The Prince's Bride (Part 1) - J.J. McAvoy Page 0,77
leave.
She nodded and walked off my porch to her red Porsche. “See you later.”
I waved and waited for her to drive off, shivering again and running back inside. Gale was back where I left him, the rest of everyone else now gone.
“You and your sister are a bit alike,” he stated.
“We are not,” I said.
“If you say so. Are you still mad at her?”
“She refuses to let me be,” I muttered, standing in front of him. “And now that she thinks I’m apparently interviewing all of you for my future husband. I don’t have the right to be mad, either.”
“Wolfgang is too young for you. And Iskandar...well, he’s married to his career, so that’s not an option, either.”
“Taking out your competition?” I teased.
“Am I still in the race?”
“You are the only one—only one competing,” I added that second part quickly. “If you still want to, I guess. You don’t seem as enthusiastic as before I left, though.”
“I’m trying a new approach,” he replied. “My brother told me to try to be your friend first. However, you are really making that hard for me.”
His gaze dropped to chest again, so I crossed my arms over my nipples quickly. Why were they so damn sensitive? Jeez!
“I’m not doing it on purpose.”
“That’s the problem.” His face was closer to mine now, and I couldn’t look away from his lips. “You are not doing anything, and yet I keep thinking about you, wanting you. I am not just saying that, either. If you knew how badly I wanted to kiss you...you’d disappear again or reject me again. So, I am trying to take it slow...very slow.”
I didn’t want very slow, though.
“So here is to our growing friendship.” He stretched out his hand.
I saw and ignored it, closing the distance between our lips.
She was evil.
She was purposely trying to torture me.
And I was just going to let her because it felt so damn good. Feeling her lips on mine as I wrapped my arms around her, pressing her body against mine, and doing exactly what I had wanted to do for days now had me overflowing with excitement. When her mouth opened for me and her breasts brushed up against my chest, my heart began to pound faster, and I knew I was in heaven. I wanted to stay there so badly. I wanted to kiss her like this until the sun rose and set again.
If only, I thought as our lips separated. When I opened my eyelids, her brown eyes seemed to sparkle. Sighing, I put my forehead to hers, holding her face.
“Why are you torturing me like this?” I whispered, truly hoping she would answer. “Why am I always on the wrong page with you? When I tried to get closer to you, you backed away. When I back away, you come close. What am I supposed to do?”
“Think of it like dancing?” she replied half-heartedly, reaching up to place her hands over my own. “I’m sorry if I’m confusing you. But I’m confused, too. I get scared when you get close. But I don’t want you to back away, either.”
“Why are you scared?”
“Because I do not like to be hurt and men seem to always the worst.”
“I won’t hurt you.”
She frowned and tried to step back. “No one ever starts out thinking they will, but somewhere down the line they do, Gale.”
I held her still. “I, Prince Galahad Fitzhugh Cornelius Edgar of the House of Monterey, will not hurt you, Odette.”
She opened her mouth, but I shook my head.
“Remember what I told you on our first date,” I said, brushing her curls from her face. “Do not try to look at the end. Instead, enjoy the present with me.” I was not sure what she was trying to see in my eyes, but she stared for a long time before nodding.
“Okay.”
“Okay, what?” I asked, not sure if I heard her over the sound of my heart beating.
“Okay, I will date you.”
I grinned. I would take it. Letting go of her, I stepped out of their study. “Iskandar? Wolfgang? I am ready to go.”
“You’re leaving?” She gaped, amazed. “Just like that.”
“Yes. If I stay any longer, I’m worried you will feel the need to push me away.” I smiled. “I will come close, and then I will back off to give you space until you get used to me.”
She made a face at me. “You don’t have to do that.”
“We will see. For now, I do not plan on risking it.” I winked.