Before I can extricate myself from all of the people that my mother wants to introduce me to, Lola has disappeared from where she had been sitting.
I scan the area with rising anger. For days we had searched the island for her, and quietly dispatched trusted staff to search the mainland. We had feared she might have drowned. And here she is brazenly sitting in my family home!
Movement draws my gaze to the garden path. She is hurrying around the side of the terrace. By the time I catch up with her, she is already inside the palace. To stop her from running, I catch hold of her wrist.
She snatches it away, and is annoyed when I hold on. She turns to face me, her cheeks are pink with exertion and something else. Fear? Anger? It frustrates me that I cannot tell. Her expression is guarded, like she has no intention of letting me know what she’s thinking.
“What do you want?” she snaps. “What does a girl have to do to get rid of you?”
I let go of her wrist. She stays where she is, eyeing a nearby staircase as if she wants to run up it. Her eagerness to get away from me makes me angry. As angry as reading her letter had made me.
I step close enough to her for our bodies to be almost touching. With satisfaction I notice her breathing quicken.
“Well, honey,” I say, silkily, “if you really wanted to never see me again you shouldn’t have come to my family’s palace.”
“Your family’s?” she says stiffly.
I take another step closer, and smile as she backs away. The wall forces her to a standstill. I take another step closer, and now there is nowhere for her to go but sideways.
She glares up at me. I can feel the heat of her body. I can hear her heartbeat tripping rapidly, and its rhythm only increases as I lower my head towards her. I stop with my lips just millimeters away from hers.
It is her who rises on her tiptoes to press her lips against mine. It is her who wraps her arms around my neck, clinging to me. She gasps when I deepen the kiss, exploring the sweet taste of her mouth.
My hands cup her buttocks, and I pull her hard against my hips so that she can feel my arousal. She groans, and presses herself against me, her body begging me to take her.
I grip her buttocks and lift her off the ground. She bends her knees and wraps her legs around my waist. I push up her dress, and my hand slips between her legs to explore her panties.
She stiffens. She pulls away from the kiss. She is panting, with two spots of red high on her cheeks.
“You boys really know how to fuck,” she says.
“What?” I pull away slightly, not certain whether I have heard her right.
“I suppose it’s that wolfish instinct in you. People told me werewolves always give a good hard fuck. They were right.”
I let go of her, and she drops to the floor. She looks annoyed, and proceeds to straighten her skirt.
“What?” she says coldly. “Why so surprised? I told you, I’m done with you.”
The words in her letter had cut me to the quick. Hearing it from her mouth is worse.
“Then why are you still here?” I ask harshly. “Why haven’t you left our world?”
She shrugs. “I was going to, but I bumped into a friend. She told me about the prince’s bride-choosing. I thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up.”
I suck in a sharp breath, shocked at how much her words hurt.
She laughs. “Don’t look at me like that. I thought it would be exciting to be with werewolves, but I should have known better. You’re just too violent. It was so… disgusting. Like beasts. It really opened my eyes.”
She looks me up and down, and she shudders.
I take a step away from her. “And you think the angelli are any better? We are all demonkind here, even them.”
“Yes,” she says silkily. “But unlike you, they are the descendants of angels.” She purrs out the last word as if it is delicious.
“Angels and demons are the same thing, sweetheart,” I tell her coldly. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Look who’s talking,” she says. “Wasn’t it you who taught me how to play games? How to do anything to get what you want? Your uncle was right – love is meaningless.”
“He was wrong,” I grind out between gritted teeth.
“Oh, honey. Haven’t you learnt anything? Love is a tool. You told me I could use it to steal the bloodstone, and you were right. Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind?”
“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have put you in danger.”
“I agree. And I’ll never forgive you for nearly getting me killed. You showed me exactly what kind of beast you are.”
“I’m sorry,” I say hoarsely. “Tell me you don’t mean that.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re boring me now. I’m sick of men who think women are either angels or whores. I’m a woman who knows what she wants. And it isn’t you anymore. So stay away from me.”
