Page 100 of Ruthless Prince

“I thought the shower was my treat, sir,” I said, dropping my gaze to thefloor.

“No. That isn’t special enough.” He tilted my chin up with one finger, forcing me to look directly at him. “Not for aprincess.”

I trembled as he smirked down at me. He was everything I’d learned to fear, although that fear was mixed with something else now. Forbidden desire. A pulsing ache between mylegs.

That was exactly why I hated looking right at him. When I did, I was forced to acknowledge how devastatingly handsome he was, and my resistance to him weakened further. By now I was sure that was what he wanted, too. He wanted me to give in. Beg for it. Let him take me purely because I desired it, not just because I hoped it would make him choose sex over the agonizing whips andclamps.

I wouldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t. It meant I would lose the one little piece of free will that I still had, and then I would have nothingleft.

I swallowed hard and kept looking at him, trying to ignore the dark lure of our attraction. It was just a physical thing. Any woman would find him attractive, because he was a striking man. It didn’t have to mean anything beyond that. The fact that I’d never found any other man attractive didn’t mean anythingeither.

At least that’s what I toldmyself.

“When it arrives, you need to act normal,” he wenton.

My brows pinched together with confusion. I wasn’t sure what normal was anymore. Did he mean normal in terms of this terrible place—which meant me behaving like a cowering slave—or did he mean it in more of a general sense? I could probably make an educated guess, but that wasn’t a good idea. With Logan, I needed to be sure, or else I’d face extra punishment for doing the wrong thing and supposedly defyinghim.

“Sorry, sir, but what do you mean?” Iasked.

“I mean you need to smile and play along with everything, no matterwhat.”

“All right,sir.”

“You know what happens if you fail to comply, don’tyou?”

I nodded. I felt as if I were balanced on a frozen lake with thousands of cracks running in every direction. One wrong move and I was a goner. So was mybrother.

There was a knock on the door, and Logan turned his head and called out. “Comein!”

Mal and Adam escorted a tall woman with pink hair and brightly-patterned tattoo sleeves into the room. She was holding a large blackbag.

“Thanks, guys. You can go,” Logan said, waving a hand at Mal and Adam. He turned his head to the woman. “Thanks for coming,Paloma.”

I smiled politely as she stared at me with wide eyes. “Holy shit. Are you WillowRhoades?”

I nodded, and Logan grinned and slung an arm around my shoulder. “She is. How lucky am I,huh?”

Paloma kept staring at me. “Jesus, I had no idea I’d be piercingyou,” she said. She shook her head slightly. “I never would’ve thought the president’s daughter would be into this stuff. The more you know,huh?”

A lump of fear appeared in my throat. “Did you saypiercing?”

Logan playfully jostled me. “This is your surprise, baby. Remember when you said you wanted nipple and hoodpiercings?”

My stomach knotted instantly, and my mouth went dry. Paloma must’ve noticed the flash of fear in my eyes, because her posture stiffened and her frown deepened. “If this isn’t what you want, I can go. It’s noproblem.”

Logan pinched my back, and I suppressed a yelp and forced myself to smile. As much as I wanted to beg this woman to help me, all I had to do was picture that red laser dot on my brother’s head to stopmyself.

“It’s fine,” I said, adopting a light and breezy tone. “It’s just a shock. I had no idea Logan called you here. All I knew was that I was getting asurprise.”

“I hope you’re happy with it, princess,” Logan said, eyes glimmering with adoration as he stared down at me. God, he was a good actor. Anyone in the world would’ve believed he was in love with me from the look on his facealone.

“Of course. This is amazing. Thank you, honey,” I said, hearthammering.

This was the last thing I wanted. The thought of a needle going anywhere near my clit or nipples made me want to shrivel up anddie.

Logan’s lips twitched, and I wondered if the ‘honey’ thing had taken the act too far. Paloma didn’t seem to notice anything, though. She put her bag on the bed and unzipped it before smiling back at me. “I honestly thought you were single,Willow.”

“I tell everyone I am because I don’t want the media finding out and printing gossip about our relationship,” I said. “It’s just such an invasion. They already follow so many other aspects of my privatelife.”