by Lisa Childs
Let’s face it...I’m a gilded goldfish destined to swim in useless circles until the day I get flushed down the proverbial drain.
The Alfa Romeo skids on loose gravel, wheels leaving the bitumen as I jerk forward, the seat belt catching between my breasts. My chest constricts. A precipitous drop looms mere feet from the end of the hood.
My eyes widen. I recognize this place. It’s Lovers’ Leap. Once upon a time, centuries ago, two star-crossed lovers took their lives here, jumping to their doom. I don’t know much about the legend’s particulars. Mother, the queen regent, forbade my governesses to fill my head with what she deemed “silly romantic notions.” Fewer novels and more nonfiction was her decree, preferably biographies about selfless women who sacrificed themselves for the good of their countries.
The man slouched in the driver’s seat watches my every move with his enigmatic eyes.
Goose bumps prickle along my legs. When I think of his strong, calloused hand on the back of my knee as he tended to my wound, I go slick between my legs.
At last he speaks. “Got to say, it took me quite some time to place your pretty face, but it’s finally come to me... Princess Juliet.”
I can’t hide my grimace.
“Not wearing your typical Nightgardin pillowcase tonight. That cocktail dress threw me off.”
He reaches out and his big hand covers my bare knee, sliding up. Not far. Only a few inches, but it’s enough to ignite a furnace under my skin.
He squeezes my flesh. Not hard, but enough that I tremble from a full-body shiver, my pulse quickening.
“Time to come clean. What’s your agenda? Trying to start a goddamn war with Edenvale or what?” His laugh is bitter. “If so, lots of luck. Word on the street is that you’re kept away from the media, so allow me to update you. My family despise me. See, I once killed a girl, one about as old as you, Princess.”
“I know this,” I hiss, knocking away his hand. “Do not think to patronize me, Prince Damien.”
“Just Damien these days, doll. I was stripped of titles when banished.” He idly rubs the dark scruff coating his chin. “But if you know that I’m dangerous, and that my beloved family has disowned me, why set me up to kidnap you and create a diplomatic row? Who’s paying you?”
“Paying me?” I can’t help it. I burst out laughing, and good Lord it feels good. At court, I must always remain so serious.
“Proper decorum is essential for a queen,” Mother says.
But yesterday she added a second sentence. “And for a bride.”
“I’m to be married.” My laughter dies a quick death. “I’m not here to create a diplomatic scene. I’m here because palace maids gossip and I happen to have excellent hearing. They say that Damien Lorentz, the banished prince of Edenvale, can give a woman ultimate pleasure. Your talents and skill are legendary, even here across the border.”
Now it’s his turn to laugh. “Is that what they say?” he drawls. “I suppose I have seduced more than my fair share of servants.”
“I’ve just learned that I am to wed Rupert Dingleworth, the Duke of Wartson.”
“Insane.” Damien furrows his brows in obvious disbelief. “That old goat’s pushing sixty.”
“Fifty-seven, but who’s counting? Wartson submitted a specimen to the royal hospital, and the medical report makes it clear that he can still sire children.”
“You’ve got to be joking.” Damien sounds equal parts horrified and humored. “Are you telling me that he submitted his swimmers for genetic testing?”
I nod. “Marriage is for one reason in my world. Procreation.”
“Fucking hell. What a tedious country.”
“It’s a matter of duty before pleasure. It’s how we’ve endured for a thousand years.” I flinch inwardly, hearing my sharp tone. I sound exactly like Mother.
“Fifty-seven,” he says more to himself. “And how old are you? Eighteen?”
I make a face. “Twenty-one last week.”
“Old enough for the Duke of Wartson to pump your womb full of his certified spunk?”
My flinch wipes the sarcastic smile from his lips.
“I’m sorry, Juliet,” he says gruffly. “Your situation sucks. But I don’t see where I fit in.”
“I’m a virgin.” I decide to cut right to the chase. “And as the future queen, I understand my obligations. But... I’ll have an entire lifetime procreating with Rupert. All I am seeking is a way to survive the lonely years ahead.” I lick my lips, suddenly shy. “A memory...a memory of one night experiencing absolute pleasure. And that’s where you come in.”
Copyright © 2018 by Riley Pine
ISBN-13: 9781488082665
Legal Passion
Copyright © 2018 by Lisa Childs
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