by Milly Taiden
Chills slicked over his torso when her fingertips brushed his flesh. Her breath was hot against him. Fuck, he wanted her and there was no hiding his desire. He nuzzled his nose along her hair. A low rumbled vibrated his body. She looked up at him with large eyes. She felt it, too.
Her wet panties told him how much she liked it. He arched toward her, pressing his painfully hard cock against her stomach. He wanted her taste, whether from her mouth or her pussy. Didn’t matter. She’d taste so good both ways. Her hands slid up around his neck and she looked up at him.
Chapter Eleven
Kari knelt with her hands on the man of her dreams. This was way better than her little fantasy on the plane. Except in her fantasy, she wasn’t scared out of her wits nor did she have a creepy prince watching her making out with a man chained to the ceiling. She had to find a way to get him free.
Her entire plan to escape had been blown to bits as soon as she’d seen his face in the dining room. When he looked into her eyes, she knew immediately it was him. The agent they were here to find. How and why he was here, she’d work on finding out later. She had to focus on getting him—them—out alive.
Her new plan required her to pretend she wanted to have sex with the agent. Which wasn’t really pretending. She would like that, but it was too soon. When she made love to someone it was because she was making love, not having sex.
The prince had led her out of the dining room and down more hallways to another set of double doors. A guard was posted to the side; he didn’t budge an inch.
The plan was on track so far. The prince had taken her to where the agent was. Then when she was alone with the agent, she’d sneak them out a window to safety and she’d be the hero and they’d get married and have lots of kids. Easy peasy.
Until she realized the prince wasn’t leaving the room. And he wanted to participate.
She nearly freaked out. Holy shit. She’d barely had sex with one man at a time, much less two. And the prince wanted a piece of the agent. Now she wasn’t being judgmental. To each his own. Some of her friends were gay and they were the best, most caring people she’d ever met. But for her to be on one side of the tied-up agent and the prince on the back side was just too much. It would wig her out.
Then when Goddard put her hands on the completely naked agent on the bed, all thought flew from her mind. This hunk of man was hers to do with as she wished. His skin was hot to the touch. Electricity zapped low in her stomach.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. She leaned away from him. He was too intoxicating for her starved soul and heart. All reasoning and logic flew out the window when she was this close to this man. She was here to rescue him, not seduce him in some bondage fantasy.
She argued with the prince about unchaining him. Tried to get the agent released. Together, they could overpower the prince and escape. Goddard probably realized that also. Thus his telling her no. The prince forced her hands back onto the hot flesh.
His head tilted down and his cheek rubbed against her hair. He breathed her in. Despite the agent’s advances, she had to stay focused. How could she get the prince in a position where she could tie him up or knock him out or something?
It was obvious what Goddard had in mind for the three of them. Maybe if she played along until he was distracted, then she could attack. What about Agent Day, though? He had no idea who she was. She could be in the harem as far as he knew. Would he hurt her given the chance? Probably, if he could escape.
With the prince behind her, lying on pillows against the headboard, she leaned against him and whispered, “Play along.” Then bit his ear to complete the ruse for the prince. She pulled away and begged Day to understand what she was saying: she was here to help, so stop making it so difficult to pay attention.
She brushed her fingers over his chest. A deep grumble vibrated in his chest. What the hell? Was that his animal side peeking through?
Her undies were instantly soaked. Goddammit, Day. Did the man not know how to read eye sign language? Her eyes tried to tell him to stop making this hard. Joke was on her. His hardness pressed against her stomach.
She looked up at him. God, she wanted to kiss him so badly.
Then the bed bounced and the prince snuggled up behind her agent. She snapped her hands away and leaned back. What should she do? She wouldn’t let anyone be taken advantage of against their will, male or female.
“Kari,” the prince said, “would you open the drawer on the table beside the bed and pull out the white tube.”
White tube. Yeah, she could do that if her lust-consumed brain would get in gear. She leaned over the side of the bed and pulled the drawer open. Never in her life had she seen a bed so tall. Her legs didn’t lift that high. The prince had had to help her onto the top mattress. Good thing they weren’t in the mood at that moment. It was the most un-sexy thing she’d ever done.
In the drawer, there were two white tubes. Figured. She stretched for the nearest one. Her fingertips barely reached the plastic. Just a little closer. In between her fingers, she held it up. “Is this it?” She looked over her shoulder and startled. Unprepared for the scene, her hand slipped off the slick comforter’s edge, banged her head on the open drawer, and she fell to the floor. Shit.
“It’s the other tube,” the prince said, leaning over the side, looking at her.
“Got it.” She pulled the other one out and tossed it to him.
“Come up the back way.” The prince nodded toward something behind him at the back of the bed. She stepped around and saw a two-tread step. Why didn’t he show her that to begin with? Then she realized what was in the white tube when the prince squeezed stuff in his hand. The agent rattled his chains but could do little else.
She would not let this happen. She looked around for a weapon or something. Everything in the room looked so expensive, she didn’t want to break anything. But this was an emergency. The only thing that looked viable was a pair of tall pewter candlesticks. She grabbed one, snuck up the steps and swung it with all she had at his head.
The candlestick was so heavy, that the prince’s head wasn’t enough to stop the momentum her swing created. Her arms continued around, twisting her body and knocking her off the steps with a loud crash. Knocking came from the door. The guard called from the other side. He didn’t speak English, but she could guess what he said.
“Sorry,” she hollered. “Everything is good in here. Just got carried away.” She made a couple grunting noises. “You know how it is.”
Agent Day looked down on her with a what the fuck expression. She shrugged and whispered, “What was I supposed to say? We’re killing your asshole prince?” She leaned over Goddard to look at his bloody head. “Oh shit. Did I kill him?”
Agent Day tried to clear his throat. “Look, lady.” He broke into raspy coughs. “The guards put the key to these cuffs are on the dresser where that candlestick was. If you let me go, I’ll pay you.”
For some reason, that rubbed her the wrong way. “I’m worried about killing someone,” she said, “and you’re talking about money?”
“He’s alive. His heartbeat is strong,” he replied.
“Oh, good.” She’d never thought about having to kill someone. Yeah, she really liked her desk job now. She wondered what to do with the prince’s body. She had to hide it.
“Lady—” Agent Day started.
“My name is Kari. I’m with the U.S. government. I’m here to help.”
Day snorted. “If that isn’t an overused oxymoron.”
“I read that on a T-shirt somewhere.” She looked for the key on the dresser. Sliding it between her fingers, she climbed the steps at the back of the bed and stepped onto the mattress. Putting her weight on one foot, she sank deeper than expected and fell forward into Day’s back. Her hands wrapped around his chest from behind. His pecs hardened with her contact. She couldn’t keep her fingers from squeezing.
He sucked in a harsh breath and she stiffened against him. “Sorry,” she breathed onto his back. Push
ing away from him, she held onto his arm and inched her way around to the front side where the slot for the key on the manacles was.
Looking at her, he snorted. “You can barely take care of yourself. How can you help me?”
His weight kneeling on the bed made a deep hole. When she got in front of him, she sank into the indention, pressing her body against his. Damn, he smelled so good. His hair was freshly washed, still damp. The oils on his body smelled citrusy. His eyes snapped to hers. The fire in them ignited her want again. How was she so horny over a stranger—a gorgeous stranger, but stranger.
Wait. Did he just call her incompetent? Her sex-hazed mind came out of the gutter a moment to realized he’d just made fun of her. “For your information, Agent Day, do you have any idea how much talent it takes to look so clumsy? How many people have you seen fall off a bed? Or have to be pulled onto a bed by her one arm. It’s not easy making the enemy think you’re not a threat. And,” she held up the key, “who has the key and who’s in handcuffs?” There, suck on that, Mr. Hotshot Agent.
Handsome or not, the man was a jerk. She should’ve known. Now she knew why he wasn’t married. His eyes narrowed at her. She hadn’t told one lie, so there wasn’t a lying smell floating out her ass. Ha.
Kari reached up and her body leaned against him more. She felt pressure against her shirt and glanced down. His eyes were at her chest level. Embarrassment tinged with anger edged with desire washed through her. She brought her hands down. “Stop looking there,” she reprimanded.
He huffed. “Like I have a choice.”
She frowned and leaned back. “Yes, you do. Turn your head,” which he did. She reached up again, leaning forward. His nose sank into the side of her boob. That wasn’t happening. Her hands came down. “Okay, Day—”
“Lady, I’m not trying anything. Would you please unlock the cuffs?”
Hands on her hips, she said, “First off, my name is Kari, not lady. Secondly, I’m trying to unlock you, but you keep feeling me up.”
“What?” he barked. “I am not feeling you up. Your breasts are in my face and I can’t move.” His words may have been harsh, but his eyes melted her panties. He was right, but that didn’t make it better.
“Shut your eyes then.” He rolled his eyes then closed his lids.
“Fine. Hurry up and unlock me before Prince Charming wakes,” he said.
She almost laughed as she stretched. “Your Prince Charming, maybe. I don’t have the opening he wanted.” She thought about that. “Well, I do, but I have two built-in hills he didn’t want.”
Agent Day groaned and his wrist came free. Then the other. She stepped back.
“There, Mr. Day. You’re free. Now let’s get out of here,” she said. The prince groaned and moved his head. Oh shit, they were goners now.
Chapter Twelve
Damn, that woman was gorgeous but irritating as hell. Shit. She smelled so fucking good. He was tempted to take her to the comforter and tear all her clothes off. They were on a bed. Fuck, he started getting hard. Couldn’t have that.
The prince moaned. Shit. He looked around for something to tie him up with. Kari hurried around the bed. She opened the drawer on the side table farther out and shoved around things inside.
“Here,” she said and tossed him handcuffs. He rolled the prince over and restrained his hands behind him. “You can use this too.” Something landed on the bed beside him. A gag with a red ball attached to elastic lay at his knee. His brow raised. What else was in that drawer?
She pulled out rope and sleeping mask. “You can tie his feet, then we can put him under the covers with the mask so if anyone looks in on him they can’t tell if he’s awake or not.”
That was a good plan. Maybe this little lady wasn’t so bad. He followed her instructions and the prince was soon under the covers with pillows around to hide him a bit without looking like they were hiding him.
“Perfect,” she said. “Now what?”
“Now we get the guard in here so we can kill him and get the hell out of Dodge.”
She cringed. “Do we have to kill him?” she whined. “Can’t we just go out the window or something.” Oh, no. She was one of those—a save-the-world kind of agent. Give-the-benefit-of-the doubt agent. Get-herself-killed-because-of-that agent.
He lifted his arms. “Sure. You point out the window and we’ll go through.” She looked around then dropped her chin to her chest. He smelled her embarrassment.
“Sorry,” she said. “The room is so dark, I didn’t realize there weren’t any windows. I don’t have shifter eyes that can see in the dark, like others in this room.” She looked around again. “Besides, I was distracted.”
Her arousal wafted lightly on the air. He grabbed her arm and turned her around. She wouldn’t look at him. He lifted her head with a finger along her jaw. “It’s okay, beautiful. I was quite distracted, also.”
Her eyes got big then returned to normal and she smiled. That’s what he wanted. She was breathtaking. He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for hitting on his mate. He had to get her out of danger.
“Here’s the plan,” he said as he searched the drawers for clothes to put on. “You scream for the guard. I’ll stand behind the door and when he comes in, I’ll knock him down—” she tried to interrupt, but he knew what she wanted, “But not kill him.” She nodded and smiled again. He would do anything to keep her happy.
After dressing in what he knew as parachute pants from the eighties and the shirt with fewest sequins he could find in the closet, he slid behind the door and she stood next to the bed. He nodded to her.
“Oh, no! Prince, Prince, wake up. Wake up! Guard, something is wrong with the prince.” He thought she’d do well for a Shakespeare play, but not acting.
The door opened and the guard rushed in nonetheless. He took the man down as he was trained, with nonlethal force, then grabbed her hand and hurried to peek out the door. No one was in the hallway. Since he had come to this room from the dining room, he didn’t know where a door to the outside was.
He looked back at her. “Do you know where an exit is?”
“The only one I know is where the caterers bring in the food,” she said.
“Where’s that from here?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you just said you knew,” he commented in a huff.
“You asked if I knew where it is, not if I could get to it,” she replied in a mimicked huff. He wiped a hand over his face. This was going to be rough. Smells of humans were thick everywhere. He couldn’t discern if one hallway was any better than the other. A side door opened and a guard stepped out. One he recognized from the dungeon. Fuck.
He stopped and she bumped into the back of him. “Ow, warn me next—” He grasped her hand as he whipped around and ran down the hall. The guard yelled behind them. She was much too slow as a human. That wasn’t going to fly. He stopped, she ran into him, and he used her momentum to toss her over his shoulder.
He expected a surprised noise from her, but not the high-pitched squeal he got. He picked up his own scent. It was either from the dungeon or the dining room. Sifting through the scents, he noticed mold and mustiness. It had to be from the dungeon. He followed that smell like a string through a maze.
The guard was still behind them. It would be hard to lose him. He had only one option since the guard would pull a gun. Stopping in the middle of the hall, he put his mate on her feet and raised his hands. The guard came closer, gun aimed at him. With shifter speed, he rushed the guard and knocked him out. Picking up the gun, he stuffed it in his waistband and ran for his mate.
“You didn’t kill him, did you?” she asked.
“It’s his lucky day,” he said. “Now come on.” With her hand in his, he led.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To the dungeon.”
She pulled back on his arm. “What? The dungeon? Are you crazy?” He yanked her back into motion. From other parts of the palace, he heard scuffl
ing. The guards were on to them.
“I know what I’m doing. They know about us missing.” She didn’t fight when he pushed forward. He was close to the dungeon door. He remembered seeing the familiar painting on the wall. He turned at the corner and saw a couple men down the way. The guards hollered, telling them to stop or they’d shoot.
He snatched a vase off a side table and launched it at them. Being a shifter, the throw was direct and very fast. It smashed into one of the guys’ head, knocking the guard down. He picked up a small, decorative box on the same table and threw it, then grabbed his mate and continued on.
The remaining guard was ready for the attack and ducked under the missile. On the go, Day chucked another vase behind them, hoping to slow them down. Didn’t really work, but whatever. They were at the door.
It was heavy, thick metal and he had to lean his weight into it to open it. A bullet dinged off the door close to his head. He bent forward, shoving his mate through the doorway. From the shelf beside the entrance, he snagged two flashlights and a cigarette lighter. That’s all he had time for. The door opened.
Training instincts kicked in and took out the guard. They were safe for the moment but he felt the floor vibrate from others running.
“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” Kari said. He handed her a flashlight and directed her down the center aisle. So do I, he thought.
“Trust me,” he said.
This would lead them to either safety or their deaths.
Chapter Thirteen
Kari hustled down the aisle in the dungeon. It was like she’d stepped back in time to medieval London. They had to have purposely made the cells so formidable since the palace was modern. The prince was quite the drama queen.
There were a few men among the cells, and they looked like skeletons. When she got out of this, she would make sure they were rescued for this hellhole.
