Page 34 of Prisoner of the Lycan Prince

“Yes. It’s gone.” I waited for a hole to open in the floor and swallow me. When it didn’t, I tightened my grip on the comforter. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Whatever it was, I certainly didn’t welcome it.”

The temperature in the room plunged, filling the space between us with brittle currents. I glanced at the fireplace, but the dead leaves didn’t stir. Weird. The draft must have come from the windows.

Einar’s frown deepened. “The centaurs’ magic is strong, especially when they’re looking to mate. You shouldn’t have been outside in the first place. I ordered you to stay in your room.”

For a second, I was speechless. Then outrage rushed forth. “You’re blaming me for what happened? Something I couldn’t control?”

“You’re responsible for your own actions. Unless you want me to believe someone forced you to open the door and run to the maze?”

My hand itched to slap the arrogant expression off his face. “I saw horses trying to kill each other.”

“Centaurs, Miss Ward. How many times do I have to tell you that Draithmere isn’t an ordinary house?”

“Are you serious? You don’t tell me anything!” I bit back the urge to confess I knew all about the maze and the people within it. If Einar discovered I’d met Goliath and the others, he’d stop me from talking to them. And I’d lose my only opportunity to escape.

“I’ve told you what you need to know,” Einar said. “I’ve kept it simple, Miss Ward. Until I’m satisfied your father has returned every shred of evidence he possesses about my true nature, you’re my guest. And as long as you’re here, you’ll remain in your room. If you can’t remember that single instruction, perhaps you should write it in your notebook.”

Humiliation, hurt, and anger swirled in my chest, the noxious combination threatening to choke me. The notebook was more than paper and cardboard. More than a convenient place to write reminders. It was the only real connection I had to my mother.

“I want you to leave,” I told Einar through clenched teeth. “And I hope I never see you again.”

The chill in the air intensified. Einar’s eyes seemed paler, the silver like chips of ice. “I’ll have Arlo bring your dinner.”

I didn’t want it. But whatever. I forced myself to hold Einar’s stare, my fingers aching as I gripped the comforter under my chin.

For a second, Einar seemed like he might say something else. But he just turned and walked out. Leaving me alone, my body as cold as the October air outside.

Chapter

Eleven

EINAR

Harper’s parting words ran on a loop in my head as I slammed into my suite.

“And I hope I never see you again.”

Fine. It was better that way. But I didn’t want it. At long last, I had to admit what I already knew. I didn’t want to keep my distance from Harper Ward. No, I wanted to be in her bed. Inside her body. I wanted her strawberry blond hair wrapped around my fist while I put her on her hands and knees and thrust hard into her delectable cunt.

My jaw ached, and saliva filled my mouth as my fangs tried to descend. Pain throbbed deep in my bones, and a fire flared to life in the center of my chest. Gritting my teeth, I adjusted my straining erection as I stalked to my bedroom.

The bedside table was stocked with flasks. I pulled one out, wrenched the cap off, and poured the contents down my throat. Adina’s brew went to work, scalding my veins like acid. Its fire was agony, but it chased the other fire away, which was all that mattered. When the flask was empty, I gripped the edge of the desk, squeezed my eyes shut, and rode out the burn.

Immediately, a vision of Harper appeared behind my lids.

She’d looked fucking perfect on that bed. Sweetly rounded hips. Firm tits concealed by the thinnest layer of cotton. Toned legs that went on forever. And between them, a plump, pink pussy with a pouty clit glossed with arousal. Her mound was crowned with a tiny patch of short, neat curls the same strawberry blond as her hair.

And damn if my mouth hadn’t watered with the need to taste her there. To lick a path from those damp curls to her glistening cunt. She’d been so responsive, so eager to obey. To hunt down her pleasure and take it.

But none of that responsiveness had been for me.

No, she’d fallen under the centaurs’ spell, her body caught up in magic-fueled lust no human could resist. She’d made that much clear the second she opened her eyes and remembered I was in the room. Then she’d scrambled from the bed and wrapped the comforter around her like she couldn’t stand having my eyes on her.

“I don’t know what came over me. Whatever it was, I certainly didn’t welcome it.”

Her words had landed like a punch to the gut. Which was precisely the reality check I needed. Harper Ward could never be mine. She had every reason to hate me. What else did I expect after I threatened her father and took her from her home? I’d uprooted her entire life, using her as collateral in a dispute that had nothing to do with her. Then I put her in a cage and told myself it was acceptable because I gave her a few books and access to television. I deserved every ounce of disgust she threw my way. The problem was, her disgust only made me want her more. Every flash of defiance in her blue eyes heightened my lust. Made me want to add more bars to her cage so I could keep her a little longer. It would piss her off. Make her hate me even more. And the perverse, twisted thing inside me that craved her would like it.

Blood pounded in my dick, my erection pressing painfully against my jeans. Sweat broke out across my body. A sharp crack split the air, and the edge of the desk gave way under my hand.

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