I straighten my spine and stand taller. I really don’t like the way she’s hanging onto his arm, or the intimate way she plasters one side of her curvy body to his.
Today is a terrible day and this is just a cherry on top of the icing. Irrational or not, jealousy burns through me. I’m hurt, mentally exhausted, and pissed.
His face is still unreadable and I can’t sense any feelings at all from him, but his eyes sweep over me from head to toe.
Something flickers in his eyes as his gaze lingers on the expanse of my leg exposed through the long slit of my gown.
I school my features to the look somewhere close to boredom and haughtiness that I often see on Caspian’s face. I keep my feelings safely hidden while I plot the woman’s murder in my head.
“I think we are all ready to go,” says Constantine. That means we’re ready to convene for our nightly meeting. His arm is lightly but possessively wrapped around Genesis’s waist as they all crowded around Caspian and me.
There’s a stranger in our midst and we all turn to stare at the woman who is hanging onto my mate’s arm.
“Everyone, this is Désiré. Désiré, you know everyone here, I’m sure,” says Darius carelessly. He’s in a pissy mood himself to even make a proper introduction, it seems.
“Your Highness, we would like to congratulate you both on your mating,” says the woman, Debby or Sandy or whatever her name is.
She offers her hand to shake and I lift an eyebrow. I won’t touch her hand unless to rip it off her shoulder.
The woman is looking at us like we poop butterflies and rainbows. She seems too eager to please. Her smile is too wide.
Her lipstick is too red. I don’t like her. No, I hate her.
Caspian takes her extended hand in his for a brief handshake after giving me a teasing wink. I completely ignore her hand. I know I look like a snobbish spoilt bratty bitch, but I don’t care.
“It’s such a great news. We’re so happy to be here for this occasion, aren’t we, darling?” She tugs Darius’s arm as if to remind him of his manners. Darling?
“Of course. Congratulations,” says Darius through gritted teeth.
He shakes Caspian’s hand, then holds his hand out to me. I tilt my chin up, hook my arm around Caspian’s and completely ignore his extended hand.
I shoot her and Darius a look of disdain as if they’re pesky gums underneath my shoe.
I see the stiffness in his jaw like he’s grinding his teeth. I feel the eyes of my pack mates who are surrounding us watching quietly. After a few seconds of silence, he steps closer to me and deliberately grasps my hand in his. His date gasps at his brazenness. Everyone knows you don’t do that to a
royalty….and I am. Royally pissed.
His date nudges him uneasily and all he says is, “Newly mated….I’m sure you can’t wait to be alone with your mate.” All the while keeping my hand in his. His words hold a double meaning.
“Darling, you’re too much,” his date giggles. “Newly mated aren’t the only ones who can’t wait to be alone.” Her tone teasing and she runs her hand over his muscled arm
suggestively.
Gah! These lycans have no sense of decency. I hate to feel so jealous but I can’t help it. Not when she keeps touching what’s mine. I know I should reel in my feelings….but that would be right after I rip off her arms.
I lift my chin up and look at him haughtily while ineffectively trying to tug my hand out of his tight grip without causing too much scene.
The woman Désiré is staring at the way we’re behaving while our pack mates are watching us with amusement.
“My good friend Darius and my mate Persephone…they’re…uh, very…errr…close friends,” says Caspian with a very wicked smile playing on his lips, trying to explain our behavior.
“Yeah, we are all very close. Sometimes when you’re close, you have…problems. Problems among close friends are normal. I’m sure you would understand,” adds Constantine. The sides of his lips are curled up into a mischievous smile.
“Your Highness Prince Constantine,” breathes Désiré….or what’s her face. “Yes, I understand,” she says quickly and eagerly.
“True, but it’s nothing we can’t…handle,” Darius says, still keeping his eyes on me. His lips form a tight wolfish menacing smile that makes chills run down my spine.
Désiré what’s her face turns to Darius and gushes, “I didn’t know…Darling, why didn’t you tell me that you’re close friends with the Princes?” Her eyes are shining brightly as if the thought of being close to us really excites her. If she gets any more excited she might just pee in her pants…or rather her revealing red gown.
“Oh, didn’t I?” he asks tightly. “Yes, well…we’re close. Very very close,” he says slowly and very deliberately. His eyes are locking mine in place. “So now you know.”
“Oh wow. That’s…that’s wonderful,” she says, looking up at my mate like the way she’s looking at us a moment ago…bright-eyed and very excited. She presses her body even closer to him and drags her perfectly manicured red fingernails over his chest. “So, what are the plans after this?” Wait, is she expecting to hang out with us? Or is she planning to spend more time with my mate?
I catch Genesis giving her a once-over. I know she’s trying to hide her feelings just like Serena, but I don’t think it’s working too well for her so far.
Darius takes the moment to create a bit of space between them, which is good because I’m very close to ripping her arm off her shoulder.
As soon as Darius releases my hand, I lift it up to tug Caspian’s white silk tie and says, “Darling, I’m ready for bed.”
I don’t miss the stiffening of his body and jaw. “I have to take Désiré home,” Darius says with that same cold look on his face again.
“Yeah, bye!” I wave him away dismissively and airily. Yeah, go do whatever!
He leans in to shake Caspian’s hand. Wait. Is that slight brush of his fingers on my upper thigh along the slit of my dress accidental? Goosebumps break across my skin from his touch despite the anger that I’m harboring for him.
“I’ll be right back,” he whispers to Caspian, while his eyes drift back to me. Why does that sound like a threat?
I watch Darius guides Désiré away with his hand on her back.
They look like a couple. Ughhh…right now I want to physically hurt him!
We take our leave and Constantine waves away the guards who are supposed to accompany us back to our wing. The six of us don’t need guards.
I’m getting tired and irritated. Being royalty doesn’t suit me.
Everybody seems to want to get close to us. The very same people who looked down on me when I was still a werewolf are now kissing my *ss. Being mated to a royalty means everybody wants to be your best friend. Too many fake people. It’s hard to tell when people are being genuine.
No wonder Caspian is very selective with the people he surrounds himself with. Now I understand why he’s very distrustful and cold to people outside our little circle.
It’s a relief when we finally reach our own private section of the palace. We’re just among ourselves now.
As soon as we reach Caspian’s bedchamber, the guys start taking off their jacket and loosening their ties. Serena seats herself primly on the loveseat while Genesis drops herself on the sofa with a sigh. Constantine lowers himself next to her, lifts her feet up onto his lap and wrap her feet in his hands after he slides her shoes off.
“Nightcap everyone?” asks Caspian as he moves to stand behind a little bar in the corner beside the bookcase. He rolls his shirt sleeves up, then arranges seven short-stemmed glasses on the black shiny counter.
I sit on one of the wingback chairs and watch Caspian mixing the drink. He seems to be very focused on what he’s doing.
“He’s taking this very seriously,” remarks Genesis teasingly.
“You know he’s always serious about his drink,” replies Constantine.
Caspian just ignores them and pours the mixture into the seven glasses.
“He makes a good bartender, though,” says Lazarus as he picks a glass for himself and Serena from the counter before he joins her on the loveseat.
“I make an awesome bartender,” agrees Caspian as he brings a few glasses over and hands me one. Always big headed.
“There’s no absinthe in this drink, is there?” I stare at the drink in my hand suspiciously.
“Absinthe?” asks Serena curiously.
Caspian opens his mouth to tell the story and I lift up a hand to stop him. “Shut it,” I tell him as I lift the glass to my lips.
I don’t know what the prince put in the drink, but it’s very good. It’s smooth, delicious, and warm as it goes down my throat.
Of course, Caspian just can’t keep his mouth shut. I sip my drink slowly while he tells everyone his exaggerated version of what happened last night after I drank the darn absinthe. By the time he’s done, everybody is laughing.
I just ignore them and keep my eyes on the watch, counting every passing minute, imagining all the things that my mate could be doing with his date. Each new scenario pisses me off even more than the last one.
Half an hour later, Darius comes strolling in through the door after a brief knock. His intense blue gaze zone in on me right away and my heartbeat increases.
“Welcome back,” says Caspian with a knowing smile and places Darius’s drink on the side table next to the chair I’m sitting on.
“Good. I need a drink,” he answers while taking off his jacket and drapes it over the back of my chair. I can smell her on his jacket and that makes me want to sucker punch him in the face.
I only half listening to everyone else talking as I watch Darius loosening up his tie and undoes a few buttons of his shirt. Next, he removes the cufflinks and rolls his sleeves up to his elbows.
All the while he’s keeping his eyes trained solely on me. A tiny mocking smile is playing on his lips. It’s quite unnerving since I sense that he’s in an irritable mood.
For a moment I thought he was going to force me to sit near him, but he surprises me by sitting on another chair right across from mine, looking alert and focused.
“I just got a word from our men in California,” he announces.
“Iron Bossman is dead.” We grow silent. He presses a thumb against his tight lips, deliberating before he continues, “We let him go this afternoon and I had some men following him. Five hours after his release he was shot long range with a silver
bullet to the head. We managed to track down and apprehend the killer almost immediately.”
“Oh, good! You’ve got his killer,” exclaims Genesis. “Then we’ll know who’s involved right?”
“Not quite. He’s a human. A hired killer. He was questioned,”
he explains. By “questioned”, he means they tortured him. “He couldn’t tell us who gave him the assignment and wired him the money. We tried to trace the person who hired him through his correspondence on his laptop. Whoever they are, they’re covering their track very well so far. They rerouted their connection to several proxies based in several different countries.”
“I’m sure it would lead back to Russia,” Caspian sighs frustratedly.
“That’s true, but we’re hoping to get more specific than that,”
answers my mate. “That’s where we hit the roadblock.”
“I’ve checked the list of guests for tomorrow night’s event as you requested this morning,” informs Lazarus. “A few people you warned me about, including Robert Vitsin are going to be there.”
A chill runs down my spine. Robert Vitsin is the man behind the killing of Darius’s friends’ mates. He is also Polina’s father.
Darius stiffens at the mention of Robert Vitsin.
“I guess we just have to be extra careful tomorrow night,” says Caspian, looking at me.
“The man is like a snake. He’s very sly and dangerous,” agrees Darius. “Is there anything else?” He seems on edge.
“We managed to plant one more of our men inside his
operation,” informs Constantine.
“That’s good, I’ll have one of my trusted agents in there to contact him soon. The more eyes and ears we have in there, the better,” says Darius.
“That’s all I have for now,” announces Constantine. “Unless anybody would like to add anything?”
We look at each other but nobody says a word.
“Okay, remember to be vigilant and keep an eye on each other,”
says Darius with his gaze right on me. “If that’s all, I think we should be retiring for tonight.”
“Yeah, great idea. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day,” replies Caspian lazily.
“Yup, we’ll convene again tomorrow night,” agrees Lazarus.
“Well, then…I bade you all goodnight,” says Darius though he’s looking at me with that expression that warns me he’s not done with me just yet.
“Somebody’s eager to get out of here,” remarks Caspian, giving Darius a knowing look and a smirk.
“Aren’t you staying?” asks Genesis.
“Oh, I am,” answers Darius, still looking at me. That definitely sounds like a warning. Then he reaches for his jacket, swings it over one shoulder and walks out the door.
Constantine and Lazarus look at me with an amused smile on their faces, while Serena pats my hand sympathetically. She kisses my cheek before she exits the room behind everybody else and closes the door quietly behind her.
“Well, I’m going to bed,” I announce to Caspian as I turn on my heel to walk up the stairs.
The prince is sprawled on the chair with his feet on one of the Ottomans, still nursing his drink. The song Sadeness by Enigma is echoing through the room. “Yeah, have a
good…uh..sleep, beany,” he says, sounding very amused. He is so infuriating. Everything and everybody is pissing me off right now. I feel like kicking something. Too bad kicking the wall of the tunnel that leads me to my room isn’t such a good idea.
His scent reaches my nose even before I step out of the tunnel and into the room through the little opening. Somehow I suspected that he would be waiting for me. He wouldn’t let me get away with the way I acted with him tonight.
The light is off, but I can still see him standing by the window clearly. The moon casts a pale silvery glow over his broad shoulders and the outline of his magnificent body. His hair glows and appears white, almost silver in the moonlight. He’s staring out the window like he’s not even aware that I’m here.
I stand there silently for a few seconds, taking in his beautiful form against the inky night sky. This man makes my heart beats faster, my stomach to be filled with a thousand fluttering butterflies, and my emotions to swing all over the place, uncontrollably, just by being in the same room with me.
“We have to do better than tonight if we’re going to survive tomorrow night,” he says quietly.
“Better as in having more fun with other people? Sure, I can do that,” I return sassily.
“I didn’t mean it that way, and you know it.”
“Do I? Well, you seemed to be having a great time with that woman tonight.”
I push the armoire back into place to close the small opening, then reach over to flip the switch. The room immediately floods with light.
He turns slowly to look at me. His tie is gone. A few more top buttons of his shirt is undone to show his smooth muscled pecs. His pale blue gaze is regarding me possessively, boldly roaming all over my body like he has all the right in the world.
“What about you? Did you dress like that for me or was it for all those other men who couldn’t take their eyes off of you tonight?”
Now he’s having a problem with my dress?
I see something dangerous flickering in his eyes but I’m pissed and I can’t seem to stop my word vomit though I don’t mean any of it. “Definitely not for you,” I spit out.
His eyes are darkening alarmingly. “Then take it off,” he demands.
What? “NO!”
“Why are you so set on defying me tonight?” His voice is getting low almost to the hissing sound should warn me that his lycan is taking over.
Because he’s with that woman…Darla or Tracy or whatever her name is and because I hate to feel this uncontrollable jealousy.
“I hate you.”
“Isn’t it too late for that, sweetheart? I’ve already marked and claimed you mine. For life,” he reminds me. “Now take it off before I rip it off you.”
It is a beautiful dress but…NO. I cross my arms over my chest and lift my chin up stubbornly and haughtily.
“Very well.” His dark eyes gleamed dangerously. I’m not sure if it’s excitement and lust or anger that I see in his gaze as he stalks closer to me like he’s stalking his prey.
My heart thunders furiously in my chest but I refuse to be intimidated by him or his lycan, so I stand my ground.
I don’t know if it’s lust, excitement, or anger that makes my heart skyrocket, even more, when he places his hands on either
side of my face firmly and possessively. His palms pressing on my cheeks and his fingers in my hair, holding my face in place.
I place my hands on his chest, trying to push him back, but he’s unmovable. If anything he leans in closer until my hands are trapped between our bodies. He moves one hand so that it’s fully gripping my hair and with that, he tilts my head back until my neck is totally exposed to him.
I gulp audibly. I feel trapped but excitement courses through my whole body. How did I get into this position?
“I love it when you don’t know when to be scared, Malyshka.
My little one,” he whispers as his nose and lips brush against my throat. The feeling of his skin touching mine and his warm breath against my skin sends tingles and electricity to every nerve cell in my body. He takes a deep breath, taking in my scent before he pulls back to look into my eyes. His eyes are now almost back to their normal color. My scent seems to calm his lycan, but he’s not done with me yet. He bares his straight white teeth in a tight menacing smile.
“Finally, I have my mate where I want her,” he says before his lips swoop down to claim mine. Vaguely I hear the tearing of my dress over the loud pounding of my own heartbeat.
Then my nose detects a faint smell of that woman on his shirt.
Her hands are all over that shirt and his suit tonight! Ugh!!! I need to kill somebody. I push him wildly off me and look down at my lacy bra and panty covered body before I stomp towards the door.
“NO!” he growls, blocking my way to the door. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Move!” I growl back, trying to shove him out of the way.
“Move or I’ll hurt you.”
“Then hurt me,” he challenges.
I push him roughly against the wall.
I grip his neck tightly and he just let me. His eyes gleaming, watching me through lowered eyelids, breathing hard, his nostrils flare. I tighten my grip on his neck further and his face reddens, but he just stands there, making no effort to stop me.
I can do whatever I want with him. If I want to kill him right now, he’ll just let me. Well, fuck that!
I grip the opening of his expensive dress shirt and pull it apart.
All the way through and throw the offensive fabric on the floor.
I hate that smell! Then I launch myself at him, grabbing the back of his neck and claim his lips with mine. He responds immediately. Kissing me back with the same urgency and hunger, making me shudder with pleasure. Our mouths
moving together, our tongues sliding against one another. His hands grabbing my butt and my waist tightly, pulling my body flush against him. I wrap my leg around his hips, straining to get closer.
Shudders run through him as I run my hands all over the dips, curves, and ridges of his muscled body. I bite his bottom lip punishingly and hear a low moaning sound coming from him.
Vaguely I’m aware of him picking me up and placing me on the bed. He pushes my legs apart and his weight settles in between them without even breaking the kiss. His mouth leaves my lips to worship my body with kisses, gentle bites and little sucks and licks. I sink my fingers into his silky fair hair and grip it hard as I guide him to where I want his mouth to be on my body. I’m on fire. My whole body is on fire for him.
