In Love with a Ruthless Man (Wrong for You)

4

Biting her lip, Fawn struggled with an internal debate before saying haltingly, “But if I really have to answer your question though, I d-don’t know how I feel about what you’re doing. I don’t think it’s wrong, I just don’t know if I agree you should be doing it. Or keep doing it.”

While listening, the prince did his best not to stare at her broodingly even though it was exactly what he wanted to do.

“There’s got to be an emotional toll every time you see someone almost getting raped – and that can’t be healthy, can it? Isn’t there a saying that when you stay too long in the dark, there might be no going back?”

A pause, before the prince said, “There it is then.” At her bemused look, he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Something profound.”

Oh.

“Thank you. I will keep your words in mind.”

His tone was gentle but dismissive, and she knew she was being politely asked to go. “R-right.” Did he think she was being too pushy?

The prince came to his feet the same time she did.

“T-thank you, and I’m sorry.”

The prince only nodded.

She turned to go and walked on shaking legs. A moment later, she almost stumbled, with the prince suddenly walking next to her.

Gah!

Was all this stealth taught only in billionaire school?

Fawn reached for the knob, not realizing that the prince had done the same thing, too.

Their hands touched, the prince’s hand settling over hers.

Oh.

And just like that, it came flying back to her. Every embarrassing memory that almost felt too indecent, too hot—-

The prince’s hand tightened over hers just as he moved closer, and she swallowed a strangled gasp when she felt his heat and hardness pressing against her from behind.

“I hope you learned your lesson, too, parthena mou . ” He was so dangerously close it was almost like his lips were kissing her hair with every word he spoke.

Her knees knocked against each other. “W-what lesson?” She had a desperate urge to run away, but she couldn’t, knowing that if she moved, it would mean feeling more of the prince’s body.

And she didn’t – couldn’t – risk that.

Not now.

Not ever.

“The need to follow me without question of course.”

Oh.

She could feel the prince moving, and then his mouth was once again temptingly close to her ear.

“Because if you don’t—-”

Aaaaah.

His mouth was touching her ear.

“I’ll have to punish you.”

She couldn’t take it anymore, jerking against him as she turned the knob. As she fled, she felt the prince’s gaze following her, taunting her, promising her—-

It didn’t matter what the prince wished to promise.

She grabbed the ring under her shirt and squeezed it hard.

Grant. Grant. Grant.

FAWN SMILED IN RELIEF as Grant shut the door for her and went around the car to get to the driver’s seat. It had been three days since she had gone AWOL from her job, and even now she couldn’t think about the prince without cringing.

Why had she never felt the same thing with Grant? Did it mean she wasn’t really in love with Grant, or was it because he was the Prince of Darkness that her body couldn’t help reacting that way?

Grant joined her inside the car then, and Fawn forced herself to set aside all thoughts as her fiancé turned to her, saying huskily, “I missed you, luv.”

His smile was both dazzling and familiar at the same time, and the sight filled her heart with so much love and happiness she almost cried.

“I miss you, too,” she whispered shakily, and when he lowered his head to kiss her, she closed her eyes as she lifted her mouth to his.

This was the man she had loved her whole life , she told herself as Grant nibbled playfully on her lips.

Whatever happened between her and the prince – it was merely an abnormality, a freakish incident that would never happen again.

Never.

Her fingers sank in his ash blond hair as she surrendered herself to his kiss.

Pulling away, Grant said hoarsely, “You seem different than usual.”

She stiffened, unable to help thinking the worst. She fought to keep her voice steady as she asked, “In w-what way?”

“I’m not certain.” His hungry gaze roamed over her, and Fawn tried not to cringe at the way he licked his lips while his gaze lingered on her breasts. Instead of feeling desirable, she almost felt—-

Fawn mentally shook her head.

Stop it, Fawn.

This was the prince’s fault. What he did – or rather, what almost happened between them – was still messing with her head, and that was the only reason why she was feeling so strange.

Grant touched her cheek, saying huskily, “Are you finally ready?”

She hesitated.

His face hardened.

“Grant—-”

Pulling away, he started to drive without looking at her.

“Grant—-”

“I’m sick of the way you keep playing hot and cold.”

His tone was almost vicious, and it stunned and hurt her.

“How long are you going to lead me on?”

“I’m not—-” Grant’s phone, mounted on the dashboard, suddenly started to ring, and she fell silent. She saw him frown and since he was still driving, she asked tentatively, “Do you want me to answer it for you?”

But Grant rejected the olive branch she was offering, saying brusquely, “It’s unimportant.” He canceled the call.

It rang again almost right after, and glancing at the screen, she saw it was the polo team’s vice captain calling. “Are you sure you won’t take that?”

“I said it’s okay,” Grant snapped.

She fell silent.

A moment later, and Grant reached for her hand, squeezing it as he said tiredly, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.” But what they were apologizing for?

“It’s just been a really long day.”

She nodded.

“Let’s not talk about me, though. How have you been? How’s it working for the so-called prince?”

And there was the opening she needed.

Fawn said slowly, “Actually, I was thinking I might take you up on your offer.”

“What offer?” Grant sounded bemused.

“You know...” She smiled at him awkwardly. “Working at your company?”

“I see.”

Fawn blinked, taken aback by the lack of enthusiasm in Grant’s tone. “I guess...the job’s no longer available?”

“It is, but things turned out to be more complicated than I thought.” The lights turned red, allowing Grant to look at her as he slowed the car to a stop. “I talked to our branch manager here about you working for us, and he says it might set a bad example, like management playing favorites.”

“Oh.”

“I know you could prove to them that you deserve whatever job I give you, but even so, I don’t feel good about exposing you to that kind of situation.” A crooked smile touched his lips as he admitted, “If I ever hear someone trying to bully you, I don’t think I can be held liable for what I’d do.”

Fawn nodded in understanding, knowing from experience that Grant’s temper could be nasty when provoked. She smiled at him reassuringly, saying, “I get it.” And she did, but what was she to do now?

THE PRINCE DESCENDED the stairs with his gaze trained on the reports the FBI had sent him. The maids mumbled their greetings as he passed by them, and he looked up absently, about to acknowledge them with a brief nod—-

That was when he saw...her.

He stilled.

Damn you, Igor.

Yesterday, the old man had asked him if he wished to contact Fawn about her absences and he had shrugged, saying it didn’t matter either way. Igor had obviously taken him up on his word, having seen fit not to let him know that Fawn was back.

Damn you, Igor.

Fawn tried not to move as the prince’s piercing green gaze pinned her to the spot. Was he mad about her absences? Was he going to fire her on the spot? Should she protest if he did?

When he finally spoke, she practically jumped as he snapped, “Follow me.”

The other maids looked at her in pity, their gazes telling her they believed she was about to lose her job.

I think so, too, she thought miserably.

By the time she made it to the prince’s study, he was facing the window, hands clasped behind him.

“Why the change of mind?” The prince’s voice was abrupt.

She swallowed. “I h-had to be practical.”

He turned to face her. “And your reason for missing work?”

She stared at him in frustration. Did he really want her to spell it out?

He raised a brow. “I’m waiting.”

Finally, she said, “I was sick.”

“Liar.” He started walking towards her.

She almost wanted to run away, the look in his eyes was too—-

No.

She didn’t even want to think about what his look meant. She couldn’t. She shouldn’t.

“I was also busy with school—-”

“More lies.”

Holy sweet crap, he was so close now!

She cried out, “What do you want me to say?”

“The truth.” And this time, the prince was standing right in front of her, so darn close she could practically inhale the sexy scent of his aftershave, and oh God, there it was again.

That feeling like she was being drugged—-

That feeling like she was out of control—-

That feeling like she was in need of something she couldn’t name—-

Think about Grant , she thought feverishly.

Grant. Grant. Grant.

The look on her face enraged the prince. He knew right away what she was trying to do – who she was thinking of, and damn her, it was not him –and unable to stop himself, he cupped her face, forcing her gaze to clash with his.

“Tell me the truth,” he growled.

“I d-did!” Oh God, that look in his eyes was even darker now, more of everything that she could and should never name.

“Stop lying.” This time, his voice was ominously soft, and oh God, how her body shivered at the sound of it, and again there was no fear, just a strange trembling awareness that she had never felt with Grant.

Desperate to free herself, she placed her hands against his chest and tried shoving him away. “L-let go of me.” But it was useless, he was too powerful, and the hard, hot feel of his chest was only making things worse, the way it made her breath choppy and her heart race abnormally fast.

“Why won’t you say it?” he grated out.

“I d-don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He started to lower his head.

Her eyes widened. “P-prince?”

“I’m going to kiss you—-”

What?

“If you don’t tell me the truth.”

She renewed her struggles, and she even tried kicking him but that only backfired, forcing the prince to haul her close. Her entire body was now tightly plastered against his, and his hold chained her every movement.

Fawn stared up at the prince with a gaze made hazy by sensual confusion. Oh my God, was this really happening? She tried to speak but nothing came out, and it wasn’t really surprising when even breathing was a problem.

And then it started again, that tempting, forbidden, and overpowering sense of awareness. It began with her toes, curling hard inside her shoes, before moving sinuously up her legs, making her knees quake, and then up to her stomach, which felt so strangely queasy. It went further up, making her breasts feel oddly heavy and swollen and her mouth feel so dry she had to wet her lips—-

The prince’s nostrils flared, and his voice was raspy with need as he said, “Do that again, parthena mou , and I will kiss you.”

The threat should have terrified her, should have made her scream for help, but all it did was make every cell in her body even more conscious of the prince’s nearness. Oh God, it was like she was fast becoming drunk on his intoxicating scent while the rest of her senses could only focus on the way his muscles rippled and tensed under his too-stylish clothes.

His head lowered an inch.

She tensed. “P-please.”

Another inch, and this time she could feel his breath fanning her lips. “Then tell me the truth.”

She tried leaning back, putting as much distance as she could between their mouths, but this only made him haul her even closer while his free hand went up to grasp her hair, holding her head in place.

When she looked at him fearfully, the prince only smiled, and she knew he really did mean it. He was going to kiss her if she didn’t tell the truth.

His head started to lower.

Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest, and she cried out, “I’ll tell the truth.”

The prince stilled.

“L-let go of me first. I s-swear I will tell the truth.”

Slowly, the prince’s hold loosened and she scrambled back until there was a good ten feet between them.

The prince gazed at her impassively.

She gulped. “The truth is...”

The prince’s gaze lowered to her mouth, a silent threat if there ever was one.

Darn him.

Her knees knocked against each other, and she blurted out, “I stopped coming to work because you made me feel—-” She squirmed.

The prince wanted to strangle her. If he could be sure it would speed things up, he probably would. “Made you feel what?” he growled. “Just finish what you—-”

“It made me feel gross!”

The prince froze.

“Seriously!” And then she started to babble. “My fiancé never made me feel that way, do you know that?”

The prince wondered if he had ended up desiring someone who belonged in a mental institution. And she believed that was a good thing?

“W-what we have is pure, okay? It’s n-not like what your g-guests do in your parties or what y-you do!” She stared at him challengingly. “I love him, and I’m so glad he’s not like you.”

The prince crossed his arms over his chest. It was that or risk really strangling her. He said quietly, “Are you finished now?”

Her chin went up another notch. “Yes.”

“Then it’s my turn.”

He reached her in a few strides, and she was only able to gasp before he had her back in his arms, her body once again pressed excruciatingly close against his.

“First of all,” he said tightly, “if you say I made you feel gross again, I will kiss you and I won’t stop until your lips can only remember to moan my name.”

Fawn gasped, unable to believe what she was hearing, but even worse, unable to believe that her stupid, confused body was again reacting grossly to his words.

“Secondly, what you’re feeling isn’t gross.” He didn’t say anything else, only looked down between their bodies. Unable to help it, she followed his gaze, and that was when she saw it. Felt it.

Her breasts had started to swell again, almost as if it was under a spell that made it obey the prince’s command.

Fawn couldn’t believe it, but she couldn’t stop staring at the way her breasts kept swelling over the neckline of her blouse, to the point that it almost seemed exquisitely lurid.

Oh my God, what was happening?

“Do you understand now?” the prince gritted out.

She whispered, “No.”

His laughter was a cruelly beautiful sound, and so was his tone as he bent to whisper into her ear, “It’s desire, parthena mou. ”

She jerked.

“You want me, and you can try denying it, but your body knows the truth.”

“No.”

The prince shook his head, purring, “Again with the lies.”

He pulled back, and suddenly she was free. Fawn hastily moved away from him again, but this time the prince didn’t come after her. Instead, he said quietly, “We both know I can seduce you to be my lover, parthena mou. ”

Jerk.

God, he was a jerk.

But the jerk wasn’t lying, and Fawn furiously blinked back her tears. Oh God, how could she face Grant now?

When Fawn’s light brown eyes met his, the prince clenched his fists at the despair in her gaze.

He had always thought himself heartless, but seeing the girl in front of him struggle with her guilt, the prince came to realize that he was not as emotionally immune as he wished he could be.

He had planned to seduce the girl so he would have a chance to fuck her out of his system.

But when she was looking at him like that—-

You lucky son of a bitch, Grant Bennett.

“You don’t need to worry,” he heard himself say.

Wariness crossed her face, but even so, the despair didn’t completely fade.

“I can seduce you, but I won’t.”

“W-why not?”

His lips twisted. “Temporary insanity probably.”

“O-oh?”

“If you think I’m still going to try seducing you, you’ll feel you have no choice but to leave this job. If you do leave, you’re unlikely to find something that pays as well as this job does, which would force you to either quit college or swallow your pride and borrow money from your fiancé, which is even more distasteful.”

The last words had her swallowing back a nervous laugh. “B-borrowing money from Grant is more distasteful than me quitting college?”

“Everything about Grant Bennett,” the prince said succinctly, “is distasteful.”

She almost choked, but even so she could feel her tension easing, and even she knew the prince was saying such words also so she could relax. Without looking up, she mumbled, “Thank you for liking me. I think it’s weird that you do—-”

The prince stared stonily at the girl mumbling in front of him. Weird, was he?

“But I also think you’re being so awfully sweet to promise not to seduce me—-”

His teeth began to gnash. In the prince’s vocabulary, ‘awfully sweet’ was synonymous to being a weak ass.

“I mean, it’s so crazy that you can want me so much even when I don’t—-” She stopped speaking, realizing too late she had ended up babbling her thoughts out loud.

Slowly, she raised her gaze to the prince, and the sight of his extremely nice smile had her paling. The prince scowling at her was normal. But the prince smiling at her?

Nope.

She began walking backwards towards the door. “I s-should probably go now, right?”

“Probably,” he agreed very pleasantly, “before I forget how awfully sweet I am, and make you feel this weird thing called dying—-”

“G-going now, prince.” She quickly stepped out of the door and turned to him, saying, “But I mean it. Thank you for being so kind and understanding—-”

The prince took a furious step towards her.

Right. All nice words were definitely off-limits.

“Shutting up now, prince.” And this time, Fawn broke into a run lest the prince changed his mind about liking her—-

She tripped on her feet as the thought sank in, really sank in.

Oh my God, the prince liked her that way.

Unbelievable.

But true.

A MILITANT GLEAM SHONE in Fawn’s eyes as she came marching back to work the next day. Literally marching, which had Noah scratching his head from his post at the watchtower.

Rumor had it that the prince and his fawn had a lover’s quarrel but then they made up yesterday. So why was she acting like the driveway was their version of The Green Mile?

As Fawn hiked her way to the main house, a conversation between her emotional and practical sides began to take place.

The Prince of Darkness is a good and trustworthy man, Fawn. He helps girls in need, even though his methods aren’t exactly by the book. If he says he won’t try to seduce you, he won’t.

But he is the Prince of Darkness. There’s a possibility he wouldn’t be able to help himself when he sees you—-

Can you hear yourself? You’re making it sound like you’re a fawn fatale. Haha! Get it? Fawn fatale, femme fatale—-

Fawn stopped walking.

She was seriously going crazy, and this was the prince’s fault.

She took a deep breath. There was no point worrying about the unknown. All she had to do was just get to work and see how things played out.

Nodding, she continued down the road and when she reached the end, the first thing she heard was splashes coming from the pool area.

That was strange , Fawn thought. The only time she saw people using the pool was when the prince had an aquatic theme for one of his parties, which was really nice, but it was also quite tiring since water all around made everything messier.

Curious, Fawn climbed the steps leading to the infinity pool, and the splashes became a firm, sharp sound, like someone slicing through the water in swift, decisive strokes. Fawn reached the top of the steps just as the sounds abruptly died, and that was when she saw the prince coming out of the pool, wearing nothing but a pair of tight-fitting black shorts.

Holy sweet Jesus, where could she look?

No, wait, the truth was, she knew where she shouldn’t look, but the problem was that was what she only wanted to look at.

Water made the sculpted muscles of the prince’s body glisten, and God, dear sweet God, how could someone look so perfect? Sure, Grant worked out, too, but it just felt like the prince was still...sexier. Rougher. Tougher.

Her mouth began to dry as she continued to stare at him, unable to believe that this kind of man could actually want someone like her.

It was crazy...right?