"Did you know Las Vegas has a black book?"

Experience had taught Jasper that she could be difficult while under the influence. Sober and clean, she was just insufferable. Two days after their arrival, her fake enthusiasm had the same effect on him as nails on a chalkboard. Of all the ways he could imagine to shut the princess up, Jasper cared for none of the physical ones. Not anymore.

When she wasn't trying to drive him insane, she was trying to leave the motel. On her first attempt, Eleanor picked up a stack of touristy pamphlets to hit him with when he nearly tackled her by the front desk. Some of the most obnoxious materials ever written had made their way back to their room with them when he threw her over his shoulder and carried her back to what she now called 'The Red Room of Pain'.

The nickname for room 104, to his disappointment, came from the fire engine red carpet and roulette table like patterns on the sheets. Unfortunately, the only one being tortured in the tacky room, was him. And not the way he liked it.

"I know."

"Do you? Would your name happen to be listed, Jasper from Nevada?"

This had to be some sort of defense mechanism. The woman he'd been smitten with a few weeks ago wasn't this childish. All questions about her father's wellbeing had been replaced with this behavior once she gave up on making demands and finding her phone. Too bad the thing had flown out the window along with her stash on the drive through the desert. Not that she needed to know that.

"Well, Jaspurr, if you bothered taking me for a walk instead of keeping me here in a not so gilded cage, I wouldn't be bored and you wouldn't have to be told that the Bronze Lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel weighs 50 tons, making it the lar-"

"Put on your sunglasses. Jeans and a t-shirt. No makeup. Let's go."

Eleanor tossed the pamphlet aside and was waiting for him by the door before he managed to put his shoes on. In combination with her previous choice of words, her behavior reminded him of a dog wanting to be walked. The idea of pulling her by a leash instead of her hair wasn't half bad. Not bad at all.

Unfortunately, the idea would have to sit on the back burner. He had to keep himself from putting too much thought into his mental list of things to do to her. In addition to arousal, it brought back feelings of guilt. He hadn't lay a hand on her since his encounter with her mother. Knowing Helena, she couldn't wait to let Eleanor know of his indiscretion in the cruelest way possible. Had it not been for Liam's request and the distance it put between the Queen and the Princess, he most likely would have never seen Eleanor again.

That made him uneasy. The lies he passed off as excuses for his behavior were starting to keep him up at night. He never meant to hurt her. Even if there were no feelings involved, there was a level of attachment to what they did. Even he had to admit so.

Eleanor called Jasper out of his thoughts when her imaginary leash pulled him into a hole in the wall kind of bar. The kind he shouldn't have a princess who couldn't afford to make headlines in. Grabbing her by the arm he meant to lead her outside but she did have a point.

"I doubt anyone in a bar with sticky chairs will know who I am or care. Two drinks. You have my word."

The argument was valid. If he had learned anything from her fun facts, the bar wasn't even located in Vegas. If she caused a scene, she wouldn't call any more attention to herself than the questionable patrons of the bar. It was also very difficult to say no to her when he knew she must be going through a lot more than she let on. Maybe

"Two drinks"

Her first drink was long gone before his beer. She knew he wouldn't order anything stronger and in his own way, take control of the situation. He had all the control while she had none. Her life was just up in the air and there was nothing she could do. Liam had placed it all in Jasper's hands. She felt helpless and it wouldn't do. The drugs were gone, she was thousands of miles away from home and the man before her hadn't taken her out of her misery in ways only he knew how.

They were making small talk about the room's tacky furnishings when something caught her eye behind Jasper's head. A woman, around her age, had just exchanged money for something very small and made her way to the back of the room. Excusing herself, she hopped off her stool only to have him grab her arm.

"Just a trip to the loo, need to escort me there?"

She pulled away and quickly followed her to the lady's room. Cutting to the chase, Eleanor parted with a bracelet and a ring in exchange for a few pills. By the time she came back, Jasper was on his way to check up on her. Lucky for her, the woman had probably never seen a Hermes bangle in her life and was more than happy to trade.

Apparently, beer went right through her body guard and he excused himself, leaving her at the bar with a warning and the second and final round of drinks. Not if she could help it. He would surely order some more to quench his thirst after the ecstasy she crushed and dropped in his drink made him oh so thirsty.

-NOTES-

Sorry for the delay! Crazy day!

Please review, the ask box is up on Tumblr and do follow on Twitter ! HRH_Len and my editor The_Royals_Fans