by Marian Tee
Initially intending to say he wasn’t going to attend tonight’s luau, Julian abruptly changed his mind when he learned of Cass’ participation. The men were sure to be drunk tonight, and no way in hell would he allow Cass to be alone with any one of them.
And so he said simply, “Yes.”
The two blondes squealed.
“We really hope to see you there.” Cass sensed Sandra was dying to say more, but Julian’s monosyllabic replies prevented her from acting too familiar with him.
Sandra knew the polite thing was to leave since the prince was here first, but she was reluctant to end the conversation without finding a way to secure more time with the prince. Unfortunately, Prince Julian didn’t seem to be interested in more talk so she was forced to waste her time with the fortune teller again. “Are you reading the prince’s fortune?” she asked with sham concern. “Are we in the way or something?”
Aware of Julian’s meticulous care of his public image, Cass looked at him in askance, unsure of the proper thing to say. For all she knew, Julian might not want to be known as the prince who believed in fortune telling.
Julian returned Cass’ questioning gaze with a bland look, allowing his mind to speak instead.
Julian undressing her in the tent—-
Julian sending the crystal ball crashing to the floor as he laid her naked body on the desk like a virginal offering—-
Julian parting her legs so he could go down on her—-
Cass slammed the door shut on his thoughts as she coughed several times, using it to recover her wits. Her senses had gone crazy the first second she had realized what Julian was thinking.
Cass was blushing again. Her nipples were also hard and aroused, pebbling against the thin silk covering her breasts. Whether she admitted it or not, his thoughts had clearly aroused her. The knowledge caused a smile to play on his lips as his gaze captured hers.
Let me fuck you tonight, Cass.
Forget about work. I’ll be working you in bed so hard you won’t even have the energy to open your eyes.
You know you want me as much as I want you.
Sandra’s eyes widened as she saw the prince and the fortune teller stare at each other, the sexual tension between the two so palpable it was impossible to ignore. Oh my God! The prince wanted this nobody? He wanted this money-grubbing bitch over her, Sandra, an heiress with ties to English royalty?
Unable to help it, Sandra said loudly, “Well, I guess I can tell your fortune, Mademoiselle Cassandra.”
The words jerked Cass back to reality, and she looked at Sandra self-consciously.
Sandra flashed the fortune teller a nasty smile. “I don’t need a crystal ball to know you’re a gold-digger and a slut. You’re so good at seducing men that you’ve managed to catch the prince and if you play it right, if you act like the most hardcore whore in the prince’s bed tonight, your fortune tomorrow could probably reach seven or maybe even eight figures.”
The malice in the words took Cass aback, but she wasn’t hurt by it, her job as Mademoiselle Cassandra making her immune to every kind of insult. If anything, she was worried about the impact of the woman’s words on Julian.
She reluctantly turned towards Julian’s direction, but for once his thoughts were unreadable. It made her nervous and afraid. Cass told herself that she didn’t expect the prince to defend her. She was not his bride yet. It was his duty to think of his kingdom. If he answered Sandra and the other woman went to the press, Cass would never forgive herself.
Sandra was still speaking, throwing insults nonstop at Cass. Julian waited for Cass to look at him in appeal, but she didn’t. As more time passed without Cass speaking a word, something inside him grew warm.
All his life, he had been trained to believe in several things. One of it was that every person would always want something from him, friend or foe, family or not.
But Cass...
Cass was proving to be someone different.
He finally looked at the other woman, and this time he made no attempt to hide his contempt. It was enough to have Pauline gasp and Sandra’s words to stutter to a stop.
“If you say one more word, bad or otherwise, about Cass, I will have you sued for slander the moment you step out of this island. I will make sure every media outlet covers the story. You will be banned from my kingdom, your photo will be out for everyone to see, and they will know that you are the most disgusting woman I have ever had the misfortune to encounter.”
By the time he had finished speaking, Sandra’s face had lost all color.
“Of course, you can try going to the media, too, but I have resources that you don’t. Before your story even gets typed, my people will be all over it and I would be the one suing you. If you know what’s good for you, woman, then you will not mess with me.”
“I w-won’t go to the press.” The chilling look of loathing on the prince’s face made Sandra feel so low. Never had anyone looked at her with so much disgust and contempt and it galled her, knowing that the prince did so because he wanted the fortune teller over her.
“Cass is a hundred times more woman than you can ever be. For as long as you are here, I do not want you near her. You don’t even have the right to think about her. Is that clear?”
Sandra forced herself to nod.
“To make sure you understand, I want to hear you say several things.” Julian slowly walked to stand behind Cass, leaving the other woman no choice but to meet his gaze and Cass’.
“I want to hear you admit that you’re a jealous vindictive cow.”
Sandra gasped in outrage.
Even Cass was dismayed. “Julian, you don’t—-”
He shook his head, once, and sensing that he was immovable on this score, Cass’ protest died on her lips.
“She needs a dose of her own medicine, darling. She thinks her money gives her the power to bully others, to say anything she wants and have no one speak against her.” He looked at the other woman, his expert judgment on human character enabling Julian to accurately determine the kind of friendship the two women had. “Don’t you agree, Pauline?”
Pauline, careful not to look at her companion, said yes. Sandra was a bully. And it was time, Pauline thought with rising courage, that she got a dose of her own medicine.
Sandra gasped again. “You bitch—-” She moved to slap Pauline, but the other woman caught her arm and managed to slap Sandra first.
“You had this coming,” Pauline threw back. “It’s exactly like what the prince said. You tell me I’m your friend. And if we’re honest, I’m your only friend, but you treat me like your slave all the time.”
“Ungrateful bitch!”
“Ugly vain selfish cow!”
“Enough!” The command, honed by centuries of royal authority, was too powerful for the women to ignore and they broke apart, Pauline breathing hard as she faced the prince while Sandra had a sullen look on her face.
“You still have something to say, Sandra.”
Fury and envy making her irrational, she shot back, “And if I don’t?”
Julian’s smile became menacing. “You can see for yourself the moment you leave this island.”
Her moment of false bravado expired at the threat underlining the prince’s words. She gritted out, “I’m a jealous vindictive cow.” She glared at Julian and Cass. “Happy now?”
Julian looked down at Cass. “What do you think, sweetheart? Do you want her to say anything else?”
Turning red, Cass carefully evaded the other woman’s hateful gaze as she mumbled ‘no’.
A few moments later, Julian had dismissed the women and they were alone in the tent.
“I’m sorry that had to happen,” Julian said.
“It wasn’t your fault.” Cass watched her fingers flutter anxiously over the crystal ball. She tried not to say what was in her heart, but that was tantamount to lying, and in the end she admitted quietly, “I never imagined you’d...come to my defense.”
His chest clenche
d at the unexpected confession. She was so open and trusting, Julian thought grimly. He knew that she hadn’t spoken the words to make him feel guilty. Even though they had technically known each other for only a day, it felt like he had known her for a long time – long enough to know that Cass truly believed what she was saying.
And how could he blame her for thinking that? His duty to the kingdom always came first. Didn’t he tell her that all the time?
Julian was brooding again, and it made Cass feel guilty. He looked so composed all the time that most people were fooled by it. They thought him capable of handling every problem in Ethereal, but how was that possible when Julian was as human as the rest of them?
Julian had his limits, too. Although he never spoke of his past or even his present life in her dreams, he always told her how alone and burdened he felt.
That is why I need you to live for me. To wait for me. I need you, Cass. Even if we meet and I don’t say it, this will remain true. I need you.
Remembering the prince’s words in her dreams made Cass decide to throw caution to the wind and seize the day.
Against all odds, the prince had come for her.
And he was only staying in St. Roch for two more nights.
Surely the right thing to do was clear?
Julian was startled when he felt Cass reach for his hand. He looked down at her in askance, and his chest constricted once again as he watched Cass bring his palm to her lips. “Thank you for defending me.”
He said quietly, “I’d never let anything happen to you.”
“I know.” Rubbing her cheek against his palm, she looked up and told him, “I’ve changed my mind, too.”
He raised a brow. “About what?”
“I think I’m going to take the weekend off, after all.”
Chapter Six
“I still don’t like you calling anyone else as Sir." Julian’s voice spoke of his irritation as he lifted her up to place her on the passenger seat of the airboat, which made up the first activity for the day.
As she waited for Julian to prop himself up and sit beside her, she asked teasingly, “Are you jealous?”
“You have to ask?” was his dry reply. “Of course I’m fucking jealous.” He took her hand so she could see his face. He didn’t want any secrets between them. Baring his emotions to anyone made him very uneasy, but if there was one thing he had learned from their encounter with the blond bitch from hell then it was that Cass mattered to him, more than he thought possible.
They might have only met, but it did not feel like that between them. With him and Cass, it felt like they were long estranged lovers who had finally found each other again. How else could he explain the bond he had felt with Cass the first time they saw each other?
She knew him, in the way that no other person knew him, and he knew her the same way.
Seeing Cass’ gaze still on him, Julian said bluntly, “You have been mine for over two years, and not once in our dreams you had spoken about this Sir."
The way he spoke of the island's reclusive owner made Cass giggle, and the playful look on her upturned face was too cute to resist. Uncaring of the boat driver’s presence behind them, Julian hungrily pulled her head close so he could kiss her. Her mouth was even sweeter than he remembered, and he kissed her more deeply, his tongue stroking hers aggressively, wanting everything she could offer.
When he lifted his head, and it was purely so she could breathe, he told her seriously, “Call him Mister if you have to, but not Sir." He spoke the words in the voice he used when issuing a command as a prince, but his authority seemed to be lost on her.
Cass pinched his cheeks. “Get over it.” With their hands entwined, Cass was able to see his face clearly, and his disgruntled expression at having his cheeks pinched made her smile widen.
“Disobedient wench,” Julian murmured, but the way he spoke made the words sound like an endearment.
Just to make him smile, she told him, “Your English is so old school.”
He retorted, “And you giggle like you’re still in kindergarten.”
Cass showed just how much she cared for the insult by giggling even more.
As the airboat started to move, the engine roaring noisily to life as it glided over the water, Julian was forced to shout to make himself heard. “Don’t think you’ve succeeded in distracting me.”
“Distracting you?”
“From forgetting you haven’t given me your promise."
Cass only laughed. "It's just a title, and it's so weird if I were the only one to call him Mister while everyone else called him—-" She almost said the S-word but caught herself in time. "—-the other thing."
"Have you never watched Fifty Shades of Grey?"
Cass' brows furrowed. Since gray areas in life were basically the abstract term for morally ambiguous situations, she asked uncertainly, "Is that, like, a documentary?"
Julian's lips swiftly pressed together to suppress his smile. "Never mind."
"But what is it, really?" Cass wanted to know, now that she could sense the Prince's amusement.
"It doesn't matter," Julian said firmly. "All that you should be thinking about is giving me your promise—-"
"You do remember I'm working for him, right? He can have me fired—-"
"Why not quit altogether and just start working for me?" Julian parried.
"Or maybe I can just quit," she acknowledged impishly, "and just marry you?"
There was an abrupt moment of silence, and Cass burst into peals of laughter.
“You are too honest for your own good,” he said darkly.
“I know. I can’t help it.”
“You must not be like that. It will get you into trouble.”
“Isn’t honesty supposed to be—-”
“Cass.”
Cass wrinkled her nose. “You sound like my friend Sunny. She wants me to be better at lying, too.”
“A smart woman, your friend."
Cass choked in her laughter. Trust Julian to think Sunny smart for wanting Cass to be better at lying.
Julian cupped her chin. “I mean it, sweetheart. It’s dangerous to be too honest—-”
“Ah, but I have you to protect me so it’s all good, right?”
Again, she rendered him speechless, and Cass laughed. But inside, she was secretly thrilled and hopeful. All his life, Julian had been surrounded with intrigue and deception. She had tried to read as much as she could about him, and one of the more horrible things she had found out about his past was how princes in Ethereal were trained.
At a tender age of four, they were taken away from their homes and made to live in isolated camps. There, they would spend their formative years being schooled by academic tutors during the day and subjected to rigorous survival training in the evenings.
“There’s your first crocodile,” Julian suddenly murmured into her ear.
She obediently followed his gaze, and there was indeed a crocodile at the side of the airboat, its light-colored predatory eyes trained on them. It was frightening to look at, but her fear was mitigated by the pain in her chest. Remembering how Julian spent his childhood years made her hurt. For him.
Ethereal tradition required princes from all twelve noble houses of the kingdom to train their emotions out of them. They were beaten and tortured in every way to make them unbreakable if they were ever taken hostage. Every day of their lives, one lesson had been drummed into them repeatedly: The kingdom of Ethereal must be placed first, above all things.
When she remembered Julian’s training, it scared her, too, and it made Cass doubt herself. Did she really have a chance to make Julian realize they were meant to be together?
“Sweetheart?” Frowning, Julian made Cass look at him. She was troubled, even though right now she was doing her best to hide it. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing,” she said in a determinedly bright voice.
“I think I should make myself more specific. You must learn how to l
ie to everyone but me.”
“Oops?”
“Tell me what’s wrong,” he insisted.
Her smile faltered. “I can’t...I can’t talk about it yet, so let it go for now, please?”
When Cass looked at him like that, he was powerless to resist her. “For now,” he conceded reluctantly. “But if I catch that look on your face again, then you must tell me what is troubling you so I can fix it.”
She said lightly, “You don’t even know what’s wrong and you think you can fix it?”
He said truthfully, “I am a prince of Ethereal. There is little that I cannot do.”
His arrogance made her shake her head, but it did lighten the mood and the rest of the day proceeded smoothly. After crocodile watching, the two of them went snorkeling in the beach, Cass nearly choking with laughter underwater when Julian showed extreme distaste at the sensation of having schools of fish nibble on the crumbs of bread he had in his palm.
In the end, Cass found herself quickly swimming up and surfacing from the water to avoid drowning herself with her mirth.
Julian surfaced a moment later, and he scowled when he saw Cass laughing her ass off. “There is nothing funny,” he said stiffly.
The words only made her giggle even more. “Oh God,” she gasped. “The look on your face, Julian! A prince with an ‘eww’ expression on his face.” Tears ran down her face as her body rocked with laughter. “Kim Kardashian meets The Royal Iceberg. That’s what you looked like—-”
“Shut up.” And to make sure she did, Julian hauled her close and crushed her mouth under his.
She didn’t resist at all. Being his beautiful, warm, and honest Cass, of course she did not resist, and his desire for her intensified even more because of it.
Cass wrapped her arms around his neck and surrendered herself to his kiss with genuine abandon. As they kissed and floated, Cass couldn’t help but moan against Julian’s lips when she felt his hands tracing the curves of her body before palming her breasts. She gasped as her nipples hardened between his fingers.
“Let me have you, Cass,” Julian muttered against her lips. He didn’t think he’d be able to bear waiting for her much longer. He wanted her desperately, the hunger he felt for her sexy little body unlike anything he had experienced in the past.
