Page 98 of Reign of the Queen
I step into the room, a smirk on my face I can't hide at their evident good-natured banter. The minute Carter sees me; a huge grin passes over his face. "Babe, tell her no one should be seeing my cock but you."
"What makes you think I want to see it?" I laugh, and nurse Mary turns around with a giggle and rolls her eyes.
Carter clutches his chest dramatically. A silly grin crosses his mischievous face. "You wound me, babe."
"What's going on, Mary? He being a general pain in the ass?" I question, turning my attention away from Carter, the diva, to poor Mary. I hope my grandmother's paying her extra to have to deal with Carter's antics.
"Miss Stratford, he is still too weak to be alone in a shower area. He may fall in there in his weakened state or have a seizure. He won't listen, says he needs a shower, and won't let me clean or assist him." I watch her concerned face, and glance back over at Carter. I notice his embarrassment at his weakened state and discomfort at the idea of nurse Mary washing him.
"I see. Well, I have a large shower area in my suite with a built-in bench area, so he can sit through his shower. I am sure we can get him up there. Theo and I can assist in getting him inside. Maybe Theo can stay in the room with him just in case?" I quirk an eyebrow at Carter to see if he's agreeable to my suggestion.
Carter grins and nods back at me. I look over at Mary and see a small smile cross her face. "I'll go see if I can track down Theo. Carter, stay put and stop giving Mary a hard time, you ass."
Walking out the door of his room and toward the open concept part of the house. Thoughts of leaving Casbury are firmly placed on the back burner while I deal with this.I tell myself I'm not avoiding deciding, but that bitch in my head is calling me a damn liar.
I have no idea where Theo went off to once I headed into the meeting with my grandmother. It’s been an hour or more since. This house is so large that he literally could be anywhere. As I pass the open patio doors, I hear a small, repeated popping noise from down the property. Curiosity has me turning in the direction of the sound, and I head out the patio doors and past the pool area.
Three male forms are visible from my distance, standing close together. I can't tell what they're doing, but again the popping sound appears in the air—walking quickly in the direction of the rapidly emerging forms. I realize that it's Theo, Tom, and Clark. They have set up some sort of shooting range with targets mounted on the grass area. The popping sound is Theo holding a gun straight out in front of him and firing at the targets. The sound gets louder the closer I get to them.
At my approach, Tom and Clark turn toward me, but Theo is entirely intent on his task. He takes another few shots at the targets. Landing the bullets within the target's outlined form, not bullseye centered, but within the mark nonetheless.
"What’s going on here, Clark?" I address my question to my grandmother's head of security.
"Miss Stratford, we are ensuring that Theo knows how to fire a weapon accurately for his own safety." Clark doesn't look away from my questioning glare and even tries to hide the smirk he's wearing.
Theo finally turns around and gives me a once over, watching my reaction at him holding and firing a gun. I keep my face impassive, giving him nothing of my thoughts. Even though right now, he looks sexy as fuck holding that gun.Maybe I need therapy?How can I be this attracted to my enemy?Get it together, Mia, you horny bitch.
Clark and Tom obviously think it's necessary that he has a gun and is able to protect himself against his psychotic father. I don't for a second disagree. His father's going to come after him for his show of defiance in the office and for taking Carter. I let a little grin escape.Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Vincent Saint-Lambert underestimates his son and gets his ass shot.
"Theo, I need your help. Carter is being a general fucking pain in the ass with Mary and wants to shower unassisted, which of course, she has refused. I need to get him to my wing of the house and in my shower, which has a bench he can sit on."
"Okay." He looks at me curiously. Locking the safety in place, he hands the gun, butt first, to Clark. "Thank you, guys. I appreciate the instruction and the practice."
Clark nods and takes the gun from him. "You'll do just fine, boy. Just make sure you remember what we talked about. I'll have this ready for you when you leave in the morning."
Tom nods to both of us, and he and Clark head in the other direction, back in the direction of the front of the house.
"You ever held a gun before today?"
"Yes." He stares me down with an intense smoldering look that sends shivers down my spine.
"Are you going to be able to shoot anyone with that gun?" I start walking back to the house, and he falls into step with me.
"Not just anyone, a specific someone." I catch him grinning out of the corner of my eye.
"Good." I nod my head in agreement. We are both on the same page then. If his dad tries to hurt him, at least he has another way to defend himself.
"So, Carter needs a shower?" He grins.
"Fucker is driving nurse Mary up the wall. He wants to shower but doesn't want her to see his dick. She's worried he could fall or have a seizure, so she won't let him be in there alone. I have a built-in bench in mine, so at least he can sit. You'll have to stay in the room with him just in case."
"What makes you think I want to see his dick?" He laughs.
"That's what I said. Seriously though, he needs a shower. He stinks."
We walk back into the house together in companionable silence. Theo lets his hand trail down to my lower back. The heat from his hand sears through my long black sleeve top and makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand. As we approach Carter's room, we can hear him once again arguing with nurse Mary. Theo and I look at each other and both crack up laughing.
We walk into the room and watch as nurse Mary takes a piece of medical tape and puts it across Carter's mouth. He's lying in bed in nothing but a pair of loose blue basketball shorts. His tattoos are on vibrant display and his hair is a damn mess, yet he still looks hot as fuck, even if he does stink.Trust me; Carter hasn't showered in almost four days. Hot or not, he reeks.
