The Prince: A Wicked Novella

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “That’s disappointing.” Alyssa was standing behind Caden now, and he tensed when she placed a hand on his upper arm and rubbed. “I thought it was delivery.”

  Delivery.

  As in I was delivering myself as food to them. Dear God. My mind raced through the possibilities. Either everything Caden had told me from the get-go was a lie, including who he’d killed outside Tobias’ room and the whole not feeding thing, or I was missing something very important here.

  But at the moment, none of that mattered. I needed to get out of here. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice hoarse. “I have the wrong place.”

  “Obviously.” Alyssa smirked as she curled her hand around his arm. “I don’t do plain and old.”

  “Neither do I,” Caden added.

  I flinched. Wow. That was… that was freaking harsh. I started to turn, because I was this close to attempting to stab both of them.

  “Wait.” Alyssa stepped around Caden. “Wait a second. Do I know you?”

  Shit.

  “You look familiar,” she said.

  Caden turned into the female fae, circling his arm around her slender waist as he laughed. “You don’t know her. Come on, there are things we need to get back to.”

  She was still staring at me. “But—”

  Then Caden’s mouth was on her neck, and he was saying something too low for me to hear as he guided her back into the apartment. A soft series of giggles erupted from her as he kicked the door closed in my face, without even looking back at me.

  * * * *

  I stood inside Thieves, nursing a rum and Coke as I scanned the crowded floor. I had no idea what I was looking for, but I was hanging out near the bar, hoping I would see something suspicious. So far, I hadn’t even seen a single fae. However, I’d gotten two guys’ phone numbers. Two guys who didn’t think I was plain and old.

  I took another drink, but it did nothing to ease the burn in my chest. Hours later, I still had no idea what I had really been seeing at Caden’s place, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

  And that had nothing to do with the stupid, stupid ache in the center of my chest.

  He’d lied about who he’d killed at Flux, but there was a tiny logical part of my brain that told me he could be using Alyssa to get to Aric. It was a tiny part, though, because at this point, I could be wrong about that.

  Caden obviously lied about killing Alyssa and she would’ve had to have seen him that night. He could’ve lied about a lot of things. Like what he was doing looking for Aric. The whole not feeding thing… or having sex, because it sure looked like something was going on there between them.

  I flinched. Again. I took another drink. Again.

  Scanning the bar, I brushed a strand of long, dark hair over my shoulder. I’d gone home before I came here. Slipping on a long, brown wig, and a sexier, tighter black dress that was shoulder-less.

  Ren and Ivy would be back in the next day or so, and I was going to tell them everything—well, I was going to leave out the whole me feeding Caden thing and the full-bodied orgasm, but I had to tell someone about the Prince, because if he was somehow playing for the other team while playing me for shits and giggles, we were screwed.

  But that didn’t make sense either, whispered that logical voice in my head. He’d killed fae. He’d saved my life. He couldn’t be working with the Winter—

  A steely, warm arm circled around my waist from behind, drawing me back against a hard chest and stomach. I tensed, preparing to slam my elbow into the stomach of a very inappropriately forward dude.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Recognizing Caden’s voice, I froze sans shoving my elbow into his midsection even though I really wanted to even more now. “Let me go.”

  His arm tightened. “You didn’t answer my question, sunshine.”

  “Don’t call me that,” I snapped as I tried to pull free and failed. “And you really need to let me go.”

  His sigh shuddered through me as he reached around me with his other hand and plucked the drink out of my fingers.

  “Hey!”

  He placed that on a table beside us and then his hand landed on my sternum, just below my breasts, stopping me before I twisted around to him. “You don’t understand what you saw at my place.”

  “Gee. Really?” I looked around the packed floor, quickly realizing that no one was going to come to my aid. To the casual observer, it looked like he was embracing me. “And how did you find me here?”

  The hand below my breasts flattened.

  “What in the hell does that mean?” I demanded.

  “A byproduct of saving your life. I can easily find you anywhere.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Are you freaking serious?”

  Caden didn’t respond, and he didn’t need to, because it made sense, how he popped up where I was and how he said he’d know if I went back to The Court.

  “Jesus,” I muttered. “That’s creepy.”

  He chuckled, and that annoyed me even more.

  “It’s not funny. And it’s something you should’ve probably given me a heads up on.”

  “I didn’t because I figured you’d have this response.”

  I placed my hand on the arm that circled my waist. “You need to let go of me.”

  “And you need to explain to me why you’re here.”

  “Yeah, like that’s going to happen now.”

  “You need to understand what you saw at my place. I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “That much was obvious.”

  He made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a growl. “I was using her for information on Aric.”

  “Really? Because I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be dead.”

  “What?” He pressed his head to the side of mine, and his warm breath danced along my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine. “You need to elaborate on that statement.”

  “Do I really need to?”

  “Yes.” His thumb moved along my ribs and then the underswell of my breast. “You do.”

  My throat dried as my idiotic, lonely body reacted to the slight touch. A different kind of ache settled in my chest. “She was at Flux. She was Tobias’s scout.”

  “I didn’t see her when I showed up,” he was quick to say. “She didn’t even know I was there, but she was seconds from recognizing you, and that would have been bad, sunshine.”

  “Don’t change the subject.” My breath hitched as I felt my nipples harden.

  “She wasn’t there, but I knew she had ties to Aric.”

  “Am I supposed to believe you?” I demanded. “Really?”

  The arm around my waist flexed as his head shifted ever so slightly. His mouth was against my ear. “Have I ever given you reason to not believe me?”

  I opened my mouth, but snapped it shut. He hadn’t given me reason to think he’d lie. At least as far as I knew.

  “I was using her to find out where Aric is laying low at,” he continued, and with each word he spoke, his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “She was about as useful as the bullet holes drilled into me yesterday.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. Seems like she was pretty useful to you.”

  “No.” His lips touched the spot below my ear. “She was not. Not a damn thing happened between us.”

  I stared straight ahead, finding myself watching a young man kiss a girl standing next to him.

  “Our bodies are closer right now than she and I were,” he went on as the couple clutched at one another. “I’m not going to lie to you. She wanted this.” The arm at my waist jerked tighter. “She didn’t get it.”

  Closing my eyes, I drew in a shallow breath. “It doesn’t matter if she did.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “That’s a lie.”

  “No, it’s not.” I turned my head toward his. The edges of his hair tickled my cheek. “I don’t care if you did whatever with her. I just care that you’re not working with her—w
orking with them.”

  “If I was working with them then I’m doing a really bad job at it.”

  “Or a really good job.”

  He tilted his head down and those damn lips grazed my cheek. “The one person I am working with, or at least trying to, is you.”

  “The old and plain one?” I shot back before I could stop myself.

  “You are neither of those two things.” He rested his forehead against my cheek. “And you know that.”

  My heart launched itself into my throat. “I’m not old.”

  “No, you’re not.” It felt like he smiled against my cheek. “And you’re not plain. You’re the furthest from that.”

  I didn’t respond as I closed my eyes. I could admit to myself in that moment that perhaps I had jumped to some pretty wild conclusions when it came to him working with the Winter fae or doing something shady in that aspect and my… personal issues needed to stay personal.

  “I remembered something this morning. I’d seen a reference to those type of eyes before—the all-black eyes that Elliot had.” The grip around my waist loosened enough that I was able to pull free and put much-needed space between us. I faced him and saw that he was dressed the way he was when I’d been to his place. “It was referenced in one of the Order journals.”

  Everything about his expression was alert and focused. “What did you find out?”

  He listened intently as I quickly gave him the breakdown, everything from a substance similar to Devil’s Breath to who I suspected might own this place.

  When I was finished, the line of his jaw had hardened. “I don’t know what substance could be used, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist and I know who owns this place. It’s not—” His gaze flicked over my shoulder and a sudden glint filled his eyes. “We’ve got company.”

  Caden gripped my hand, hauling me against him. I opened my mouth, but he all but shoved my face in his chest.

  “Hi there.” Caden’s deep voice rumbled through me. “Is this a welcoming party?”

  I placed my hands on his waist, listening.

  “We want no trouble,” someone said.

  Caden’s large hand dug into my hair, holding my head in place. “I would assume not.”

  “Neal wants to speak with you.”

  “Is that so?” There wasn’t a response, but Caden then said, “She stays with me.”

  “He just wants to speak with you.”

  “And I don’t care what he wants,” Caden replied. “She stays with me.”

  There was a pause and then, “Follow us.”

  Caden shifted so his arm was around my shoulder, but his hand was still at the back of my head, keeping my face hidden. I caught a glimpse of two big males wearing dark shirts. I couldn’t see enough of them to figure out if they were fae or not.

  We were led to the back of the bar, through a narrow hall and then a door was opened.

  “He’ll be with you momentarily,” one of the males said and then the door closed behind us.

  Caden’s hand slipped off the back of my head, and I got my first good look at the room. There was a booth and several unopened boxes along the other side of the wall.

  “Should we be worried?” I asked, running my hand along the iron cuff.

  He turned, eyeing the booth. “Not we. You.”

  “What?”

  “The owner? He’s not exactly a friend of mine nor is he a fan of your kind.” He knocked back a strand of hair that had fallen forward, grazing his cheek. “And I’m not talking about you being with the Order. He’s not a huge fan of humans.”

  “That’s kind of offensive.” I glanced at the door.

  “Yeah, well, it’s too late to get you out of here. If he gets a real good look at you, he’ll know you’re with the Order.”

  I started to frown. “How will he know?”

  “He just will.”

  Who was the guy that was coming?

  “You’re going to have to pretend like you like me.”

  “I don’t know if I can do that.” I turned to him.

  “Do you think all the fae are as stupid as the three you managed to kill?” He glared at me, and surprised flickered through me. “They will figure it out. This one will definitely figure it out.”

  I waved him off and started to turn, but the sound of voices on the other side of the door grew close.

  “Damn it,” he muttered, and then his arm snaked out. Without warning, he slid into the booth, hauling me into his lap. Like legit into his lap, one leg tossed over his, the other curled against the cushion of the chair. The skirt of my dress rucked up, exposing most of my thighs. One wrong move, and my behind would definitely be on display.

  Gasping, I immediately planted my hands on his chest and pushed back as I tried to scramble off his lap. We’d been closer than this last night, but this was different, because for some inane, annoying reason, I kept seeing her—Alyssa—with her hand on his arm and his face buried in her neck.

  “Stop,” he seethed. His arm was like steel around my waist as he tugged me back so I was flush with his chest. His eyes burned with irritation. “You better be really good at acting.”

  My fingers dug into his shirt. We were way too close. My senses were firing off in every direction, causing my head to spin. His hand slid up my back, sending a wave of acute shivers down my spine.

  “Because when the door opens, and he figures out who and what you are, I’m going to have to kill him and then I’m going to be really, irrevocably pissed, because apparently there may be some shit going down here,” he continued, curling his hand around the nape of my neck and holding my head in place. “So, sunshine, you better fake it till you make it.”

  Chapter 22

  My face was currently shoved against the Prince’s throat. Not that I had much of a choice. His grip was like a vise along the back of my neck, keeping my face hidden.

  His thumb smoothed over the tense muscles of my neck, reminding me at that very moment that while he held me in place, his grip was gentle.

  Later, I was going to have to examine all my life choices that had led me right to this very moment.

  “Keep your face hidden, sunshine.” Caden’s voice was soft as his other hand landed on my thigh. “No matter what.”

  The door opened before I had a chance to respond and I heard an unfamiliar voice say, “I was surprised when they said…”

  He trailed off, and I imagined it was because he wasn’t expecting to see a woman in Caden’s lap.

  Luckily my face was buried in his neck, because I was sure even with all the makeup on, my face was as red as an overripe tomato.

  A throat cleared and then the male said, “This is unexpected.”

  “Isn’t it?” Caden squeezed my thigh as I let out a low growl. “Hope you don’t mind. I don’t want her getting into trouble.”

  “I can see where she would get in… a lot of trouble.”

  I was going to kill the Prince, straight up stab him in the chest with an iron stake. Better yet, I should’ve just let him die.

  A door closed. “So, am I interrupting?”

  “Not at all,” Caden replied. “Just enjoying an evening snack when you interrupted me.”

  What in the hell? That comment was so not necessary.

  Who I was guessing was Neal let out a low laugh, adding to my irritation. Sliding my hands up and around his shoulders, I dug my fingers into his hair and pulled hard enough that he had to fight the motion of his head jerking back.

  Caden’s other hand came down on my ass. Hard.

  I yelped.

  Both males chuckled.

  I was going to kill him, so help me God, I was going to—

  His hand smoothed over the stinging area and he squeezed. I bit down on my lip as I eased up on his hair. The sting… it burned. Muscles in my thighs tensed as a rush of heat flooded me.

  Oh God…. I thought I… I thought I liked that, and that was bad, very bad considering my ass had just been slapped in front of
someone.

  “Not sure I’d want this one as a snack,” Neal replied, and I rolled my eyes.

  Caden continued kneading the area with his large hand, and if he thought that was going to make the burn go away, he was wrong. The burn was spreading. “Oh, I plan to keep snacking on this one.”

  I planned on kneeing him in the junk.

  “You wanted to speak with me?” the Prince asked.

  “I do.” The voice was closer, and then I sensed that he sat at the booth. “I was surprised when I saw you on the security camera. You’ve been… back for two years now and not once have you come here.”

  “So, is this how you greet all newcomers?” Caden’s hand drifted off my rear. That was a good thing—a great thing. At first. Because now his hand was on my bare thigh and his long fingers had slipped under the hem of my dress. My eyes widened. What was he doing?

  “Only newcomers like you.”

  “I feel special,” Caden replied.

  “You should.” There was a pause and then Neal asked, “So, what brought you here after all this time?”

  Wanting to see who Caden was talking to, I managed to move an inch, and it was the wrong move because it put me more solidly in his lap. The Prince’s hand stilled and tensed, holding me still.

  Was he…?

  Holy smokes, there was no mistaking the thick, hard ridge straining against my inner thigh.

  I did not know what to think about that, but my body… Oh God, my body was way on board with what his body was doing, and that was wrong, just as wrong as me liking it when he smacked my ass.

  “Did you know there were some missing younglings from the Summer Court?” The Prince’s thumb began to move again, in a slow, idle slide across my inner thigh.

  “I did not, but that is unfortunate to hear,” Neal replied. “Do you think they have been here?”

  “Possibly. I ran into one of the missing younglings last night. There was something odd about him.”

  “How so?” Neal sounded bored.

  “His eyes were… wrong. So black I couldn’t even see a pupil.”

  “Well, that does sound bizarre.”

  “Does it?” Caden asked carefully. “You know what’s even more bizarre is that there’s apparently a substance that can rob a fae of their free will and the substance apparently has a neat little side effect.”