by Juniper Hart
Lennox swallowed quickly, his eyes falling on a lovely blonde in a teal dress, lounging by one of the bars. Had she been with the fairy? He hadn’t paid her much attention, his eyes locked on the brunette, but he still found himself hurrying toward her, dismissing the immortals who were vying for his attention.
“You are Allegra, aren’t you?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he neared her. She looked up in surprise, nodding her head.
“Yes, Your Highness,” she replied quickly, falling into a half-curtsey. “Forgive me. I didn’t see you coming.”
“You can still call me Lennox,” he reminded her with a chuckle. They had once worked together in one of Wilder’s offices, before he’d gone completely tyrannical.
Her green eyes widened in surprise. “Still?” she repeated.
It occurred to Lennox that whatever working relationship they had once had did not exist in his new reality.
“I mean, you can call me Lennox,” he corrected himself. “Are you enjoying the party?”
Allegra’s brow raised out of her perplexed expression, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, thank you, Your—Lennox.”
“Have you come here with anyone?” he asked. Her eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline, but she offered him a warm smile.
“I’m very flattered by your attention, Lennox,” she purred. “But I know your reputation for heartbreaking.”
He stared at her, uncomprehendingly. “Pardon me?”
Suddenly, Allegra seemed uncomfortable, and she glanced behind her as if seeking an escape. He was making her ill-at-ease.
“I meant no disrespect, Your Highness,” she apologized. “In fact, I was just kidding.”
“I… don’t understand—oh!”
The thought immediately clicked in his head: she thought he was hitting on her.
Lennox laughed, slightly relieved that he was still considered charming enough for her to think so. “You are lovely, Allegra, and a sweet—”
He stopped himself from finishing his sentence. She will wonder how I know she is a sweet person. In this life, I don’t know her personally. She is only a business owner in the palace.
“A sweetheart for coming to this party,” he continued. “But I was asking about your friend.”
“My friend?” Allegra echoed.
“Red dress, brown hair? A fairy?”
Allegra’s mouth formed a smile as comprehension filled her face. She nodded eagerly. “Gia! Gia Cirone, yes.”
“Where is she?”
“Uh…” Allegra looked around, her mouth twisting pensively. “That is a good question. She went to the ladies’ room after your speech. She should be back any moment.”
“Thank you.” Lennox turned toward the nearest bank of washrooms, but Allegra called out to him before he could leave.
“Your Highness, with all due respect—”
“Seriously, it’s just Lennox,” he insisted.
“Lennox,” she sighed, stepping toward him like she wanted to tell him something private. “Gia is… special.”
Allegra’s words surprised him. He didn’t know the first thing about this woman, but what he had felt went much deeper than just a beautiful girl in a stunning dress. She seemed to have captured his soul with a mere look, and he knew he needed to find her and speak to her.
“I can see that,” Lennox said.
“She is not like some of the other immortals you know. In fact, I doubt she is like any of the immortals you know.” His eyes narrowed, and he studied her face pensively.
“What are you trying to say?” he asked her curiously. “Is there something wrong with her?”
“No!” Allegra cried. “Nothing except that she is pure and guileless. She has unsurpassed integrity, and well, it’s just…”
Lennox waited, not entirely certain where she was going until her own words abruptly slapped him in the face.
I know your reputation for heartbreaking.
“You’re worried I’m going to hurt her,” he said. He would have laughed if the idea didn’t bother him so much. Moreover, Lennox wasn’t sure if he was bothered by the assumption or troubled by the idea that anyone could hurt this delicate creature.
“Are you?” Allegra demanded. Lennox shook his head.
“No,” he promised. “I just want to meet her.”
She didn’t seem convinced, but she shrugged her bare shoulders, as if she sensed there was little she could do if the ruler of the Hollows wanted to corrupt her friend.
“I’m not going to hurt her, Allegra,” Lennox insisted.
“I believe you,” she said, turning away from him. Lennox whirled back toward the washrooms, his pulse quickening.
She doesn’t know the first thing about me, he thought. I don’t break hearts. If I did, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in now. After all, it was a former lover who gave me my powers, with no hard feelings and no strings attached. Allegra doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
Yet as he hurried away from her, he couldn’t shake an unsettling feeling in his gut. It was like something was trying to forewarn him that if he pursued the fairy, he would open Pandora’s box.
You’re just going to introduce yourself to her, he told himself, rolling his eyes at the dramatic thought. What bad can come from that?
6
I can’t believe this place even exists. Am I dreaming this? I must be dreaming. I’m going to wake up and be asleep on my bare mattress in the Trenches with water leaking over my head. I can’t even believe my imagination came up with such a place.
But it was no dream. Gia pinched herself several times to make sure.
She slowly spun in a circle, her eyes trying desperately to account for everything in the room. Rows upon rows of books lined the curved walls; the sections separated only by double windows in rectangular shapes rising from the bottom of the library’s floor to the stained-glass dome ceiling. Ladders were scattered about, enabling someone to climb and locate a volume of whichever book they sought. Gia desperately wanted to pull them all from the shelves and inhale them on sight.
How can anyone read so much, even an immortal soul? There are millions, if not billions of pages in here.
She had not meant to find herself inside the glorious room, but she had gotten lost on her way back from the bathroom and wandered inside the double doors.
All right. I was snooping, she confessed to herself. She was glad she was, though. She would never again see such a beautiful place. Or maybe I will, she mused, a soft smile touching her lips. Now that I am employed at the palace.
“I wish I had the words to describe just how stunning you are, standing there in the candlelight with a smile on your face.”
Gia whirled, her face flushed by both the compliment and by being caught somewhere she was not supposed to be. Her cheeks reddened even more when she saw who the speaker was: Lennox Parker.
“Your Highness!” she gasped. “I—I’m sorry!” She tried to curtsey and fell awkwardly off balance, humiliation flooding through her body as she caught herself from falling on her face.
These damned shoes! she thought furiously, shooting her gaze downward at the floor.
“Why are you sorry?” the prince asked, drawing closer. Gia could feel his irises sinking into her skin, as if he could see the center of her soul with his eyes.
Maybe he can, she thought. He’s a dragon, a far superior species to any of us. Who knows what they can do?
“You’re Gia, right?” he asked, and his voice had the precise effect it’d had earlier, the tones seeping into her veins like liquid honey, heating her down to her marrow.
“H-how did you know?” Gia choked, wondering if there was another reason he had her cornered in the library. Did he find out that Allegra blackmailed Lilith into giving me a job? Is he here to throw me into the barracks? Do they still do that, or is something like this a death sentence?
Cold replaced the flush of heat coursing through her, and the abrupt temperature change made her dizzy and
confused.
“I asked Allegra for your name,” the prince said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“You did?” Gia blurted out. “Why?”
He was within arm’s reach now, so close to her that she could touch his face. Gia was shocked to discover that she was finding it difficult to resist the temptation. She had never been so overcome with the desire to feel a stranger’s skin under her fingertips. What was wrong with her? Had he put a spell on her?
Whatever it was, Gia could not deny that there was a palpable attraction between them.
“Are you upset that I asked Allegra your name?” the prince asked. His tone was much lower now, almost a gravelly whisper, and Gia could not stop herself from stepping into him, her eyes locking on his.
“I’m not upset,” she answered slowly. “I’m just… confused.”
He cocked his head to the side, his brow furrowing.
“Why?” he asked. The look in his eyes told Gia that he wasn’t toying with her.
She shook her hair, a mass of curls spilling down to her ribs, and she tried to look away from him, but the prince gently held her chin between his thumb and forefinger, so he could pull her head toward him.
“Don’t do that,” he whispered. “Don’t look away.”
“Your Highness—”
“Lennox,” he said firmly. “My name is Lennox.”
Gia was beginning to feel drunk the longer she stared at him. What is happening? How is this happening?
She wasn’t granted another opportunity to question herself as his mouth brushed against hers, his breath against her flaming skin.
Lennox was gentle, as if he expected her to bolt back, to push him away and scream, but those were the last things on her mind. Her arms tentatively reached up to encircle his neck with damp palms. Pulling him closer, she sighed, her eyes closing.
“I have never felt like this,” he murmured, his mouth trailing over her cheekbones, his arms sweeping around the back of her gown to touch the flesh of her back. He was so much taller than her, and yet when their bodies finally pressed together, they fit perfectly into one another.
His kisses grew hotter, more urgent, and Gia’s mind was asking her to reconsider what she was about to do, but she silenced it, succumbing to the feel of his muscled body rippling against her.
She didn’t remember him removing her dress or how they ended up on the antique settee. Had the fireplace always been going? Who had lit the candelabra? They were idle questions, sweeping in and out of her consciousness, and she pushed them all aside to focus on his naked form against hers, tasting every inch of her as she quietly moaned.
“I think it is you who I have been searching for my entire existence,” Lennox gasped, raising his face from between her trembling thighs. “You are the one Lucia told me about.”
His words made little sense to Gia, though she didn’t care. She didn’t want to think about what was going to happen after they parted. All she yearned for was the sensation of his member filling her entirely, and she longed for it to go on forever. Everything else could wait.
Her nails dug into Lennox’s sculpted shoulder blades, her cries escalating as his thrusts grew deeper and more urgent, bringing her to heights she had never thought imaginable. Had there ever been another who had made her feel as weak as she did in those moments? Gia believed there hadn’t, and she knew that there would never be another again.
Her back arched upward as she was brought to a second release, and their eyes met once more, the energy between them like bolts of lightning. She shivered with pleasure as Lennox tensed against her, and together, they joined in the way the fates had intended for them.
Spent and satisfied, Lennox collapsed against her, brushing her long curls aside to lay his ear against her thumping heart. They were silent for a long moment, and although Gia did not want to break the spell that seemed to enshroud them, her once forgotten nervousness had resurfaced.
This is a spell. It must be! At least, that was what she had wanted to believe at first. Now, as Lennox’s fingers traced her torso, Gia knew it was much more than that.
“Thank you,” Lennox breathed, his voice sleepy but sincere.
“I feel like it should be me thanking you,” she mumbled, unclear as to why he was expressing gratitude.
“No,” he laughed, propping himself up to stare into her face. “All my life, I’d never thought I was capable of feeling such intense emotions. That’s a long time, you know.” Gia couldn’t help but giggle.
“Yeah, I know,” she replied. She laced her fingers through his thick mane of hair, sliding her palms through the waves. “I also know what you mean. I don’t do one-night stands, so this is new territory for me.”
There. She had said it out loud and put it out there. This was a one-night stand. That was all it was.
Lennox’s face twisted into confusion, and Gia was sure she saw a flash of hurt in his eyes.
“This is not a one-night stand,” he said, sitting up fully. “Is that what you thought this was?”
Her mouth parted as hope tickled her gut.
“I—I don’t know,” she confessed. “I don’t understand it, but…”
“But what?” Lennox demanded.
“But I don’t want it to be.” His expression relaxed, and he leaned forward to kiss her agape mouth sweetly.
“It won’t be,” he promised her. Gia sighed, relaxing into the cushions of the settee.
Suddenly, a loud laugh broke through their private moment as someone stumbled drunkenly into the library. Gia felt Lennox tense beneath her, but she was equally rigid.
“Hey, Harry, look at this place!” a girl’s voice called. “Have you ever had sex in a royal library?”
“No,” came the equally inebriated response. “But I’m game to try it.”
“Oh, no,” Gia whispered, feeling the blood drain from her face. “No…”
“It’s okay,” Lennox murmured in her ear, his naked body still pressed to her as if to shield her from the visitors.
It’s not okay! she wanted to shriek. I’m at a party filled with the Hollow’s elite and I’m lying naked on a couch with the ruler like some desperate concubine! If anyone sees me…!
Lennox jumped from the chaise, nude and furious. “Get the hell out of here!”
“Your Highness!” the girl screeched. “I—we—I didn’t know anyone else—”
“This room is off limits!” he roared, advancing toward them as Gia sank lower into the settee, praying that they could not see her. She huddled behind the back of the couch, and seeing Lennox so enraged made her realize why he had confronted the intruders: he had probably sensed her worry, and facing the two drunkards was the only way he could think of to ward them off before they saw her.
Either that, or he was embarrassed to be seen with her. He was the ruler, after all. Gia was just a lowly waitress who lived in the Trenches. There was no worse match than that.
But then Lennox returned to her, smiling warmly at her, and Gia did her best to push her doubts aside, no matter how much the rest of her felt the need to validate her insecurity.
“They didn’t see you,” he said. “I’m certain.” Gia nodded slowly and scrambled along the floor for her dress. “Gia,” he told her gently, “don’t look so scared. We have done nothing wrong.”
“I know,” she agreed. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t setting ourselves up for ridicule.”
“We’re not,” Lennox promised. “And trust me when I say that no one wants to upset a Parker prince.”
“Are you and your brothers really princes?” Gia heard herself asking. She wasn’t old enough to remember the time before the dragon rule, and the information she’d received was likely rumors.
“Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t. I was just curious,” Gia answered, smiling softly. “You have made me feel like a princess tonight, Lennox. Thank you.”
Lennox reached out to tenderly stroke her cheek. “Come on. I’ll take you bac
k to the party.”
Gia shook her head quickly. “I think I should warn Allegra first. She brought me here, and I don’t want to blindside her. She might not want to stick around for that kind of show.”
He stared at her for a long moment, and Gia couldn’t quite identify the expression in his eyes.
“What?” she demanded. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Allegra was right about you,” Lennox said.
“What did she say?” Gia asked, suddenly afraid of his answer.
“You’re special,” he replied, “and guileless. And you have unsurpassed integrity.”
Gia was speechless at the heart behind the words. She felt warmth at the fact that Allegra had said that about her, and that warmth only increased at the fact that Lennox truly thought the same of her.
He covered the distance between them and enveloped her in his strong arms, kissing the top of her head with affection.
“I’m so glad I found you,” he sighed. “I’m never going to let you go.”
“After I tell Allegra,” she reminded him.
He nodded and released her, grinning. “I’ve waited this many eons to find you. I can wait another half hour.”
7
Lennox was sure he was grinning like an idiot when he left the library, several minutes after Gia had departed. He had told her to go first, her worry etched into her face like a woodcarving.
“You’re fretting about nothing,” he assured her. “I promise, this is going to be painless. People will be happy for us.”
Gia eyed him with slight wariness. “Are you sure that you didn’t put a spell on me?”
Lennox howled with laughter. “I’m a shifter, darling, not a wizard. We don’t know how to cast spells. We only know how to live forever and set things on fire.”
Gia smiled. “I can think of a few other things you can do,” she murmured, her face blushing pink as she said it. The fact that she seemed embarrassed only made it all more endearing to Lennox, who made a mental note to gently tease her out of her shell.
We have eternity to bring out the best in each other, he thought happily. He was still marveling at her sweetness long after he had returned to the party, almost humming to himself.
