He cocks his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at me. Or is that my imagination? It’s difficult to tell from beneath the shadow of the mask. He’s so much more intimidating than I thought he would be.
“As honored as I am to meet you, our time together is limited, so I’m afraid I must get straight to the point. You see, I’ve written to your royal secretary several times with the hope that my letter would be passed on to you. But it seems as though it has not, or perhaps, it has, but you did not take care to consider it carefully.”
Beneath the mask, I notice his eyebrows rising. He seems surprised by my candor, but it can’t be helped. Prince Aston might be royalty, but he’s no better than the rest of us if he cannot find it in his heart to do something charitable for those who desperately need it.
“There is an animal sanctuary in Kent, Your Highness…”
He doesn’t show any signs of life. I can’t even be sure he’s blinking, and I don’t know what to make of this man. But my frustration is snowballing, and desperation colors my voice as I make my declaration.
“The sanctuary is on the verge of going under, and it is the duty of the people, of all British people, to care for those who cannot help themselves. And these animals cannot help the fact that they have been neglected or abandoned. So I came here tonight to ask if you could find it in your heart to help this organization. Securing your patronage could mean the difference between life and death for thousands of animals. Will you consider helping us?”
Silence.
That is his only response after I poured my heart out. After all the planning, and the risk, and the help from Charlotte it took to get me here. The heat radiating up my neck burns as the prince continues to study me, apathetic to my request or the plight of the sanctuary. I’m on the verge of tears, hopelessness threatening to swallow me whole, but more importantly, I’m angry.
“Do you care so little about this country?” I swipe at the tears that are already starting to spill. “Is that it? Are you such a wretched man that you no longer have a heart?”
He flinches at my accusation, and I’m well aware I’m probably about to get tossed out on my arse. But it’s clear I’m getting nowhere with him. And now, our time is almost up.
“Thank you for nothing.” I stand and glare at him. “I think I’ll just excuse myself now—”
Before I can even blink, his hand whips toward me and latches around my wrist.
“I haven’t dismissed you yet.” The unmistakable accent that does not belong to Prince Aston sends a shiver down my spine. “Now kindly, sit your ass back down.”
5
Thorsen
The petite beauty shrinks back into her seat under my command, her expression morphing from one of horror to despair when she recognizes that I am not her beloved British prince.
The entire evening, I’ve been listening to women drone on and on about themselves, scarcely bothered that I never said a word myself. They presumed me to be whoever they wanted in their imaginations, running wild with offers to bake my favorite treats, attend upcoming events, or do my bidding in the royal bedroom. It left me contemplating throwing myself off the palace roof just to get it over with.
And then she came along with her sky-blue eyes and champagne hair and a pair of pouty lips she wielded like a weapon. She was captivating, but I suspected beneath her nerves, she didn’t have the faintest idea about it. There was something different about her, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. She smelled like sunshine and wildflowers. Freedom. An escape from the monotony of my everyday life. When I looked into her eyes, I found myself getting lost there. Maybe it was the passion with which she spoke. Or maybe it was her complete honesty that she had no intention of snagging herself a prince tonight. Regardless of what drew me in, I was suddenly hyper-focused on everything this woman had to say.
When she confessed that she came here with an ulterior motive, the first spark of life I’d felt in months nearly suffocated. I anticipated she was about to propose a scheme in which she would lead me by my dick. But instead, she blurted out the most ridiculously impassioned speech I’d ever heard. About a charity, nonetheless. And while I sit here, trying to make sense of what’s happening, I still can’t find it in me to accept she could be that selfless. If I am to believe her, she came here with the sole intention of gaining support for her furry friends.
“Your Highness.” My line facilitator steps forward, subtly nodding at his watch. “Time is up.”
“Time’s up when I say it’s up.” I shoot him a withering glare and turn my attention back to the mysterious woman in front of me.
“I should go,” she says, trying unsuccessfully to excuse herself again.
“No, you won’t.” I squeeze her wrist in my grip. I don’t know why I’m still holding onto her, or why I can’t seem to stop staring at her. People are starting to take notice, and it makes me irrationally angry. I’m the prince who everyone loves to hate. The man the media can never print a kind word about. And now she’s making a spectacle of me in front of the entire room.
“You came in here and presumed me to be someone else.” I lean into her, my voice low and dark. “You accused me of being wretched and heartless. And now you think you’re just going to walk away?”
“I didn’t know,” she whispers. “I thought you were Prince Aston.”
“That isn’t an apology,” I muse.
“An apology?” She blinks, startled by the notion. “Why would I offer you an apology? You’ve been rude to me from the start. You couldn’t even deign to speak to the likes of me, and now you want an apology for observations that were only the truth? Do you think I don’t know who you are?”
My spine steels at her remark. Has my accent already betrayed the truth?
“I may be nobody in your eyes, Prince Thorsen, but I’ve seen what the media prints about you. And having made your acquaintance, I am now convinced it is all true. You really are as heartless as they say.”
My hand falls away from her, but inside, I can’t temper the rage churning in my gut. I should be accustomed to it. Every day of my life, I have heard nothing less, but from her, it burns worse than all the others, and I can’t understand why.
She stands up again, not bothering with a curtsy this time. “Excuse me.”
When she rushes to the exit and down the corridor, I’m not thinking clearly as I give chase. My security detail attempts to stop me as I wade through the crowd, but my focus is on the blue dress slipping out the palace doors.
“Is everything alright, sir?” My secretary intervenes, trying to block my path.
“Everything is fine.” I wave him away. “Let me be for a minute.”
He doesn’t argue, and I follow the mystery woman onto the lawn. She’s trying to outrun me, but my legs are longer, and she has the disadvantage of heels, which she’s clearly not accustomed to wearing.
When we both spill out into the garden, her heel gets caught in the grass, and she tumbles forward onto her knees. The next time she looks up, she’s at eye level with my cock. She swallows her nerves, and I tug her up into my grasp.