Her eyes flashed. “Seriously! I mean I’m having fun with it, but that’s a really good thing. One of them kissed the woman they were supposed to guard, and they dealt with it like adults. No hard feelings, no jealousy.”
“Why would there be jealousy?” I asked. “Kid’s the only one who likes me. Actually, I don’t even know ifthat’strue; he could’ve just gotten caught up in the moment.”
Evie lowered her eyes in an expression that seemed to say, “come on, now.”
“You’re serious? Vic, I know that living in the palace you get a little…disconnected from the real world. But you have to know that you’re a hot babe, right?”
“Oh, cut it out.”
“I’m serious! Your dad tries to keep you under lock and key, but that hasn’t stopped you from being an icon to half the models I know. Hell, the fact that barely any pictures of you are out there only makes them want to know more about the mysterious princess of Candara.”
“Stop.” I was blushing just hearing the words.
“OK, I know how you are with attention, so I’ll go easy on you. But the point I’m trying to make is that there’s no way these guys aren’t salivating over you from behind closed doors. If one of them likes you, I’m sure they all do.”
A thrill ran up my spine, not to mention a tingling between my thighs, at the idea of the guys lusting after me. I put the feelings aside as quickly as I could though, knowing how totally inappropriate they were.
“Well, they’d better keep it to themselves. We’re all here for a reason, and it’s not for…stuff like that.”
She laughed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you can be really naïve sometimes. I don’t need to meet these guys to get an idea of what they’re like. I’ve known more than a few military men in my day. I bet they’re playing it cool, but each night they’re probably jerking themselves off thinking about all the things they want to do to you.”
“Evie!”
“What? Just putting it out there. You ask me? I think you should take advantage of the situation.”
“Something tells me I don’t want to even guess what you mean by that.”
“You don’t need to guess; I’ll tell you. What you should do, my dear princess friend is make all of the guys yours.”
“What?” the suggestion was so absurd that I didn’t even process it at first.“You cannot be serious.”
“You heard me. Four guys, one you. Don’t just hook up with one of them…hook up with all of them! Make them your own personal harem of studs. I mean, you’re going to be stuck up there with them indefinitely, right? Might as well have some fun with it.”
I wanted to tell her she was insane, that there wasn’t a chance in hell that I’d ever do something like that. But the strangest thing happened. When I opened my mouth to say so, nothing came out. I was at a loss for words.
“See!” she said, pointing at me. “I knew it! You’ve thought about it, haven’t you?”
“No! I haven’t!” I could feel my face turning redder and redder by the second.
“Come on, Vic! How long have you and I been friends? Almost twenty years? I know you better than anyone, and you’ve never been a good liar. I bet you get all comfy under the covers at night, close your eyes, and think all kinds of dirty thoughts about what it’d be like to have all four of those guys at the same time.”
“That’s a total lie! Ev, I’ve never even been withoneguy before, how the hell am I supposed to be withfour?”
“There it is again! If you hadn’t been thinking about it, you would’ve said that it was out of the question. Instead, you offered up some kind of logistical explanation for why it wasn’t possible.”
“No! I’m just giving you a reason, like, one among many, why it’d be a bad idea.”
“Alright, alright.” She raised her palms in surrender. “I’ll back off. Besides, I’ve put the idea in your head, and planted the seed, you know? Mission accomplished, as your mercenary friends might say.”
I sighed. “Good to talk to you, Ev. I’ll call again soon when you’ve gotten your mind out of the gutter.”
“Good talking to you, too. And keep me posted!”
We said our I love you’s and goodbyes and that was that.
I hopped off the bed, stripping out of my clothes down to my bra and panties as I made my way over to the bathroom across the suite. Once there, I shut the door and started the bath, letting the hot water fill the tub almost to the brim before sliding in.
The moment I was under the warm, relaxing water, however, something dawned on me.