AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As the door unlocked, she bent her willowy neck to murmur in my ear. “Obey the prince, and you’ll be fine. Just don’t fight him. He’s a quiet one, you comprehend? They are often the most dangerous.”
Obey him?
A year ago—even three months ago—I would’ve laughed in her face. But tonight, I simply nodded. I’d learned to choose my battles.
“Now smile,” she said, and waited until I obediently stretched my lips before pushing the door open.
Brien Leclerc stood on the other side, tall, blond and intimidating in a sharkskin suit.
Seeing him in the flesh for the first time in two years was an emotional punch. I sucked in a breath and stilled like my spike heels had been glued to the floor.
He looked even better than I remembered, as if one of the vampire’s dark gods had come to life. Same lean, sculpted face. Same full, sensual lower lip. Same incredible eyes, like frost-covered grass. The only change was that his dark blond hair had grown long enough to be pulled into a short ponytail.
“She’s ready, my lord,” Madame Z said.
“Thank you.” Brien’s eyes glittered into mine. His scent curled around me, dark and delicious.
My stomach tightened. It wasn’t fair. The Perfect Prince was…perfect.
And I was still susceptible to him. My heart had sped up and my stomach fluttered like a teenager talking to her first crush.
“Let’s go.” Brien jerked his chin at the elevator.
Madame Z nudged me, and I lurched into motion, catching a heel on the doorjamb. Brien’s fingers clamped around my upper arm, saving me from face-planting on the granite floor.
My cheeks heated. “Thanks,” I muttered.
I wasn’t usually this clumsy. My last cover as a stylist and Instagram influencer had meant I spent a lot of time in dresses and high heels. Besides, I was naturally graceful. At least, that’s what my halmoni—my grandma—had always said.
As he steered me toward the elevator, two vampires flanked us—Talon and Cain. I hadn’t even noticed them, I’d been so busy gaping at Brien. The GQ twins, I’d nicknamed them.
My gaze returned Brien. As long as I was his captive, I might as well look my fill. It fed a part of me that had longed to see him just one more time.
Not all vampires are pale. Like humans, they come in a variety of skin tones. Brien had a honeyed, surfer-boy tint that made me want to lick him all over. Beneath the hand-tailored suit, I knew he was tattooed and hard-bodied—at least, his upper body was.
Two years ago, we hadn’t gotten completely naked. Just damn close.
The whole time I was examining him like he was Adam and I was Eve, Brien kept his gaze forward, a muscle ticking in his cheek.
I lowered my voice. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
He slanted me a sleet-cold look and didn’t answer.
Okay. So hewaspissed off at me.
I suppose he had a reason to be. When we’d met in Montreal, I’d been undercover at the Tremblay Syndicate, acting as a stylist for the then-Prima’s daughter Zoe.
Brien had seen me at Zoe’s birthday ball and pursued me with a single-minded focus. I’d had vampires chase me before. It’s part of the job for slayers who work undercover. Once a vampire fixates on you, they can be hard to shake loose.
But this time had been different.
I hadn’t wanted to shake this vampire loose.
Brien had intrigued me. As controlled as he was handsome, he had an edge that made you wonder—when you unwrapped him, would you find that urbane elegance was a cover for something dark, primal?
The stars in my eyes had made me stupid. Princess Zoe had escaped from the ball with Rafe Kral—and I hadn’t even known for over an hour, because I’d been locked in a bathroom with Brien, sexing my brains out. Both Prima Victorine and Crow had been furious with me.
Brien had tried to see me the next day, but Victorine had informed him that I’d left. When he’d asked where I’d gone, she’d lied and told him she didn’t know. Further events had left my Lainey-Q cover completely compromised. I’d jettisoned it and with it, any hope of further contact with Brien.
