The Controversial Princess (The Smoke & Mirrors Duology #1)(21)

My body softens, leaning back into him. “I’m not scared of you.”

“Liar,” he whispers. I shiver, and it has nothing to do with the cold air. “Want to let me prove your powers of resistance are worthless?”

“You can’t.”

“You know I will.” His arm slips around my waist and hauls me back into him, the side of his face against mine. “Let’s have some fun, Adeline.”

My mind spins for a moment. But only for a moment. I turn in his arms without thought or question, and lift my eyes to his. “That is all it will be.” Or can be. He will simply be a pawn in my mission to defy all the rules. I won’t get attached, because I can’t get attached. I don’t want to get attached. “Fun.”

His lips meet mine softly, carefully, and we fall into a delicate kiss, a kiss that rebels against my intention. “Game on.” And with a smack of my recovering arse, I am reminded that Josh Jameson’s kind of fun may leave its mark on my skin. I can live with that. Just as long as I don’t let him leave his mark anywhere else. Like on my heart. I almost laugh at the thought. A stupid thought.

A light cough interrupts us, and I glance to my left to find Damon a few feet away. “Apologies, ma’am, but you have a visitor.”

“Who?” I ask, not liking Damon’s uneasy disposition. It’s a disposition I’ve grown to recognize acutely. Someone is here who I don’t want to see.

Damon’s eyes flick to Josh momentarily. “Mr. Sampson, ma’am.”

“Haydon?”

“Oh,” Josh breathes, a sarcastic edge apparent as he releases me. “This should be amusing.”

I take his remark as a clear indicator that he is up to speed on all things Haydon Sampson. “How so?”

Josh takes my hand and lifts, pointing at my birthday present from Haydon. “I know you appreciated my birthday gift a lot more.”

I raise my brows, interested. “Oh, really?”

“Really.” Turning me toward Damon, he swats my bottom to send me on my way. “Get rid of him.”

“I can’t just—”

His palm covers my mouth from behind, and I stare at Damon, eyes wide, while Josh pushes his mouth to my cheek. “Would you rather I did?” I shake my head. “The party’s over. His party, anyway. Ours, Your Highness, is just beginning.” Releasing me, I virtually stagger toward an interested Damon, caught in a state of awe and trepidation.

“Ma’am.” Damon nods as I pass him.

“Do not say a word.” I exhale, breaching the entrance into the palace.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Damon picks up pace beside me. “Although it’s quite a bemusing sight, seeing you do what you’re told for once.”

I glare at him, not in the least bit amused. “I am not …” I trail off when Damon’s eyebrows pinch, challenging me to try and talk my way out of it. I sigh, relenting. “Where is Haydon?”

“In the foyer, ma’am. I thought it best to keep him away from the … action.” He nods in the direction of the dining room, where I expect things are even messier now than when I escaped.

“Thank you, Damon.” Goodness, Haydon would keel over with shock if he saw what was happening in there, or in the garden. “What is he doing here, anyway?”

“A bedtime kiss?” Damon quips.

“Funny ha ha.”

“With all due respect, ma’am.” He takes my arm and pulls me to a stop, just before we round the corner to the foyer. He looks back toward the garden.

“I know what I’m doing,” I say before he can lecture me.

Damon laughs lightly. “Do you?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t think you do.”

“Why?”

His hand flexes on my arm. “You’re still shaking. A man has never made you shake before.”

“It’s cold,” I say automatically, claiming back my arm.

“You’ve also never done what a man has told you before. And I’ve never seen this sparkle in your eyes, either. I can’t figure out if it’s mischief, or something else. Something more.”

I blink, as if I can dull down this so-called sparkle. I’m struck rather dumb, surprised by Damon’s observations, and especially surprised he has voiced them to me. I scamper through many replies, many counters to put his mind at rest. And maybe mine, too. But though my words of reassurance gather and form satisfactory sentences in my mind, none of them are prepared to be spoken. “Is that all?” I mutter, looking away.

“That’s all, ma’am.” Damon links his hands behind his back and steps away, giving me space. “Here if you need me.”

“Thank you.” I find Haydon pacing the foyer when I make it there. “Whatever are you doing here, Haydon?”

He breathes out and comes to me, and I brace myself for his kiss. But he stops before he gets his hands on me, looking me up and down. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“You look … off.” At that moment, a huge crash comes from the dining room, followed by loud cheers. Haydon glances across the lobby. “What was that?”

“Eddie is entertaining a few friends. I was just going to bed.”