
Max turned over to face me. He was so cute and sexy, my heart thumped faster when he looked at me.
“That’s really sweet,” he said. “I feel that way about my family too.”
I brushed the curls back from his forehead, but they fell back as soon as my hand moved away. “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a nanny.” His cheeks pinked and his eyes cast down as if there was something to be ashamed of.
I tilted his chin up with my finger. “That’s amazing. The kids must love you.”
His smile was self-deprecating. “They love me because they have me wrapped around their little finger. Despite all my early childhood classes in college, I’m total mush when one of them quivers a chin at me.”
“Do you want kids of your own one day?”
Max shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably not. I love being able to walk away at the end of the day. Maybe that sounds terrible, but I have dreams that don’t really include kids.”
“Like what?” I shifted so we were lying side-by-side facing each other. After reaching for his hand, I held it in mine and toyed with his fingers.
“I want to travel. I love history and art. Felix has told me so much about Gadleigh Castle, and I want to actually see places like that, you know?”
