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“That’s, um,nice,” I replied, unsure of how to respond. I really didn’t have the time or the desire to properly play the High Court game of flirting. I needed to get inside and find Cass.
“But I really have to get going. Myboyfriend…” I emphasized the word. Cass wasn’t exactly my boyfriend. But the strange man didn’t need to know that. “Is in there waiting for me and—”
The man moved to stand directly in front of me. He was taller than me but not by much since I wore heels. He covered my mouth with his large hand and wrapped his other hand around the back of my head, stifling my words. I saw a look of pleasure register on his face as he took in the sight of my eyes going wide with surprise.
“Little star, as much as I can’t wait to learnevery little thingabout you, we will have to catch up later. We really need to get going now,” the man said.
My blood was pounding through my veins as I thought about what to do. He released a growl at the sight of fear creeping into my eyes. I tried to fight my way out of his embrace, pulling at his hands, scratching at his arms, but his hands on me were like vise grips. I was also severely restricted by my stiletto heels and my tight dress. Even if I did get free, I knew I wouldn’t be able to run. I was more likely to turn my ankle and fall on my face than I was to escape.
And then there was a blur of movement. A wet, warm liquid splashed across my face. Instinctively, I closed my eyes to avoid getting it in my eyes. I heard a gurgling noise and then opened my eyes to see the lesser fae man thrown halfway across the courtyard, his head barely attached to his shoulders.
The most gorgeous man I had ever seen stood in front of me. He pulled a handkerchief out of thin air, wiping off the knife he had just used to cut the lesser fae’s throat, then shoved the blade and the dirty handkerchief somewhere at his side into a pocket of darkness. They just disappeared.
Despite my shock, it registered with me that he was,without a doubt, the mostirresistibleman I had ever found myself in the presence of.
Rhett may have been the most classically handsome man I had ever seen. He could charm the pants right off almost any woman.
And Luke—he was justbeautiful and perfect,inside and out. A woman was likely to forget altogether that she even had pants around Luke, much less come up with any reason why she wouldn’t want him inside of them.
But the man who stood before me—shadows of darkness rolling off him and making him appear as one with the fall night—he was the kind of man who made a woman forget her pants and immediately think of what wasunderneath. He was the kind of man who made a woman want to lose her religion, or more likely, find a new one that involved happily selling her soul in exchange for just a single night toprayat his altar.
“Is almost getting kidnapped turning into some kind of hobby of yours?” he asked coolly. He pulled a clean handkerchief out of the same darkness he had disposed of the dirty handkerchief and blade in.
He wiped gently at my face, but I jerked back, my hand shooting to his and stopping his movement. When my hand touched his, a flicker of surprise, or anger, or something, flashed across his face, but then it was gone. He raised his dark eyebrows, took a step back, and calmly handed me the handkerchief to wipe the blood from my own face. I noted that he did not have a drop of blood on him. He was eerily calm for someone who had just slit another man’s throat so thoroughly that he’d nearly ripped the man’s head off.
I looked down at the soft, white piece of cloth in disbelief. I ran my fingers over the letters “NAH” monogrammed in the corner of the handkerchief. Guards clad in black leather ran up to the tall, dark, handsome lord.
“Stay here,” he ordered, not waiting for my response.
He spoke to the guards for a few minutes and then made his way back to me where I stood shell-shocked but no longer covered in any blood. He softly grabbed my arm, gently tucking it under his own, and began to drag me toward the main hall.
“Well?” he asked.
“Well,what?” I retorted, looking down at his hand on me incredulously.
“Why was someone trying to kidnap you?” he asked, exasperated, showing some kind of real emotion for the first time.
He seemed like the kind of man who was used to getting answers without having to repeat himself. A trumpet sounded. He pushed me into the main hall and began to jog away from me.
“Stay in my sight until I get a chance to speak to you,” he called over his shoulder, again, not waiting for a response. He clearly expected his orders to be followed.
I scanned my dress. By some miracle, I did not have any blood on me. There was no outward sign of the struggle I’d been in minutes before. I scanned the room, trying to shake off the last five minutes as I looked for Cass.
I didn’t know what disturbed me more. The guy who tried to kidnap me or the guy who so casually slit the other guy’s throat right in front of me and then proceeded to show no other concern other than an apparent need to boss me around.
“What were you doing with the Prince?” Cass asked.
Cass had found me in the crowd before I could see him, which made sense since he towered over everyone whereas I was shoulder height for most, at best.
“Huh?” I said, scanning the crowd for the annoyingly rude man. “The Prince!” I exclaimed, realizing what Cass had said.
I pulled out the dirty handkerchief still covered in blood and looked at the initials monogrammed in the corner. NAH: Nikolas Heroux.
“Yeah. You didn’t know?” Cass chuckled.
I was saved from having to answer any of his questions by the sounds of the trumpet announcing the arrival of the King and the members of his House.
“I’ll explain later,” I replied.
