Page 17 of Stealing Cinder

She turns in my arms and lifts those eyes to mine. Water streams over her shoulders, running in thin lines between her breasts and down the flat of her stomach.

"Look, I understand you said some things tonight that were pretty loaded. I get it." She rises on her toes and presses her lips to my cheek. The contact is gentle, almost cautious. "Heat of the moment talk. There's no need for any special treatment or finding a way to untangle yourself from your pretty words." She steps back and smooths wet hair from her face. "I'll finish my shower, which I am grateful for, and then I'll quietly leave."

I tip her chin higher with two fingers. Hold her gaze.

"You're not going anywhere."

A flicker of surprise crosses her face. She recovers fast, but I catch it.

"Um, I have a business to get back to."

"No, you don't."

I turn her gently, and rinse the conditioner from her hair. She goes still under my hands as the warm water runs through the blonde strands and I work the last of the product free. My cock presses against the curve of her ass, the slick heat of the water between us, and she swallows hard enough for me to see her throat move.

"Yes, I do."

Her voice hitches and the way her hips press back into me even as her mouth argues…

I smile.

“I am heading to Seattle in two hours and you’re coming with me.” Fuck my father’s contract. He’s in New York and he can stay there. I want to get my princess alone where I can fully enjoy her. Showering her with as much love as she can stand is my new goal. And not let anyone else near her is another.

That last part is for me. A primal need to mark her, possess her in every way consumes my thoughts.

No. My father can give his fortune and kingdom to my cousin. And he can live with that decision when he sees everything burn to the ground.

The water runs hot down my back and Cinder shifts against me, her wet skin sliding over mine. My father and his contract can rot.

"I need to go see Lavender first." She turns the water off and reaches for the towel folded on the bench. "Just a quick check-in. Ten minutes. Then I'll come back."

I study her face. Water drips from her jaw, rolls down the line of her throat, pools in the hollow of her collarbone. Those light blue eyes hold mine, and every instinct I possess tells me to keep her here. Lock the door. Carry her back to bed and hold her until she stops running.

But I can't cage a bird I want to keep.

"Ten minutes. I’ll phone down and have someone bring fresh clothes up."

She wraps the towel around her body, rises up on her toes, and presses her mouth to mine. The kiss is quick, warm, and gone before I can deepen it.

"I'll be right back."

She slips through the steam. She dries off, gathers her wrinkled black dress from the bedroom floor before stepping into those heels. She pulls her damp hair into a low twist and glances back at me once. I'm still in the bathroom doorway, water beading on my shoulders.

She smiles as she smoothes out her dress.

The elevator chime is a single soft tone. The doors open. She steps inside, turns to face me, and the last thing I see before the steel closes between us is the pale blue of her eyes.

I stand in the middle of the penthouse suite. Water cooling on my skin. Steam fading from the glass.

Ten minutes becomes twenty. Twenty becomes an hour.

The fire dies and the hole in my heart grows tenfold.

My princess is gone.

CHAPTER 5

SAMUEL