CHAPTER FIVE | England, 1891

CHAPTER FIVE

England, 1891

I SHOULDN’T HAVE KISSED her.

I shouldn’t have listened at the door.

I shouldn’t have...

“That poor fucking female,” Brayden said, interrupting his thoughts.

Craig followed the prince into his office while Vincent ignored their chatter. God only knew which female, human or otherwise, the two of them were rambling on about now.

He stood up from the small sofa in his office and began to walk across the room.

“Kate? Yeah, poor girl,” Craig replied.

What?

Vincent stopped, turned, and narrowed his eyes at them.

“What’s wrong with Kate?”

“Don’t be an ass, brother,” Brayden chided, leaning his hand against the wall. “That gorgeous female wants you. Instead of servicing her, you left her to pleasure herself while you jerked off at her door.”

So much for brotherly loyalty. The little fucker had told Craig? Sometimes, being king was a pain in the ass. Like now, when he wanted to throw a punch at the prince’s damn face.

“I was not jerking off. I was...protecting her,” he growled.

They both laughed at him.

Fuck’s sakes.

“Why doesn’t Kate come to the day parties?” Craig asked, shrugging. “Plenty of vampires in there who would protect her while she’s finding her happy place.”

Day parties? What was this, a mother’s group?

“Orgies,” Vincent sneered. “Call them what they are, for goodness’ sake.”

“Fine. The fuck-fests.” Craig grinned.

Brayden crossed his arms, ignoring the commander, and frowned at him. “Wait a minute. Have you told Kate she can’t attend the orgies?”

“Fuck-fests. We’ve rebranded.” Craig snorted.

Vincent shook his head.

He knew what the two of them were up to. Since they’d met, Craig and Brayden had been tight friends; it was like having a second annoying little brother. Together, they loved winding him up, even though he was now the goddamn king.

It was, besides sex, their favorite past time.

When it came to Kate, Vincent wasn’t having it. She was not a toy to be played with. They could find another topic to wind him up about.

“I have not,” Vincent replied, crossing his arms despite the fact he wasn’t telling the entire truth. He may have lost his shit several weeks ago, which had gone down...well, not very well at all. But he hadn’t banned her. Unless asking a few of his soldiers to advise him if Kate showed up at one of the events was considered banning .

Tomayto, tomahto.

“In any case, Kate is a female of class and isn’t the type to frequent such places.”

“You mean classy like the duchess and princess who attended yesterday?” Craig asked, laughing.

That wasn’t a big surprise. Royalty—human royalty—had been known to attend from time to time. Though they always had to have their minds wiped.

Vincent groaned. “Dammit. Stop inviting them. And make sure you clean up their memories before they leave. I don’t want any leakage on my watch.”

Brayden rolled his eyes. “He’s the commander of your army, Vincent. As if he’s going to let anyone who poses a risk leave the property. Now, back to Kate.”

“ Not back to Kate; she’s no one’s business,” he growled, ignoring their grins.

Fuckers.

Vincent walked to his desk and sat down, switching to king mode. His fingers entwined as he laid them on the surface in front of him, and their smiles faded.

“So, what did you want to see us about?” Brayden asked.

About fucking time.

It was his turn to grin. “We’re moving to America.”

And...totally worth the wait to see their smart-assed mouths fall open.