“Okay, fine. Not nice. But I can see why you’d like it.”
“It’s one of the last real places left for me,” I said softly. “Maybe that sounds stupid, but I wanted to bring you here.”
She shifted her weight toward me. “Got any change?”
I grinned. “Sure. Need me to buy you something?”
“No. Come on, hand it over.”
I fished a few coins from my pocket. She took them and tossed them into the fountain.
“What did you wish for?” I asked.
“Can’t say. Otherwise it won’t come true.”
I tossed a few coins in and then stroked my chin. “I don’t know what to wish for.”
“Better hurry. The magic doesn’t last.”
“I wish that you’d finally let me spread your legs and taste that pussy.”
She blushed and looked away. “How’d I know you’d say that?”
“Because you know what’s on my mind.” I reached out toward her and pulled her chin toward me. “We both know what I want. And we both know what you need.”
“What do I need?”
“You need to taste me. Ever since I whispered in your ear, you’ve been thinking about what it would feel like to have me against your lips.”
“Not true,” she whispered, but her body said differently.
“Liar,” I said softly. “You know it’s a crime to lie to the king?”
“You’re not my king.”
I moved closer to her, still holding her chin. She didn’t move, her eyes locked on mine. “Maybe not yet.”
“And how do you think you’ll become my king?” she asked.
“First, I’m going to kiss you, and then I’m going to make you come so hard you forget where you’re from. I’ll worry about the details later.”
She smiled. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I pulled her against me and kissed her hard.
She didn’t fight. She wrapped her arms around me and I pulled her against me, our lips pressed together. Her taste flooded my mind and my mouth, every inch of her like flames against my skin.
It was exactly what I wanted. Her lips were soft and starving against mine, and she let out a soft moan as my hands spread her legs open. She didn’t fight me, and I knew she was mine to do with whatever I wanted.
I needed to taste her, to feel her. I wanted to press myself deep inside her tight pussy and bite her lip. I wanted to fuck her in the shadow of the crumbling fountain, the last place I felt at home.
Instead, as I continued to kiss her, our tongues touching, my phone began to ring.
It rang and rang and then stopped. We kept kissing. It began to ring again.
Finally, she pulled back. “Get it,” she said. “It could be a national emergency.”
“It’s always a fucking emergency,” I said. “And right now, I’m too fucking hard to do anything but feel you.”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “Answer it.”
I sighed, pulled my phone from my pocket, and answered it.
“Yes?” I said.
It was Al, and he sounded serious.
“Your Highness, there was an attack at the east Stehen rail station. Reports say two dead, many wounded. We need to bring you home.”
My jaw went tight. “Very well. Meet me at first and Hohle.” I hung the phone up.
“What’s wrong?” Bryce asked.
“We have to go.”
“National emergency?”
I stood up, sighing. “For once, yes.”
She stood, worried. “Is everything okay?”
“It will be. I promise.” We headed back to the car and got in. I started the engine and drove to the intersection. My security detail was already there and waiting.
We headed back to the castle in tense silence. I hated that we were interrupted, but I hated even more that those bastard rebels would start killing civilians in Stehen.
It had only been a matter of time. Their brutal tactics could work only so well so far from the capital city. They were butchers and thieves, and they would pay dearly for this.
I was going to kill every last rebel I could get my hands on. Those bastards were going to feel my retribution.
13
Bryce
I couldn’t believe I kissed the king.
I looked at myself in my bathroom mirror, my mind reeling. We got back to the castle not too long ago, and although I could tell something had happened, nobody was telling me what was going on. It was probably some obscure Starklandian crisis I wouldn’t care about, but still.
I couldn’t believe I kissed Trip. I kept telling myself over and over that I wasn’t going to fall for his shit, but the second he actually pulled me against him, I couldn’t resist. I should have known better than to put myself in that position at all, but I couldn’t help myself.