I stormed out of the room, my chest heaving, and I didn’t understand why. He hadn’t said anything too bad, but every time we spoke, it was like he kicked the feet right from under me. I couldn’t find my steadiness when he was around, and I didn’t appreciate it.
I whirled on him as we turned the corner and ended up in a small arboretum. There were plants all around us, and we had entered a small glass enclosure that seemed to be empty other than the ferns and flowers themselves. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you need to stop acting like a dick every time I’m around.”
He just grinned. “Feisty, I’m always a dick. And as you saw it that one time, you know I know how to use it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What the hell is with you? You are such an asshole.”
“And you don’t understand why I keep saying things to set you off,” he muttered.
“And why is that?” I asked, my lips suddenly going dry.
“Maybe it’s because I like it when you glare at me. I like it when you growl. It’s easier to push you away whenever you get all growly like that.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, suddenly very confused.
“Who are you, Sparrow? Why the hell do you keep doing this to me?” he asked quietly, almost as if talking to himself.
“Do what to you? You’re the one acting like a jerk. I’m the boss in there, and you have to stop undermining my authority. Just because you get off on being an asshole doesn’t mean you get to be one to me.”
“Oh, now you want to talk about getting off?”
“Stop it,” I growled.
“You’re right, that was too far. However, I just need to know…”
“Need to know what?” I asked, my voice low.
And then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I gasped, my mouth parting, and he swiped his tongue against mine. I was possessed. That had to be the reason I wasn’t pushing him away. I put my hands on his chest, but I didn’t push. Instead, I dug into him, and I let him deepen the kiss. I let him guide me slowly farther into the arboretum, my back to the glass, and I groaned against him as he kissed me harder, his lips mashing against mine. This was insanity; this was wrong.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was letting him kiss me, and I didn’t push away.
And when he finally let me breathe, he pressed his forehead to mine and I knew I had just made a terrible mistake.
Chapter 8
Breck
Royal questions… never royal answers.
* * *
What the hell was that?
You know what it was—the best damn kiss you’ve ever had.
She tasted sweet with a hint of spice. And she made the best sounds I’d ever heard. Like a low purring. I could still feel her lips on mine. Even though she’d torn them away in a rush and backed away from me like I was the monster going to eat her alive.
You very well could eat her alive.
In the infinite moments of that kiss, I wanted to show her just what I’d learned while being a lay-about prince most of my life. I might be useless in my family’s eyes, but I knew just how to find all the hidden places on a woman, with my tongue, my fingers, my mouth.
I could teach her how to scream God yes, right there in over ten languages. And she would completely own me, and fuck, would I let myself be owned.
My hands itched to dive into her hair and tighten, angling her head just how I liked it to kiss her deeper. Or even better, gripping the softness to keep myself from losing my shit when she used her tongue and luscious lips on me.
It was probably for the best that she marched off, but my hands itched with the need to touch her. And I still didn’t even understand why the fuck she was so different. I could have any woman I wanted. If my face or my bank account didn’t do it, my title usually did. But my body and my brain were fixated on the one woman who had made it perfectly clear she loathed me.
When Wilder had assigned me babysitting duty, I thought it would only take a few hours, if that. Maybe. But then I couldn’t seem to stay away from her. Which was a problem in and of itself. And now that I’d gone and kissed her, I knew there would be no forgetting that. No pretending it never happened. No going back to normal. Because I needed to know more, to have more. Needed to taste her again, to touch her.
I didn’t have many choices. I could stand there like an idiot, go back to the office, or I could go home, check my remote setup, find the idiot who tried to hurt her, and do my level best to forget that she just owned a little bit of my soul. The worst part was that it was so damned effortless. So easy for her. I had felt like I was drowning in that kiss, like I was honestly losing everything that had me tethered to this realm. But she’d just backed up and seemed completely unaffected. Fine by me. We could both pretend, couldn’t we?
Except, you want more.
Damn, I did want more. Ever since the wedding when she’d walked into one of the guest rooms where I was occupied with a couple of female guests, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. She’d been so indignant. So irritated. So annoyed. And of course, I loved every moment of getting her hackles up. She thought she knew me, thought she knew who I was and what I was about. She was wrong though. Good luck telling her that. She’d made up her mind about me on the spot, which was fine. Most people did.
Or you gave them a reason to.
Sparrow Bridges wouldn’t be the first woman to misjudge me. She wouldn’t be the first one to make her assumptions and dismiss me. But she was the first one in a while that hurt.
But I didn’t have to stick around for this.
Instead of going back into the office, I took the coward’s way out. Which was, let’s face it, the perfect course. I sent her a text.
Breck: I’m going to check out some things on my system. I’ll text you if I find anything.
I felt like I was waiting a lifetime for her to respond. A lifetime for her to answer, to tell me to come back, it was okay. Just an awkward moment. Or better yet, to come back and finish that kiss.
But neither happened. Nope. Instead, her response was brief.
Sparrow: Okay.
I scowled and then forced myself to swallow the disappointment. I was used to this.
Breck: Have Niko make sure you get home. Text me when you’re there.
Sparrow: Sure.
She wasn’t a fan. That was fine, because just as soon as we found the idiot who thought he could attack her, I’d be done on my part. Wilder could take over and play the hero. He was good at that.
As I headed back to the palace, I tried to convince myself I was okay with that. Wilder, my younger brother, being the hero. Specifically, Sparrow’s hero. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. My phone rang, and I scowled at it. “What do you want, baby brother?”
“I’m checking in on how things are going with Sparrow.”
“Fine. Everything is fine.” I tried my best to keep my tone even. I knew my brother was too good at reading people to let it slide, but still, I held on to hope. So much hope.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Like I said, I’ll help her. Everything is as it should be.”
Wilder gave me a rare chuckle. “Is she driving you crazy yet?”