Page 6 of Ruthless Prince
The Hales were old money, descended from a noble European banking family. During the 19thand early 20thcentury, they possessed one of the largest private fortunes in the entire world. That money was now divided amongst various descendants, and today their interests mostly lay within pharmaceuticals. They owned several of the biggest drug companies in the States, raking in billions from them everyyear.
The Hales were also well-known for their political dealings. While none of the family members had ever been directly involved in the government, it was common knowledge that they often made large financial contributions to political think tanks and candidates. They didn’t seem to have much loyalty to any party in particular—whichever one provided the best tax breaks would usually gain their support. For the last thirty or so years, however, they’d gone against the grain and largely supported Democraticcandidates.
The Thornes were a similar story. Their fortune was newer than the Hales, but they were still very wealthy and just as politically-involved. They’d always supported the Democratic Party (making them the sworn enemies of my parents, given their Republican backgrounds) and their businesses covered a diverse range of fields, including real estate, mining, energy, andmedia.
Despite all that, their most famous—or infamous—business venture was Wonderland, a massive entertainment venue and resort owned and operated by Chuck Thorne himself. The resort comprised a 500-room, 150,000 square foot mansion containing hotel-style accommodation, the Wonderland Club (an exclusive members-only club) and an enormous casino along with multiple bars, nightclubs, andcinemas.
Wonderland’s notoriety stemmed from the fact that it was essentially a brothel. Even though prostitution was illegal in the state of Maryland, it was an open secret that the proprietors of the resort allowed and encouraged it to happen. There were rumors of a ‘cocktail menu’ in the Wonderland Club that guests used to order sexual services, and this ensured that they weren’t technically doing anything illegal. After all, it was perfectly legal to book a private suite and order two Pina Coladas to share with an attractive young man orwoman.
Chuck Thorne never got in trouble because many of the frequent visitors were high-ranking government officials. If any of them tried to shut the place down for its illicit activity, they’d find their reputations destroyed. I was sure they received sizable bribes to keep their mouths shut,too.
“That’s probably true,” Rowan replied. “It’s fucking ridiculous how loaded they are. I feel like a peasant compared tothem.”
I gave him a rueful smile. “Metoo.”
My father’s side of the family was wealthy, but it was nothing compared to the Thorne and Haledynasties.
“Speak of the devil,” Rowan muttered, eyes drifting somewhere behindme.
“Logan’s here?” I whipped my headaround.
“Yup.”
I caught sight of him on the other side of the room, deep in conversation with Teddy Rutherford, the son of the previouspresident.
He lifted his imperious gaze to mine as if he’d sensed my eyes on him, and I gulped and glanced upward, trying to pretend I was actually looking at the oil painting behind him. I could still see him out of the corner of my eye, and I noticed his lip curl with disdain before he turned back toTeddy.
Now that he wasn’t staring right at me, I dared to look at him again. The mere sight of his face sent a jolt of warmth rocketing through mybody.
His dark hair was tousled in a carefree sort of way, framing his chiseled features, and my fingers itched to touch his skin and feel his cheek move beneath my fingertips. A familiar longing pooled in my stomach; an ache I’d never been able to sate before and probably neverwould.
Nevershouldwas probably a more appropriate thing to say. Logan was a grade-Abastard.
“Did you ever figure out why he hates you so much?” Rowan asked, sparse browsfurrowing.
I bit my lip. It wasn’t the first time someone had asked me thatquestion.
Even though our families were rivals, Logan and I were friends when we were kids. His sister Chloe was in my grade at the same exclusive prep school I attended, and while she was a horrible bully to me (as the daughter of billionaires, she ranked higher in the social pecking order), Logan had always been nice when we ran into each other atfunctions.
One evening when I was sixteen, everything changed between us forgood.
It was the night of the Fall Fling, a school dance. None of the boys from my brother school had asked me to be their date due to a rumor Chloe had spread around—something about me allegedly having chlamydia despite the fact I was a virgin—so I went solo. Chloe had a date, of course, but he bailed on the fling at the last minute after catching mono, which had been going around all the prep schools at thetime.
Not wanting to be seen attending a dance alone, she asked her older brother to escort her to the event. When she made her grand entrance in a dazzling silver gown with slits up the side, blonde hair curled to perfection and green eyes sparkling, she caught the rapt attention of everyone in the room. Except me. I only had eyes forLogan.
Up until that moment, I had little interest in boys. I was more interested in hanging out with my friends and studying. But when I saw Logan stride into the hall looking like a master of the universe with his broad-shouldered confidence and perfectly square jaw, I felt like I’d been hit by a thunderbolt. I hadn’t seen him for a couple of years at that stage, but he was no longer the lanky teenage boy I once knew. He was a man. Not only that, he was the most gorgeous one I’d everseen.
To Chloe’s disgust, Logan ditched her and spent the entire night with me. We danced, we drank punch together, and we had endless fun. At one point, we even ditched the hall and went to sit outside on the edge of a fountain so we could be alone with each other. We dangled our legs in the bubbling water and laughed as we splashed each other, not caring that our outfits could be ruined. Then we talked for hours about the things we liked, the people we hung out with, and our plans for the future. Logan loved politics and wanted to be president one day, and I wanted to be a lawyer like my mother was before she becameGovernor.
It was all so perfectly sweet and innocent. So chaste. Right up until the moment Logan put his arm around me and pulled me close. His touch on my skin was white-hot, lighting up parts of me that hadn’t felt anything since… well, ever. It was a trueawakening.
I quietly asked him what he was doing, and he looked right in my eyes and told me he’d always wanted me. We came from rival families, but that didn’t matter to him at all. He said I was supposed to be with him, and one day, he’d make me his officially. Then he leaned down to my ear and whispered the hottest thing I’d ever heard in my young life.‘I’m going to take all your firsts. Every last one of them. Including thisone.’
He tilted my face around, and his lips closed over mine. That moment, that wonderful first kiss, was everything to me—a promise, a rushing need, a blazing inferno igniting inside me. It was the best night of mylife.
We didn’t do anything beyond that kiss, which seemed ridiculously juvenile now, but to a starry-eyed teen with zero experience, those moments with Logan were the most stimulating I’d everencountered.
Afterwards, he told me he didn’t want to take things too fast with someone as special as me, and he left me swooning by the fountain with a promise to call me the nextday.
