“I’m sorry, chérie,” he said in a low growl, pacing before me as I stood with my back pressed against the wall, shivering against the sudden chill of the night. “I shouldn’t have left you like that.”
“I understand,” I managed to get out. “I suppose it’s hard to follow your own needs and wants when your mother is the Queen.”
“And that right there,” he said, stopping and smirking at me. “Is why I like you so much, Amber Jonathan. You can just read me like a book.”
I smiled, more to myself than to him, my heart pounding in anticipation. I was eager to speak about something else, to have him touch me again, yet Olivier seemed to be focusing on the one woman that came between us – his mother.
“She is the Queen,” he replied. “But that doesn’t give her free reign over my affairs. It’s hard to defy her though, especially in front of an audience like today. I’m sure you understand why I had to leave earlier.”
“I suppose,” I muttered, and he gave me a questioning look, making me sigh out loud. Just because I was competing for him and needed to impress him, I wasn’t going to swallow my pride every step of the way. I wouldn’t let his mother walk all over me. “I just wish you could stand up to her, if only a little.”
“Believe me, I spent most of my life doing just that,” he muttered, running a hand through his tousled golden curls. “But I learned my lesson, Amber. I need to be a better man, not just for my family, but for the country, too.”
I sympathized with the sentiment, but still thought he let his mother control him too much. I was pretty sure the whole selection thing had been her idea in the first place.
“Olivier…” I whispered, and he turned his eyes to mine. I saw the silent fire raging in his gaze, and he outstretched a hand, gently running it over my cheek. When his fingertips connected with mine, I felt cool fire raging under my skin, like a cold burn. I was eager for more. But first, I needed to ask the question that had been on my mind since the beginning.
“Why didn’t you just pick me?”
His eyes were on mine, and I got nervous, babbling to get the rest of my explanation out.
“I understand wanting to follow traditions, but we had such an amazing night together…” I whispered. “I thought it meant more to you.”
“Amber,” he said gently. “I told you that night it could only be a night that we shared together. A memory. Do you know how many strings I had to pull to get you here?”
I blushed fiercely.
“No need to remind me of just how unimportant I am,” I bit out.
“Amber.” His tone held a warning that I refused to heed.
“No,” I said, fighting the wobble of my bottom lip. “I know what you’re trying to say. I’m not worth of a prince, am I? You think I’m worth less just because of my past. Your mother obviously wants you to pick that woman. Stephanie.”
Jealousy turned my stomach around and I turned my face to the side, eager to hide the treacherous tears making their way into my eyes. God, I hated myself for being such a jealous little girl. I wanted to show him how independent I was. Show him some of my qualities to distract him from the fact that I was from a poor family. And I was failing miserably.
“Well, who says I will pick Stephanie?” His eyebrows knit together. “You don’t know who I’ll pick.”
“That’s the problem!” I cried out, shaking my head in despair. “How am I supposed to compete with these girls? This isn’t normal, Olivier! Love isn’t supposed to be like this.”
“Love?” he repeated, smirking at me. “Who says we love each other, chérie?”
My bottom lip trembled. I was really going to cry.
“This is a game,” he told me, his tone softening when he saw the effect he was having on me. “You’ll do well to remember that.”
I felt the pressure in my chest rising, constricting my breathing and making anger flow through me. He didn’t get to treat me like this. I was supposed to be the favorite!
“God. You don’t care about me at all, do you?” I hissed.
His lips tightened into a thin line and I felt the first traitorous tear slip down my cheek. Then, before I’d had a chance to run off, he’d grabbed me by the arm and pulled me against him. I could feel the signet ring on his hand cutting into my skin, but I welcomed the sting.
His closeness was doing things to my body, making it respond even when I was eager to stop him. But I couldn’t. The man had an effect for me like no one else. While my mind wanted to defy him, my body was keen to please his.
His lips found mine in a kiss, setting out to prove just how wrong I really was. I melted into his embrace, and he took my mouth savagely but in a way that made me feel protected, like I was the only one that mattered, and he, the only one who could hurt me. His tongue explored the inside of my mouth, gently pushing against mine in a game of testing my limits.
Finally, he pulled back, smirking at me. The gesture made him even more ridiculously attractive, which made me sigh out loud in exasperation.
“I want to hate you,” I muttered, more to myself than to him. But he overheard me, laughing out loud and shaking his head.
“I bet you do, chérie. Such a different girl tonight than you were six months ago… I’m excited to learn more about you.”
His fingers wandered up my arm, up, up and up until they touched the hollow at the base of my throat, running his fingertips over the empty gold collar around my neck.
“I bet you’d like to see this fill up with stones,” he muttered in my ear, and I hated myself for responding to his wicked games.
“I doubt you’re able to fight this magnetism between us, or are you going to surprise me by packing your bags the first night?” he asked me with raised eyebrows, not giving me a chance to respond. His hand left my neck, and I felt the loss of it like a punch to the stomach. “I don’t think you’ll give up that easily. And I love toying with you too much to let you walk out. Come on, we’re going back. The elimination’s going to start any second now, we can’t miss it.”
His fingers wrapped possessively around my arm, lightly guiding me back to the house. When we came into view of the other guests, he let go of me, grinning mischievously and pressing a finger against his lips to remind me to keep our secret kiss just between us.
I nodded and followed him into the house, lingering just behind him. I could still feel the touch of his lips, and I licked my own to taste him, relishing the feeling.
In moments after arriving back inside, Olivier was swept up by the sea of guests and women, each one of them demanding his attention. I was left on my own, and I tried not to let it get to me, though I missed him standing by me as I made my way back into the hall. Conflicting feelings raged through my mind, making my dig my nails into the palms of my hands.
How could I let him do this to me? I had a clear goal in mind when I came to Luxuria. I needed his money. Falling in love with him wasn’t part of the plan, yet I already felt the unmistakable pull he had on me.
“There you are!”
I turned around to face Zara, whose attractive face was lit up by a big smile, illuminated by the candlelight in the expansive ballroom.