AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Scanning the room for her quickly, I wished more than anything that the rest of the people were gone. That it could be just the two of us with the palace to ourselves.
"Your Majesty," one of the Princesses from earlier said, stepping into my path. Her coy smile was in place, eyelashes fluttering ridiculously.
"No," I said, sidestepping her and not caring about my manners one bit. Because in that moment, the path between Alina and I cleared. Revealing her, standing off to the sidelines and conversing with Corbin once again. The man was like a gnat, hovering and slinking away, only to come back when I was sleeping.
I slid into their corner, wrapping an arm around to the front of Alina's waist and tugging her backwards against me so suddenly she gasped. I ducked my head, pressing my lips to her cheek from behind, and breathed her in. That heavenly scent of her skin, the true Alina that lurked beneath the perfume she wore, hit my senses immediately, filling me with the comforts of home even though she had never even been inside my rooms.
"Corbin," I greeted with a growl building in my chest. "I thought I made myself clear."
"You cannot dominate all her time, Reece," the other man commented, smiling pleasantly. "Alina here is a wonderful conversationalist. I think I would truly enjoy getting to know her better."
"There's no need for any of that. You'd be better suited spending your time getting to know the other potential brides, since Alina will be spoken for." Alina gasped softly, her chest heaving with rapid breaths. "You owe me a final dance, Princess," I said, taking her hand and spinning her to face me. Walking backwards, I guided her away from Corbin and into the center of the floor to put as much distance between us as possible.
She trembled when I wrapped my arm around her, holding her too close for propriety. It wouldn't matter in the end, since I didn't care if Alina was a virgin on our wedding night.
All that mattered to me was that I was the only man who ever knew her in such a way.
"What is wrong with you?" she hissed up at me, her eyes rounded with disbelief.
"Hmm?" I asked, staring down at her as we swayed slowly. With her eyes on mine, everyone else faded away. Until I could almost believe we were alone, if it weren't for the fading remnants of my fury seeing her with Corbin caused.
"You can't just..." she trailed off, twisting her lips and chewing on the inside of her cheek as her hands tightened around me. Those green eyes lit up in frustration and anger. "Claim me," she whispered. “Cage me.”
"Watch me," I returned, fighting back the instinctive need to throw her over my shoulder and cart her upstairs just so I could show her how easy it would be toclaimher. She was mine. She needed to come to terms with that.
"I'll have you know that Corbin would be a very appropriate match for me. He doesn't have a reputation for hurting women, and he's the one my mother has deemed an ideal husband," she said, making my blood turn to fire in my veins. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, as parents often encouraged marriages that would be the most beneficial for their children.
I wouldn't have been considered as a realistic goal, given my propensity for not having any interest in marrying. It stood to reason her mother would be amenable to our marriage once she realized I wanted Alina as my own. I was the only King wealthier than Corbin, after all.
"You're not property to be bartered off. You should be able to choose your own husband," I murmured as the song ended. Taking her hand, I guided her out of the grand ballroom. Guests had started to disperse before I'd even returned from the altercation in the Southwestern Wing. A ball after what was most often a very long day of traveling, if not more, was exhausting.
Everyone wanted to find their bed for the night.
Once we were in the privacy of the hallway, I held out an elbow for her. She stared at it momentarily, tilting her delicate chin up and ignoring the gesture. She started off down the corridor, leaving me gaping after her for a moment before a smile lit my face. Hurrying after her, her mumbles to herself reached my ears. Her voice pitched with her rant, thoroughly entertaining and adorable even if she was complaining about me.
"What are you doing?" I asked, grabbing her hand where it swung at her side furiously. Grasping it and pressing it to the top of my elbow, I ignored her futile attempts to snatch it back and forced her to slow her pace. If she wasn't careful, she'd hurt herself in her heels with that slim dress twirling about her ankles.
"I'm choosing for myself," she hissed, giving another tug that I in turn ignored. “I will not be caged by anyone.”
"And what choice would that be?" I restrained the smile that tugged at the corners of my lips.
"Not you," she spat. I released her arm when we came to the base of the stairs, letting her take the railing while I walked beside her. "You say I should choose for myself, and yet you interfere if I so much as look at Corbin. What if he were my choice?"
Moving a step higher than her, I found I liked the hidden fire that appeared in her frustration. "He's not your choice," I told her, walking backwards up the steps ahead of her.
"And what makes you an expert on that?" she asked when she finally reached the top. I didn't move out of her path, and she had no choice but to get closer to me. Her chest brushed mine in a show of defiance as she attempted to prove that she wouldn't be intimidated.
Her pupils dilated as she pursed her lips together, giving me every physical sign I needed to confirm exactly what she would choose if she could make her own choices. "We may have only just met, but I know you, Alina," I said, cupping her cheeks in my hands and running thumbs over her cheekbones. "Sometimes things happen that we can't explain. This pull between us is one of those things. When you kissed me, you knew it too. Even if you can’t explain it any better than I can.”
Sensing she needed the moment to recover, I pivoted to the side, offering her an arm once again. She stared at it blindly before sighing out and accepting it, letting me lead her down the hall to her room. As host, I made it my business to know who was where.
Even if the details of it had bored me to tears when Cheval, Olivia, and I made the arrangements.
When we finally stopped in front of the door to her rooms, she spun to face me. Catching her in a soft kiss, I willed her to feel me. To feel the genuine need to have her, but also that it wasn't just a physical desire for me. The need for her went all the way to my core and settled there, like it had always been a part of me.
Waiting only for her to arrive and be the key that unlocked the part of me stashed away.
She parted her lips on a gasp, letting me tease my tongue against hers and coax her into returning the gentle seduction momentarily. Raising her arms to wrap them around my neck, she pressed closer to me.
Only to jerk back suddenly when the door opened behind her. Touching the back of her hand to her lips, she turned panicked eyes to stare at King Aric. He looked to his sister suspiciously, his eyes narrowing on her flushed face and lips swollen from the attention I’d given them.
"Reece," he greeted, turning his green eyes to me sharply. Filled with what I suspected was brotherly protectiveness, he seemed to dare me to move, to touch Alina once again. But something else lurked in his stare, and I liked to think that maybe it was hope Alina wouldn't be forced to follow the path their mother had laid out for her.
"I'll see you tomorrow, my little Bird," I said, not moving to touch her, as I could sense her discomfort. But I gave Aric a warning glare to communicate that I wouldn't tolerate him interfering. A smile tugged at his lips.
"Goodnight, Your Majesty," Alina whispered, unable to meet my eyes as I took her hand and kissed it. Then I stepped back, strolling down the hallway to get to my personal wing and my own bedroom.
The fact that they would be empty would be all too noticeable, knowing Alina slept under my roof.
Soon enough, she’d share my bed.
