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Ava

A s poor company as my father had been that first night, sitting alone at that long dining room table was somehow even worse. I picked at the perfectly cooked game hen on my plate, occasionally glancing up at the empty chair on the other side of the table.

“Your father is managing kingdom affairs,” the staff member had told me. “He will be taking his meal in his office.”

Same excuse two nights in a row. I sighed, taking a few more bites out of obligation before pushing my chair away, the squeak echoing through the enormous space.

“The princess is done?” I wasn’t even up for a second before a member of the staff was beside me.

“The princess is done. Tell the king that I’ll catch him next time. Maybe.”

“No dessert?”

Food of any sort wasn’t appealing to me in the slightest.

“Is there tea?”

The staff member smiled, as if she were thrilled to have some way to serve me.

“Whatever kind you fancy, Princess.”

“Could I have a carafe of peppermint tea in my room? I think I’m going to relax up there for the evening.”

A polite nod followed. “Certainly.” Without another word, the staff member hurried off to the kitchen, leaving me alone.

I exited the dining room, immediately flanked by two guards as I did.

“You guys really need to be with me wherever I go?” I asked.

“For your protection,” said one of them. “King’s orders.”

“Well, tell the king that I can manage to walk through the palace on my own without help. I mean, no one is hiding in that suit of armor over there to assassinate me, are they?”

The two guards looked at one another with expressions of slight confusion.

“I got this!” I said. “Thanks, but I’m good. If the king says anything, just tell him I wanted some alone time.”

With no small amount of hesitation, the guards broke away from me and left down the hall. Relief washed over me once I was alone. Never in a million years back in Seattle did I ever think that I’d take something as simple as being by myself for granted.

I hurried up to my chambers, meeting a different member of the service staff who awaited me with my tea. I took it, thanking them before stepping into my room and shutting the door behind me. I wasted no time peeling off the dress I’d worn for my dinner alone, finding a pair of shorts and a loose-fitting T-shirt. Once those were on, I started a fire in the fireplace. Outside, a soft rain fell on the windows, the low rumble of thunder sounding now and then. Tea in hand, a fire roaring, I stepped over to the window and watched the rain come down. In those moments, I could almost forget that I was thousands of miles from home, alone in a place where I felt like an outcast.

I put my tea down on the bedside table and headed into my bathroom to wash up for bedtime. As I was about to turn on the light, a knock sounded from my door. “Come in.”

Luc opened the door, standing at the threshold in a tight white T-shirt and a pair of black joggers. He looked delectable.

“Do you have everything you need? The kitchen staff said you hardly ate dinner.”

I sighed and continued into my bathroom, flipping on the light and grabbing my face wash. Luc ventured further into the room, standing just outside the bathroom as I turned on the water.

“Just not very hungry,” I said, lathering up my face and splashing water on it to rinse the soap from my skin. When I looked up in the mirror, I caught Luc’s gaze as he studied me. “What?” I asked.

“You really gave those poor etiquette coaches a run for their money today.”

I shrugged. “I am who I am. I wasn’t trying to be difficult.”

He laughed.

I raised my eyebrow. “Did something happen to you today?” I asked. “Take a whack to the head, maybe?”

“What, I’m not allowed to laugh now and then?”

“Oh, you’re most certainly allowed to, oh Lord of the castle. But in the short time I’ve known you, it doesn’t appear to be something you do often.”

He flashed me another smile before shaking his head.

“I know this is all strange to you, but you’re making an honest go of it. You’ve got a month to prepare for the naming ceremony and the ball. I think you’ll get it just fine.”

He said the words with such a confident, matter-of-fact tone that part of me wanted to believe him.

“I take it from your silence that you don’t feel the same way.”

I began the process of rubbing moisturizer into my cheeks.

“It’s nice that you say that. I mean it. But you’re wrong. I was a huge disappointment today and acting like I didn’t care was my way of trying to sidestep how embarrassed and out of place I felt.”

He said nothing, glancing over in silence to let me know that he was listening.

“I talked to my sister Hailey today. I told her about what happened at the lessons, and she just laughed her head off, still having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that I’m here having honest-to-God princess training. After I told her about my lessons and how much of a disaster they were, she filled me in on everything going on back home.”

“And how’s business?”

“Amazing. She’s hired a couple of interns from one of the culinary schools in town, has them running ragged. And as she told me about all of that, how she’s been so busy she can hardly think straight, and how much fun she’s having, all I could think was… that’s where I’m supposed to be. Not here.”

Luc trained his steely eyes on me, crossing his arms over his chest and continuing to listen without saying a word.

“But it’s crazy, right? I mean, what kind of a girl would miss grease burns and smelling like crab all day?”

“You say that” he replied. “But you’re not the only woman I know who didn’t mind spending the better part of the day in the kitchen.”

It hit me as I said the words—Mom. He smiled as he realized I understood. “Sorry,” I went on. “You just came in to check on me and here I am dumping everything on your lap again.”

He shook his head. “It’s fine. I don’t mind at all, honestly. It’s my duty to make sure you are comfortable and well taken care of. That means being here if you need someone to talk to. It’s not a hardship, Princess.”

His words were unexpected. On the one hand, Luc was cold and standoffish and didn’t seem approachable at all sometimes. But here he was, all but telling me that he was here for me whenever I needed to talk.

There was something more to this man than met the eye.

“You know, Luc,” I said, washing my hands and turning toward him. “If I didn’t know any better, I might think you’re a big softie.”

He snorted. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Then what is it? You have every reason to be annoyed with this task of looking after me. Yet you’re not. In fact, you’re going above and beyond, I’d say.”

Luc grabbed a towel and tossed it to me, giving the matter some thought.

“You’re a pain in the ass,” he said.

I laughed. “This is already off to a good start.”

“Let me finish. You’re a pain in the ass, a bit of a brat. But deep down, it’s easy to see that you’ve got good in you. And if I can guide you through this, help you become the princess you’re destined to be, I know that this good can be brought out so that the whole kingdom can benefit.”

I smiled, his words warming my heart.

“So, it’s about the kingdom? All so very practical.”

He looked me up and down, that familiar hunger in his eyes. Luc stepped close enough that I could once more smell the aftershave that lingered on his handsome face.

“There’s nothing practical about the other thoughts I have about you.”

There was that tingling between my thighs again, his words making me ache for him like crazy.

Screw it. What was the point of holding back?

“Come to bed with me,” I said. “A rainy night like tonight’s the perfect kind to share with someone else.”

He closed the distance between us, putting his hands on my hips. His eyes burned with lust for me, and Luc leaned in, placing his lips on mine. I fell into the kiss right away, allowing myself to be carried away by his taste and smell and touch. In that moment I wanted nothing more than to give myself to him in a way I never had to a man before.

I wanted him to scoop me off my feet, to sling me over his big, broad shoulder and carry me to bed, to pleasure me in ways I’d never been pleasured before.

But he didn’t. Instead, he took his lips away from me and smirked.

“No. Not tonight.”

Fuck . “Why not? You can’t just kiss me like that and leave me hanging.”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Tease.”

He grinned, unphased by the sharpness of my tone.

“You don’t get it, Ava.”

“Get it? What’s there to get?”

“That you’re forbidden fruit to me. I want you like mad. But here’s the thing—once I have you, I know I won’t be able to ever stop. Not until you’re completely mine.”

My mouth hung open. I’d never been spoken to by a man like that before. I didn’t know what to say.

Finally, I got my bearings.

“What if I don’t want you to stop?”

Luc only grinned.

“Good night, Princess.”

Without another word, only that cocky smirk on his face, he turned and left.

I wanted to kiss him and kill him all at once.