Return of the Prince

by Nana Malone

  "Are you okay? You and His Royal Highness seemed to be having an intense conversation."

  Did he suspect? God, this was already too complicated. "Um, yeah, we used to know each other, so we had lots to catch up on, I guess."

  He nodded slowly. "Yeah, you know, I used to know him too. I know how those acquaintances can sometimes turn out in the end. I know what it's like to think he's on your side and then… well, he's not."

  "Yeah. Sorry, this is the last thing I wanted to talk about on our date."

  "Don't worry, I'm getting a make-up date, anyway. This is just some cool thing I get to do. The girl I'm seeing invited me here."

  "So, now I'm that girl you're seeing?"

  He laughed. "Well, yes. There is something I've been meaning to do."

  As the moon lit us, I glanced up and felt better. A little distance from Tristan helped. I didn't doubt myself. I didn't overthink. I saw things clearly and for how they really were instead of how my teenage brain wanted them to be, because Tristan was not my boyfriend. He was a prince, and he'd already shown me once that he didn't want me. "Oh yeah? I'm more than willing to try."

  Ian leaned forward, pulling me close. He cupped my face. "This."

  He dipped his head, sliding his lips over mine. His kiss was fun. Warm. Pleasant. And he was certainly skilled. He knew how to kiss. He pulled me close, pressing his body into mine, and I wanted to lose myself. I wanted to let go. I wanted to feel free and wanted and desirable. Unfortunately, all it felt was pleasant. What the hell was wrong with me?

  He's not Tristan.

  Well, Tristan or not, he was the guy I had. My body needed to get on that because I did not want the prince. The prince was not good for me. From now on, I was only doing things that were good for me. I looped my arms around Ian's neck and kissed him back, throwing everything I had to give into that kiss. Still, it was just pleasant. And I was pretty darn sure that pleasant was not the feeling I wanted.

  When I drew back, Ian was grinning down at me. "I am so glad we did that."

  I smiled back at him, and he took my hand gently. "Let's go back. You can dance with me and tell me what it was like to grow up around royalty."

  One of the rooms on the second floor lit up. I wondered whose it was. It could have been anyone’s, and I wasn't sure what it was, but something assured me that it was Tristan's room. And all he had to do was open his blinds, lean out, and see me kissing another man.

  What, do you care?

  That is not for you to worry about because, for one, you won't be kissing Ian again, and two, you won't be kissing Tristan either.

  "Right, let's go back. I need to check on my team, anyway."

  I hoped he would accept the deflection, because unfortunately, as much as I liked him, there just wasn't enough chemistry between us. Not the kind there should be. And as unskilled as I was in relationships, even I knew that much.

  SIXTEEN

  TRISTAN…

  SHE WAS MINE, and that motherfucker had his hands all over her.

  I recognized that I was being irrational. In fact, I recognized that Ariel hadn't been mine for years. It didn't stop the surge inside, the need to break something. In particular, Ian's face.

  I had gone back up to my room to take a call from Ella. Max had called her, so she was feeling particularly vulnerable. I'd been on the phone when I'd seen them. Ian Tellman with his hands on Ariel, cupping her face and doing his best to knock her fucking socks off.

  All I could think the whole time was, mine. She was mine. I didn't care what had happened between then and now, she was mine. And I needed to remind her of what we were to each other.

  One little problem… she thinks you're engaged.

  Or I could just fucking tell her. She was a King’s Knight. She was used to keeping secrets. She could keep this secret if I told her the reason. I wanted to tell her so we wouldn’t have this shit hanging over us, and we could have a goddamn conversation.

  But can she handle it? Can she accept the truth? What if she doesn’t love you enough?

  Could I take that? Could I handle it if she’d just changed her mind? The lance of heat over my heart burned. I couldn’t tell her even if I wanted to. I still needed to protect Ella. I’d promised her that no matter what it cost me, I would protect her, and she deserved that. No one had ever been there to protect her. And no one had ever been there to protect me. We had that in common.

  There was a time Ariel protected your heart.

  Yeah, but that was a long time ago.

  Maybe I couldn't have her yet, but I wanted her as much as I had wanted her then. Just as long as Ian didn't have her, which was ridiculous because Ian was a friend. We'd come up together. It had been one hell of a shock to see him in the Winston Isles, but that didn't mean we weren't mates.

  Still, I didn't like him playing with my toys.

  She would skin me alive and painfully sew it back on if she even knew that was what I was thinking. But I couldn't just sit back and watch.

  When I stepped back to the ballroom, it was Lucas I saw first. He nodded at me as he held Bryna in his arms. I’d teased him about the long engagement because I thought it was his choice to delay the wedding, but it was Bryna’s. She wanted to wait until she was finished with her masters. That still hadn't stopped my cousin from putting a giant gravity inducing rock on her hand. It was a wonder she could lift it to do any work.

  Lucas's gaze skittered over to Ariel, where she was dancing with Ian. Then his gaze slid back to me along with a cocky smirk.

  Asshole.

  I didn't need his knowing smirks. As far as I could tell, he hadn't said anything. Penny hadn't barged in, and Sebastian hadn't taken me to task, so Lucas was as good as his word, which was surprising for a former con man.

  Sure enough, my shadows were there immediately. Trevor, obviously, had been right behind me as soon as I'd gone up to my quarters. But Zia, Jameson, and Trace were more difficult to keep an eye on. They wove in and out of the crowd. Never too far though. Never too far.

  When Ariel was finally free, I stepped through the crowd and gently took her hand. The jolt of electricity was immediate and powerful. With startled eyes, she gasped then asked. "Is something wrong?"

  "Yes."

  I pulled her out of the ballroom. I didn't care who was watching. Chances were they would assume—oh, who gave a fuck what they would assume?

  I tugged her through the short hall and pushed a panel on the wall into one of the tunnels that led back to the Rose Garden. Back to where she’d kissed him right in front of me.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

  "You know, I could ask you the same question."

  She tugged her hand free. "Your Highness, is there something you need in particular? Perhaps I can get Zia, or Tamsin, or Trace. Trace is good with crazy."

  "I'm not crazy, you know that."

  "Do I? I don't know anything right now except you're dragging me out of the gala."

  I stopped her exactly where she'd been. She glanced around. "What do you want?"

  I stared at her, angry words ready to barrel out, gearing for a fight. But instead, I said, "You look beautiful."

  “You said that already. Earlier.” A flush tinged her cheeks, and I had to smile. She was so beautiful and had absolutely no idea what she was doing to me with her every movement. I couldn't even breathe just looking at her.

  "What?"

  "You look beautiful."

  "You dragged me publicly from the ball to tell me I look beautiful again?"

  "Well, if there was ever a reason to drag a beautiful woman out of the ball, wouldn't this qualify?"

  She sighed. "Jesus Christ, what's going on?"

  "I saw you."

  Her breath hitched. "Saw me do what?"

  "I saw you kiss him, right fucking here. Right under my goddamn window."

  Her lips trembled, but she lifted her chin. "I feel like we have covered this. You are engaged to a beautiful woman. You don't get to torm
ent me."

  "I'm not trying to torment you."

  "Aren't you?"

  "There are things I can't explain."

  "You know what? I don't care. You can have things you can't explain all you want. It's your business. I don't have anything to do with it. I don't want anything to do with it. But this game has to stop. You can't decide you're pissed off about something, kiss me, and then walk away and tell me to stay away from you. Then repeat. It's not fair. It's not going to work for me."

  "I'm not trying to be a dick."

  "Are you sure? Because you are doing a remarkable impression. Does that run in your family?"

  I winced. I reminded myself that there was no way she could know the depth and levels of the depravity of my brother. She was angry, and I was acting like a dick. "I'm sorry. I just—"

  "What?" She threw her hands up. "I am tired, Your Highness. I just want the night to be over so I can send my men home, give Sebastian his debrief, and go home myself."

  I’d clearly lost my mind, which was why I was even bothering to ask. "Alone?"

  "You know what? Fuck you, Tristan. Or better yet, call Ella to fuck you. Because I'm not interested."

  Fury snapped out of me so quick and so strong, I wrapped my hands around her upper arms. I didn't hold on tight enough to hurt her, because that was not what I wanted. I just needed to make her see that I was hanging on by a thread. "You fucking kissed him right here. I watched him with his hands on you, trying to think of all the various ways that I could kill him."

  "Screw you."

  "You know what? Fuck it, I don't care." I slammed my lips on hers. She tasted like honey and wine and heaven. And I was going to lose my shit.

  At first, she held herself stiff, refusing to mold her lips to mine, and I almost pulled away. Just as I was about to pull back, she whimpered. Tentatively, I slid my tongue over her lips and she gasped, allowing me entrance into her mouth. God, my blood roared, drowning out all possible rational thought.

  Her. This one. Always her.

  The chant increased with blooming intensity with every stroke, every slide of my tongue that hers met. I slid my arms over her shoulders and into her hair, gently cupping her face. And her hands went into my hair, sliding in underneath, tugging, pulling me closer. We were a clash of teeth and tongues and moans and frustrated whimpers. God, I had kissed the girl, but this was the woman, and the excitement level pushed it up twenty notches. All I could do was keep tasting her. My cock was still in my trousers, and the soft curve of her breast pressed against me made me quickly analyze every flat surface around us, so I could get her damn clothes off.

  I slid one hand from her face down to gently cup her breast. She moaned into my mouth, arching her back, silently asking for more. I wanted more. So much more. But there were sounds, other people walking along the path. We were in plain sight of everyone.

  It wasn't even as if we were holding to the garden maze. Nope, just there on the walkway, making out like two teenagers who were about to learn the definition of a quickie.

  Jesus.

  Ariel started to pull back, but even the sound of other people approaching didn't stop me. I couldn't let her go. I gave another quick, furtive swipe of my thumb over her nipple, and she gasped and tore her lips from mine, the fury in her gaze evident. "Stop it. Don't touch me again."

  "Ariel."

  "No. I mean it. If you come near me again, you're going to lose your life."

  "Are you sure about that?"

  "Oh, absolutely sure." And I could only watch as she stormed away, knowing full well I had fucked everything up.

  SEVENTEEN

  ARIEL…

  MY LIPS BURNED. My heart hammered against my ribs. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't fucking breathe. The heat still spread through me where his hand had been. My nipples still tingled, pissed off at the loss of his touch.

  What the fuck was wrong with me? There was something seriously wrong with me because the one man I could not have was the one I felt like this about. As opposed to the one who had been eager to kiss me before, who I'd been lukewarm about.

  I wasn't looking where I was going, and I stormed around one of the maze's hedges and bumped straight into Zia.

  "Shit. Sorry. Fuck." Somehow, I'd gotten turned around. "Are you okay?"

  Zia slid her gaze sideways. "Yes. I'm fine. Um, I was obviously on Prince Tristan's tail. But I guess… you had your eye on him."

  Oh, fuck me. She'd seen us. "Zia—"

  She held up her hands. "None of my business. At all. But you might want to fix your lipstick before you go back inside."

  Quickly, my hands went up to my lips, gently touching them. They still burned. "I—"

  "Again, none of my business. And I won't tell. Trust me, I know what it's like to want the person that you shouldn't have."

  "Zia, it's not—" What was I going to say? It's not what you think. I'm not a home wrecker. I don't really want him.

  All lies. Every last one. Because I did want him. Just now, if I hadn't heard those voices, I would have let him strip me there in the moonlight. I really would have. That's how desperate I was. That's how badly I could not function. God, I was such a mess. And he had a fiancée. I'd have to make sure I was not on his service anymore, because I couldn't keep doing this. I wasn't strong enough.

  I’d thought I was. I’d thought I could function and just push through it. But no dice.

  I checked my watch. "We've got another thirty minutes before we have to go."

  She nodded. "Yeah, I know. You will need to see Sebastian before you go. Just to give him a debrief. But there have been no anomalies. Nothing, um, noted."

  "Zia, thank you... you know, for being cool."

  "Sure thing, boss lady. For what it's worth, I like you better than the ice princess."

  "Shit. Does everyone call her that?"

  Zia shrugged her slight shoulders. "Yeah. She's very cold and kind of a bitch."

  "Yeah, but she's still his fiancée, so I think it’s probably best if I stay off his service for a while."

  She gave me a sympathetic smile and squeezed my hand. She held out her handheld device. "You go ahead. Get cleaned up before you meet Sebastian. I snuck a tracker on the prince’s lapel. He's not getting away from me."

  I blinked at her. And then I laughed. "You put a tracker on him?"

  She nodded. "I figured it might be easier than trying to keep track of him in the crowd, especially if he was trying to lose us."

  I frowned. "Do you get that impression? That he's trying to lose us?"

  "I don't know. There have been moments since we've been on his service that he'll just vanish. And I don't know where he goes or what he does or who he's talking to, and well, it makes me nervous. So, I've started sticking one on him. I always remove it at the end of the day, don't worry."

  "No, I'm actually impressed."

  She grinned. "Happy to be of service. I'll see you in a little bit."

  As it turned out, Zia was right. My lipstick was beyond smudged. Between Ian's kiss and then Tristan's full-on assault of my lips, any lipstick I did have left was smeared. I did a quick fix in the bathroom and tried to run my small travel brush through the rat's nest of my hair. Those loose waves had only increased in volume as Tristan had shoved his hands into it and tugged.

  Then, there was a slight problem with my breast. I bruised easily, and when I adjusted my top, I could see a slight dusting of color just above my breast where he'd kissed down and rubbed his jaw. Jesus Christ. I was so screwed. Everyone was going to see.

  No. Big girl panties. Concealer.

  Oh yes. I did have concealer in my purse. I opened my cross-body clutch, pulled out the concealer, and quickly masked the evidence of what I'd been doing with the prince. God, how had this become my life? Back in my younger days, I had concealed many a hickey. I never thought I'd have to do it again.

  When I got back to the party, Ian was looking for me. "There you are. Where did you vanish to?"

  "
Uh, you know, work. Sorry. Are you okay?"

  He nodded with a grin. "Yeah. Fantastic. I'm making lots of connections." He studied me closely. "Are you okay? You seem... I don't know, off."

  "I'm fine. I need to go debrief Sebastian though, and then we've got a team meeting after."

  He nodded. "So, this is good night then?"

  "Yeah, I guess so."

  "All right, that's fine. But you know I'm going to get another kiss good night."

  The smile tugged at my lips. Just as I was going to tell him thanks, but no thanks, Trace walked up.

  "The king needs you."

  I almost heard my sigh of relief, but I schooled my expression. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

  He chuckled low. "Fair enough. I'll take a rain check."

  "Thank you for coming with me tonight."

  "It was fun. My favorite part didn't even happen at the gala."

  I flushed deeply then. I knew exactly what he was referring to. Unfortunately, I didn't have the same feelings about our kiss.

  "I swear, I'll call you tomorrow."

  "Unless I call you first."

  I was determined not to wince. That conversation wasn't going to be pleasant, but I had bigger fish to fry at the moment. When I followed Trace out, he grinned at me. "You looked like you needed a rescue."

  "Sebastian doesn't need me?"

  He shook his head. "I mean, I'm sure you're supposed to give him a debrief or whatever, but he didn't ask for you right now."

  "Oh my God, I could hug you."

  He opened his arms. "Ready when you are, boss lady."

  I lifted a brow. "You know what, never mind."

  "What, we're not hugging yet?"

  "Nope. Still, team No Touching here."

  He chuckled softly. "Anytime you need a rescue, call me."

  "Who's got eyes on the prince?"

  "Tamsin. He's gone back to his quarters."

  "Okay, I'll meet you guys at the car."

  It turned out Sebastian didn't need to be debriefed right away because, well, he had dragged Penny into one of the tunnels. The two of them hadn't even made it into their quarters before they were boning like rabbits.