Eleanor woke up first the following morning. She took the opportunity to study Jaspers face. She noted how peaceful he looked while he was asleep, content even, and she marvelled at his soft, yet somehow angular features. She also marvelled how he made her feel, despite his troubled past.
She heard a soft knocking on her door, and climbing out of the bed carefully, so she didn't wake Jasper up, she went to answer it, picking his shirt up to cover her body on the way.
Eleanor was shocked that the person on the other side of the door was her mother, the Queen. She was even more shocked to find that she was alone.
"Are you going to let me in?"
Eleanor stepped back, holding the door open to allow her mother to enter her bedroom.
"I am fairly certain that shirt does not belong to you Eleanor." the Queen said, eyeing her daughter from head to toe.
"You're right. It's his." Eleanor retorted, gesturing at the bed where Jasper was still asleep.
"Len, the help? really?"
"Mum... please don't"
"I just have one question for you. Where's your drugs?"
"My mum, the Queen of England, is at 6.30am asking me for a buzz?"
"If you saw my schedule today you'd see it was necessary."
"I don't actually have any, mum. Can't remember the last time I did to be honest."
"My darling daughter. How did you change so much and I miss it? I take it he" the Queen nodded towards Jasper "is the reason for this?"
"I guess so. I mean, I do have occasional roach every now and then, but I haven't felt like bad enough to need coke to get by for a while."
"Is he still breathing?"
"I hope so"
"Well, as long as you keep this little fling to the walls of the Palace, I can see no reason why I can't let this continue."
"I just don't know if I can trust him yet mum."
"What do you want to do?"
Both women turned to look at the bed as Jasper stirred.
"We'll talk about this later." the Queen told her.
The Queen left and Eleanor looked back at the bed. She watched as Jasper rolled over, exposing his chest down to the waist. Smiling, Eleanor padded back to the bed, dropping Jasper's shirt as she did so. She climbed back into the bed, and placed her hand lightly on his shoulder before slowly weaving her fingers over every muscle in his torso. When she reached his waist, she paused, looking at his face again.
She wanted to trust him. She wanted to trust him right there and then, but given all that they had been through, every lie that came between them, she was hesitant.
Biting her lip, she made a decision that she hoped she would not live to regret. Eleanor flattened her palm against Jasper's skin and edged her fingers underneath the covers. She had barely made a move when a hand shot up and closed around her wrist. She spun her head to face him. Her inquisitive emerald eyes met his sleepy blue ones and before she knew what was happening, Jasper had thrown her to her back. He use one arm to support his body over hers, the other still holding her wrist, his leg running up and down hers.
"Do you like what you feel, Princess?"
"I had to make sure you were up to the task of guarding my body, bodyguard."
"And your expert opinion?" Jasper asked, before he placed a kiss behind her ear.
The kiss was enough to start clouding Eleanor's mind, and when he began to trail kisses down her neck to her shoulder, she would not have been able to tell you her own name. Just as she let out a moan, her bedroom door crashed open once again.
Jasper rolled off Eleanor and they both sat up in the bed.
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LIAM! I THOUGHT YOU'D HAVE LEARNED YOUR LESSON LAST NIGHT!" Eleanor screamed, picking up a cushion from behind her and launching it at her brother.
"Whatever Len. I actually need Jasper. Right now."
Liam entered the room, picking up Jasper's clothes as he did. He threw the clothing at Jasper. Liam began pacing Eleanor's room.
"What's going on?" Jasper asked, slipping his legs into his briefs and pulling them up under the covers.
"I have a lead on who killed dad. I want to check it out before any of my appointments today. Figured you'd kill me if I went alone."
"You're right on that one." Jasper looked at Eleanor. "I will meet you at the entrance to the tunnels in five minutes."
Liam left Eleanor's room, only closing one of the doors as he went. By the time Jasper left Eleanor's bedroom, James Hill was stationed outside her room. He nodded to James, and knowing Eleanor had no clothes on, closed the door for her privacy.
Eleanor fell back into the bed, and the next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake.
"Liam?" she asked, blinking up at him confused. She knew something wasn't right as soon as she opened her eyes.
"Len. Oh my God, I am so sorry. You need to get up. Right now"
Liam walked around Eleanors room, finding various items of clothing for her to put on.
"Liam. You're scaring me." she said as she sat up in her bed, catching the clothes Liam was throwing at her.
He turned to face her, and that's when she saw the tears in his eyes. Looking over him, she also realised he was covered in blood.
"It's Jasper, Len. He's been shot."
