“Me?” I say. “I’m worried about whether or not you can keep up withme.”
He chuckles, rubbing his nose against my neck. “Oh, yeah? I guess we have a whole night to see who needs to keep up with who.”
“Challenge accepted.”
“Fuck,” he mutters. “This is one challenge I don’t mind in the least bit.”
18
Harper
I wakeup to light streaming through the closed doors of my balcony. Blinking into the sunlight, I realize that I’m a bit sore, and tired. Glancing around, I freeze as I realize there’s an arm thrown over me… and that arm belongs to a very naked Lucien in my bed. All the events from the night before come flashing through my mind, and my stomach flips.
Lucien and I had sex.
Shit. That was a really bad idea.
This morning after breakfast, I’m expected to deliver our peace agreement to the Hollowborn. I should’ve slept well last night and been in my best form for whatever I might come to face. The last thing I should’ve done was have sex with Lucien.
The guy’s a jerk. He’s a womanizer. He doesn’t actually know anything about me. Yes, he had all kinds of sweet words last night, but if I were to take a bet, those sweet words will vanish in the light of day. I can see him using this against me. I can see this being the new thing the guys can torture me over.
Slipping out from under his arm, I dress and ready myself in a hurry. When I see my reflection in the mirror, my hair has been properly secured back, and I look perfectly normal. Not at all like I spent the night fucking a prince, other than the small bruises on my neck.
Damn it.
I hurry out of the room and escape quietly, determined not to face him just yet. Determined to not have some awkward morning interaction where he catches me at a vulnerable moment and uses that to truly hurt me.
As I’m hurrying down the hall, trying to decide what to do, I hear the morning bell ring, signaling the start of breakfast. Switching my direction, I go towards the dining hall, realizing that filling my belly is exactly what I need to do to start feeling like myself again.
I select a spot alone on the end of a table and release a slow breath.Just eat. Just act normal, and you’ll feel normal soon. You can pretend like last night never happened.
Tensing, I wonder about that.Am I really going to pretend like last night never happened?The idea doesn’t sit well with me for reasons I don’t understand.
As I wait for my breakfast to be delivered, two men slip into the spots across from me and beside me. I look up and stiffen, seeing both Prince Alaric and Prince Gareth. Both men look exhausted.
We don’t speak until our breakfast is delivered and we’ve gotten to shovel some food into our mouths, but things are tense, for reasons I don’t understand.Do they know what happened last night? If they do, what do they think about it?I imagine they won’t be happy for a number of reasons.
“What happened to your neck?” Prince Alaric asks, looking concerned.
Prince Gareth’s sharp eyes lock onto the injury, probably not just the cuts but the marks from Lucien’s sucking, and I try not to react.
“Something stupid. I’ll tell you later,” I say, really not wanting to get into it just yet.
Neither looks happy that I’m not talking, but they continue eating, eyeing my neck every so often in a way that has me a little tense.
“Did you feel it too last night?” Prince Alaric asks me, ruffling his short brown hair in a way that makes him look younger and more carefree.
“Last night?” I ask, confused.
“Yeah, Prince Gareth and I felt it all night long. We couldn’t even sleep, that’s how bad it was. Did you feel it too?”
“I–uh.”
“It’s the damn dragons,” Prince Gareth growls, his blue eyes flashing with annoyance.
“The dragons?” I’m really confused.
Prince Alaric gives me a funny look. “We think the dragons finally… consummated things. We could feel them… enjoying themselves all night long.”
