Prince With Benefits: A Billionaire Royal Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn't engineer a damned thing.”
    Yeah, the jackal's daughter, I think to myself. His very sweet, very pure, very fuckable daughter.
    “You know you have my trust, Your Highness,” Vic says, respectful as ever. But his eyes don't agree with his voice.
    “Stop looking at me like that. Look, if it wasn't for that fairy tale embrace when I caught her, they'd be throwing a lot more shit in our faces right about now. Grandmom has to understand that, doesn't she?”
    Victor straightens, folding his hands across his lap. “It's certainly not my place to say, sire. I have a car waiting to take you to the palace. At your convenience, of course.”
    Convenience my ass. I let my glass drop loudly on the wooden stand in the corner. Then I grab my gray jacket, the one with the purple and gold lapel. It's shaped like our national symbol, the double-headed eagle holding the crown jewels in his talons.
    I'm wishing I could summon that mythical SOB to swoop down for a day or two, and give the chattering class something else to fixate on instead of Prince Playboy's latest antics.
    Victor moves behind me, a subtle offer to help me slip my jacket on, as if I'm too damned drunk to do it myself.
    I step forward angrily, out of his reach. I'm sober, and I'm damned sure old enough to dress myself. I haven't let the attendants anywhere near my body since I was eight years old. Mom was still around then, able to order her servants to have me up and dressed by nine o'clock sharp every day.
    “I'm ready. Let's get this over with.”
    “Right behind you, Your Highness.” He really is. Vic trails me like a loyal, if annoying dog the whole way out, radioing to my entourage for the usual security checks before we reach our ride.
    This isn't the way I wanted my night off to go. I wanted to forget today's circus.
    The pussy and scotch will have to wait. Duty calls, as long as my veins are soaked in royal blood.
    A jet black luxury SUV waits on the curb. There's one brief glimpse at the subjects lined up near the entrance, waiting to get in. The bouncers have orders to pat them down thoroughly, making sure the girls who pass my looks test also aren't packing anything nasty like drugs or weapons.
    The palace was scandalized enough when Victor found a joint in my room after my twentieth birthday party. He told me he'd keep it to himself, but I knew who had his true loyalty: the unbearably perfect, larger-than-life woman I'm on my way to see right now.
    Hell, I stopped smoking completely after that. Nothing's worth risking another week at rehab in the lowlands. Sure, the scenery is gorgeous, but it doesn't make up for the distinct shortage of women, booze, and bright, shiny lights.
    All the things engraved on my heart and soul.
    It's a short hop to through the capital to our royal palace. The light nighttime traffic clears the streets when they see my motorcade coming. Outside, I watch the people sitting off to the side in their cars, a few stragglers waiting on the streets.
    They wave. They put their hands over their hearts. Every so often, they shoot me the middle finger.
    This division in the kingdom is what it's all about, what's gotten Her Majesty so nervous.
    Grandmom wants me to shape up before she croaks, and the people are looking at King Silas. We both know Prince Hung will be done for then, but his memory will live on.
    They'll be forced to decide whether they want me wearing the crown, or if they're going to use their votes to abolish centuries of wealth, guts, and glory.
    “Right this way, Your Highness.” A man opens the door for me.
    I step out, moving quickly through the line of guards to the back entrance. The lights in the palace are always so subdued; soft, gold, and otherworldly. It smells like a damned museum, and the décor matches one, too.
    Whether I'm a lock for the throne one day or not, I can't imagine living here again. I'm walking swiftly down the long hallway, portraits of our ancestors towering down at me, glaring.
    I can