The breath Erin hadn't realized she'd been holding escaped her when she heard footsteps approaching. As they neared the other side of the door, she panicked. What the fuck was she going to say?

She hadn't thought that through. She was standing awkwardly when the door was pulled open. Prince Jay had only half-managed to change out of that suit she'd witnessed him wearing. He'd rid himself of the black jacket, unbuttoned the trousers and untucked his shirt, rolling the folded sleeves past his elbows. When he caught sight of her he grinned with one side of his mouth so it resembled a smirk.

Then he cooked his head to the side, as if to question innocently why she was standing at the door to his apartment. "Can I help you?" he asked, still smirking.

Erin said nothing but pushed herself onto her tiptoes and shrugged. For effect, she bit her lower lip while looking ay him.

At the gesture, Jay's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. A gulp. "You better…come…in," he reached out and in a swift movement, grabbed her hand pulling her into the first corridor of his private space.

Once Jay had closed the door behind her, he loosened his grip, realizing Erin had never been into his chambers before. Her eyes roamed the surroundings: Erin wasn't sure what she'd been expecting but she could definitely tell this was Jay's part of the palace.

It was surprisingly cleaner than she'd thought it would be: the plush carpet beneath her feet and the dark walls, it somehow looked more appetizing than the rest of the castle.

Erin felt Jay's gaze burning a hole into the side of her temple and she spun the rest of the way to face him.

"You're in my apartment," the young Prince sounded kinda proud to be saying it, a smile spreading slowly across his face. "Let me show you around," Jay extended a hand towards her again and she reached for it quicker than necessary. Something about being in his private space made her want to touch him.

Or maybe it had something to do with the fact his half-undressed style made him look fucking sexy.

Erin gulped, following a step behind him as Jay led her into the first room. He'd made it into his lounge- though most of the furniture looked far too expensive for Erin to sit on. It was a lot more colorful than the outer part of the palace, this was definitely an apartment the Prince had made his own.

Erin's eyes widened as she scanned the room and its walls: apart from the fact an enormous L-shaped couch took up the majority of space, there was a giant flat screen TV and a circular shaped rug on the floor. The numerous photographs that decorated the walls had been the last thing she'd expected to see. From the vibes Prince Jay gave off, Erin had been under the impression there would be little to remind him of his past up on display. Yet, there were more than a dozen pictures…and over half of them appeared to be family orientated.

Tilting her head in their direction, Erin pulled away her hand to look at them closely. Something inside her twigged as she caught sight of how many included Jay's mom. One of Jay wrapped in Ellen's embrace, a two-teeth-missing toddler Jay smiling for the camera whilst holding his mother's hand. Erin gulped: they were obviously family intimate photos, ones that would never been shown to the media.

"Your mother was beautiful," she half-whispered, resisting the urge to trail a finger along the frames.

"Yeeeep," the young Prince dragged out his response to make it sound like three syllables. The tone of his voice made her turn towards him.

Now Jay half-stood half-balanced against one arm of his humungous couch. Erin's breath hitched in her throat when she saw the way he was standing, his head cocked to the side, looking at her as she looked at his photos.

"You must really miss her," Erin sighed, her tongue tracing the inside of her bottom lip. It felt insanely dry and she tried to salvate it. It didn't work.

"Mhm," Jay confirmed his answer but didn't move position. Then he suddenly joined where his bodyguard was standing, one of his index fingers tracing his mom's silhouette. "Erin, you didn't come in here to talk about my mother so stop stalling," as he finished his reply, Jay stood in front of her, looking down at her hands.

Were they trembling or was she imagining it?

Even though the lounge wasn't in complete illumination, she could see just how big his pupils had grown. The usual black dots had taken over his deep blue irises and his eyes had an unusual air to them. Something she'd seen before but wasn't all too familiar with.

Desire.

The next thing out of his mouth was low and needy. "Did you want to continue with the tour…" his gaze temporarily flitted to the grand doorway that she hadn't seen beyond. "…or should we go to my bedroom?"

His forwardness excited her but she couldn't think of the right thing to say. Instead, she shrugged again, waiting for him to decide what to do next.

"Right," Jay swiftly reached for her hand, all but pulling her in the direction of his bedroom. As they passed the threshold into where he slept, Erin heard as he flicked on a switch.

The room was apparently already set to mood lighting, sconces on both sides of the walls suddenly glowing with a yellowy haze. The dark curtains on the interior side of Jay's massive window were drawn, blocking out the outside sky.

Her attention was struck by the bed that took up most of the room. It somehow wasn't what she'd been expecting: satin sheets in such a deep midnight blue they looked black. Erin gulped, envisioning- whilst trying to block out- how many girls the Prince might have enticed back here.

Jay seemed to have sensed her tense up. "If you don't want-" he was cut off by her shaking her head, making him relieved.

"It's not that," Erin bit her lip, feeling bad for stalling their evening. "It's just…" she didn't want to ruin the mood by saying it. Yet Jay somehow established what she had doubts about.

"Trust me," his voice was husky as he walked until standing behind her. That meant he'd dropped her hand but used both of his to gently remove the suit jacket from her shoulders, sliding it down her arms. Enough to give her goosebumps. "Nobody has been in here except for me," Jay spun her around to face him. "…and now you." Abruptly finishing his sentence, the Prince reached for her face, pushing several curls behind her eat to then trace the line of her jaw. "Tell me you want this as much as I do," his tone was needy now, almost as though he wouldn't be able to handle if she gave him the wrong answer.

"I want this," her voice came out a sensual whisper, one Erin didn't even realize she was capable of. The sentence was barely out of her mouth before the Prince was kissing her, wrapping one arm around her back to pull her closer.

Her own limbs felt trapped at her sides but as Jay drew back to take a quick breath, she took it to her advantage and brought both of her arms up to his chest. The material of Jay's cotton shirt seemed to crumple at her touch and she ran a finger furiously down the fastening, pulling open the buttons. As she continued to kiss him, Erin tugged the white cotton away from his shoulders and let it fall to the floor.

Suddenly realizing he was half-naked, a step ahead of her, the Prince laughed to himself, struggling to pull away. He licked his lower lip as his eyes darted down to the low-cut shirt she was still wearing. One of his hands raised itself to her chest, he could either feel her pounding heart or heavy breathing, wasn't sure of which. Either way- now he knew she wanted this- his fingers worked slower than hers had, carefully unbuttoning the hooks that held the material together over her chest.

Two seconds later Erin's shirt was also on the floor and she stood before him in a cream cotton bra: simple, but he'd never been more turned on.

"God, you're so beautiful," Jay took a moment to drink in the sight of her. How the fuck had he managed to hold out for this long? His bodyguard really was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. And it helped that her body was damn hot.

Erin's eyes glittered at his statement and she reached down below her navel to undo the zipper of her trousers. Jay looked on in awe as they fell immediately away from her legs so now she only had on her underwear. Then as her gaze matched his eye contact again, something clicked within him. He marched back up to her and grabbed just below her ass to hoist her into his arms and carry her over to the bed.

Not having expected such a move, Erin let out a noise- somewhere between a squeal and a moan.

Jay lowered her onto the bed, the one that felt so big she could get lost in it. Not wanting him to be a metre away from her any longer, she wrapped her long legs around his hips in a bid to trap him.

A chuckle escaped the Prince. "Wait," he managed, trailing a finger down her lower leg before stepping back and breaking her entwined feet apart. "Just…a…minute."

It took Erin only a few moments to catch on: Jay was only backing away to free himself from the restraint of his suit pants. Now it was Erin's turn to bite her lip and she did so as Jay made his way back to his bed, using the upper muscles of his arms to hover above her.

Erin lay there watching as the Prince paid intricate attention to her body. He planted kisses along her collarbone, one of his hands working gently across the skin of her bare arms. She looked on at the hesitation that took over his face when his fingers found the track marks etched into her skin. Erin half-expected him to say something but instead his fingers continued their journey until they'd found hers and laced their hands together.

Jay tried to use the elbow of the same arm to prop himself up, not wanting to crush her but at the same time not baring to be apart. His free hand trailed the line of her bare stomach towards the elastic of her panties. Erin writhed beneath him as she felt the material of her underwear being shifted to the side and Jay's fingers slide into her.

"Oh!" She'd thrown her head back against the comforter but the lower half of her body was doing the opposite: bucking up off the bed to meet him. The Prince was laughing to himself, watching as she started to lose control beneath him. After showing his clear amusement, Jay pressed his lips to her stomach, continuing a line of kisses until he reached where he'd currently lost his fingers. Soon he'd replaced them with his tongue, keeping a firm hold on Erin's waist so she couldn't escape.

"Oh God," Erin couldn't hold back her voice now she realized, as she ran her fingers though his damp hair. But the sounds coming from the back of her throat only turned the Prince on further. He raised his face towards her again, seductively running his tongue over his lips.

Then he once more locked their lips together whilst simultaneously pressing his body and erection into her. "Erin, if I hold back any longer I'm going to-"

"Then don't," she pulled his face towards her, only being able to make out his features slightly in the dim light.

The Prince didn't need to be told twice, freeing himself rapidly from the restraints of his boxers. He groaned as he first entered her, but tried to keep his attention on her face. Erin was tense beneath him, her mouth now stuck in a constant 'o'. Now and then, his name left her lips, which only made him want to pound into her faster.

As though she could read his thoughts and felt the same, Erin's hands made their way down to Jay's ass and took a firm grip, a bid to get him to go deeper.

"Fuck…Erin," the Prince came before her, the orgasm rippling through his shuddering body barely after he'd finished uttering her name. As he caught back his breath and rolled to the side of her, Jay tantalizingly used his fingers to finish her off. For he felt the need to pleasure her the way she'd just satisfied him.

It was only another minute before Erin totally lost control, his work paying off. Jay was watching in awe as she joined in the euphoria he'd felt moments ago her body convulsing in ways he'd definitely imagined. She came to a stop a few seconds later, turning her head to face him where he lay to her left, upheld by an elbow.

There was a somewhat comfortable silence between them, both waiting as their hitched breathing returned to a normal rate. Once it had, Erin felt Jay's touch as he caressed her arms where the visible scars of her past still lingered. She could tell that the Prince wanted to say something but she didn't need him feeling sorry for her. Besides, she didn't want his sympathy.

Still, she looked on surprised, when he manoeuvred his arm out of the way to show her the inner crevice of his elbow. As she was able to look closely, she noticed the familiar etching of needle marks that she wouldn't be able to make out if she wasn't so close. Her own hands reached out to touch them, almost to check as if they were really there.

"Coke mostly," Jay mumbled, shrugging. "Occasionally it was heroin but," he gulped. "I'm not proud of that. It was a long time ago. The heroin was anyway," Jay smirked in a way so Erin wasn't sure if he was joking. "Sometimes I just need a fix. I mean," his hand that he wasn't leaning on traced circles across her bare stomach. "..you have met my family." He flopped down onto the bed beside her, staring at the ceiling. "Although now I only take it this way," he tapped his nose. "Much less messy."

Erin was silent, as though digesting what he'd said. Somehow how truthful he was being wasn't putting her off. And she didn't want the Prince to think she was. "Heroin," she gestured towards her own scars. "E, coke and meth," Erin continued, trying not to react when she saw his eyebrows shoot up. "Pot," her hand moved to her mouth and Jay laughed- he could obviously relate. "Shit," she thought suddenly, remembering just what her job was. "But that's not me anymore…I…" Erin frowned and clamped her mouth shut promptly but she saw that the Prince was laughing. Really laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You really think your job is at risk, huh? Because of some fucking recreation? Please," he wrapped an arm around her. "You're the best person they've ever given this job to."

"Good," she took the compliment as best she could. "I was thinking…" How could she phrase it?

"Oh boy," Jay said and she could feel his head shaking.

"What?"

"That's not something a guy wants to hear right after sex!"

"Shut up and listen," Erin thumped a hand playfully against his chest. "I have actually begun to like this job…"

"…and you want to hang onto it even longer so you'd like to keep this," Jay motioned between them, "…between us for a while."

Erin was taken aback that he seemed so chill about it. "You're okay with that?" she wanted to be sure.

"Are you kidding?" the Prince finally made an effort to move from the bed, stumbling forward and wriggling into his boxer shorts. "You being my bodyguard means we get a lot of alone time together anyway. That means we could make out on the job," he winked at her. "That's hot."

Erin sat up too, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She rolled her eyes at Jay: of course that was all he was thinking about. "It could work," she shrugged, looking on as he made his way back to the bed. He reached into one drawer of the cabinet that accompanied either side of his bed and pulled out a green T-shirt. Erin had never seen him wearing something so casual but guessed she was about to. But he pushed it towards her.

"You can't sleep in your clothes," Jay grinned and she was thankful for the gesture, taking the garment from him. She unfolded it and shuffled into it, letting the extra material fall down her slender arms and past her ass. It was like an actual nightgown on her small frame. Erin inhaled the musty scent as her face passed through the head-hole. She watched as Jay gestured that he would rearrange the bed covers so they could get into the bed.

Erin tried to yawn subtly: it had been fairly late when she'd made her way to Jay's section of the palace and it was obviously even later now. She had no idea how much time had passed between then and now. It had to be late, maybe even almost morning. Just how long had they been talking? Or fucking?

She soon found herself beneath the Prince's comforter, lying between the softest sheets she'd ever experienced. As Erin relaxed her head back against the pillows she surveyed his bedroom again, this time highlighting things that were missing. She frowned.

"You don't have a TV in your bedroom?"

Jay was obviously amused with her question. He wriggled free the arm that had been around her and flipped quickly onto his side. He pressed something that made a whirring sound and Erin's jaw dropped a little as she saw something coming out from underneath where they lay. Oh. Of fucking course he had a flat screen LED television that was housed in his bed.

Why was she acting so surprised?

But her eyes then widened when the screen lit up and it started talking to Jay. Asking for a password. After he'd reeled off a long list of numbers, a random show started playing.

"I'm almost done with Breaking Bad. Have you seen it?"

Erin shook her head against the arm that held her.

"Seriously? It's so good," Jay threw another command to his television before lowering himself down onto the pillows to join her. As they continued to watch, Jay's cell phone kept buzzing with text messages. Initially he checked on them but after the 8th or 9th, he simply tossed the phone onto the floor.

Erin was subconsciously thinking about who was texting him at this time of night. Did she have a right to ask? She wasn't about to. Instead, she stayed quiet, looking on at the show the Prince was watching. It was another half hour before she actually felt him tense up.

"We didn't use protection," whatever Erin had expected him to say, it definitely wasn't that. Yet he needed to know that he wasn't correct.

Erin stuck her left arm out of the comforter, fiddling around with the skin of her upper arm. Soon after, her fingers found the small rod under the surface. "We're good," she smiled.

"Oh," Jay seemed satisfied with her answer, though pulled a face only to himself. He didn't want to think about why she had a contraceptive implant, less about what she could have been up to whilst protected by it. For he couldn't think about her being with anybody else: the thought made him queasy.

He relaxed back to watch the rest of the episode, an attempt to focus on something other than her.

Erin stifled a yawn as the credits began to roll up from the bottom of the screen. "Maybe I should get going," she whispered, noticing the Prince was falling asleep too. The past few hours hadn't let her forget it would be Christmas tomorrow. Jay- along with his family- would have a hectic schedule. That meant, so would she.

"Just stay," she felt his fingers tighten around hers. Not being about to see his face, such an action would determine her decision.

Prince Jay was rudely awakened the next morning by several sharp raps on the door of his apartment. He wriggled a bit but was in no hurry to move so the raps came again.

"What do you want?"

Instead of a verbal answer his father, Prince Patrick, marched into the bedroom, his arms swinging furiously at his sides. He stopped just short of his younger son's bed with his hands on his hips.

"What the devil are you still doing in bed? Don't you know what day it is? I need you up, showered and into the dining room for breakfast in fifteen minutes. I won't have you ruining anything today!" With that, Patrick turned on his heel back in the direction he had come from.

"Happy fucking Christmas to you too," Jay muttered under his breath, not loud enough for Patrick to overhear.

As soon as he heard the door slam closed, the comforter ruffled.

"Oh my God, it feels like a sauna under there!" Erin threw her arms out of the blankets, blowing out the breath she'd been clinging to. She laughed to herself. "Do you think he knew I was here?"

"Didn't stay long enough to figure that out. Just shouted his orders at me and left. You know," Jay rolled his eyes. "…the usual."

She'd heard. "I'm sorr-"

"Don't you dare apologize. My family is not your fault." The Prince got up from the bed first, scratching at the back of his neck. "Uhm, he is kinda right. Today is a big day." He yawned, stretched and made his feet shuffle to the adjoining bathroom, leaving the door behind him.

Erin shook her head, laughing, as she heard him peeing before he came back into the bedroom.

"I suppose you're right," she agreed, swinging her legs from his bed. Her eyes dropped to her clothes so carelessly disregarded on the floor last night. She slipped back into her trousers, doing up the zipper and shoved her panties into the pocket.

"Wait," Jay said quickly, holding out a hand. "My father might be checking if you're awake. Your presence will be required at breakfast too," he winked.

When she'd redressed, the Prince led the way back to the entrance of his chamber, only slightly opening the door and peering outside. As if scarily on cue, somebody else's footsteps stumbled along the outer corridor.

Jay peered into the hallway as Erin hid in the crevice where two of his walls joined.

"Jay," the two were both surprised that Patrick had actually used the name his son preferred. "I have just knocked several times on the door of Erin's apartment but I received no answer. You need to make sure that she's awake for breakfast. I trust you'll make sure she's there."

The younger Prince's eyes flitted for the quickest millisecond towards Erin, who was standing with a hand across her mouth so she wouldn't make a noise. If Price Patrick came one step closer, he would see her.

"I…she'll be there," Jay suppressed his laughter, passing it off as clearing his throat.

"Yes," Patrick said, looking down at his youngest son in just his pants. "…and so will you. But for Goodness sake, put on some clothes!"

"For Goodness sake, put on some clothes!" Jay slammed the door closed after a mocking sentence and a fake salute towards his father. Then he stepped closer to Erin, his hands on either side of the wall. "You heard the man," he whispered. "Your attendance is desired for breakfast." His lips hovered in front of her and he kissed her softly, quickly backing away before she had the chance to register it had happened. "I'll see you downstairs in ten," Jay turned his back to her, walking again to the bathroom and sliding the door closed behind him.

Erin peeled herself away from the wall and ran her index finger over her bottom lip. Was it still tingling? No she told herself and fucking pull yourself together- you have to go to breakfast.

She tiptoed along the (now, thankfully) deserted corridor towards her own bedroom. When she'd made it, Erin closed the door and ran into the bathroom- boy, she needed to shower. The feeling of hot water dropping onto and into every crevice of her body made her want to stay there for the rest of the day.

Knowing that wasn't an option, she gave her hair the quickest tousle and picked out a dark pair of jeans and a flannel. She'd have to change before the public appearances though, into something more professional. This outfit would do for breakfast.

Erin stuffed her cell phone and key fob into her pocket and made her way to the lower floor of the palace. Her walk along the usually quiet hallways was accompanied with soft Christmas music and she made it to the breakfast room in no time. The music was soon drowned out by the sounds of voices- it sounded like everyone was there before her.

She knocked softly but the door swung open anyway and Jay's family all spun to face her. Everybody was in the room except the Queen and her husband, meaning the food hadn't yet been consumed.

"Erin," Patrick grabbed her hand and held it for a second though he didn't kiss her and she was thankful for that decision. "There you are. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she repeated, then did the same with the other family members: Will, Nina, Robert (apparently he still celebrated with them), Will and Nina's guards and some other staff she'd come to know who worked in the palace.

Jay was the last member she came to; not surprisingly he was already trying to pick at the food on the long table. "Hey."

At the sound of her voice the young Prince spun around, licking something from his index finger. He'd certainly found his way to the shower, now dressed casually in a navy shirt and jeans. His hair definitely wasn't sporting the bed-head look any longer, he'd put some product in it to hold the strands in place.

Not wanting to draw any attention, she offered him the same greeting.

"Yeah Merry Christmas," Jay had pulled on her hand when she'd offered it for him to shake. She had to pursue her lips together when he'd let go as they were close and he pretended to play with the buttons of her shirt. "This is gonna be fun," he whispered as the others chatted so they couldn't hear him.

Erin gulped and tried to think of an appropriate reply but then she heard Patrick clear his throat, a summon for them all to sit down. Or rather, wait by their seats until the Queen had entered. When she did, Katherine burst though both open doors, carrying the trail of her dress in one hand. That was something Erin admired about her: she'd never seen the Queen in anything less than one of her elegant dresses. It looked exhausting.

Katherine strode right over to the table, Henry walking in her shadow.

Erin was seated between Patrick and Nina with the two brothers facing them on the opposite side.

"Oh stop with this protocol nonsense," the Queen clasped her hands together. "You could have started without me."

"Not at Christmas mother," Patrick spoke but his hand delved right for the food anyway.

"We have a long day ahead of us but please know that, when the cameras aren't around, it should be all about family." Katherine had sat at the head of the table- rightfully so- and she too started eating so the others followed suit. She waited until her mouth was empty before she spoke again. "We will be broadcast onto the television at 3pm, right after we'll be finished lunch. But you all know your individual schedules before that's upon us. You can all begin with those once, and only once, we're through with breakfast."

They fell into a quiet chatter, interrupted only by the servers bringing over more food.

Erin recoiled slightly in her chair: if this was only breakfast, what the shit was lunch and dinner gonna look like? Her stomach hurt at the mere thought of it. Especially if she was gonna be wearing a rather fitted pant suit. Jeez.

As the members of the family reeled off what their first events of the day were, Jay's turn came around at last.

"Let me see. Christmas Day service at 11, lunch and then Gran's speech. Quiet afternoon for me," the smile he pulled reached his eyes- the older members of his family had a busier afternoon.

"A great opportunity to-"

"No way," Jay cut off his father, knowing he would be about to suggest something he wouldn't want to do. "I'm gonna need the theatre room tonight by the way so…" Thankful that nobody objected- but couldn't say anything about the evening he really wanted to his bodyguard- he reached out a food and aimed.

"Did you just kick me?" Patrick lowered the glass he'd been drinking from in annoyance.

Jay's eyes widened in horror, realizing he'd obviously tempted a game of footsy with the wrong fucking foot. He watched as Erin subtly lowered her face, smirking. "My bad," the younger Prince shrugged, finishing off a crust of bread.

Patrick looked as though he was about to protest with something else but instead furrowed his eyebrows and continued his food.

"Nobody is disputing, you can have the theatre James," Queen Katherine took away the tension. "But there will not," her emphasis was on that word. "…be any repetition of what happened last time."

Her tone was stern and Erin looked between the monarch and her grandson. Jay didn't give anything away, holding his hands up in surrender. "That wasn't, it wasn't…" he shook his head and didn't finish his sentence.

Their breakfast gradually came to an end and they all trailed off, leaving the servants to clean up after them.

"So how do you usually celebrate Christmas?" Jay and Erin were the only ones left and he stood up, scraping his chair along the wooden floor and then running his hand along the table as he walked to the end of it.

"At work," Erin said, which was the truth. She'd never been one to celebrate the festive season a lot. She watched as Jay made it to her side of the table where she stood behind her chair.

"Alright maybe you are at work but you won't have duties later," he smirked, his eyes drifting towards the door. The cleaners and servers were still filtering in and out of the room so he kept his distance. He then looked back at Erin. "The morning service is in," Jay checked his watch. "..shit, twenty minutes. We'll be taking the limousines probably so there's no reason for you to do any driving today."

A grin spread across both of their faces as they temporarily flashed back to him teaching her to drive.

Jay continued. "We'll be meeting in the foyer soon. I'll see you there?"

"Now you know how it feels to fall asleep with your eyes open," Prince Jay uttered it loud enough for her to hear as they all stood in line waiting for the cameras.

Erin giggled behind her hand: she hated to admit it but the service at the church had been one of the most boring things she'd ever witnessed. And they did this every year? They'd sung numerous songs Erin had never heard of, clapped for things she wasn't paying attention to and now they were gathered in the palace drawing room.

They were waiting- somewhat impatiently- for Queen Katherine's speech to start.

For Jay especially, time was dragging because after the televised commentary, the rest of the day was his.

Erin felt as though they'd been standing for hours and her eyes started wandering around the room, one she'd never been in before. Katherine had various photographs of her family hanging on the walls and Erin squinted to see them closely.

One of the collections was made up of wedding photographs: hers and Prince Henry's; Will and Nina's. She swallowed: Patrick's photograph with Jay and Will's mother was still on the wall even though she had passed.

A lump wedged itself in her throat: as dysfunctional as Prince Jay and the rest of his family were, they were still more of a unit than she'd ever got the chance to experience. Since breakfast, the men of the family hadn't even argued, though she put that down to it being Christmas.

The quiet in the room was broken when the media secretary cleared his throat. "When you're ready, Your Majesty," he said.

The Queen glided to where she was required and sat elegantly in the chair. "Good afternoon Britain, a Happy Christmas to all." She folded her clasped hands onto the small table in front of her. "We have lots of exciting prospects as we head into the New Year. My son, Prince Patrick, will be taking over the Commonwealth tour. My grandson William and his new wife Nina will be taking time away to move into a new part of the palace before embarking on a three-month tour of South America," her face seemed to soften the more she talked about her family.

"But I know most of you will be interested in what is in store for my youngest grandson James," Katherine's eyes flitted for a second to her grandson, who was unaware of what she was going to say. She was in charge of who went where. "He will spend a few months stationed around Europe, meeting those individuals who have contributed the most to his mother's charities. Then he will travel to Australia on his leg of the Royal tour."

"As for my husband and myself, we will hold fort at the palace and be on top of the conferences with Prime Ministers, Presidents and our fellow Royal families. I want to express my sincere gratitude for all listeners. I wish you warmth, wealth and happiness for the coming year."

When the camera beeped, Queen Katherine sagged her shoulders a little and relaxed. She looked relieved at the fact the speech was finished and she turned her shoulder towards where her family were stood. "You're dismissed," she waved a hand regally then wiped her brow. "I'm retiring to the bedroom."

Erin nodded: sometimes it was easy to forget the Queen's age, she had lots of duties and it was no wonder she was tired. As she turned towards the youngest Prince, it wasn't hard to notice the scowl etched on his face. "Australia, huh?"

"Yeah nice of her to spring that on me," Jay shook his head, heading out of the room. "You ever been to Australia?"

"Nowhere near," Erin shrugged, before realizing what he was getting at. "Wait," her mouth dropped.

"Oh yeah," Jay smirked and she followed as he made his way to the upper part of the palace again. Enough of the family time for the moment. "Don't you see? This is perfect," he walked a step ahead of Erin until they were out of sight of everybody else. "Three months away from my family means I can do this," he grabbed one of her fingers. "…and this," guided fingers from his other hand through one of her belt loop holes. "…anytime I want," he whispered the last words so close to her face that Erin thought he was about to kiss her but he didn't. Teasing already, huh?

"Wait for me in your bedroom," Jay pulled himself away, looking down at the pant suit she was wearing. He changed direction but kept his head turned towards her. "Christmas isn't over yet."

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