CHAPTER 11
Raven
Two Weeks Later
Electricity sizzled in the air. It had taken this night so long to come to fruition. Raven floated around the room, making sure everything, and everyone was in the right place. Just as she was about to make a mad dash across the room, Dexter whispered in her ear.
“Slow down, Princess.”
Raven turned to look at him, a smile spreading over her face. “You know it can’t be a nickname if it’s my title.”
“Says who?” In full view of everyone gathered, he kissed her softly on the lips, pulling her body close to his.
“If you don’t stop, my mother will give you another lesson in etiquette and appropriate decorum at public events.” She raised an eyebrow at him, “Is that something you really want to go through again?”
Dexter pulled back, looking over his shoulder in the direction Raven’s parents were standing. “To be so damn tiny, your mother is no joke. I didn’t realize she was so mean.”
Raven wanted to laugh out loud but refrained. They’d already set too many tongues wagging with their shenanigans. “Do not call my mother mean. She’s the sweetest woman ever.”
“Oh yeah? Why don’t you tell that to Nico and Max? I don’t think they would agree with you.”
They turned to look at the two men in question before bursting into laughter. Max and Nico were two of the deadliest men on the east coast, yet if her mother asked them to do something for her, they jumped to comply like schoolboys. Raven would need to learn that skill for Dexter.
“They deserved it. They’re lucky my father didn’t get to them first. They tried to bring weapons into the castle, Dexter. And did you see the number of handguns they had? Even you have to admit it was a bit much.” She knew it had to be that damn Nico. The gruff man was sweet as pie to his wife, Lavinia, and to Max’s wife, Kiana. Even his behavior towards Raven was courteous, kind, and respectful. There was no reason she should think poorly of him. And she didn’t. Not really. Still, there was something about him that unnerved her. A look in his eyes that told her he could flip that switch at any moment and turn into a stone-cold-killer.
“No. When it comes to protecting you, their wives, and your family, it’s never too much.” Glancing around the room, Dexter took note of where his friends were located before looking back at Raven. “Are you sure you’re okay with how this is going to go down? Your parents have a definite plan for what they want to do. You cannot interfere with your father or what he does.”
Raven had never been surer of anything in her life, except for how she felt about Dexter. “Yes. I want this over with. I want my parents to have peace. I’m ready to get back to our life in Washington, D.C. I love being home, but I’m not quite prepared to deal with all the palace intrigue just yet.”
Dexter began walking them over to her parents. “I’m ready as well. Although I know we’ll have to come back more often now that our engagement is official.”
Raven almost stumbled, but Dexter caught her before she went down. “We?”
Giving her a smile, he nodded. “Two weeks ago, you challenged me. Do you remember?”
“I did?” Raven wracked her brain, trying to remember what he was referring to.
“Yes. You did. When we were riding home from the charity ball, you questioned if I could live in your world. You asked could I take a step back and let you be the leader you were born to be, and will soon become? I’m here to tell you that I can, and I’m going to prove it to you. Here in Shularia, you run the show in public, but behind our bedroom door—”
“It’s all you,” she replied.
“Damn right, it is.”
When they reached her parents, Raven didn’t execute another curtsy since they’d done that earlier.
“Daughter. Dexter. Has everyone arrived for our little tête-à-tête?” Her father asked before looking around the room, nodding here and there as the guests mingled.
Raven couldn’t help but think how handsome her father looked in his black tuxedo. Her mother stood next to him in a stunning deep blue, floor-length gown, highlighting her beautiful brown skin tone and her naturally gorgeous face.
“Yes, they have,” Dexter answered for them both.
Queen Vivian flicked her eyes over to Max, Nico, Kiana, and Lavinia. “And your people from the United States? Are they all set up as well?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Well, let me just say. Next time, those boys better request an official audience with the King before trying to bring weapons into my home.”
There were times like this when Raven was reminded that her mother was Georgia born and bred. Being one half of a royal couple ruling over a nation of people, she was an amazing woman in her own right. Mean as hell when she wanted to be, but that’s just how she was. Her mother didn’t take shit from many people, including Raven’s father. Although, Raven would never admit to Dexter that she thought her own mother was mean. That had to be akin to blasphemy or something.