“No one cares about your wine collection,” I sighed, so sick of hearing about it.
By Osaria, does this kid have nothing interesting to say?
A small part of my brain told me I'd just spoken out of turn, but he was boring the hell out of everyone in the room. I was pretty sure Kahn had fallen asleep and at my loud tone, he jolted upright with a cough.
All eyes swivelled to me and I pressed my tongue into my cheek, sipping my wine again.
“Well it's true,” I said firmly, having to see this out. The wine had unharnessed my tongue and I half feared, half anticipated what I was going to say next. “Wine is good for drinking, not housing in dark cellars. Who cares how fine it is? I only appreciate that fact when it slides down my throat.”
Rapunzel fell into giggles and Jacinda looked horrified as she shook her head, desperate to stop the Princess from laughing.
I grinned, satisfied that she'd taken the remark well.
Prince Gurvine got to his feet with a huff. “Well good night to you all, I am not going to remain here to be insulted.” He looked to the Princess as if hoping she might contradict him. She didn't.
“Yes it must be past your bedtime,” I muttered and he threw me a scowl before storming from the room.
Kahn rose from his seat, his hulking form throwing a shadow over me. “Princess, Mother says it's okay to ask for some privacy. We could go to the balcony so I can look at your lovely face under the moon?”
Rapunzel's nose wrinkled and the expression brought a grin to my lips. She quickly forced the look from her face but I liked that I'd seen her true feelings. It was like a glimpse into the way her mind worked. And I'd wondered for many years what the Princess was really like beneath her veil. Beautiful or not, her mind somehow intrigued me more.
“Of course, but to make it fair I'll have to spend time with each of you on the balcony,” Rapunzel said as she rose to her feet, her eyes straying to me for half a heartbeat.
She wants Aladdin, not me.
She headed away with Kahn and he laid an arm around her waist possessively as they disappeared through the balcony doors out of sight.
Captain Hariot looked my way, his cheeks rosy from the wine he'd had. “How do you rate your chances against Gothel's boy?” he asked, slinging an arm over Kahn's chair between us.
What would Aladdin say..?
“I have more chance than you,” I said with a smirk, my stomach swirling at addressing the nobleman so impertinently.
Ha! What is happening to me? And why do I enjoy it so much?
“We'll see about that,” Hariot grumbled.
My eyes drifted to the attendants who were sitting with their eyes downcast and their hands clasped on their knees.
“How are you both enjoying the pageant?” I asked them and Zira looked up, but Jacinda turned red as she kept her eyes on her knees.
“Very much, Count Nazari,” Zira said. “How are you settling in to Osaria?”
“Good thank you, even the maids here are much more beautiful than the women of Carubai,” I said, Aladdin’s cocky bullshit spilling from my mouth. I pressed a finger to my lips. “But don’t tell them that.” I finished my performance with a wink and Zira blushed.
Shit, that was surprisingly easy.
Compliments to the Princess’s attendants: check.
Rapunzel returned, her jaw ticking with annoyance as she marched back into the room and Kahn floated after her with a wide smile on his face.
Hariot leapt to his feet. “I'll accompany you next.” He shot to Rapunzel's side and turned her around to face the balcony doors again. I could almost feel the frustration flowing from her and wondered if I should pass up the opportunity to talk with her outside. What would I say anyway? I was going to cock this whole thing up if I didn't act enough like Aladdin. But the wine was flowing through my blood, willing me to spend time with her.
Are you ready for this?
I am made of steel.
Are you sure about that?
Kahn dropped into his seat with a dreamy grin. I glowered, unable to stop my feelings toward him spilling into my expression.
“So you got a new face I hear,” I said lightly, draining another chalice of wine.
Kahn turned to me with a smirk. “Yes. Now I’m more than a match for you on every level.”
“That so? Well at least Rapunzel has no memory of me looking like a potato.”
His face turned a nasty shade of purple.
Ho-ly shit, I poked an angry tiger. And I want to keep poking it.
“How would you know what I looked like before?” he growled and the air went out of my lungs.
Idiot.
I needed to recover fast. “It’s all the servants talk about.” I shrugged one shoulder, swirling my chalice as the crimson wine sloshed inside it.
Kahn’s face went from purple to red and I wasn’t sure what was worse. An angry vein bulged in his forehead so I suspected red was the danger level.
The Princess returned to the room before he could reach boiling point and I frowned as I noted the scowl on her face.
She hates this whole thing.
Hariot bowed low, bidding the Princess goodnight as he pressed a wet kiss to the back of her hand. I could practically hear the sucking sound as he tugged his lips off of her skin and my shoulders stiffened.
Get your filthy unwashed mouth away from her.
She didn't hide the grimace on her face quickly enough and his expression dropped into an icy mask as he stalked away.
Kahn yawned, slamming a hand onto my shoulder with the strength of an ox and I pretended not to notice as he pressed his weight down. “Time for bed,” he said brightly, his anger either forgotten or this was an act for the Princess.
I glanced over at Rapunzel, figuring I could just bow to his whims and scarper instead of insisting on spending time with her. But screw it. I wasn't going to let this oaf have his way. And I'd promised Aladdin I'd win her over anyway. I could do that. Probably.
I shrugged Kahn's hand off of me, standing abruptly and looking into his eyes with a sneer. “You're in my way, thug.”
I slapped him on the cheek in that patronising way Aladdin always did and his face flashed red again. I heard the women sucking in breaths as I forced my way past him and strode toward Rapunzel.
What the hell am I doing?
And why does it feel like flying?
Her eyes widened as I closed the distance between us and gestured for her to go ahead. She blushed as she followed my direction and headed back to the doors. I hounded after her onto the balcony and the guards closed the doors behind us, leaving us completely alone.
Shit, I didn't expect that.
The moon was smiling tonight, a silver crescent in the sky above. Rapunzel moved to the edge of the balcony, gazing up at the heavens with a small sigh. Her hair was wound up into a delicate bun but a defiant coil had escaped to caress the nape of her neck. My throat tightened, but as the fresh air tangled with the wine in my blood, my inhibitions came undone.
“You hate this,” I said and she glanced back at me, her brow creasing then quickly smoothing out. “You don't have to pretend.” Who would want to be bought and sold? Not me. So why would she be any different? My mother had lamented about the poor Princess in her castle, forced to be a waiting womb to house a true heir. A boy.
Damn rules. It's bullshit.
“What?” she breathed, her eyes widening as I approached.
“The pageant,” I said. “It's a meat market and you despise it.”
Her eyes widened further then she schooled her expression once more.
I shook my head with a sigh. “Don't do that.” She was wrapped in chains, I could almost see them tethering her to this life she didn't choose. And I so wanted to break them.
“Do what?” she whispered. I was moving too close. I could feel her breath on me. It tasted like wine and the deepest desire of my unworthy heart.
A small part of my brain was screaming at me to be
have, but a bigger part of me was awakened, taking over. Just for tonight.
“You try to hide your true feelings.” I reached out as if to touch her face, then thought better of it and rested it on the railing next to her hand.
“And what are my true feelings?” She scowled, assuming I was trying to own her like the rest of them did. She didn't want to be owned. And she didn't want her feelings to be guessed by some suitor who'd paid for the privilege of standing here.
“You're angry,” I said. “I'd be angry too if I was placed on a pedestal and auctioned off to the highest bidder.”
“What would you know?” she bit at me. “Men don't have to deal with such things.”
“No. And women shouldn't have to either.” I shrugged.
Her brows raised. “Coming from a man who's trying to buy me? That's rich.” She turned her back on me and my stomach knotted.
Silence stretched on and I figured maybe I should have tried harder at being more like Aladdin. That was what she wanted. This honest bullshit wasn't getting me anywhere. I was just a dog with too many opinions. And none of them really mattered.
A cocky remark floated to my lips but before I forced it out, she turned back to me, her brows pinched together.
“You're right, I don't want it. And I do hate it.”
I nodded, a solid lump growing in my throat as she stepped toward me.
“I'm the daughter of the Emperor and I have no claim to the throne. If you win, you'll seize it. You'll rule my country when my father dies and I'll hang on your arm like a pretty little trophy.”
I shook my head, grinding my teeth at such a possibility coming to fruition. Words rose to my lips which I had no right to say, but they were the truth. “If I married you, it wouldn't be for a throne, Princess.”
“What then?” she laughed hollowly.
You're just a guard, don't say any more.
But I couldn't stop myself. For my entire career, I'd circled her like the moon did the earth. Just an empty lump of rock in the sky with only her to look at. I'd watched and admired, guarded and protected. It had taken me this long - too long – to realise I wasn't just a hard cold thing with nothing but a single path to follow. I wasn't the moon; my core was molten and burning. I was a man of flesh and bone and heart. Every fibre of it wanted her. And she needed to hear the truth I had to give, even if it meant nothing.
“I've wondered for many years about what lay beneath your veil. The first time I saw you I knew there was something much deeper there I'd never have predicted. There's a pain in your eyes that makes me want to carve out my heart and give it to you in the hopes that it might ease your suffering. If I were your husband, I'd spend my whole life devoted to turning that pain into joy.”
Idiot. What the hell was that?
Rapunzel's mouth parted and she stared at me as if she didn't know who she was looking at.
Oh no, the game is up.
Her hand slid along the bannister and her fingers brushed mine. Electricity pounded through to my core, setting every nerve-ending in my body on fire. I'd devoted my life to protecting her. I'd already given her that, but now I was starting to crave something more. Something forbidden.
I didn't know her at all. But I desperately wanted to. And right now, all I wanted was to move a little nearer.
You're no better than Aladdin if you move closer to her.
I stepped forward.
Maybe Aladdin's not so bad?
Is that the wine talking or you?
I moved closer still, our bodies a hair's breadth apart.
You're a sinner. A thief, a liar, a peeping tom and now you're a lech too.
I moved back, but she closed the space between us the moment I moved, resting her hand on my pounding heart.
Her eyes widened as she felt that traitorous beat beneath her fingers. Aladdin's heart probably thumped to a casual tune no woman could ever affect. Even the Princess.
“You're different tonight,” she whispered, her eyes narrowing.
Oh shit, I'm done for. I've screwed up this whole plan. And if we're turfed out of the palace I'll never get close enough to Gothel to bring her to her knees.
What would Aladdin do right now?!
I reached out, my undeserving hand meeting the flesh of her cheek. Yeah, he'd do this. And I supposed that made it alright, didn't it?
Her skin was smooth beneath my palm and her eyes flickered with desire. Desire for him. Not me. But here we were. I'd traded skins with the man she truly wanted. I'd never have this chance again.
A wild, tempestuous hunger grew in me, demanding more of this woman. More of her voice, her breath, her gaze upon my face.
“What's the deepest desire of your heart?” I murmured, desperate to know. To unravel her secrets one by one and devour each of them for myself. It was a selfish and urgent need I couldn't shake. I wanted every piece of this woman I'd admired my entire life. And I didn't want any other man to have a scrap of her.
“Promise not to tell?” she asked on a breath.
“I swear on all of Osaria,” I growled.
She leant in close, so close I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Her mouth brushed my ear and lust drove a flood of heat through my rigid body.
“To be free,” she said against my skin.
I shut my eyes and my hands curled around her waist.
Treacherous dog.
She moved into my body like it was designed to mold against hers. But this wasn't my body. And if she fit Aladdin so well then it was clearer than ever that she wasn't meant for me.
This is your one chance to ever have Rapunzel this close. What are you going to do with it?
Break every oath I've ever taken apparently.
“I'd free you. If I were the Emperor I'd cast out all the old laws and give you the throne you're owed,” I said, my tone fierce.
She leant back, her chin tilted up as her gaze roamed over my mouth – not my mouth. Aladdin's.
I hate that damn thief! She wouldn't stand within a foot of me if I was my true self.
Between the warm night air, the sweet scent of her skin, the mischievous, wanton look in her eyes, it was too much. I was only human. And apparently I was the shitty kind because I was standing here with my greedy hands all over the Princess herself.
“Why don't I see the same man in your eyes I saw earlier?” she questioned, though she remained solidly in my arms, every curve of her body pressed against the hard plains of mine and driving a desperate need in me that screamed to be acknowledged.
I needed to cover Aladdin's ass and there was only one way I could. “I put on a front sometimes, that's all. If I'm an asshole tomorrow don't pay it too much attention.”
She burst into laughter and the sound brought a devilish grin to my mouth.
“Oh there he is,” she said with a wild glint in her eyes. She tip-toed up and shit I was actually going to do this.
Her eyes fluttered closed, her lips puckered and so tempting I wanted to drive a sword into my chest just stop myself from crossing this line. There was no way out of it. I was a slave to my urges, needing to feel the press of her mouth.
“Gracious Rapunzel!” Gothel's voice cut through the air and I released the Princess, turning to her with hatred coursing down my spine. “Whatever would the other suitors think if they saw you behaving so uncouthly?”
Rapunzel glared at her, drawing her shoulders back, a fire blazing in her eyes. “I'm not sure that's any of your business, Gothel.”
Gothel's eyes flitted to me, her lip curling up. “Best you return to your room, Count Nazari, we wouldn't want any gossip circling.”
“Yes madam,” I bit out, brushing my fingers over Rapunzel's spine in one final farewell. Because that was it for me. I'd never get this close to her again.
I pinned my eyes on Gothel as I passed, daring her to say a word more to me.
I'm going to take you down, you monstrous bitch.
I plastered one of Aladdin's cocky smiles onto my face and her cheek
s grew red with anger in the same way her son’s had earlier. I sauntered back into the dining room, snatched a bottle of Cartlanna wine off of the table and drank right out of the neck as I strode from the room.
I heard Rapunzel's laughter following me and a shit-eating grin took over my whole face.
Who even am I right now?
I stumbled along the corridor, taking the turns back to Aladdin's chambers with a dreamy haze floating over my mind.
Footsteps thundered behind me and I frowned, turning back to see who was charging through the royal palace like an ogre.
A force collided with my head like a tonne of bricks and I sailed into darkness before I'd even hit the floor.
I paced back and forth in the open living area of our chambers, chewing on my lip as I thought about what Cassian was trying to pull off. Sure, he looked like me but I wasn’t convinced I’d ever met a man less like me in my life. He wasn’t going to pull it off. He would smile too much. Or not enough. And he definitely wouldn’t make the right jokes. The Princess was supposed to be falling for me and instead she was going to be presented with a man who was just like every other pompous asshole she’d ever met.
I let out a long breath. It didn’t matter. I just had to hope that he took my advice and stayed pretty quiet. He had my face so he would at least look good enough and I’d just have to tell her I’d been feeling unwell the next time I saw her to explain the lack of banter.
“Do you need something to help you relax?” Kyra asked as she perched on a windowsill across the room. The moonlight coming in through the slatted shutters glimmered on her hair and I felt like I was looking at the magic in her again.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to relax until I can be sure he hasn’t screwed this up,” I muttered, turning from her as I paced away again.
“Cassian is a good friend and a good man. I’m sure he’ll do a good job,” she said earnestly. “Yes, I know I said ‘good’ a lot but I thought great would have been overkill... well you don’t actually know everything, you know... he doesn’t think I’m insane he just thinks I’m-”
I turned to look at her again and she abruptly stopped talking.
Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series Page 23
