Claimed By her Daddies by Laylah Roberts

32

Kassim found himself drawn into the sitting room that his mother seemed to have taken over in the short time she’d been here. Not that it took his mother long to do anything. She was a force to be reckoned with.

But where were his fathers?

And why was Adele here with her?

He turned to find Pippa, worried about how she was taking this. She was scowling at Adele. That was amusing, but he had to ease her stress levels and stop her from launching herself at the other woman.

Thankfully, his mother was fussing over Matek who was bearing it with a grimace and some grumbling.

Kassim moved over to his intended. “Remember you are ours. We are yours. I don’t know how she got back in here, but I will see that she is removed shortly.”

She glanced up at him then took a deep breath in and nodded.

“I’m really sorry,” Caleb told him with a grimace. “Your parents arrived twenty minutes ago, I tried to call you but one of your fathers wanted an update on security in the palace and Aleki has taken Vivi shopping so it was me or Wolfe.”

“It is fine. Please, can you speak to Judd about the current situation then Beta team will likely want to take the rest of the day off. We brought Ian and Jack back with us, so you’ll need to brief them as well.”

Caleb nodded and left. By then, his mother had turned to Tavi and Aric, fussing over them both. Kassim put his hand lightly on Pippa’s back as she turned to them.

“Kassim,” his mother said.

Leaning in, he kissed her cheek, breathing in her scent. It brought back memories of his childhood. Happy memories, even if his childhood had been shorter than most. Knowing you would one day run the country came with a lot of responsibilities and lessons that a child so young wouldn’t normally need.

When he had children, he was determined to make sure their childhoods lasted as long as possible.

“Mother, it’s been too long.”

“It has, but you know what your fathers are like. They prefer the freedom on the island.”

“What brings you here now?” he asked carefully.

“A friend called and asked us to pay a visit.”

Friend, huh? He looked over at Adele. He could guess who.

His mother turned to Pippa. “Hello, you must be Pippa. Is that your full name?”

“Hello, Your Majesty. Yes, it is.”

“Interesting.”

His mother was guarded around anyone who wasn’t family. She’d learned to be, but she wasn’t a bad person.

“Mother, I’m very glad to see you but we’ve just arrived home and we all have some things to attend to—”

“Yes, of course you do,” his mother replied. “Which is why I have arranged for us to have a family dinner tonight. So we can talk about everything that has happened.”

“That sounds acceptable.” Kassim turned to Adele. “I told you not to come back until you were given permission.”

Adele sucked in a breath, looking shocked. As though she had no idea what he was talking about. He was prepared to escort her out himself, if necessary.

“Kassim! That is rude,” his mother said. “I invited Adele here. She is a close family friend.”

Adele sent Pippa a superior smile. Kassim had to rein in his temper. He glanced over to find that Matek was about to explode. But he knew he couldn’t go against his mother’s wishes without a good reason. His fathers would have his head for upsetting her.

And Adele knew that.

Then Pippa slipped her hand into his. He glanced down at her and she gave him a reassuring smile. “Fine, but you cause any issues or harm to Pippa and you’re out of here. For good.”

His mother went to speak again, but he turned away. “If you’ll excuse us.”

“Oh, I thought Pippa might like to stay and have tea with us,” his mother said, making him pause and turn back.

Kassim eyed his mother then Adele. “Pippa is tired after her flight.”

“That’s okay,” Pippa said cheerfully. “I could use a cup of tea.”

He studied her, watching for any hint that she wasn’t up to this. But she just smiled up at him. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “If Adele steps out of line, then tell me.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle Satan’s bride.”

* * *

Okay,she might have been confident in her ability to handle Satan’s bride, but nothing had prepared her for the princes’ mother. She was a force to be reckoned with. Not that she wasn’t nice. She was. But she was also very guarded, smart, and fiercely protective of her family.

Not that Pippa could hate her for that. In fact, she thought that under other circumstances they would get along well. But she’d obviously been alerted to what the tabloids had printed about Pippa and the princes. And she was here to make sure that Pippa was the right sort of woman to be with her sons. Or maybe she was here to chase her away from her sons. It was hard to tell.

It didn’t help that Adele was here, speaking poison in her ear. They’d only been sitting here for ten minutes and already she was exhausted.

“So, dear, you’re from New Zealand?” Isobelle asked her. Her name was as beautiful as she was. Hard to see how she was old enough to have given birth to four fully-grown men. “This is terrible to admit, but I don’t know much about the country.”

“That’s not your fault, Isobelle,” Adele said with a simper. “The country is small and not known for much.”

This. Bitch.

It was one thing to insult her. But no one insulted her country. But Pippa knew she had to walk a fine line. If she pointed out everything New Zealand was famous for, she might be insulting Isobelle who had just stated she didn’t know much.

“There’s a lot of sheep,” she said.

Adele snorted.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the smartest thing to say.

“It’s actually an amazing place to grow up. Very beautiful. I was raised to be resilient and resourceful.”

“I suppose that helped when your fiance cheated on you,” Adele said snidely.

“I suppose it did,” Pippa replied cheerfully.

Do not kill her. Do not kill her.

“I suppose at least there are higher learning institutions,” Adele said. “Which one did you go to?”

This. Bitch. Was. Dead.

“I thought you’d be working today, Adele. Or were you fired?”

Adele flushed red.

“I wasn’t fired.”

“Sorry, I must have been misinformed. I am very tired after the long flight.”

“Yes, so sad you had to come back in a hurry,” Adele said snidely. “Scandals will do that.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go rest before dinner.” And to leave before she strangled Adele.

“Of course, I best go get ready for dinner,” Isobelle said.

“Isobelle, might I borrow a dress so I don’t have to go back home and get changed?” Adele asked, making her pause.

Slime balls. Adele was coming to dinner? What had she done to the universe to deserve this kind of hell?