CHAPTER12
There was a firm, loud knock at my door, and I took a deep breath before moving toward it. My dress swirled around me like glitter as I walked, and I knew that this was exactly what the queen wanted.
Attention.
And she was sure to have it.
I opened the door and was surprised to see Evren standing on the other side instead of one of the guards.
The smile on his face fell as his gaze roamed over every inch of tight fabric that showed off my body that the dress was meant to cover, and I watched his hand ball into a fist as he noticed the long slit that crawled up my thigh.
“Princess.” He cleared his throat roughly before bringing his gaze back up to meet mine. “I’ve come to escort you to your first ball.”
“Shouldn’t Gavril be doing that?” I asked even though I was more than happy that it was Evren instead of his brother.
“The crowned prince is already in attendance at the ball. His grace was presented with the king and queen.”
“But not you?”
“Not me.” He smiled again, this time the move looked genuine as he stared down at me with his dark eyes.
He was wearing his signature black attire, but his dark trousers were finely pressed and perfectly tucked into leather boots and his shirt was molded to his skin like it was made for no other. And for the first time since I first met the prince, he wore a pin of his father’s royal crest along his chest.
“You look…” He hesitated for a moment and his gaze fell to my bodice which was barely covered in white satin and the sheer jeweled fabric that fell along my shoulders. “Unbelievable.” He shook his head.
I could feel heat rising in my chest as I looked away from him. All I could think about was the way I had been on my knees before him only the night before. “You look handsome as well.”
“I do not compare, princess.” He ran his hand over the front of his trousers. “Whatever I am, it does not measure to you.”
I tried not to let him see how much his words affected me, but it was impossible. I was completely and irrevocably altered by his words.
“Thank you, Evren.”
He held out his hand for mine, and I placed it there without hesitation. My star marks sparked to life with the first touch of his skin to mine, and it was odd to feel him against my thigh along with my back and cheeks.
I had hardly noticed the night before because I had felt him everywhere.
He tucked my hand into the crook of his arm as he slowly closed my door behind us and led us down the hallway toward the ball. A ball that was being held in my honor although I had zero interest in attending.
“I don’t want to do this.” I dug my fingers into Evren’s bicep, and he stopped in his tracks.
The hallway was quiet and empty, and even though I knew the palace was filled with others waiting to see me, when I looked up at him, I felt like we were alone.
“I’ll be there the whole time, princess. No one is going to hurt you.” His dark eyes looked over every inch of me. “You have been hurt under my watch once, and I refused to allow it to happen again.”
But being physically hurt wasn’t what I feared the most. I didn’t want to be paraded around their ballroom like a prized cattle who was nothing but a trophy before she was to be slaughtered. I didn’t want to feel their eyes or their hands on me.
I felt desperate to hide away. To run.
But as Evren stared down at me, I knew that wasn’t a choice. He swore no one would hurt me, but it would be by his family’s hand that I would suffer the most.
He lifted his hand before tracing his thumb over my jaw and my bottom lip faintly. I could smell traces of leather on his skin, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I pressed my tongue against the tip of his thumb before he could pull it away.
His gaze darkened and his thumb pressed harder against me as his fist tilted my chin to look up at him. “You’re playing a dangerous game, princess.”
“And what game is that?” I baited him. I wanted an argument, anything that would take me away from the fate that was set in front of me.
“The game where I take you back to your room and fuck you instead of going to this absurd ball.” He pressed closer to me, and I didn’t dare back away. I was desperate to feel how badly he wanted me. “Instead of this perfect fucking version of the Starblessed they’ve created, you’ll arrive to them depraved and sated.” He leaned forward and his mouth pressed against his thumb and my lips. “My brother will look at you, and every bit of doubt he’s had about your desires will knock the breath from his lungs. He’ll have no choice but to see how badly you need me, how easily I taught you things I’ve been dreaming about since I first laid eyes on you.”