The Stolen Princess: A YA Dystopian Romance (Desolation Book 3)

by Kortney Keisel

  Drake smiled at her again, flipping his hair back from his face at the same time.

  She had to turn her eyes away.

  She was so into him. It wasn’t even fair.

  But that’s how Myka was. She felt everything in extremes. A few days ago, she had hated him with everything inside of her, and now...well, now she couldn’t chase Drake out of her mind and her heart even if she wanted to.

  And on top of all of that, he had tied her pink scarf around his arm again like a badge he wore to signify his feelings for her.

  It was adorable and too much for her little heart to handle.

  “I think I’m going to call it a night,” Drake said, standing.

  Myka jolted her head to him, and her mouth went dry. It was the moment she’d been anticipating all day.

  Alone time.

  Her heart quickened to a level that exercise enthusiasts would be proud of. She doubted it would ever return back to its resting heart rate again.

  Drake raised his eyebrows at her. “Myka? Are you ready?”

  She swallowed.

  Her eyes were probably as wide as an owl’s as she stared back at him. “Ready for what?”

  Drake’s lips twitched. “For bed.”

  She swallowed again.

  Was she ready for bed?

  The amusement beaming out from his dancing eyes added another level to his attractiveness.

  She nodded and stood, following after him.

  “You can go to the bathroom first,” he said loudly as if she were hard of hearing.

  She was about to remind him that she had just gone before dinner and that he was an idiot for not remembering when he turned over his shoulder, giving her the most smoldering look she had ever seen. Even the most inexperienced girl such as herself could recognize what that look meant.

  An explosion of heat went off inside of her.

  “Yes, I need to go to the bathroom,” she said loudly for the men still sitting around the fire.

  They walked side by side, and the moment they were far enough away, Drake grabbed her hand. Myka would’ve thought the second or the third handhold wouldn’t have affected her, but his warm fingers were sending fireworks through her body that couldn’t be ignored.

  Drake turned around and looked at her. His burning gaze stole her breath. He pulled her through the trees, walking backward with so much sexy confidence she nearly died.

  “I have a plan,” he said.

  “I can see that,” she breathed out.

  His eyes darted behind her to camp then back to hers. Slowly, he pulled her to a tree.

  “You see,” he said, stepping toward her, making her step back so that she was against the tree. His free hand went to her waist, pulling her body toward his. “I made this rule that the second we get inside the shack, I can’t touch you.”

  “That sounds like a terrible rule,” she said, and frankly, she was surprised she had gotten any words out with the way her stomach was somersaulting out of control.

  “But it’s a necessary rule,” his voice was raspy.

  “I don’t even follow rules,” she whispered.

  His lips curled upward. “I know.” His gaze settled on her lips, then pulled back up to her eyes. “Would you ever consider kissing your kidnapper?”

  Myka wanted to kiss Drake Vestry more than she had ever wanted anything else in her life, but she played it cool.

  “If the opportunity arose, I could,” she said, lifting her chin up to him. “For survival purposes only.”

  “Survival.” He nodded. “Of course.”

  She took a breath, trying to ease her skipping heart. “Would you ever consider kissing your prisoner?”

  “If I wanted to.”

  “Do you want to?” she whispered between them.

  Drake’s intense eyes burned into hers, and with all the confidence of a commander, he slowly closed the gap between them. Before the kiss even started, Myka felt out of breath. His hands went to her neck under her hair, and he pulled her into him. His lips gently covered hers, and it was like Myka could taste the sweet desire on him. He kissed her softly, slowly, then broke apart, and then kissed her again like the whole thing was a dance. Her hands barely grazed the sides of his hips as his lips continued the tender pull and tug.

  His mouth broke apart from hers, but he stayed close, skimming the edges of her lips. She peeked her eyes open, seeing firsthand what it looked like to be wanted.

  “Myka,” he breathed against her. “You’ve changed every plan I had.”

  Her heart went wild, a brand new feeling that she never wanted to stop. Without warning, his body pressed into hers, and he kissed her again with more purpose than before. His hands wrapped around her back, and Myka’s arms moved to his broad shoulders. Her lips moved with his, taking every cue and nod that he gave.

  Drake Vestry could kiss, and this was the education of a lifetime. Ms. Happ should retire, because there was a new teacher in town.

  Everything inside of her whirled with excitement. She felt breathless, like she’d run a mile, and her heart pounded loudly in her ears. Heat built up between them, hot enough to start the entire forest on fire. There was so much passion, so much desire, and she didn’t want it to stop.

  Their lips broke, and their heavy breaths filled the air. His forehead leaned against hers, and his hands rested on her hips.

  “I’ve never kissed anyone before,” she said, not knowing why she felt the need to announce that right then.

  He smiled. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “I’m not worried,” she breathed. “You’re worried.”

  Her brows bent.

  What was she even saying? She might have blushed, but it didn’t matter because it was dark, and there was no way he could have seen it.

  Drake smiled, then bent his head down, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. Myka closed her eyes as his lips lingered by the side of her face. His breath tickled her skin, and he kissed her with soft pecks until his lips were next to her ear.

  “What are you doing to me?” he whispered.

  She tilted her head, giving him better access, in case he felt like leaving a trail of soft kisses down her neck. How did she even know about the neck tilt? She had no clue, but it worked. Drake’s lips softly grazed her neck, leaving a path of little kisses on her skin.

  “Technically,” she breathed. “You’re doing something to me.”

  Slowly, he moved his head from the side of her neck to her cheek, to the front of her face, the tip of his nose skimming across her skin on the way.

  “You’ve probably kissed a hundred women before me,” she said. In that moment, why couldn’t she have been the confident Myka who had stabbed him, not the insecure version of herself who had never kissed a man before?

  He lifted an eyebrow. “A hundred women? I think you’re overestimating my charms.”

  She wasn’t.

  She smiled, hugging him close. “Does this mean I’m not your prisoner anymore?”

  “This means I can’t sleep next to you anymore,” he whispered into her ear.

  “Why?” she pouted.

  He pulled back, and although Myka couldn’t see the look in his eyes, she could easily guess the exasperated expression written across his face. “Myka, I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

  “Maybe I don't want a gentleman,” she said, kissing his cheek.

  His voice softened, and he pushed her hair back from her face. “You deserve a gentleman.”

  “So you’re not going to sleep by me the rest of the time we’re together?”

  “I can’t imagine you getting less attractive, so...yeah, I’ll be sleeping somewhere else.”

  Myka hated that. She didn’t want to sleep without Drake by her side. She was desperate to change his mind. She went on her toes, kissing him unexpectedly. Drake mumbled against her lips in surprise, but then he quickly got over his shock and kissed her back. Things were starting to get good again when a voice broke them apart.
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br />   “Drake?” Grady called. “You okay?”

  Myka’s hands went to her hair, and she spun away from him. He shook his head like the interruption was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

  He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “Myka hasn’t stabbed you again, has she?” Grady’s voice seemed to be getting closer.

  “No,” he smiled, scrunching his nose at her. Then he nodded toward camp. “I think our time is up,” he whispered.

  She shook her head, hating Grady more than she’d ever hated anyone in her life.

  “There you are!” Grady said as they walked out of the woods toward their shack. He lifted up his lantern in front of him, lighting up his face.

  “Yep,” Drake sighed. “Here we are.”

  Myka had to bite back her smile at his obvious frustration.

  “I need to talk to you for a minute,” Grady said.

  Drake shrugged. “Okay.”

  Grady looked directly at her, a clear sign that this was some sort of private conversation. “I’ll go get ready for bed,” she said, turning on her heels to leave.

  She slammed the door behind her and brought her face to her hands, letting out a silent scream. Although the kiss was over, her body was still buzzing with attraction. She spun around, letting out the most satisfied sigh of her life.

  Drake had kissed her.

  She’d probably never get this smile off of her face.

  She walked to his cot, and pulled it as close to hers as it would go. Maybe she could persuade Drake to sleep by her after all. Then she peeked out of the small crack in the shack, trying to see what was taking him so long.

  Drake’s brows were pulled together, and he looked upset. Myka stilled her breathing, straining to hear what they were talking about.

  “I need more time,” Drake said.

  Grady shrugged. “You’ve had two days. Everyone’s impatient. They want to get out of here.”

  “Well, maybe if you hadn’t interrupted me, I could have gotten you what you want.”

  Myka’s mind raced. What did Grady want?

  Grady’s eyebrows went up in surprise and he pointed to the woods with his free hand. “Right now? You were making your move on her in the woods during bathroom break? Why didn’t you just do it in your shack when you were alone?”

  His move?

  Her heart tightened, but she refused to focus on it, still trying to hear every last word of their conversation.

  “Don’t worry about when or how I get Myka to trust me. All you need to know is that I’m close. She practically told me where every secret passageway is inside Tolsten House. Give me one more day, and I know she’ll tell me where the weapons are.”

  Her heart seemed to freeze, and her breath stalled. Myka’s eyes filled up with tears. What was Drake even talking about?

  “This is about more than just the bet now. You can have the pine nuts. I don’t even care anymore. We have to figure out what to do next, and the information she’s sitting on is key to that.”

  Drake nodded. “I know. Her admitting that she knows where the weapons are is integral to the entire mission. But the bet isn’t over yet. Don’t start eating your pine nuts, because she’s close.”

  Pine nuts?

  She pushed off of the wood. She didn’t want to listen to anymore. She’d heard enough.

  She was a bet.

  A bet!

  Drake was using her to gain information about the weapons.

  Air escaped her chest in one big whoosh.

  She was such an idiot. Nothing was real. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Drake had kidnapped her, after all.

  She kicked his cot farther away from hers.

  “Such a gentleman!” she said in her mocking tone.

  She had been stupid enough to fall for the enemy. Classic mistake. Strong-minded women would roll their eyes at her.

  Drake

  Drake shook his head as he walked toward the shack. Grady and the other men were getting impatient. He’d told them what he thought they wanted to hear, but it was time that Drake start thinking about how he was going to get Myka out of camp safely without the other operatives knowing. She meant too much to him.

  He pushed the wood door to the shack open, letting it shut behind him. Even in the soft light of the lantern, Drake could see Myka’s flashing blue eyes.

  He paused his steps. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  “No!” She bent down and grabbed his basket of things tucked neatly under his cot and began throwing his stuff at him, one item at a time. His pants hit him in the face, then his shirt, then another shirt. When she was down to just a few smaller things, she tipped the basket over, spilling everything out onto the floor.

  “What’s going on?” She had been upset about him not sleeping next to her, but he hadn’t thought she would be this upset.

  She chucked the basket at him. “I’m helping you with your stuff.”

  “Thanks…I guess.” He started gathering everything up and putting it back into the basket. Meanwhile, crazy Myka was dragging his cot to the door.

  “What are you doing?” he said, watching her.

  “Moving you out,” she grunted, trying to get the cot through the shack door.

  Drake set his basket on the table and went over to her, pulling her arms away from the cot until she stood right in front of him. “Myka, what’s going on?”

  “Let go of me!” She struggled against him.

  Her chest heaved up and down, and her blue eyes blazed with fury, then the anger in her face melted into something raw and emotional.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  They stared at each other for a long moment as her eyes filled up with tears. “A bet?” her voice cracked. “That’s all I am to you? A wager for a bag of pine nuts?”

  Drake’s heart crashed to the floor. She’d heard everything he’d said to Grady. “No.” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean any of that.”

  She pulled out of his grasp. “Yeah, I know. You didn’t mean anything you said, and I’m the fool who believed you.”

  “No.” He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to find the words. “At first it was a bet”— her eyes hardened—“but not anymore. You have to believe me.”

  “Believe you!” Myka shouted. “Why would I ever believe anything you say?”

  Drake grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “When I first kidnapped you, I wasn’t sure of our relationship. You said you hated me—”

  “I do hate you!” she yelled in his face, something that he probably deserved.

  “Grady had this stupid idea that I should use our relationship to try to get you to trust me, open up to me.”

  “I’ll never trust you!” She pushed his hands off her shoulders.

  Drake combed his fingers through his hair. “There’s something else I need to tell you.” He hadn’t wanted to tell her that her father had died like this, but he didn’t have any other choice. He was sick of all of the lies.

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, I can’t wait to hear this,” she sneered.

  Drake sucked in a breath. “There was another letter from Tolsten House. One from Commander Stoddard. It came with your father’s letter.”

  Myka held still, listening.

  His eyes softened. “Your father is dead, Myka.”

  Her shoulders curled in. “When?” Her voice wavered as a single tear trickled down her face. “When did he die?”

  “A couple of days ago.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “The other operatives would not let me.”

  She let out a harsh laugh as another tear fell. “Right.”

  “Myka, Stoddard said that your father told you where the weapons were before we kidnapped you.”

  She shook her head. “That’s a lie.”

  “I know! I thought so too but—”

  “But what?” She glared at him.

  “But...�
� Drake tilted his head. His explanations sounded so bad when they came out of his mouth. “But the other men came up with this stupid plan that I should try to get you to tell me the location by pretending to like you.”

  “How lucky for you! The great Drake Vestry gets to lead another woman on just for fun!”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I didn’t want to do that to you. You mean too much to me.” He wanted to pull her into him, hug her tightly and kiss her until she understood how much he cared about her.

  Myka’s eyes bore into him. “I mean too much to you or the bag of pine nuts does?”

  “You.”

  She laughed as she began pacing around the room. “Yeah, right.”

  Drake followed after her. “I was trying to protect you.”

  “You’re such a good guy,” she mocked.

  Right now, Drake felt like anything but a good guy.

  “So this is how you do it?” she said, turning over her shoulder.

  “Do what?” Drake’s brows folded in.

  “For a moment, you almost had me believing that you actually cared,” she said.

  His expression faltered. “I do care.”

  “You can stop pretending now.”

  “I’m not pretending.”

  She stared back at him expectantly. Drake didn’t know what else to say. He had been a complete jerk, and he wished he could take it all back.

  Myka

  Myka turned away from Drake. She couldn’t look at his pleading eyes any longer. He wasn’t someone she could trust. He was the enemy, the kind of person who had made a bet at her expense. All this time she had believed him. She had turned against her father for him. How could she have done that? Her father was dead. He had died without her there, and it was all Drake’s fault. Something inside of her snapped. She hated Drake now more than ever, and she wouldn’t let him get the best of her.

  “Please, Myka.” His voice was soft. “Please believe that I care about you, that the bet didn’t mean anything.”

  She turned around, leveling him with her hard gaze. “I don’t care about the bet. I was using YOU. Do you really think I would develop feelings for my kidnapper?” His eyes blinked with hurt, but she ignored it. She was doing this for her father. She could never get back her final moments with him. “I was pretending. I was trying to get close to you so I could escape. So I guess we’re even.”