Chapter 243 - Unboxing the Past (1/2)

Arei tapped his fingers on the cellphone resting in his l.a.p in irritation as he stared, contemplatively out the window at the bright morning sun rising over the gentle hills surrounding the palace. A small hand ran across his b.a.r.e c.h.e.s.t and a soft face rested against his shoulder bringing his attention back to the room. He moved his hand that had been drumming on the phone up to rub the arm around his neck as he turned a warm smile to the face resting on his shoulder. ”What are you doing up so early?” He tugged Jos around and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She tilted her head, watching as the irritation quickly melted away from his beautiful hazel eyes. She smiled sweetly up at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. ”I guess I'm getting too used to your warm body against me while I sleep...” She met his lips as they moved down to hers.

Arei gave a husky growl against her lips as he moved the phone out of his l.a.p and pulled her into it. He wrapped her tightly in his arms as he lowered his lips down to hers. ”Then we'll have to rethink the sleeping arrangements once we get to the island.”

Jos ran her hand over his b.a.r.e c.h.e.s.t as she pushed up to meet his lips for another kiss. ”And what arrangements were those?”

He smiled down at her. ”I'd planned on you having your own room as well as Shelly.”

Jos traced one of the many tattoos, her eyes focused on her fingers movements as she whispered. ”Maybe it should be the baby's nursery instead...” Her heated gaze met his.

His smile widened mischievously. ”Then where will you go when you've tired of me?”

She pursed her lips. ”Who's to say I'll ever tire of you? It seems like you have an extensive enough past to keep me entertained for years...”

”Hum... maybe...” He stroked her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb before bending and placing another kiss on her lips. ”Then when you're angry with me...”

She tangled her hands in his loose hair, tugging him back down to her lips. ”Even more reason to share a room... You can convince me to forgive you.”

His lips curved in a seductive smirk. ”And how might I do that?” He asked as he ran his hand over the curve of her hip and down her t.h.i.g.h before stroking it back upwards.

”You've such a way with words... and your hands...” She purred as he continued stroking his massive hands across her body teasingly. ”I'm sure you could always find a way to convince me to forgive you...”

The corner of his lips raised more. ”Damn, I wish I'd known years ago that was all it would take.” He regretted his words almost instantly when a frown spread across her beautiful lips. He ran his hand along her jaw and tangled his fingers into her hair. ”I'm sorry if I've upset you, Kitten. I was only teasing.”

She shook her head. ”No... it's alright... It was well deserved...” She sat up as much as she could in his l.a.p. Cupping her hand over the hand laced into her hair and leaning her head more into his palm, she held his turbulent gaze. ”I don't want you to feel like you have to tiptoe around my emotions anymore. I promise, no matter what, I'll not run away again. I'll face you like an a.d.u.l.t and talk about whatever it is bothering me.”

Arei nodded as he let out a heavy sigh. ”And in the attempts of moving forward and making better on our past shortcomings, I should tell you what had me so bothered this morning.” He retrieved his phone from beside them. Handing it over to Jos, he said. ”Russ killed a man last night... It was one of the palace guards hired by and loyal to Fern. Russ told Ry and Father that the man had been sent to kill him... after Fern had tried to drug him...” He watched as her worried gaze moved from him to the phone. She quickly scanned over the texts.

”Oh... no...” Her eyes shot back to his. ”But he's alright though, right? Your dad and Ry will keep him safe?”

Arei nodded, ”Ry had decided to keep a closer watch on him. They plan on going into town today and seeing what all they can dig up on Fern. They've asked that we see what we can dig up here.” He nodded toward the phone. ”Just in case the computers there in the palace are bugged. I also told them I'd speak with Prometheus when he comes to finish out your paperwork.”

”Should we see if Peg and Andy can uncover anything at the Embassy?” Jos asked, worry heavy in her voice.

Arei nodded. ”They can use all the help they can get right now. Ry and Father suspect the party they broke up last night was Fern's last-ditch attempt to get as much money as he could before bailing on Russ and the kingdom. If he is into human trafficking and the other things Ry suspects then he's going to be desperate now... Maybe even desperate enough to step up another assassination attempt.”

Jos's frown deepened. ”Tell them to go to my cave. Cam stored a lot of doc.u.ments and things there over the years. She never trusted Fern and after that last time he'd come to the island and tried to challenge Ales, she brought several more boxes there. She was convinced he'd at least been the one to poison and eventually killing his own mother.” Jos's brows tented. ”She'd even thought it possible he'd somehow killed their father but could never prove it... or even come up with a good enough reason to accuse him.”

[I wasn't going to say anything about that yet, but yes, we found one of her old diaries in Fern's desk. We assume he was holding onto it because of the incriminating accusations Camila had made against him. But there's no way of knowing for sure, at least not yet. If there's more at Jos's then you better bet we'll head there first. It's better to learn these things directly from the source. I'll text back later with what we've found.]

Arei nodded to Jos. ”They are on their way to your home now to go through whatever she's left there.” He set the phone back beside him as he pulled her back against his c.h.e.s.t. ”Don't worry he's in good hands. They won't let anything else bad happen.”

***

Russ snarled his nose as he looked around the cluttered, damp space. ”This is Jos's home? She actually lived here?”

Ry sent him a 'are you kidding' glare. ”Yeah, kid, what did you expect?” He motioned around the room. ”This was here that she spent every second of her life before moving with you, what sixteen years ago now?” He furrowed his brows. ”As close as she and your mother were how was it, you'd never been here?”

Russ looked around at the newer boxes that sat piled up near the door, the boxes that had been sent from their apartment. ”If I'd been here before, I don't remember it. I only have tidbits of memories of her at the palace...” He shrugged. ”I guess it's good that I left here at such a young age. Coming back to see everything like it currently is would probably be a lot worse if I'd seen it during my parents' rule.”

Ry clasped a hand over his shoulder. ”You're not lying there. It's rough seeing what this place has become after seeing what it had been all those years ago. Don't get me wrong there were still some rough parts of the island, but nothing compared to this.” He turned his focus to Poseidon. ”So, you find anything yet?”