If she was honest, the final stop of Prince Jay's tour was the part Erin was looking forward to the most. Kind of like the Olympics, the Aphrodite Games had been founded so people from all sorts of backgrounds could compete for medals and cash prizes.
Erin flung herself onto her side – she'd just woken up from sleeping on her front – sticking one (now fairly tanned!) leg out of the thin covers. She'd woken up in yet another lavish hotel penthouse suite, one that took up the top floor of the best hotel on the Gold Coast.
Her eyes darted to the neon alarm clock that told her it was almost 10am.
Her ears told her that the Prince was in the shower and a smirk worked its way to one side of her mouth. Erin crept towards the adjoining bathroom, unbuttoning the night shirt she had slept in as she neared the door.
Jay was humming a tune to himself and there was already a stream covering the glass – oh she better hurry.
"Sweeeeeeet Dispositionnnnn- oh well good morning to me," the Prince chuckled, reaching down to grab the slender hands that had wrapped around his waist.
"Morning," Erin replied, shimmying past him and letting the hot water run through her hair. "Could you pass me the shampoo?"
"Mhm," Jay laughed, not particularly listening to what she was saying when she was standing naked in front of him.
Erin waited a minute before asking again. "Jay? The shampoo?"
"Yeah," he turned to his right, picking up the bottle she wanted.
Erin poured her desired amount and rubbed it through the blonde strands until her head was coated in a soapy lather. Careful not to rub any into her eyes, she glanced at the Prince and couldn't tell if she was looking at her directly or lost in thought. She even considered there was an emotion in him that she hadn't seen before. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah! Yeah," he laughed. "You missed a spot," he leaned in towards her so she was forced back further under the falling water. "I can help with that."
Erin opened her mouth slightly to respond but her words were caught by the Prince when his lips touched hers. With one hand on the glass pane to steady himself, Jay kissed her properly before pulling away for a breath.
"I'm gonna get out because if I don't then I never will," he blew out some air from his mouth - clearly being around his bodyguard whilst naked still had the same affect on him as it had the first time he'd seen her so.
Spending another five minutes on her own, Erin wrapped herself in a bath towel and wandered back through to the bedroom.
The Prince still had the lower half of his body wrapped in his, slightly frowning at something on his cell phone.
Leaving him to it, she made her way to the room's vanity – bigger than any she had ever seen by the way – in an attempt to blow dry her hair. Which was proving particularly difficult in Australia – God she was not used to this heat.
She made sure the dryer was in cool mode and made a start, stealing occasional glances at Jay through the mirror. He stayed in the same position for a while before he yawned, stretched and padded over to the large wardrobe where they'd both unpacked their clothes.
Her attention back on getting ready, Erin jumped when the Prince suddenly appeared behind her, butt-naked but holding up two shirts. She shut off the hair dryer.
"White or blue?" the Prince pouted, holding up each in turn in front of his torso.
"White," Erin answered with no hesitation, grinning to herself because he went with her choice right away.
Not patient enough to dry her hair property, she blasted the remaining strands and walked over to the wardrobe herself. Grey pant suit, white linen shirt.
"Couples who match-" Jay whistled, watching casually as she put her clothes on.
"Tell me more about the Aphrodite Games," she said, genuinely intrigued to know about something the Prince seemed so passionate about.
Jay wiped a hand along his mouth then rubbed his newly grown stubble before stealing the seat at the vanity Erin had vacated.
"Ah, my mother's take on the Olympics. She founded them because she felt bad that not people of all abilities could compete. The ones who wouldn't have the energy or time or stamina to train all year round." He paused then, trailing one of his fingers in repetitive circles and looking away.
Erin had come to know the move: he couldn't often look at her when talking about his mother. The small number of times Jay had mentioned Eleanor, she got the impression the memory of his mother had been repressed into the past. Whether that was anything of Prince Patrick's doing, she didn't know.
"It was my mother's first solo tour when the idea came to her, kind of genius really," a smile spread gently across his face. "I don't think father dearest was very impressed that the idea was hers alone, maybe jealous even. But my grandmother knows a good idea when she sees one and it took off," he sniffed. "It just felt like the right thing to do you know, carry it on in her memory. There's a load of competitions, winners get medals, there's prizes for different stuff," a grin. "And I'm excited for you to see it."
Erin's turn to grin. "You seem very inspired to keep your mom's hard work alive," she wandered over to him, pushing a stray strand of his hair away from his face.
"I know something else that makes me feel particularly inspired," he purred. Pulling her hips towards him until she was sat in his lap. "Come here and kiss me before I have to go through the torture of not being able to do it all day."
Erin obliged, wrapping her hands around his neck and getting into it.
"Man, God help me!"
Erin had just enough time to laugh in response before the Prince swiftly threw her over his shoulder and headed towards the elevator that would take them to where their car for the day awaited.
"I forgot my gun," Erin realised as their limo reached the entrance of the arena.
"My bad," replied the Prince, knowing he was probably to blame. "Do you need it?"
"Only for your protection," she struck out her tongue and got out of the car first, as was accustomed when it came to the Royal Family and their rules.
"Relax Miss Lindsay, I trust you don't need your weapon to protect me on this occasion," he half-whispered as she opened his car door.
The Prince stepped out of the car to deafening shouts and screams, individuals waving and flashing the numerous handmade signs and posters. Next thing were the cameras, pointing and clicking from every angle at the royal.
Jay reached into a pocket and pulled out his sunglasses to shield himself both from the sun and the camera flashes. "This way," he signalled left with his head at Erin and let her lead the way to the entrance. He walked a step behind, ensuring he waved towards the crowds on the regular. They erupted into a final roar before both Erin and Jay disappeared out of their sight.
"I never get used to that," Erin only half-joked, folding her arms as she waited for the girl at the gate to give her their passes.
"I don't think I have either," he put his own badge around his neck. "Can we get a beer?"
Erin cleared her throat. "It's 11:30 in the morning."
"It's 5 o'clock somewhere! And you can't see what's in these cups," he lifted the sunglasses only quick enough to wink at her before pretending it didn't happen.
The young girl responsible for their VIP passes did the cutest little curtesy before leading the way to their private seats.
Jay caught the attention of a drink server before Erin could stop him – if he had ordered one for her, she couldn't drink on duty.
In their designated area, Erin finally took in her surroundings. "Woah, look at this place." The arena had been built especially for the Aphrodite Games because it was definitely a much bigger event than she had first anticipated.
"Isn't it? One of the best parts of the tour. Wait until you see it when it's full."
She didn't have to wait very long and soon the seats started to fill out. Erin knew Jay had to make a speech to officially declare the games open and she watched him take a couple of deep breaths to put on his public persona.
He straightened his shirt, ruffled his hair and adjusted his expensive sunglasses before heading to the podium.
Erin bit her lip as she watched him – God, there was just something about the young Prince in a suit…
"Hey Gold Coast, what's happening? It's so good to be here!" Even his opening sentence was met with multiple rounds of screams and applause. "Oh I can totally see you all doing the Mexican Wave later!"
"Goodness, my mother really loved it here and I can see why! But hey I think you know that! Let's get the games underway!"
Keeping it short, the Prince gave a final wave then clasped his hands together as he stepped down from the podium. Then some of the organizers took over, advising the crowd of all the legal rules and conditions before the first competition could begin.
Jay got back to their seating area quicker than Erin had been expecting and she jumped slightly when his hand gripped her knee.
"Stop it! You know you can't-"
"Can't what? I could be doing anything … you could have a wasp hovering over your knee for all they know. See?" He did it again, his fingers lingering slightly this time. "I just saved you from a nasty wasp sting."
He made Erin laugh and she shook her head at his childishness before joining in with the crowd – they were clapping for something. Erin shuffled back until she was comfortable, she was mesmerized by the flame throwers that had suddenly appeared and were opening the ceremony.
"They were my idea," the Prince leaned over to shout in her ear – if it had been a whisper, she definitely wouldn't have heard over the crowd's uproar.
"Of course they were," she shouted back, having a feeling Jay would take credit for all of the best bits of the day.
Somebody tapped Erin on the shoulder and she took hers and the Prince's drinks – not all that surprised he had ordered beer. She placed one in his grip and the other in the drinks holder next to him.
"I ordered that one for you."
"I am at work!"
"This is not like the stuff back at home, it's like 3%. One will not hurt."
"One," Erin raised an eyebrow – fair enough, she would have one and then move onto soda. She'd love nothing more, but that could wait for a day off.
"Also my idea," the Prince continued, pointing towards the centre of the arena where some sort of motorcycle show was starting. As they rode off, multi-colored smoke escaped from their exhaust pipes leaving a trail of bright color for a minute before it was swiftly cleared away by event's people.
"Let me guess," Erin started, thinking the Prince was again going to gloat about something that had been his input.
Erin felt like she sat mesmerized for hours, watching the entertainment turn into something carnivalesque, dancing sights until the first competitions started.
"Where are the bathrooms?" Erin had made it through several of the events before realizing the beer had gone quickly through her system. And now she needed to pee.
The Prince brushed his palm across her knee and she flinched, it was a move he obviously knew she loved but couldn't be done in public. "Down these stairs and to your left," he pointed. "And make sure you show your pass," he added.
Erin vacated her seat quickly, surprised to find herself eager to return and watch the rest of the action. She followed the Prince's lame directions which led her to a black door to one side of the stadium.
It was obscured by a rather large man in the same profession as she was: a bodyguard. He looked up when he heard her footsteps, a deep furrowed brow already on his face. Not wanting to get on the wrong side of him, Erin quickly flashed her all-access pass and easily slid past him into the bathroom.
She was mid-pee when she heard somebody else enter. "…Honestly Melinda, he's here! And he is looking way more handsome than the last time he was in my bed," there was a high-pitched laugh. "I was hoping for a quick fuck whilst he's on this side of the world but last time I heard he was hooking up with some small blonde thing, totally not his type."
Erin scoffed, quickly throwing a hand over her mouth and pressing the flush to disguise the noise. Oh God was this woman talking about the Prince? She was, wasn't she.
What did she mean exactly about Erin not being his type? She knew Prince Jay had a bit of a reputation but was it the same even in Australian press? Apparently so.
Wanting to escape the bathroom before she caught sight of the other woman (and before she came face to face with a girl from the Prince's past) Erin sprinted from the bathroom and tried to find her seat right away.
The sun had cooled off a little whilst she'd been otherwise occupied but the games were still in full force. Somebody must have just struck gold because the Prince appeared unusually enthusiastic and was on his feet, joined with the rest of the crowd in an applause.
Erin manoeuvred her way through the crowd back to her own seat.
"Tommy Johnson just won his fifth gold medal," Jay had to shout over the noise of the crowd. "Not that these guys expected anything else!"
She took her seat again when everyone started to settle, her eyes drifting towards the score board. The USA were of course in the lead and Erin silently punched the air. Sure, London was her home now but it would always take second place at sporting events. Apart from soccer, she would give them that.
"It's not always about the competition," Jay smized, noticing her attention was not really on the current event.
"We're just better at some things," Erin teased back, light heartedly.
"We have to watch the next event from somewhere else," the Prince said, adjusting his sunglasses. "We'll have a much better view."
Erin was confused initially; having thought they were already occupying the best seats in the arena. Where could be better than the full-frontal view?
At the beginning of the next short break between events, the Prince stood up and gestured for her to follow. Jay had picked up his sunglasses case and his beer so Erin had the impression they wouldn't be coming back.
After being stopped for various selfie opportunities, they were finally in front of a spiral staircase that led onto an upper floor.
"Ladies first," the Prince pointed upwards and Erin led the way up, her right hand holding onto the handrail.
"Where are we going? Aren't you going to miss the final event?"
"Nope. I can't hear the ceremonial music has started yet. Come on this way," Jay motioned to their left as they got to the top of the staircase. He used one elbow to push open what looked like an emergency fire door. "Look," he gestured to the open balcony, a wall just high enough for them to see over. "There's gonna be even more fireworks," he grinned.
As they neared the edge of the balcony, Erin noticed two glasses of champagne balanced against the brick. "What is this-"
"You're at work, you can't drink while you're at work blah blah blah," the Prince rolled his eyes. "This is the last leg of this whole tour. Have one drink with me." He reached down to grab the two glasses and pushed one towards her, one of his mischievous grins spreading across his face. "Well that didn't take much persuading," he teased, his free hand reaching up to touch her forehead. "Are you sure you're feeling alright Miss Lindsay? It's not like you to drink on the job."
Erin stuck out her tongue at him, why could she never think of a good comeback? God he made her weak.
Turning her heard to the sound of his laughter, Erin took a gulp of the probably rather expensive champagne and balanced it again on the floor. She couldn't deny that the Prince was right: up here they could see everything in the stadium.
As the final event started and the music filled her ears, Erin felt the Prince's presence behind her. The sun was setting and Jay had pushed his expensive designer sunglasses onto his head. His hand that wasn't grasping his drink rested around her shoulders, his large hand resting in mid-air.
"Nobody can see us up here," he whispered in her ear. His arm slowly worked its way down to her waist and he pulled her into him. A small groan escaped him, one that thankfully obviously only Erin could hear.
"It's so hard staying away from you," he said.
She laughed, her eyes on the action below. "Not long until we're home," she offered back, taking a slow sip of the bubbly. God, he was such a bad influence. She didn't even like champagne! This was heading into dangerous territory, if something were to happen whilst she was supposed to be on duty-
"I could totally retire to Australia," the Prince had drastically changed the subject as he looked on into the sunset.
"You have a while to go before retirement," Erin laughed.
"Yeah," a royal eye-roll. "Oh look," Jay tugged her even closer. "The finale is starting."
It was like a whole new extravaganza, the final event of their day and Erin felt herself partially hypnotized as the dancing, clapping, fireworks and entertainment went on.
"You're not needed for another speech, are you?" she suddenly wondered, remembering how it had been Jay's responsibility to open the Aphrodite Games initially.
"That's not down to me," his expression had softened. He swallowed another mouthful of champagne at the same moment the music seemed to die off. The lights also dimmed and a large screen came into life.
Erin kept her eyes fixated on the screen as a montage of photographs slid across the screen: they initially appeared in black and white then progressed into color to show more recent years.
They were all of past events, the year of each photograph visible along the bottom.
Erin was 99% sure she spotted a baby Prince Jay Halstead inn one of them. The photographs eventually started to fade into the familiar outline of Eleanor's slim silhouette.
Erin gulped: the unexpected virtual image of Jay's mother had the whole of the stadium captivated.
"The concept of something existing like the Aphrodite Games started as a pipe dream. It feels like something I've always dreamed about. And now it's finally happening. It's such an honor and privilege to have you all competing with us. I hope we get to do this for many years to come! So take a deep breath and go out and enjoy!"
Princess Eleanor's speech ended with a faded screen and the crowds below erupted into applause.
Erin joined in with them as she saw the tribute to Jay's mother float across the screen. The young Prince had looped his index finger through one of the belt holes of her pant suit.
"It always feels right to have her end it. That's the perfect goodbye to the first day of events, should we go home?"
Erin stood at the side of the hotel bed – fuck, she hated packing.
She sighed, the trip had really come to an end. Watching the rest of the Aphrodite Games had been such a cool experience and they'd even had a week of quiet(er) vacation time for themselves after. The privacy of their hotel had also meant she'd enjoyed a few cocktails in the Australian heat – bliss.
"Oh well this is just totally unfair," the Prince's voice shook Erin from her daydream. It took her a second to figure out why he'd said it, then realizes she was packing in only her underwear.
The Prince had been occupying the bathroom but now walked towards her, again wrapped in a towel. His favorite attire when they were in the hotel room, no clothes, just a towel wrapped around his torso.
"Wha-" Erin didn't even manage a full sentence before he'd thrown them both on top of the bed, narrowly missing injury by Erin's open suitcase.
Jay traced a finger along the seam of her underwear, catching a glimpse of the deep dark tan line Erin had managed to gain over the past couple of weeks. "impressive," he grinned. "Did I ever tell you that tan lines are fucking sexy?" He managed, reaching behind her to unhook the fastening of her bra.
Erin giggled and threw her head back, she could barely do anything except watch as her black bralette fell to the floor. "Hey, we need to pack-"
"It takes a couple of minutes to throw everything into a bloody suitcase baby," the Prince's voice came out in a growl and in a sudden movement, he'd pinned Erin beneath him, forceful enough to be a turn on without being violent.
Jay's attention had turned to her remaining underwear now, both his hands and his teeth working together to remove them. His bodyguard writhing beneath him only made him want her more.
He gently ran his fingers up her inner thighs, knowing how much it would drive her insane. Once his fingers were inside her, Jay watched as her head rolled back and she gripped the sheets beneath her in her fists.
They were both already hot and sweaty – the Australian heat only partially to blame for that.
Unable to hold out any longer himself, Jay thrust into her rhythmically, a few desirable moans escaping from his throat. "Oh God," left his lips as he reached climax only a few seconds before she did.
Though, as usual, it took Erin longer to recover. But this was something Jay revelled in watching. He continued looking on as her legs finally stopped shaking and she opened her eyes.
Balancing up onto her elbows when she was able, Erin laughed at the expression that lay upon the Prince's face. "What?"
"You're just so fucking fit Erin Lindsay," the Prince put on an even posher accent than usually to speak, and she broke into another fit of giggles.
Erin swung her legs from the bed and went to join him in the bathroom, kinda pissed she was now gonna have to find a clean set of underwear.
She showered first, trying to avoid wetting her hair as now they didn't have a lot of time before they needed to head to the airport.
"Don't forget to brush your teeth," she heard from the adjoining bedroom. Oh, he was lucky she wasn't going to slap him…
The transport was already waiting outside and the concierge followed them out to lift all of their luggage into the trunk.
Both Erin and Jay wore baseball caps and sunglasses but obviously they did little to disguise their person from the crowds gathered outside the hotel.
"Let's just go," Jay groaned, sliding into the back of the cab. Once inside, he threw his head back against the headrest and used his index finger to massage his temples. "Fuck, get me home!" He laughed, slapping a hand against his knee.
Erin wasn't exactly sure if he meant it, but she for one was going to be thankful for some cooler air. Her own bed. British snacks!
Much like her initial flight out to Australia several weeks ago, Erin couldn't settle on the flight. Luckily for her, there was a fully stocked mini bar about three feet away from her executive-class recliner.
Or what she thought was fully stocked… when she'd had the time to explore the contents, Erin discovered most of the nips had been consumed and put back empty. Perhaps the solid reason as to why the young Prince was now snoring loudly from the corner of the jet.
She rummaged a bit further, convincing herself these were to calm her nerves purposes and not the fact she was drinking on duty.
The vodka and whisky hit the back of her throat and the strong neat liquid acted a little like an escape from her reality. Surely now she'd be able to sleep…
The next minute Erin opened her eyes, it was because they were landing. She gripped the arms of her seat, looking out as their jet touched tarmac.
"Home sweet bloody home," Jay had woken up before her and he yawned, stretched and didn't wait for the aircraft to stop before he stood up. Rulebreaker that he was.
Their landing was relatively shaky but Erin couldn't tell if the Prince's side to side swaying was from that or the amount of alcohol he'd consumed over the past 12 hours.
"Not sure if I'm ready to return to the firm," the Prince scoffed, pulling his face into a grimace. "Back to do this Jay, jump this high Jay," he mimicked, then groaned loudly before rapidly shutting up.
"Might not be that bad," Erin said, her attention still on the outside. It was light again, well they had been travelling on this flight for the last 12 hours.
"Pfft," the Prince offered nothing back but the noise, the thought of going back to his family not being something he wanted to do today.
Once they'd made it through passport control and luggage retrieval, Erin joined the Prince in his thought process: she too didn't really want to face the Royal family either.
It was now Sunday and that meant the majority of Queen Katherine's family and extended family would be gathered at her palace.
As they approached the palace gates, it was obvious this was the case: the gigantic driveway was so full of expensive cars and limousines their car just about squeezed through.
"Let's just get inside," Jay said as they pulled up to the entrance. "At least Granny will have the fancy champagne out."
Erin couldn't think about any more alcohol, especially if she needed to face a lot of the guests inside the palace.
Leaving his bags for the staff to deal with, the Prince exited the car and headed towards the door, checking Erin was right behind him.
Most of the commotion was indeed coming from the ball room – that room being where the Queen entertained most of her guests. Jay used a side door to quickly scan around the room, his eyes narrowing.
"Well they're not in here," he grinned suddenly. "Maybe we can just sneak upstairs before they get back-"
"Your Highness," one of the younger kitchen maids moved swiftly towards them and she dropped into a curtesy when she reached the spot in front of the Prince. "Your Highness, Her Majesty requires you in the back drawing room." Her eyes flitted towards Erin. "You are to attend too."
She curtseyed again and promptly rushed back in the direction she'd come from.
"God's sake," the Prince muttered and led the way to the back of the palace.
He didn't knock nor wait for summoning from his grandmother to enter, instead burst casually into the room using both doors. "I thought the party was through there," he scoffed.
Erin followed quietly and two steps behind him. Jay's brother, father and grandmother along with a man and woman Erin had never seen before were gathered at the opposite end of the table. None of them looked up as Jay and Erin entered the room.
"Oh welcome back Jay, welcome back Erin! How was your trip? Oh it was just great thanks Granny! Did you hug a koala, yes I did Pops and yes they do indeed smell like piss. How was your flight home? Oh just dandy big brother, thanks for restocking the mini bar-"
"James," the Queen politely interrupted.
"Come on, why the long faces? What did I do?" the Prince laughed, swaying over to whatever had their attention on the table.
"What you can do," Prince Patrick spoke, pushing up from his chair with his gaze still solidly stuck on the table. "…is tell me what the hell you are doing … on the front of this famous tabloid … kissing your bodyguard."
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