Read Online Bad Boy Prince: A British Royal Stepbrother Romance by Vivian Wood - Free Book Online Page A

leans forward and shoves a few tabloids into my shaking hands. I look down at them, and they are pretty awful.
    Me, taking at swing at Charles. Me, red-faced and screaming, pointing my finger in a photographer’s face.
    Damn, I look drunk. Not exactly my best side.
    “And Alisdair… I don’t even know where to start,” Prince Archie growls. “After the conversation we had only yesterday …”
    The Prince holds up a huge glossy magazine that shows Rex carrying me in his arms. Our surroundings are so dark and the angle is so bad, you actually can’t tell that it’s me .
    PRINCE MAGNUM ABDUCTS MYSTERY BLONDE, the headline screams.
    I wince and glance at Rex apologetically. I fully expect him to sell me out, give me up with a bit of his usual asshole snark.
    But he doesn’t. He examines the photo and then shrugs.
    “That’s it?” Prince Archie asks. He starts to go red at the collar, baring his teeth as he speaks. “Alasdair, I don’t think you appreciate just how bad this press is for us.”
    “For you, you mean?” Rex asks.
    He doesn’t move, doesn’t cross his arms or pout, but his voice is openly hostile. I wonder what that’s about. Prince Archie has always been a blowhard, but he and Rex used to have a kind of respect between them.
    Before I can linger on that topic, Prince Archie shoots to his feet. He comes to stand over Rex, uncomfortably close to both of us. He shoves a finger in Rex’s face and proceeds to absolutely lose his cool.
    “You are such a WORTHLESS piece of GARBAGE, you know? And of course the second SHE is back in town, you’re running around with her!”
    I am the very picture of shock when the Prince points to me, bringing me right into it all.
    “Father, don’t.” Rex’s voice is flat, and he’s ignoring the screaming and finger pointing, but I can see him starting to flush with anger.
    “I thought we SETTLED this already! You are to stay out of the FUCKING PAPERS. You are to marry a RESPECTABLE GIRL. And you are to stop being such a FUCKING PROBLEM for the family. If your mother could see you now—”
    “Don’t talk about her,” Rex growls. “You don’t talk about my mother, you prick.”
    For a second, I think Prince Archie is going to actually go apoplectic, pop a vein in his big bald head or something. I look over to my mother, trying to gauge her reaction to the Prince’s complete loss of self-control.
    She’s looking off in the distance, like suddenly this painting of King Gregor XVI is super interesting . Avoiding the whole situation, just putting it out of her mind.
    No concern that he’s actually partially screaming at her own daughter in the process…
    “GROUNDED!” he screams.
    “Now, Archie,” the Queen says, looking a little worried. “Don’t overdo it. Your heart, you know.”
    “What.” Rex sighs the word at his father, and it’s not a question.
    “You and Lady Katherine are GROUNDED. Her things will be moved into your flat at Canal Place. You two are going to stay there, together. And you’re not LEAVING, with the exception of royal events to which you have been SPECIFICALLY invited,” Prince Archie declares, turning to pace the room.
    “For how long?” Rex asks, a muscle ticcing in his jaw.
    “Three months! Until the wedding is past,” the Prince says, a satisfied gleam in his eyes.
    What? Three months, trapped in an apartment with Rex?
    No no no, that cannot happen.
    “Mum…” I say, trying to get her to jump in and intercede.
    My mother inhales, nostrils flaring, and then forces a bland smile.
    “It’s for the best, honey,” she tells me, not meeting my gaze. “It’s this, or head back across the pond to the States.”
    My face heats. I’m starting to get pissed now. The grounding is one thing; Mum refusing to stick up for me is a whole other issue.
    “What about my new job?” I ask, crossing my arms. Unlike Rex, I am more than happy to show my displeasure through childish posture and pouting.
    “Katherine,” my mother