Page 102 of Ruthless Prince

I was about to say yes, but then I saw Logan’s face. His eyes were dark with intensity and his lips were pressed into a flat line. Saying yes to a moment of respite clearly wasn’t an option forme.

“No,” I said, briefly shaking my head. “I’mfine.”

Paloma gave me a strange look, but she quickly repeated the piercing process on my right nipple anyway. This time I came even closer to giving up and screaming from the pain, but the thought of a bullet blasting through Jared’s head kept me stoic andsilent.

“Ouch. This one’s bleeding,” Paloma muttered. “Sorry, babe. It happenssometimes.”

I screwed my face up as she dabbed at my chest with a tissue. “It… it’s okay,” I said in a brokenwhisper.

“I’m going to leave you with all the aftercare instructions and materials, but you can look at them later,” she said once I was cleaned up. “Unless you’d rather wait a while for the hood piercing so we can go through itnow?”

“No. Let’s get the piercing over and done with,” Imuttered.

She asked me to lie on the bed and scoot myself as close to the end as possible. When I was in the right spot, she prepped and sanitized me before returning to her kit for the sterilized needle. When I caught sight of the thick curved implement and pictured it tearing through my clitoral hood, a wave of terror crashed over me, and my legs began toshake.

“Trust me, getting your nipples done hurts much more,” Paloma said in a soothing tone as she threaded a gold and crystal jewelry piece onto one end of the needle. “You’ll be surprised how easy thisis.”

“Okay,” I squeaked, chestheaving.

“Take a few deep breaths for me. In, out. In, out. In, out.” She glanced over at Logan. “Maybe it will help if you holdher.”

He came over and squeezed my hand. I hated him, but at the same time, I’d never been more grateful for his touch. I kept breathing deeply until the tremorsstopped.

“This will be over in a flash,” Palomasaid.

She was right. There was a sting for a fraction of a second, and then it wasgone.

“Just a few more seconds,” she went on as she squinted between my legs and adjusted the jewelry. Once it was tightened in place, she gave me a congratulatory smile. “There you go. Alldone.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, staring between my legs. Seeing a little piece of metal down there and watching the tiny crystal glint with every small movement was the most surreal thing I’d ever experienced. It was even more bizarre than the fantastical things I encountered during my recruitment into the Order, and that was sayingsomething.

“It’ll heal very quickly, but make sure you’re careful with it for the next week or so,” Paloma said, removing her gloves. “You can still touch it. Just don’t overdoit.”

She went through the aftercare instructions for the piercings, and then she gave me a bag filled with the relevant items. Logan took it from me with a courteous smile and quickly put it in thebathroom.

“Well,” Paloma said, once she’d finished packing up her own gear. “This was fun! I hope you’re happy with everything,Willow.”

“Very happy. Thank you,” I murmured, shifting my weight onto one leg and then back again. My clit felt extra sensitive, and it seemed to swell whenever I moved even the slightest bit, sending hot tingles through mybody.

She smiled and started heading toward the door. “If there are any issues, you know where to reach me. Callanytime.”

“Thanks, Paloma,” Logan said. “The guys will walk you out to yourcar.”

“Cool. Have a good day, you two,” she said, lingering at the door. She briefly raised her eyebrows. “I think you might be the only normal rich couple I’ve ever met in thiscity.”

Logan chuckled affably and put an arm around my waist. I forced another smile. “Yup, that’s us. Normal and boring, like an old married couple,” Isaid.

Logan’s brows rose as he glanced at me. “Boring, huh?” He turned his gaze back to Paloma and winked. “Don’t worry, I’ll punish her for that comment as soon as you’regone.”

He spanked me on the ass as he spoke, and Paloma giggled. “You guys are hilarious,” she said, eyes crinkling. “Anyway, seeya!”

When she was gone, Logan dropped the funny boyfriend act and locked thedoor.

“You behaved well today. I’m proud of you,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if I were a good little kindergarten student who was about to receive a gold starsticker.

“Thank you, sir. I… I didn’t mean to offend you before. The ‘boring’ comment was meant to be a joke to make it seem like we tease each other. Like a regularcouple.”

“I know. I was joking too. You won’t be punished for that,” he said, lifting one brow. “Like I said, you did well. Paloma bought theact.”