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

kingdom, holder of billions in wealth and millions of hearts.
    “What are you saying? You don't think I'm sick to death of this shit myself?” I'm shaking my head. “I don't understand, Your Majesty. We've seen these storms a hundred times, and this is just one more. We'll wait for it to blow over.”
    “Look at you, Silas. You're all grown up. Some days, I tell myself, I should've seen this coming.” She pauses, narrowing her eyes. “Your father would've been just as big a disgrace, if I may be frank. He was off with his mistress on that yacht when it sank in the Mediterranean, taking him to his grave. You, I'm afraid, are heading down the same ugly path.”
    The whole damned floor drops out beneath me. She's never mentioned the accident since the funeral. Never breathed a word about the wicked rumors everybody in the kingdom knows are probably true.
    My old man was a player, too. Like father, like son.
    He would've been next in line to inherit the crown, saving me from all this, if only he hadn't sailed into a once in a hundred year storm off the Greek islands.
    “Your Majesty...grandmother...” I'm trying like hell to find my words. “I haven't disgraced anything. I haven't even had a chance to fill your huge crown. Why do you think I sat there like a good little boy through the interview, while Warwick took his shots? I'm trying to shape up, embrace all the pomp and duty you've groomed me for. Really.”
    “Really?” she repeats, questioning me, slowly descending the three steps leading up to her secondary throne. “Silas, I'm entering my ninth decade in this world. You ought to know by now I'm not a fool.”
    Goddamn. When we're on the same level, she's a lot shorter, barely coming up to my chest. But those deep blue Bearington eyes rip through me, one with her aura, making me feel like I'm only half her size.
    “You'll do better,” she says, ordering me with a tone she never uses, not even with the servants. “You must. I don't have much time for your embarrassments anymore. I ran out of patience ages ago.”
    Patience? She really wants to talk about shit?
    Mine is shot to hell.
    I cock my head, trying my damnedest to return the death stare, without letting the warm buzz from the scotch muddle my words.
    “What do you think I'm doing, Your fucking Majesty? I mean, really? Really? You think I'm some overgrown kid who's acting out? I must be enjoying this, yes, ruining our dynasty? You want me to admit it – is that it?”
    Maybe a small part of me loves self-destruction. Subconsciously. If the crown goes to hell, all these ugly worries go too.
    But I won't let that happen. I'm pulling out every stop to reshape myself in the eyes of the people, and she thinks I'm jerking everyone off.
    “Fuck,” I growl, running a hand across my face.
    She doesn't even flinch. Over in the corner, Patricia stirs, one hand on the phone in her pocket, ready to summon the guards if she needs to.
    It's the first time in months I've dropped F-bombs in the Queen's presence. It's the first time I can remember being this pissed, because I've actually tried. I'm standing there, wishing I could rip that stupid silver tiara off her head and throw it into the fire crackling behind her.
    Everybody in Saint Moore worships the ground this woman walks on.
    I don't.
    I can't.
    I've been her round peg since the day my father died, and she's been jamming me into a square hole I'll never fit through. I don't understand why she won't stop trying.
    It isn't good enough that I become King. No, I have to carry on her water-to-wine routine, acting like a saint sent to Earth, adored by millions I'll never truly relate to.
    I have to pretend it's vital to preserve this crown, when we could just as easily step down, ride off into the sunset with all our wealth, and let go of this medieval bullshit for the sake of prestige.
    “Don't you dare take that tone with me again, Silas,” she snaps, stopping when we're less than a foot apart. “I want you