Stealing His Princess (Kings of Conquest #2) - Adelaide Forrest Page 0,18

close to her, but who’d want that as a Queen Mother?”

"I suppose it’s lucky that I love Holden’s mother almost as much as I do my own. A dragon from Hell as a mother-in-law would be terrible,” I agreed with a shudder, probably too enthusiastically.

My body stilled as a hand fell on the small of my back. Holden's breath came too close to my cheek as he leaned in and touched his lips to it gently. I wondered if perhaps he’d heard more than I would have wanted of my conversation with Piper. From the corner of my eye, his smile looked wide as he greeted my friend, and I sighed comfortably, certain he’d not heard much.

"I'm sorry to bother you, ladies," he said with a sheepish smile. "I'm afraid I’m getting rather tired, it being such a late hour and all.” He threw a look down at me. “Bristol, your father already went to bed, and he asked that I see you returned to your rooms safely." I turned a fake smile his way, nodding my agreement.

"That sounds lovely," I agreed for any ears that may be prying. I bent forward to buss Piper on the cheek. “Night, Piper. Good luck.”

“Night, Bristol, Holden. You two sleep tight.” She gave us a toast before walking away, undoubtedly to find a man who would dance with her. My heart ached in pity.

With a wide smile, I looked up and nodded at my future husband. I threaded my arm through his bent elbow and leaned in close to Holden. “I can always count on you,” I said, perhaps with an exaggerated amount of earnestness. For any of the vultures circling and waiting for me to fuck up our arrangement so they could claim Holden for themselves. Such was the problem with a society that pitted us against ourselves.

We smiled at one another but were fully prepared to stab each other in the back.

With my arm tucked into Holden’s elbow, our walk up to the suite of rooms I shared with my father for the week was a comfortable one. I'd always been content in Holden's company, and I'd always known that it could have been worse.

Remembering the despair and fear I saw in Piper’s eyes as she contemplated the uncertainty of her future should have been enough to snap me to my senses about just how fortunate I was. But there was a persistent nagging in the pit of my stomach, something I had no choice but to acknowledge as dissatisfaction. Where before I could just as easily ignore it, now it throbbed until my very soul seemed to beat in time with it, as if my kiss with Aric had broken the seal and released my wants from deep within me.

"Holden?" I asked softly once we were out of the ballroom and walking in relative privacy.

He took my hand in his and rubbed it between his own. In movies, the gesture might have seemed romantic. But it was something Holden had done since our childhood, because of my poor circulation.

Just a friend looking out for a friend. "Too much alcohol?" he teased, giving me a tiny wink when he felt the distinct lack of cold to my skin.

I flushed, a mixture of guilt and the aforementioned alcohol burning its way up my back. "I suppose you could say so." That and a kiss on a darkened patio. Hard hands, a demanding mouth, and a strong profile outlined in moonlight were surefire ways to heat a woman’s blood.

"Are you drunk? You're very flushed." He peered down at me worriedly, and I brushed him off with a wave of my hand.

"Not really,” I said evasively. I took a deep breath as I asked the question. I'd thought myself brave, but this was a conversation I never truly opened with Holden. “Do you ever wonder where we might have ended up if our parents hadn’t chosen us for each other so young?” It felt strange to give voice to my hesitations in marrying him. Even though it was something we both understood about our relationship, we never spoke of it.

Was it our resignation to it that made us avoid the topic altogether? The knowledge that all the talking in the world could not change the way our roads had already been paved for us, and all we had left to do was walk down the path together despite our reluctance?

“What do you mean?” He stopped for a moment in the darkened, empty hallway. Slats