I lie on my back, staring at the ceiling and wondering how I could let this happen.
“You were perfect, princess,” he tells me, his voice already groggy with sleep. “I can’t fucking wait to make you my wife.”
“Me either,” I whisper, trying to force myself to believe the lie coming off my own lips.
Maybe if I repeat it enough times, it’ll become real…
* * *
I wake up to the feeling of warm sunlight on my skin, and long fingers exploring my body. I smile with my eyes still closed, then
roll over so my body’s closer to the figure next to me in the plush bed.
“Like what you see?” I whisper, my eyes slowly opening.
Easton lies before me, looking more handsome than ever in a pair of plaid boxer shorts and nothing else. He smiles gently at me, tracing the outlines of my face, his fingertips lingering on my mouth, and then my cheekbones.
“I do,” he tells me. “Sleep well, princess?”
“I did.” I sit up in the bed and stretch myself out, yawning. “Last night was perfect. Thank you so much, Easton. You really showed me what it feels like to be appreciated for who I am.”
Something flashes in his eyes. Regret? Pain? I don’t quite recognize the emotion, but it’s enough to make alarm bells sound off in my head. I pull my arm out of his reach, but just like that, the flash of pity is gone. He looks at me with warm kindness now, caring and sweet just like he was last night.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll have to go do a few things in town today,” he tells me. “I did find a guest to keep you company while I’m away, though.”
“What?” I narrow my eyes at him, still hearing the faint blare of the sirens in my head. “Who?”
“Hello, bitch.”
My eyes go to the doorframe, and I instantly pull the duvet up to my chin the moment I see him looking at me.
“What is he doing here?” I hiss at Easton while Caspian strolls into the room without a care in the world.
He’s wearing ridiculously low-hung grey sweatpants that show off the chiseled V of his hips and a dark happy trail leading behind the waistband of his pants. His cock is fully erect, pushing against the fabric so forcefully I wince at him, convinced his cockhead is just going to rip through the cotton. And no shirt. Of fucking course.
“I told you,” Easton says calmly, picking himself up from the bed. “I have business to do in town. I’ll be gone for two hours.”
Caspian climbs into bed beside me, grinning wickedly while I try to make my escape, wrapping the sheets around my shaking, naked body. But his hand wraps around my wrist, and he pulls me back forcefully, making me stumble back into bed.
I watch Easton get dressed as Caspian inches closer and closer.
“Um, Easton?” I say, my heart pounding. “Can you please take me with you?”
He turns around, regarding the situation before him with cool indifference as he wraps a tie around his neck.
“No, I don’t think so, princess,” he says, his voice devoid of emotion. “I have some errands to do, and besides… I think Caspian wants something from you. Oh, and then Julian. And then Lai.”
“W-What?” I’m starting to see spots in front of me, the whole world getting blurry around me. “What do you mean? I don’t want to be here with them, Easton, I want to be with you.”
“Well, you can’t!” he snarls at me, and I’m thrown aback by his sudden outburst.
He clears his throat, smoothing the tie over his shirt and shrugging on a navy pinstripe blazer.
“I’m sorry, princess. It’s not your fault. But you really were just a pawn from the very beginning.”
“I… I…” I struggle to find the words, but then adrenaline rushes through my body, and I rip myself from Caspian’s clutches, reaching Easton in three quick steps and hammering my fists against his chest. “I want Dexter! Where the hell is Dexter?”
Easton sighs, grabbing me by the wrists and prying my hands off him.