Page 143 of Pretty When She Breaks

I doused myself with the spray, ignoring the little part of me pouting at the fact we were getting rid of his smell.

“Right, if we’re done, then?” I said, not looking at him as I walked to the exit.

He followed me out, and we both stopped short as we came face-to-face with Soren Rosania.

Soren took in our flushed faces and the scent blocker choking the air around us. His face split into a delighted grin. “My, my, what do we have here?” he said, eyes darting between us.

I felt my face go hotter. “Hi, Soren,” I said. “Thanks for coming tonight.”

He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said cheerfully, throwing his arm around Finch’s shoulders. “I wanted to see how my dear friend Daniel is getting on here at the Crimson Palace.”

He dragged a stiff Finch away from me.

THE DUCHESS

My heart was pounding, and I felt a bit shaky, having to take a few deep breaths before entering the ballroom again with my demure smile.

I wound through the crowd, slipping into place beside Dax. He wound his arm around me, tucking me close. Ileaned up and distracted him with another kiss as I slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“Nice one,” a voice murmured in my ear, and I turned to see a beautiful woman with long hair beside me.

It was Jade, done up in what must be an expensive blonde wig and a black cocktail dress. I’d pulled her into a hug before she could protest, so relieved to see her. I didn’t bother asking her how she got in; Jade went where she wanted. She was surrounded by a cloud of perfume, which would hopefully cover some of my scent blocker.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said.

“I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been trying to find you for ages. I even got hit on by this older dude—I mean, he was hot, but then his flirty talk morphed into, like, breeding kink stuff, and I noped out of there.”

I laughed and suddenly felt a bit lighter after all the tenseness of the evening so far. “Don’t worry, stick with me, and I’ll fend off all attempts to breed you. Promise.”

Dax slipped his arm around me again, examining Jade closely. “A friend?” he asked me.

“Yes. This is?—”

“Shannon,” said Jade, nodding toward Dax. “Laurel and I go way back.”

“And these are my fiancés,” I continued. “Dax, Prince, and Madison.”

“Charmed,” replied Jade, looking at them all politely.

“I don’t remember you.” Prince’s eyes were assessing, raking up and down Jade’s form.

“I’m not surprised,” Jade said. “Doubt you went on a lot of shopping trips with young Laurel. Besides, didn’t you only start paying attention to her when she grew breasts?”

“Shannon,” I said, but luckily, Prince laughed.

“Come on, Laurel, let’s have our dance,” he said, taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor.

Despite being close to him, I felt far away. Surrounded by a bubble they couldn’t touch—the feel of Finch pressing against me, Ocean’s pride as I took him in the pens, and the claim of Kaos aching between my legs. He was listening to this, ready to appear at a moment’s notice. I’m sure he’d be more than willing to help rid me of every trace of their scent once this night was over.

Prince faced me, his eyes hard as the music switched.

“Hey,” I murmured, standing on my tiptoes so my face was close to his. His arm wound around my back, so I was completely pressed to him, trying to get more of his scent back on me. “I missed you, you know,” I said, pressing my lips to his.

He let out a growl and pulled me closer, his hand tightening on my waist as his tongue brushed against my lips. It was very…moist. His face had flushed when we pulled apart, his pupils blown. We started moving, hands resting on each other as we went through steps we’d practiced since we were little.

“You were gone for five minutes,” he said.

“I meant when you went to Boston,” I said, lowering my eyes. “It wasn’t the same after you left.”