Forbidden Princess

by Ella Miles

  Her lips fall apart, her big eyes shine, and then she shakes so hard that I’m afraid she did just catch pneumonia.

  “Leave,” I order, loudly.

  She moves to get up.

  “Not you.”

  “Oh,” she whispers.

  I don’t take my eyes off her, but I wait until I no longer hear the crunch of gravel, and I hear the door slam shut.

  Then, I scoop her up in my arm.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Quiet. Don’t say a word, or I’ll remember why I shouldn’t do this.”

  She quirks an eyebrow but is silent as I carry her into the house.

  The guys have smartly made themselves scarce as I carry her against my chest. My one arm is doing most of the work, but just like her naughty fairytale, she wraps her legs around my waist and loops her arms around my neck. My hand finds her bare ass.

  She’s still naked.

  I’m still soaked in my suit.

  I carry her up the stairs to my bedroom.

  I drop her onto the bed.

  She reaches for a blanket.

  “Don’t.”

  She pauses, still trembling. I know she’s cold. I know she needs to warm up. But she’s not doing it with a damn blanket.

  “I’m breaking all the rules.” I think about Corsi’s rule. She’s forbidden. Fuck her and you lose. Fuck her and you die.

  I guess it depends on what his definition of fucking her is.

  I grin as I forget who I am. I forget about my past, about my future, about how I hate this girl lying on my bed.

  I kneel over her on the bed. “Spread your legs.”

  They fall apart, as do her lips. Her heart rate is probably through the roof, as is mine.

  Don’t think, just do.

  I press my lips against her clit, tasting the sweet mixture of her and the rain. She tastes like the earth, like a goddess more than a princess. Sweeter than she should be, a tiny bit heavenly.

  I don’t know what this is.

  Revenge at Odette for lying.

  Proof that I can make Ri come when she can’t.

  Manipulation of her heart to fall for me before I destroy her.

  Or maybe this taste is just for me. Just because I fucking want to.

  Whatever the reason, I don’t regret tasting her. I don’t regret two seconds later when she’s falling apart. Her moans reach every room in this house. She doesn’t say my name, but she will next time.

  Next time…

  There’s going to be a fucking next time, a time where I fuck her exactly how I want, consequences be dammed. She can have my cock, I own her, but she’ll never get my heart.

  12

  Ri

  I’m speechless.

  It’s not something I’m used to feeling. I usually have a snarky comment for everything, but not this. This I have no words for. All I have are overwhelming feelings.

  God, that was—fucking magical. The intense connection, the spark, how Beckett makes me feel when he touches me. Jesus, if I could bottle that feeling and drink it whenever I needed it, I wouldn’t need food or water or air to survive, just this feeling.

  The feeling doesn’t vanish when Beckett does either. It’s too strong, too all-consuming, too much.

  I need more.

  I’m naked, lying on top of Beckett’s bed, soaking wet from the rain and from the powerful orgasm Beckett just pried from me.

  The shivers start again. I need to dry off, shower, and climb into a warm bed so I don’t get sick. But if I shower, it will wash away Beckett’s scent, and I’m afraid he’s already come to his senses. He won’t be returning to this bed, not as long as I’m in it.

  He’s already regretting what he did. Not because I’m forbidden, but because he feels ashamed. His wife is gone. His wife betrayed him. Her love for him might not even have been real. She had a job to do, and she did it. But it doesn’t stop him from loving her.

  And if he still loves her, he hates himself for touching me.

  He didn’t fuck me—but I know this was my one night. This was my one chance to feel his lips, his tongue, his fingers against me. To feel him lose himself in me. To remind him that his life does go on.

  That was all I’ll get, though.

  We may still play our games. He may still have me do degrading things in order for him to save me. He may even win the stupid game and marry me, but he won’t touch me or fuck me—never again.

  So even as goosebumps race over my arms, every hair on my body raises, and my body shakes uncontrollably from the cold, I don’t move. I just relish the feeling.

  Beckett’s the one.

  My other half.

  I can’t explain why I know. Why, deep in my gut, I know, but I do. I just see the world a little differently when he’s around. I’m ready to fight, ready to take on the world when he’s near.

  But he’ll never be mine.

  I squeeze my eyes shut to keep my pain locked away.

  He’ll never be mine.

  That is the thought that finally gets me out of bed and into the shower, where I do my best to wash Beckett away.

  Wash away his deranged orders that terrified me and also turned me on.

  Wash away that I couldn’t come without his touch.

  Wash away that I want him. I could love him if he let me, if the world let me.

  I can’t.

  My life isn’t my own.

  I can’t have him.

  That’s the thought that I hold onto as I finally drift to sleep while staring at the door, waiting for it to open, knowing it won’t, but hoping it would anyway.

  The smell of coffee wakes me up. I look over at the other side of the bed, but I know that Beckett isn’t there. He never came back.

  I do my business in the connecting bathroom and assume I’m going to have to find some of Beckett’s clothes to put on. But then I spot a pile on the bathroom counter: leggings, sports bra, tank, and running shoes.

  I put them on, pulling my ratted hair into a messy bun on top of my head and wiping the remnants of my mascara off from under my eyes. Then I head downstairs toward the heavenly smell of caffeine.

  No one is in the kitchen, so I help myself to a cup of coffee. I’m leaning against the small cabin counter and considering my next move when I hear a loud grunt and then guys chuckling.

  I walk to the glass door at the back and see Hayes on his ass as Gage triumphantly grins down at him. Caius, Lennox, and Beckett are sitting in camping chairs, chuckling as Hayes wipes blood from his forehead.

  I take a deep breath, considering staying inside and just watching from here. But I can’t hide forever. I need to face them, all of them.

  So I throw the door open and step out into the sun, holding my cup of coffee like a weapon I plan on using on all of them.

  All five pairs of eyes shoot toward me. Hayes’s and Gage’s smile at me. Lennox’s eyes roll. Caius’s eyes hold but don’t allow me any deeper. And Beckett’s fill with desire, or maybe that’s just my imagination.

  I ignore him and look down at Hayes, who is still sitting on his ass on the ground, no doubt put there by Gage, who is still standing over him. Both of the guys look hot as hell. Hayes has removed his glasses, and his hair is in a low messy bun. Gage is wearing a tight shirt that shows off his muscles as sweat drizzles down his forehead.

  “What’d you say to get your ass beaten so early?” I ask Hayes.

  “Nothing. You know I don’t have a smart mouth. I leave that to you, Princess,” Hayes says with a sexy grin.

  I shake my head at him and grip my coffee with two hands as I take another sip.

  Gage reaches his hand out to Hayes, who takes it and is helped to his feet.

  “We were just training,” Gage says.

  “Looks like Hayes could use some more training,” I tease.

  “Ouch, way to hit a man when he’s already down,” Hayes feigns being shot in the chest, but then his eyes fill with lust.

  I look from guy to guy, and
that’s all I see—lust.

  They’re remembering me naked on my knees, touching myself.

  “Cute—she gets embarrassed the next morning, but not when she’s naked and touching herself,” Lennox says.

  I glare at him.

  Gage steps between me and Lennox. “Woah, cool off, Princess. You don’t want to get into a fight with Knox.”

  “Maybe I do,” I puff my chest out.

  Lennox snickers. “Let’s go.” But he doesn’t move from his chair.

  “Maybe we should let her fight him,” Beckett says.

  All heads turn to him.

  “What? Why would we do that? She’d get her ass kicked,” Hayes says.

  I frown, hating his comment.

  “We can’t let her fight; we have to keep her safe. If she comes back bloodied and beaten, Corsi will eliminate us from the game,” Caius says.

  “That’s sweet, Charming, but Len would actually have to hit me for that to happen. And only Vincent said you couldn’t fuck me and you had to return me safe. Even if he did manage to hit me, I’d have a week to recover, and it’s nothing a little makeup wouldn’t cover up anyway,” I say.

  Caius looks concerned, as does Gage.

  Hayes lights up like he wants to see this.

  Lennox raises an eyebrow, ready to go if I am.

  Everyone turns to Beckett. He’ll have the last word. He’ll decide whether I fight or not.

  “We need to know how good she is, for real. Is she willing to give it all she’s got and not hold back? You willing to do that, Princess?” Beckett goads me. He knows it will work. I can’t turn down a challenge.

  I down the rest of my coffee and then set the mug down on a deck step behind me. Then I stretch my arms and neck. “Ready when you are, Len.”

  “No,” Beckett says, just as Lennox is about to stand up.

  “Afraid I’m going to kick his ass? Need to lay some ground rules first, Hero?”

  “Lennox is the best fighter among us; you earn the right to fight him. Start with Hayes.”

  “Hey, I’m not that bad,” Hayes says.

  Everyone chuckles.

  Hayes sighs. “Fine, I’ll fight her. What are the rules?”

  Beckett studies me, but then he looks back to Hayes. “What are you best at?”

  “I was a wrestler in high school.”

  “Wrestling rules then. The first to takedown the other wins. Play as dirty as you want, though,” Beckett grins, and I swear he winks at me.

  He thinks I’ll win.

  I know I’ll win.

  Beckett looks to me. “You want to gain my trust? Show me what you got. Show me you’re as good as you think you are.”

  I roll my eyes as I stretch my arms behind my back. I’d rather have some time to jog and warm up my muscles properly before I fight, but this will have to do.

  “Ready to do this, Heartbreaker?”

  Hayes laughs. “I’m ready to get you under me again, Princess. You aren’t forbidden to me, just them.”

  I laugh. “Oh, you’re forbidden from touching me without my permission.”

  “Too bad I’m stronger than you.” He grabs me before I have a chance to move, tucking me against his body. His arm goes in front of my chest as my ass presses against his front. I feel his cock hardening. It will be his downfall. He’s not even concerned with pinning me, just thinking about fucking me.

  “It was fun last time, Heartbreaker. And in another life, we’d have a fun fling, but in this lifetime, you don’t get to touch me again without my say so.”

  I jerk on his arm, using his own weight to flip him over my shoulder. He’s the smallest of the guys. Any of the others I would struggle with the move, but not with Hayes.

  I don’t give him time to realize what happened before I’m on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

  He smiles. “I’m good with girl on top, too,” he teases.

  I kiss his cheek. “Keep dreaming, Heartbreaker.”

  Then I get off of him, not breaking a sweat.

  Beckett studies me suspiciously. “Gage, you’re up.”

  Gage walks toward the house. “You don’t want to get your ass kicked by a girl?” I shout at him.

  He walks back a moment later with boxing gloves. “I assume you know how to box?”

  I nod, trying to hide my smile.

  Gage thinks he can beat me boxing, that his upper body strength will trump mine.

  I glance to Beckett, waiting for him to give some rule that will favor Gage over me.

  Beckett leans back in his chair, folding his arm in front of his chest. “First to get knocked to the ground loses, even if you can still get up. Punch anywhere you want.”

  Gage hands me a pair of gloves and puts his on methodically, while I slip mine on quickly, getting a feel for them. I throw a couple of practice punches before Gage squares up against me.

  “Ready?” he asks.

  I nod.

  Even though I’m only using my upper body to throw punches, boxing uses your entire body. Your punches are only as good as your footwork. And my footwork is excellent—even if the ground is uneven and I’m wearing running shoes.

  Gage is more cautious than Hayes. He feels me out, jabbing at me only once before blocking as I throw a punch. He tests my footwork, moving to force me to move.

  He’s good. And if we were in a boxing ring with official rules, he’d beat me hands down. But we aren’t.

  We both dance around a while, barely hitting each other in the face and midsection.

  “My money’s on Gage,” Caius says.

  “Ouch, even you, Charming? I thought you were on my side,” I say as I duck, causing Gage to miss.

  But he recovers quickly and hits me hard in the stomach. I stumble back, barely staying on my feet.

  “Sorry, Princess, my money’s on Gage, too,” Hayes winces as I cough hard, trying to re-catch my breath.

  I don’t have to ask whose side Lennox is on.

  Beckett is silent.

  All of their responses drive me, and I know how to take Gage down. He’s cautious, a careful fighter that plans out all of his moves so he doesn’t get caught off guard. That may work in a ring with rounds, even ground, and official rules.

  I’m still hunched over, and Gage isn’t throwing a punch. He should. He should take advantage and knock me on the ground, but that’s not the kind of guy he is. He’s honorable.

  I’ve caught my breath, but I don’t stand all the way up. Gage is by far the biggest of the guys, has bulging muscles, and he’s smart. But sometimes, that’s not enough when you let your emotions in.

  I run forward, like I’m going to barrel into him. It catches him off guard, just enough to mess up his stance so he won’t be able to throw a full punch. He can’t use his feet to knock into me, but he tries to anyway.

  I let him hit my cheek. It stings, I can taste the blood, but it allows me to get close enough to get an uppercut in and combine it with a punch to the gut. Neither are too hard, but his feet are off-balance. The ground beneath him is uneven enough that he can’t recover.

  Gage stumbles once, trying to stand before falling to his ass.

  He blinks up at me, then smiles.

  “You’re good. Trained, but also had real-world fighting experience.”

  I nod my thanks slightly and then take off my gloves. I hold out my hand to help Gage back to his feet.

  “Who’s next?” I ask.

  Caius pops up. “Time to get my ass kicked for betting on Gage and not you.” His eyes twinkle a little.

  I shake my head with a smirk, knowing there is no way he’ll fight full out with me. He cares about me too much to hit me.

  But we go through the motions anyway. We fight hand to hand. Punching, kicking, tackling—it’s all allowed.

  Caius surrenders about five minutes later after he spits blood from me knocking one of his teeth loose.

  Hayes hands me a bottle of water and a towel to dry off my sweat from the sun.

&n
bsp; “Have I earned the right to fight Len now, Hero?”

  Beckett looks to Lennox. “Fight for real. Like she’s the enemy. Like it’s your job to kill her.”

  Lennox pulls out a knife and spins it around.

  “If he gets a weapon, isn’t it only fair that I have one too?”

  “No,” Beckett says.

  “Aw, give her a knife. I can still kick her ass.”

  “No. She gets nothing.”

  I frown. Is Beckett trying to get me to lose? Trying to get Lennox to actually hurt me? Kill me even? Has that been his plan all along?

  “But—” Gage starts.

  “I’ve made my decision. If Ri wants to back down and forfeit, she can. It’s her life. There is no reward for winning.” His eyes meet mine. Except there is—I gain some of his respect, his trust.

  I shouldn’t do this. It isn’t a fair fight. I’ve needed saving every time the situation was real.

  But that was when I forgot that I knew how to fight. I didn’t think I was strong enough then, and I know differently now. I’m strong enough to be my own hero.

  Lennox is good, and he won’t hesitate to slice my skin. But what’s another little scar?

  My back is covered in scar tissue now. My stomach has a few.

  I give my answer by running straight at Lennox, full force. He steps out of my way, like he knew I was going to do that all along.

  I turn at the last second and throw a kick and a punch at the same time, knowing my best shot at winning is if I can take him down quickly before he gets a chance to use his knife.

  My attack doesn’t work.

  He hits my head hard with his fist, harder than any of the other guys.

  My head spins, and the sun looks like a thousand tiny little lights in the sky. I don’t know how I stay on my feet, but I do.

  And then I feel cold metal at my throat.

  “Come on, Ri, you got this,” Hayes says, now on my side.

  “Really? You’re going to bet on her?” Lennox asks.

  “No, I bet on you; I just want her to at least get a punch in so we can say you got hit by a girl,” Hayes teases. I feel the knife press harder against my neck until I feel a sharp sting.