pretensions were what made the world go round?
She raised her hand up. “Do you see?”
He shook his head.
“T-the ring.”
Ah.
Her voice rose a little. “I’m s-still engaged. Grant s-said it’s okay. I’m still w-with him, so please, please take me back—-”
Rain mingled with the tears that fell on her face.
“Please, baby—-”
God.
He cupped her face, saying hoarsely, “Angel—-”
She shook her head wildly. “Please—-”
Unable to bear the torment on her face, the prince covered her mouth with his.
From a distance, high-powered lens zoomed in, and a photo was taken, capturing the moment of bleakness that crossed the prince’s face just before he kissed Fawn for the first time.
****
When the kiss ended, Fawn’s knees gave out, and the prince swept her up in his arms. She clung to him, teeth chattering as rain continued to ravage their surroundings. Inside the limousine, she only waited for the door to close before reaching for his pants—-
“Angel—-”
She shook her head while frantically fumbling with the zipper. No words. Words only always got in the way between them. When she managed to free his cock from its confines, the prince groaned—-
She straddled him.
His hands clutched her waist. “Angel—-”
“Please,” she begged him.
He started to push her away.
Out of desperation, she fused her mouth with his.
The prince shuddered under her.
She kissed him harder, her tongue mating with his, and she felt his hands start to move.
A sound ripped in the air as the prince tore her panties away, and she muffled a cry of relief against his lips.
He took over then, and she was glad to let him, her body molding to his command.
The prince lifted her up, moved her dress out of the way, and then pulled her back down, impaling her with his cock.
A cry escaped her at the bittersweet beauty of his possession, and then they were rocking against each other, the prince thrusting hard in and out of her. They made furious love with each other, over and over, and when they reached the prince’s home, she could no longer keep her eyes open, exhaustion and sleepless nights finally catching up with her.
But when she woke up, the prince still wasn’t beside her.
A sign of heartbreak that was to come—-
But a sign that she chose to ignore.
Because that was how the heart survived.
Memories mocked her as she made her way down the winding stairs, teasing her of the times she had stolen glances of the prince even when she had thought he was evil incarnate. She reached the living room, remembered the numerous times she had swept the place clean like a real-life Cinderella, and the prince remained out of her reach.
Such sweet memories, and yet they had been unable to protect her.
Her legs trembled as she made her way down the hallway leading to the prince’s study, and panic seized her by the throat when she began to hear familiar voices.
So many signs—-
So many signs—-
But still, she chose to ignore all of them.
Still, she chose to hope.
Because he had come back to her, and that had to mean something.
It had to.
Stopping in front of the door to the prince’s study, she heard Igor say, “Ms. Crichton has reached Isola L’Eternita, sir.”
Fawn tensed in surprise. She hadn’t expected Beatrice Crichton to leave the prince’s compound, considering that a man was dead set on killing her.
“Please inform Jason Christakos about this and call our contacts in Sicily. I want her heavily guarded. We require her testimony once Davos is tried for his crimes.”
“Understood, sir.”
Both men’s voices became muffled, and she pressed her ear to the door.
“Are you truly sending her away?”
Her heart squeezed, and she strained harder to listen to the two.
“She is not of our world, Igor. You know that.”
“What I do know, sir, is that she is for you.”
“For me?” The prince’s voice lowered into a nearly inaudible murmur, and Fawn could no longer hear what he had to say until his voice started to rise again in a furious hiss. “And yet you say someone like her...a goddamn living angel...is for me?”
More words being exchanged, but none of which she could hear, and unable to stop herself, she started to turn the knob, just in time to hear the prince snarl, “She’s engaged.”
Fawn flinched.
“Have you forgotten that fact?” Something shattered against the wall, and she heard the prince grit out, “She’s not for me—-”
This time, she couldn’t stop herself and she threw the door open. “I want to be yours.” Wrenching Grant’s engagement ring off her finger, she threw it away in vain hope