Then her gaze falls onto me. Her hazel eyes narrow as she studies me with interest. It’s nothing I’m not used to. The gawking and licking of their lips, wanting to be the next queen of the kingdom. They all know that in a few years, my father’s legacy—the money and enemies—will become mine. The allure of danger and the idea that I might protect them from it have them fawning over me.
This meek little mouse doesn’t look at me like that, though. She’s interested but unsure. I let my eyes roam down the length of her body.
She’s wearing a baby-blue dress that hugs her barely-there curves. My eyes linger on her breasts a little too long, wondering if she is wearing a push-up bra or if that’s her real size. When I snap out of my boob-induced trance, I look up to find her glaring daggers at me like she is about to deliver a swift kick to my balls.
Surprisingly, when I glance at her dad, he looks pleased.
How odd. Normally, I would get the opposite reaction.
Girls like it when I look at them, and their dads don’t.
I snap out of the memory, my jaw tightening to the point of pain. I should’ve known then that something was off about them. I was just too young and stupid to realize it at the time. Funny, even then, Aspen was a snake slithering through the grass, and if she is smart, she will stay the hell out of my way, especially since there is no one here to protect her from me.