by Goode, Ella
“Are you okay?” he asks as he leads me off the dance floor. He keeps his hand on my back. I want to lean in to his touch, but I don’t. It would be my luck that one of those sets of eyes is Milly. I’m sure she is trying to be fashionably late. It’s rude. This party is for Cora, after all. Coming late is a sign of disrespect in my book. But it doesn’t surprise me that Milly would do such a thing.
“I’m fine.” I turn my head to steal a peek at Sov. His eyes are focused on me. “A lot of people watch you.” He stiffens for a moment. I want to kick myself for saying the wrong thing.
“You’ll get used to it.” He snags a champagne glass off a tray as it passes by before handing it to me.
“Thanks.” I pretend to take a sip. “They’re looking at you, so I don’t have to get used to it.”
“I think you’re wrong about that, golden girl. They are staring at you.” He gives me a smile that makes me weak in the knees. “You know who I am?” I nod my head. “That doesn't seem fair, considering I don’t even know your name.”
“Mackenzie,” I give. This man is too charming, which tells me I need to be careful. I’m way out of my league here. It wasn't hard to find information on Sov Charmont when I went digging. The man made a few gossip columns in his younger days. He loved to party. Recently, there wasn't much of anything. Most of the articles I read focused on who he was going to settle down with and eventually marry. They all implied that his mom was chomping at the bit to marry him off. I think he’s being groomed to take over completely for his family.
“Mackenzie,” he repeats before I can tell him everyone calls me Mac. My full name sounds so sexy the way it rolls off his tongue. “There anything else that goes with Mackenzie?”
“I don’t have any special title such as prince.” I snort a laugh. “Or princess,” I add quickly. Too quickly. I bite the inside of my cheek so I’ll stop talking. This is why I am one of the Vieth Orphans that works in the office in the basement. Not only because it houses millions of dollars I keep track of, but I am also a terrible spy.
Sov says something to me that I don’t catch. My eyes narrow in on Milly as she walks in across the room. Crap.
“Let’s go outside. Get some fresh air.” I grab him by the arm, pulling him toward the terrace. He doesn't fight me. In fact, he reaches out to open one of the doors for me. We both slip out the door, closing it behind us. I should have run from him, but for some reason I didn't want Milly to get her claws into him.
“Finally,” he says, pulling me back around and pressing me up against the stone wall. Before I can ask what he means, his mouth is on mine. I allow myself to get lost in a charming prince regardless of the consequence. This may be my first and last kiss once Milly finds out. It’s not a terrible way to go, I suppose.
Chapter Seven
Sov
It is a mistake to kiss her. The desire to possess her rose up in me when I first saw her, but now…now, I’m going to have to lay waste to entire kingdoms to keep her. I force her mouth open wider, wanting to taste all of her. My tongue flicks along the inner recesses of her cheeks, across the top of her mouth and along the soft surface of her tongue. The world drops away, and all I care about is the way her lips feel against mine, the tightness of her hands gripping my surcoat, the gasps of desire she makes whenever I hit an erogenous spot.
I want to feel more of her. The dress that I thought was gorgeous is a nuisance. I tug at the fabric of her skirt, pulling it up only to find more fabric. It’s a fucking Russian doll of dresses. I’m never going to get through. I abandon going under her skirt to find her sweet pussy and search for the zipper. She had to be put in this gown some way. Frustration mounts when my search comes up empty.
Dragging my mouth down her neck, I demand, “Zipper, where is it?”
“Z-z-zip-per?”
“This dress. It needs to go.” I abandon words because my mouth has found the swell of her tits, heaving above the edge of her dress. I dig my fingers inside the top and find a pert nipple. I give it a squeeze, which causes her to jerk against me. “Zipper, babe,” I remind her. “Then I can put this ripe little berry in my mouth.”
I roll the bud between my fingers as I lave the tops of her breasts. My mouth waters in anticipation of sucking on her tits. My cock pulses and throbs, eager to get inside of her hot cunt. Her breaths are short and uneven. A rosy flush covers the skin that’s bared.
Baby is turned the fuck on. That’s probably why she’s not unzipping her dress. No worries. I got that covered. On her side, I find the stupid mechanism and give it a good yank.
“Wait,” she says, but her tits are free, and I can’t hear anything above the roar of blood in my head as the juicy flesh bounces out of the constraints of the dress. I mold one of her precious tits in my palm and lift it to my mouth. My lips close around the nub, and I suck hard, wanting her to feel it in her pussy.
Fuck, I want to touch her sex. I tug the dress down, but it gets caught around her waist. A knife. That’s what I need. I break away and reach down for the stiletto strapped to my thigh. I hear a cry, and this time it’s not passion but fear.
Mackenzie’s eyes are wide, and her hands are clasping her dress against her magnificent tits. “What is that for?”
I’d forgotten I had the knife in my hands. I flip it, idly, and advance. “It’s for the dress. That thing has got to come off so we can fuck.”
It’s like I turned a switch, only the light in her eyes goes from “on” to “off.”
“I’m not that type of girl.”
My hand tightens around the hilt. “You’re not interested?”
I can’t believe it. A minute ago, she was melting in my arms, panting out her desire. Her fingers were in my hair, messing with my clothes. The top two buttons of my shirt are undone, and my bowtie is askew. I point the knife at the undone silk tie. “This you?”
She averts her eyes to some point over my shoulder. I turn around to see another woman standing in the entrance to the alcove. Two of my bodyguards are blocking her path, but the woman seems undeterred. She tilts her head one way and then another, as if trying to get a better look at the situation. I slide in front of her and flip my knife again. “Is there a problem, Rodrigo?”
“No sir,” comes the immediate, sharp reply.
The two close ranks, forming a wall that no mere woman is getting past. Turning back to Mackenzie, I direct one of my most charming smiles toward her. “Where were we?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not up for this.” She struggles with her zipper. Her tits are a bit too big for the dress, making it hard for her to close up shop, so to speak.
“No one is getting past my men.” I slide the tie off and stick it into my pocket. “There’s no need for this.” I draw the sharp end along the zipper. One slice and the whole thing will unravel and then I can have her riding my stiff cock.
“No.” She draws in a deep breath and meets my gaze head-on. In her eyes, I see a steely resolution, and my plans for the night are snuffed out like a candle under glass. With a sigh, I step back.
“I’m on the top floor. Come and visit me tonight.”
“I can’t,” she says, still struggling.
Irritated, I stick the knife between my teeth and knock her hands away. “Suck in,” I order, and then draw the zipper closed. I remove the blade and tuck it away.
Even with her dress put to rights, she looks disheveled. Her lips are swollen. Her hair’s tumbling around her shoulders. She’s halfway undone already. Why can’t she let go and allow me to give her pleasure tonight?
“You can’t or you won’t?”
Before I can answer, a loud ringing noise fills the room. “Dinner is being served,” someone announces.
“You should go eat,” Mackenzie says.
“I was trying to,” I smirk, but I receive only a blank stare in return as if she doesn’t understand I was talking about eating her out.
Is this some Vieth trick? To lure me in to giving her more? I told my valet that
the Vieths weren’t prostitutes. There was no sex for money trade, but seduction is their tool and perhaps this one is playing hard to get. It doesn’t matter. In the end, I’ll win.
Chapter Eight
Mackenzie
I can feel his eyes on me as I try and eat my dinner. It takes everything I have not to turn to look at him. I can also feel Milly staring a hole into the back of my head. She’s not going to say something to me in front of everyone. So as long as I stay around people, I’ll be safe. That will work for now, at least. It’s only a matter of time before she catches me alone. I can’t avoid her forever.
“So what happened on the terrace?” Paulina asks. With only that simple question I can feel my face is heating. “That good?” She laughs, taking a bite of her seabass. I push my steak around my plate, not feeling hungry anymore. The only thing I feel now is confused.
“We kissed,” I admit. “It was really good.” I lick my lips, thinking about the way Sov tasted. When his mouth was on mine, I’d forgotten where I was. Everything else melted away and it was only him and me.
I was a normal girl enjoying her first kiss with a way too handsome man. An experience I thought I might never have when I lived with my father. Karin had changed all of that for me, and now I’m allowed to do as I please. I am free. Well, to a degree, I suppose. I am out from under my father’s control. If it was up to him, he would have sold me off into marriage a long time ago. That’s all he ever saw me as: a bargaining tool.
I ran away from home the first chance I got, but I wasn’t made for living on the streets. Karin had come into my life at the exact time I needed her, and the rest is history. She put me through school and gave me an opportunity. But what I didn’t get to do was normal teenager stuff. Things like dating.
“Why do you look like someone stole your kitten then?” Jewels jumps in, wanting the details too. “I thought the plan was to meet a man tonight. Have some fun.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me. That had been the plan. Then it started to feel wrong.
“He was trying to have sex with me out on the balcony with his guards right there,” I whisper. My face is heating even more.
“That sounds hot.” Paulina smirks.
“Not to a virgin who thinks she’s kissing Prince Charming,” Jewels points out. I think she might be right, but I lie to myself anyways.
“I didn't think he was Prince Charming.” I roll my eyes. “It started off good and then it felt cheap.” I can’t hide my disappointment. I also don’t want to say too much because I don’t want them to feel as though I’m being judgmental toward them.
“He might have gotten lost in the moment. Forgot where you were or something. I mean, that dress is killer. Half the men in here are checking you out.”
“He really tried to cut the dress from you?” Paulina tries again, making Jewels laugh. Even I smile this time. “He must have been out of his mind from the little taste you gave him.” Servers come by to take our plates and replace them with dessert.
“That man is staring at you like you’re the only thing he wants to eat.” I drop my fork, suddenly realizing what Sov was talking about when he said he was trying to eat. The fact that he was talking about me had gone right over my head. My fork hits the plate with a loud thud, causing everyone to turn our way. I swear I want to bury my face in my hands.
“Oops,” Jewels says loudly like it was her. “I get excited over dessert.” She shrugs and takes a bite of the chocolate cake. I bump my shoulder into her as a silent thank you. She winks at me, letting me know she’ll always have my back.
“Well, if you want him off your plate for the night, I think Milly is about to go in for the kill.” I jerk my head up at Paulina’s words. A pang of jealousy hits me out of nowhere. I watch as she makes her away across the room and heads right toward him.
“I can’t watch this,” I mumble, standing. I don’t want to see Sov being charmed by Milly. There is no way he’ll be able to resist her. And I know for a fact that she’ll give him what he wants tonight. That thought makes me feel sick to my stomach.
“Mac.” Jewels grabs my hand to try to stop me. She stares at me for a moment, her mouth going tight. She nods and then lets me go. I make my escape across the room. I tell myself not to look back, but I do.
Sov is now standing with Milly in front of him. She has her hand on his chest. Why couldn’t I be fun and free? Have a wild night with a prince? When I exit the ballroom, I slow my steps, realizing I forgot my room key. Dang it.
I find myself taking the stairs all the way to the top floor. I must be a masochist wanting to see if he takes Milly back to his room tonight. I take a seat on the stairs. If he comes back to his room alone then maybe he had gotten lost in the moment.
That kiss had started out like a fairy tale. He kissed me with such passion. If he is always so bold then how come he’s never been caught before? When I dug into him, all it said was that years ago he partied a lot. There was never any talk of who he was dating.
When I hear the elevator ding, my heart starts to race. If Milly is with him then I know he was only after one thing tonight. The elevator doors start to open, and I step back toward the stairs, ready to make my escape. He had invited me up here.
Then I hear a soft feminine laugh, making my heart drop and my eyes burn with tears. I don’t wait to see who it is.
“Mackenzie!” I hear my name shouted, but I don’t stop as I rush down the stairs, darting onto a random floor to make my escape.
He’s no Prince Charming at all.
Chapter Nine
Sov
“Let her go. She needs time to cool down,” Alex advises, grabbing my arm. I shake her off, but by the time I get to the stairs, Mackenzie is gone. There are no footsteps echoing in the stairwell, only a scattering of gold dust from her dress. I lean down and pick up some of the jewels that had come free and tuck them in my pocket.
Zero leans over the railing to scan for signs of life.
“She’s small and wearing a dress. She’s on the floor beneath us or above us,” I suggest.
He straightens. “Could be two or three if she’s quick.”
“Let’s search.”
We aren’t as efficient as I hope because Zero won’t split up my bodyguards. He’s reluctant to leave my side, and I only get him to search the upper floors after swearing on my mother’s life I won’t abandon the security detail. I don’t find Mackenzie. There are a few other guests in the halls, and I question them, but they know nothing. The trail of golden gems started and stopped on the stairs.
“Fuck.” I want to punch something, but I’m Sov Charmont, and I don’t engage in that behavior. Instead, I stomp back up to my floor and nearly blow off the doors to my suite.
Alex, my old boarding school friend, jumps a half mile in the air. “Shit, Sov, you scared me.”
I stalk over to the bar and pour myself a glass of whiskey. “You didn’t find her?” she asks.
“What do you think?” I down the contents and refill the glass. After my third drink, I feel mildly placated. I pour the remainder of the bottle into my tumbler, yank off my tie, and throw myself onto the sofa across from Alex. Over the rim of the glass, I eye her. “Tell me the story of how a woman with three brothers and a father is in the Vieth compound.”
Alex waves her champagne flute in the air. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that whole story about Karin Vieth bringing in all these abandoned waifs to mother.”
“They aren’t called the Vieth Orphans for nothing.”
“It’s a story, Sov, designed to play on your need to be the chivalrous knight.”
“Does your daddy know you’re here?”
She scowls. “No and you better not tell him either. He and my brothers think I’m taking an extended spa vacation at an all-female retreat in Montana.”
“You’re in a city. People are bound to talk.”
“I haven’t left the Vieth territory since I arrived two months ago.”
As I sip on the whiskey,
Parker arrives to remove my shoes and socks. He has me stand up and slides the tightly fitted jacket off my frame.
“If you’ve been here two months, then you know who the girl in yellow is.” The two valets carry over a dressing screen and proceed to remove all traces of my evening attire, replacing the military finery with sleep pants, a T-shirt, and a robe. I tighten the sash and nod for them to take the screen away.
Alex arches an eyebrow. “You didn’t need the screen. There isn’t anything you have that I’ve not seen before.”
“The Prince is not an object to be ogled,” Parker sniffs. He doesn’t approve of Alex or having a woman who is not fit to be my wife in my vicinity.
“Good God, Parker. I can’t believe you’re still here. Shouldn’t you retire and be on an island somewhere with hot cabana boys waving banana leaves over your head?”
“I would never.” Parker nearly quivers with indignation.
“Anyway.” Alex rolls her eyes. “I don’t know your girl. The one in yellow, right?”
I nod.
“Never seen her before. Maybe she was a guest.”
“Parker—”
“I’ll get right on it, sir.” He gives a slight bow and whisks away the valets to his own quarters.
“You never even finished your sentence.” Alex is impressed.
“He’s getting me the guest list, and that’s precisely why he’s still here. He knows what I want without me having to ask for it. But you are not Parker, so I must ask. Why, Alex, have you left the comforts of your home to be here at the Vieth territory? Is it reconnaissance?”
“I wish. As if my father thinks I am capable of anything but to sit home and look pretty. No, I’m here for freedom, Sov. I want to make my own choices in life, and Vieth makes that happen.”