Prince Player(14)

Andrew eyes me for a second without saying anything. “You’ve been gone a while,” he says slowly. “You’ve lost the feel for court. People may be getting more liberal out there, but in here, the nobles are getting more entrenched in their ways. They don’t want things to change, Nolan. Julian is just going to give them what they want.”

I shake my head, at a total fucking loss. Every kid learns about the social purity laws in high school. They were a group of draconian, awful fucking things designed to keep everybody in check. They banned jokes, types of music, sex outside of marriage, alcohol, and basically anything fun in life.

The punishments for breaking a social purity law were about as inhuman as possible, such as stoning, hanging, dismemberment, and death. You could get killed for making an off-color joke. You could get your genitals mutilated for touching yourself. You could have your tongue cut out and your eyes removed for impure thoughts. It was a very dark time in Polovian history, and nobody thinks kindly about the social purity laws.

But the fact that the nobles would even consider reinstating them in any form just speaks to how incredibly out of touch they must be. Only a sick fucking person would want that again. Even if they do some watered down version, calling them “social purity laws” sends a clear message.

They want to control every part of every person’s life. And I’m not having that.

“You can’t speak of this,” Andrew says seriously. “You’ll give Julian ammunition to come after you.”

“How is my father in favor of purity laws?” I ask Andrew.

“I don’t think he is. But many of the nobles are. My understanding is that Julian’s laws are more about keeping the people in their rightful place than about punishing masturbation.”

“That sounds almost worse,” I say to him.

“It could be,” he admits. “But nothing is real. So please, don’t stir the pot and make things worse.”

“Me, stir the pot?” I grin at him. “Well, I never.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’ll write up the contract for you. Just forget we had this conversation, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.” I stand up and nod at him. “Thanks for the help. I owe you one.”

“Just doing my job,” he grunts.

I turn and head out, my mind spinning in fast circles.

Now I see why my mother wasn’t trying to talk me out of this marriage. She likely fears these purity laws as much as anyone else. I can stop them, but I have to win my father’s favor again. I have to show him that I can lead.

And I have to show him that my vision of Polovia’s future is better than Julian’s. I don’t want to hold people back. I want to give them better lives, which will make what the nobles have worth even more. I know I can show them how freedom, equality, and openness will benefit everyone. Instituting some horrible draconian laws will only hurt this country.

For now though, I need to get Hazel to agree. Once she signs on the dotted line, she’ll be all mine. And the fun part of this can get started.





8





Hazel





I use a vacation day to try and figure out what the hell I want to do. I figure I shouldn’t be in the castle. If I run into the prince again, I know I’ll just tell him whatever he wants to hear.

And I need to think. What he offered me is crazy, but it could also change my life in ways I can’t even begin to fathom. I’m not a rich girl and my family certainly isn’t rich either. I don’t have their financial support anymore anyway. The job market back home doesn’t look great, and I’ve been stressing about money my entire life.

I could do whatever I wanted with this deal. Half a million dollars every year, guaranteed, is a lot of money. I could buy a house, or several houses, or start a business. I’d have to travel back to Polovia twice a year, but that wouldn’t be so bad. I’d have my freedom to do whatever I want. It’s the sort of opportunity very few people get in this world.

And yet… I’d have to marry the prince.

I don’t even know him. I’ve barely had two conversations with the man, and now he wants to marry me and pay me a lot of money.

And he wants to get me pregnant.

I stop outside of a coffee shop and lean up against a wall. I close my eyes for a second and picture what it would be like with Prince Nolan.

He’d slowly undress me, look me in the eyes, and kiss me. I bet he’d whisper in my ear as his hands slowly slipped down toward my pussy. I’d bite down on his lower lip and moan as he plunges himself into me, over and over again, that perfect body pressing me down against the bed…