unsure of what else to say. I wasnât much for shooting animals, especially fellow villainous ones. Now, give me a clean shot at a white knight ...
âDad.â Asia gestured to the brave hunter / king, and to her mother seated so primly next to him. âMother. Iâd like you to meet a friend of mine. A duke,â she motioned to me, âDuke ...â
âRJ. I go by RJ,â I said when she paused.
âYes.â Asia grinned as if we shared a secret. âMeet Duke RJ.â
Asiaâs mother, Lady Maledetto, rose from the sofa with a regal air, the look of welcome vanishing from her face at my assumed title. After all, a princess, even an ugly one, needed a prince, not some duke with delusions of grandeur and initials for a name.
I smiled my most charming smile and studied Lady Maledetto. Asia resembled her in many ways, the red hair and pert nose, not to mention the smoking-hot body. By all accounts, King Maledetto had married up. How had Cinderella avoided her true motherâs ugly genetic fate? It wasnât like the king was anything to look at, with his grey hair, beard, and mead gut that spilled over his belt like a muffin.
âDuke RJ.â Lady Maledetto held out her hand. âItâs a pleasure to meet you. My daughterâs,â she glared at Asia, âtold us so much about you.â
Liar, liar, pants on fire. I checked to make sure her nose hadnât grown before clasping her hand in mine. âThank you, madam.â I slowly bent to kiss her knuckles like Iâd seen plenty of princes do. Somehow, I slipped into the role of Duke RJ without even trying. Must have something to do with the âniceâ clause. Fucking union. âItâs a pleasure to be here, but under the most tragic of circumstances.â Lady Maledetto stared blankly at me, so I added, âCinderellaâs death. Iâm sorry for your loss.â
âOh. That.â She waved her hand in the air between us, probably calling her legion of killer bluebirds. âYes, itâs a sad time for us all. Honey,â she pointed to the king, âsay hello to Asiaâs friend.â
The older man shuffled from the couch. âDuke, was it?â
âIf Asia says so.â I nodded, my eyes never wavering from his face. âBut feel free to call me RJ, or whatever you like.â I grinned. âMost people do.â
âSo what brings you to our fair kingdom?â Like any good father, the old king regarded me with suspicion through narrowed eyes. The kind learned by men at a very young age. We were not to be trusted around beautiful women. Ever.
âDaddy,â Asia started to interrupt.
I held up my hand to stop her. âWell, sir, Asia asked me to, so here I am. Your daughterââ
âStepdaughter,â the king and his wife said in a freakishly similar manner.
âStepdaughter,â I corrected, âis very persuasive.â
The king nodded in apparent male understanding of the inner workings of the illogical female brain. Asia looked as if she wanted to scream. On the other hand, her mother just beamed at the clueless king, and then her attention returned to me.
âYou must be starving after your long journey,â the queen said. âIâll ask Winslow to ask Cook to have one of the maids deliver some sandwiches to your room.â
My stomach growled, reminding me of my aborted breakfast attempt. The thought of bread, meat, and a selection of cheese excited me much more than it should. âThat sounds greaââ
âNo, thanks,â Asia interrupted. âRJâs not hungry, and Iâm on a diet.â
âOf course you are, dear.â The queen nodded as if the shapely princess next to me needed to lose a hundred pounds. If anything, Asia was far too thin. I preferred my victims a tad meatier, but I knew, perhaps better than anyone did, how mothers could be. Mine, to this day, insisted on holding my hand