Page 61 of Ruthless Prince
I caught a flicker of amusement in his eyes. Then it was gone, replaced with steel. “Okay. Lead theway.”
With my head held high, I forged a path through a crowd of revelers and made my way to the maze entrance. Every hedge was a uniform green, trimmed to perfection, and they towered over Logan and me as we ventured inside and found a quiet nook. It was cold and dark in this part of the labyrinth, lit only by the stars andmoonlight.
“So what do you want?” Logan finally asked, arms folded over hischest.
For a second, I couldn’t speak at all. A flood of arousal was pooling between my legs and my cheeks were flushing hot withexcitement.
I hated this. Hated how the only time I ever felt anything remotely sexual at all was aroundhim.As much as I tried to ignore it or pretend it was because of someone or something else entirely, I remained painfully aware of the effect he had onme.
When I didn’t respond right away, he narrowed his eyes and took a step closer, backing me up against the hedgerow. “Tell me what youwant.”
I swallowed hard as he towered over me, eyes flickering with naked disdain. For a second, I was tempted to say:You. I wantyou.
But that wasn’t true. Noway.
I took a deep breath. “I just wanted to say that I know we have issues with each other. We don’t like each other,and—”
“Noshit.”
Anger flared in my chest. He’d cut me off before I could even get halfway through the speech I had planned for him. “You know what, Logan?” I snapped, overcome with another burst of resentment-fueled confidence. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t care what you think of me anymore. Not onebit.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, you’ve made thatveryclear.”
I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not. I guess it didn’t matter eitherway.
After another deep breath, I pressed onward. “Anyway, if you can let me talk for more than five seconds at a time, I’d really appreciate it,” I said in an acidtone.
He raised one eyebrow and nodded his silentassent.
“I wanted to say that we’re both in the Order now, so we’re probably going to see each other a lot, but there’s about five hundred members altogether, right?” Iasked.
“Sixhundred.”
“Right. Even better. With that many members, it’ll be easy for us to avoid each other. So let’s just agree to do that now. We’ll stay away from each other as much as possible, even when we have to attend the same society events.Deal?”
I expected him to agree, but instead he moved even closer and pressed his right hand into the hedge, just above my shoulder. His fingertips brushed against my robe, making a tingle shoot down my arm, and he leaned his face close to mine, lips lingering near my ear. “I don’t think so,Willow.”
Goosebumps broke out all over my neck from the feel of his breath on my skin. His masculinity was undeniable, and I was nothing but a weak trembling mess beneath him. “What?” Iwhispered.
He lowered his hand, trailing it over my shoulder and down to my collarbone. “I’m not going to stay away from you,” he said. His voice was a husky murmur now, and it made my insides clench with sinfulthoughts.
“Why not?” I askedtimidly.
Logan’s hand suddenly closed around my upper arm in a tight grip, making me yelp with surprise. I was immediately torn between the need to pull away from his menacing hold and my disconcerting desire to stay close tohim.
His lips twisted into a superior smirk, as if there was some sort of joke I’d missed. “I just have a feeling we’ll be getting a lot closer soon,” he said. “That’sall.”
Before I could even begin to form a coherent response to that, he pulled back and dropped his hand from my arm, leaving behind a pressure and warmth so intense I swore I could still feel his fingers on me. “You should check your phone. I heard something’s going down at the White House,” hesaid.
I patted my back pocket. “Shit,” I muttered as I remembered that Mal had my cell. “What’shappening?”
Logan shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s just what Iheard.”
“Can I use yourphone?”
He shook his head. “Dead battery. You’ll have to get your own.” With that, he turned and saunteredaway.
I hurried after him, worried I’d lose myself in the maze if I stayed inside alone. When we reached the exit, he stepped out and vanished into the crowd without so much as a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure I got out okay. “Prick,” I said under mybreath.
