Page 27 of Prisoner of the Lycan Prince

“No, it’s okay.” I tucked my notebook under my arm. “It’s not a big deal.”

Mischief danced in his eyes. “Now you have a reason to come back.”

I laughed—and I got the distinct impression he was much younger than he seemed. “I promise I’ll visit again. The party was lovely, and so was the company. Thank you for introducing me to your friends.”

Goliath’s tail appeared around his hip, the fuzzy white tuft like a dab of cotton candy. “The next time you visit, I’ll show you the mountains.”

“I’d like that.”

“Later, Harper.” He backed up, waved, then disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

I clutched my chest, my heart pounding. Good grief, what other powers did he possess? Shaking my head, I made my way to my room, memories of the party and the supernaturals I’d met making a smile tug at my lips.

The second I opened my door, my smile fled. Because my bathroom door was wide open, and a shadow splashed against the wall. Just as I gathered breath to scream, Einar burst from the bathroom with my medication in his hand.

My fear vanished. “What are you doing with that?” I stormed forward, swiping for the bottle. As I grabbed at it, my mother’s notebook slipped from under my arm. It fell to the floor and flopped open. Lines of my handwriting filled the page.

Einar and I looked at it. Then we looked at each other. We went for the notebook at the same time, but he moved in a blur, snatching it from the floor.

“That’s mine!” I cried, flying forward.

He lifted the notebook out of my reach, and he ignored me as I jumped, trying to claw it from his hands.

“My name is in here,” he said, angling his body away as he studied the notebook. “Arrogance that sets my teeth on edge,” he read. “Silver eyes and broad shoulders.”

Oh my fucking god. Anger and worry warred within me. What if he read my notes from the maze? For some reason, it seemed important that he didn’t find out I’d met Goliath and the others. “Give it back!” I demanded. “You have no right to look at my things!”

He met my gaze. “I do when you sneak out of your room.” He stepped toward me, menace hovering around him. “Where were you just now, Miss Ward? And before you answer, know that my sense of smell is much better than yours. I can smell deceit, so it would be very foolish to lie to me.”

Chapter

Nine

EINAR

Harper darted looks at the notebook, her hands curled into fists at her sides. For a second, I thought she might actually take a swing at me.

“Give me the notebook,” she said finally.

“Answer my question, and I’ll consider it. Where the hell were you?”

The dusting of freckles on her nose was more prominent than usual against her flushed skin. “Fine. I was exploring the house.”

I let her words roll over me. Scenting lies was rarely straightforward. Most people didn’t speak in absolutes. Speech was the byproduct of thought, and thoughts were messy. But people also got nervous when they lied. Their heart rates picked up. They began to sweat.

I waited for Harper’s perspiration to drift to me. Instead, vanilla and honeysuckle curled into my lungs. Like a switch being flicked on, arousal pumped straight to my dick.

The sudden rush of need had me speaking through clenched teeth. “So you were snooping.”

Harper gave a furious-sounding gasp. “Like you have any room to talk!” Anger snapped in her eyes. “You can’t expect me to stay in my room all the time. I’m a grown woman.”

She certainly was, even though she was damn young. But she’d lived on her own for a long time. Arlo’s report had been thorough, covering how Orson checked out when Harper’s mother fell ill, leaving Harper to fend for herself. She’d navigated college alone, financing her studies with a small trust Margaret left behind. Which made me wonder if Harper’s mother had known Orson couldn’t handle money.

“Besides,” Harper said now, “you never told me I couldn’t leave my room.”

“An oversight. I’m telling you now.”

She clenched her jaw. Her hair was down, the strawberry blond strands streaming over her shoulders. She looked like an avenging angel who wanted to spill my guts onto the area rug. Which shouldn’t have been hot but damn if it wasn’t confusing the hell out of my dick.

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