The Queen's Guard

Chapter 27

           

    A banging noise jerked Ryder awake, and Juliet, still in his arms, almost fell to the ground. She shot up, her hair a frizzy mess, and blinked at the door.

     "Someone's here," She hissed to Ryder—although he'd already guessed as much—and grabbed his hand to haul him up. "Quick, get in your room."

     He staggered for his closet and had barely managed to shut the door behind him when he heard Juliet's door open. A pompous, annoyed voice wished Juliet a good morning, which she stiffly accepted. 

     "Where is your guard?" The voice asked. 

     "Still asleep, I think," Juliet said. 

     "Clarisse wishes to see you both. You don't mind if I wake him?"

     Ryder quickly yanked off his jacket, tore his shirt off, and kicked his shoes to the side of the room. They'd barely fell still when his door opened. A royal steward gave him a disdainful look.

     "Her Majesty said that you were still asleep."

     "Don't see how I could be, with all that banging on the door." He frowned at the steward and leaned against the door frame. Juliet was still in the center of the room, looking worried.

     The steward sniffed. "Hmph. Well, Her Royal Majesty, Clarisse, requests your presence immediately."

     "What does she want at this hour?"

     "It's almost two in the afternoon, Lord Tate, and I do not pry into Her Royal Majesty's personal affairs."

     "Will Her Royal Majesty allow me to put a shirt on before I meet with her?"

     The steward looked down at Ryder's dress pants and frowned. "You have two minutes. Put some clothes on, then meet me outside."

     Without another word, the steward spun on his heel and stalked out. Ryder grabbed one of his plain shirts and pulled it over his head.

     "What do you think she wants?" He asked, unbuckling his pants and sliding them down.

     Juliet's cheeks turned pink, but she kept her eyes on his face—for the most part. He couldn't help but grin at her as she said, "I'm not sure. She's probably retaliating for last night. Stop grinning at me like that."

     His grin only widened as he pulled on a clean pair of pants. "You're the one turning pink."

     He had to duck as a book was thrown at him, but it was only a paperback, so she wasn't really angry. "You should have woken me," Juliet said, chewing her lip as he stuffed his bare feet into boots. "You didn't have to sleep on the couch all night."

     He shrugged and crossed the room to take her hand. "I didn't mind," He told her. "And it seemed rude to wake you."

     Her face softened into a small smile. "You like me too much," She said quietly. "I think it might be a problem."

     "Only a little one," He whispered, bending to kiss her.

     The steward started banging on the door again, and Juliet sighed. Her breath warmed his lips before he pulled back and let go of her hand.

     "We'd better go see what your cousin wants."

     Clarisse was already smiling when they walked in behind the steward. Ryder was back in his normal spot—behind and a little to the left of Juliet, but he wanted to step up to her side. The smile on Clarisse's face meant she was up to no good, to say the least.