3
Her underwear – gone.
And just like that, she was naked. Shrieking at the realization, Fawn hastily sank herself into the water while crossing her arms over her chest and pressing her legs together. “You’re so incredibly... evil !”
In the act of switching the tap for hot water, the prince couldn’t help shaking his head at her, murmuring, “If that’s all you can say, then yes, I’m probably evil incarnate compared to you.” His lips twitched. “Which I suppose makes you...an angel?”
Before she could think of a sassy comeback, she saw him reach for his towel. He started to unwrap it from his body, and she let out another shriek. “Prince!” But he was still stripping himself, and she sank herself deep underwater. She felt the prince dip into thetubl, his leg brushing against her shoulder, and she tried crawling away—-
The prince caught hold of her by the waist.
She resurfaced with a gasp. “Let me go!” But the prince was pulling her back as he leaned against the tub’s wall. She landed against his chest, her back pressed intimately to his body, and his erection, rigid and throbbing, brushing against the slit of her bottom.
Fawn froze even as her face turned red once more.
“Relax.” His word tickled her ear, and she bit back a moan even as her body jerked in reaction.
“I hate you,” she muttered, thinking she might just end up embarrassing herself to death if things continued this way.
The prince chuckled behind her. “Of course you do. You hate me so much...” His arms went around her to palm her breasts. “—-that your breasts can’t help begging for my touch.”
Oh.
She squeezed her eyes shut in mortification, knowing that it was impossible to deny the prince’s words. Her breasts had indeed swollen to an impossibly large size, and they were definitely begging for his touch. The prince began to knead her aching flesh, and she swallowed back another moan.
“Relax, parthena mou. I’m not going to fuck you just yet.”
“A-are you expecting me to jump for joy?” she choked.
The prince peered at her face from behind, countering, “Are you saying you’re disappointed?”
“N-no!” Trust the prince to twist her words that way.
The prince gave her a dubious look. “Are you sure?” He pinched her nipples as he spoke, and this time she could no longer keep herself from making noise. A whimper slipped past her lips, and the prince emitted a low, rough growl from behind.
“You make the most beautiful sounds, parthena mou, ” the prince rasped. “I can’t wait to fill the room with it tonight.”
Aah. Erotic imagery taunted her with the prince’s erotic words, and her fists clenched underwater in an effort to continue resisting the prince’s seduction. A part of her was still reeling at the fact that she was naked in a hot tub with the prince, but the larger part of her was——
Refusing to think.
It was as if that part of her had taken the prince’s words to heart, and had since then surrendered itself completely to the prince’s command.
The prince shifted behind her, and then his fingers began plucking her nipples as if he wanted to test just how far the pouting tips could extend.
Pleasure exploded from within, and her breasts started to ache even more painfully.
Oh God.
Was this really happening?
“Can we just take a bath and get this over with?” She knew she was practically begging, but at this point pride had no meaning to her now. The longer she stayed in this hot tub of temptation with the prince, the likelier she’d lose her head over him.
When the prince didn’t answer, she said desperately, “Please.”
The prince licked her ear in response, and she shuddered.
“Not just yet.” The prince was still licking her ear, and his fingers were still playing with her nipples. “I know your first class isn’t for hours yet, so I thought we could take our time here...talking.”
“Talking?” she choked out. Yeah right. What he was doing instead was tormenting her, and they both knew it.
“Yes.” The prince’s tone was so innocent she wanted to thump him. “Talking.” One hand left her breast to drift down her body. Realizing where it was going, she tried avoiding his touch, twisting and turning, but even so, his fingers still managed to reach its destination.
His hand forced her thighs apart, and then his fingers were there, grazing her creamy folds.
She arched against him with a cry, the sheer pleasure of his touch taking her by surprise.
“Tell me about you and Bennett.” A finger slipped inside of her. “Tell me how the two of you met, and how the asshole made you fall in love with him.”
“Y-you already asked me this before.” She wanted to sound dismissive, but her tone ended up halting and breathless with his finger started thrusting in and out of her in a leisurely pace, as if the prince wanted to drive Fawn out of her mind oh so slowly.
“I did, didn’t I?” The prince’s finger stopped mid-thrust, with half of it inside her pussy. “And you chose not to answer because you told me it wasn’t my business.” He paused. “But it’s different now, yes?” And as he spoke, he suddenly shoved his finger deep inside her.
As Fawn cried out in shocked pleasure, the prince said silkily, “You’re my business now. Aren’t you? ” A second finger slipped inside her. “So tell me.”
And she did.
Even when it made her feel weird and guilty, even when it was surreal to talk about Grant while the prince had his fingers inside of her pussy—-
She told him.
Because he said so, and more and more it was beginning to dawn on her that it just felt so, so good to follow him.
When she finished with a breathless catch in her throat, the prince pulled his fingers out of her, and Fawn almost cried out in protest as her body burned with an aching sense of loss. A moment later, and the prince whirled her around to face him, and she found herself straddling his legs once more.
Gazing at her with hooded lids, the prince murmured idly, “I thought I should reward you for being forthright.”
Reward?
The prince’s hands settled on her waist, and then he was pulling her towards him. His cock slid upwards between her folds, and then the prince was pushing her back, causing his cock to move down.
Oh!
The prince smiled at her as he settled on an exquisitely slow rhythm. “Does it feel good?”
“No.”
The prince laughed. “Liar.”
“T-this is not the reward I want.”
“Then what do you want?” The prince’s hands moved to her hips and he started pulling and pushing her just a bit faster.
Ooooh. Desperate to distract herself, she blurted out, “Tell me a-about yourself, too.”
“But my life’s an open book, parthena mou .”
“W-who’s the liar now?” One hand left her hip and went back to her folds.
Oh God. She tried her best not to panic as she felt his fingers caress her folds.
The prince asked in the same idle tone, “What do you want to know?”
Distraction, she needed more distraction. And so she said clumsily, “Your first love.”
In the act of fucking her with his fingers, the prince stilled, the words catching him off guard. Maybe it was because no one had ever asked him about it, or maybe it was because this was Fawn—-
Whatever the reason, the prince’s composure slipped, and his mental defenses broke down.
For the first time in years, he thought about... her.
Georgie.
Fawn had expected the prince to laugh her question off, and that would have been distraction enough, but when the movement of his fingers stilled and the prince’s gorgeous face became expressionless, she knew she had accidentally stumbled into forbidden territory.
As tension filled the air, she said hesitantly, “Prince?”
The prince looked at her, but it was like he wasn’t seeing her at all. “I’ve never fallen in love. But I might have.” The prince’s odd smile didn’t reach his eyes, but somehow the sight was more painful than terrifying, and it made her hurt.
For him.
His hands started to move again, but instead of caressing her body, the prince reached for the body wash and started soaping her body with a scrub.
“Prince—-”
Instead of answering her, he turned her around on her back and shampooed her hair. When he was done, she sensed him moving, reaching for the controls, and a moment later, the metal plate above the tub began to rain hot water on them.
Oh.
It felt like a magical moment, a beautiful moment, and she would have loved it completely if not—-
The prince’s fingers threaded through her hair, rinsing it tenderly and efficiently, and for some reason tears started to burn her eyes.
“What’s wrong, prince?” Fawn whispered.
But instead of answering her, the prince only said quietly, “I’m done. You can go now.”
Fawn dragged oxygen into her burning lungs. If she were smart, she would have done exactly what the prince said.
But she wasn’t smart.
Grant’s infidelity, which she now knew must have been going on for some time, proved that.
Even as embarrassment turned her entire body rosy, she forced herself to turn around and meet the prince’s gaze, stammering, “It’s m-my turn.”
The prince remained silent, watching her with hooded eyes as her breasts half rose out of the water when she reached for the shampoo.
His scrutiny made her fingers clumsy, and the shampoo bottle almost slipped out of her hold. Even so, she told him bravely, “Y-you can’t scare me.” It was a lie, though. His silence daunted her, but...somehow, she just couldn’t make herself leave him alone.
Something about him called out to her, telling her that the man the whole world seemed to think was invincible –
The Prince of Darkness—-
This man who had been there for her when she was about to break—-
Something about the way he looked now told Fawn that he needed her.
Knowing that, how could she leave him?
How?
She reached for his hair, and the prince lowered his head as she began to shampoo his head. When she was done rinsing his hair, she reached for the wash and scrub—-
“You don’t have to do this.” The prince’s tone was cold.
Her fingers tightened around the scrub. “I know.” She shakily reached for his shoulders. “B-but I’m doing it anyway.” She scrubbed his chest and his back, her heart alternately twisting and beating as her hands came into contact with the silky hardness of his body.
When it was time to clean that part of his body, she hesitated.
“Go on.” The prince’s voice was still cold.
“I w-will.” She took a deep breath, saying unevenly, “But b-before I do it—-” Raising her head, Fawn made herself look into his eyes.
His beautiful green eyes that used to glitter with such life—-
And now they were not.
“Tell me about her,” she whispered.
The prince’s jaw clenched. “Why?”
“Because you seem to need to—-”
The prince swore.
Fawn flinched.
The prince’s face hardened even more at the sight.
If it had been any other girl, the prince would have either thrown her out of the room or kissed her to shut her up.
He didn’t do stuff like this.
He never did.
He was the Prince of Darkness, and people weren’t supposed to get under his skin.
But Fawn...
The way she could see so easily past his mask—-
The way she could destroy his defenses without malice—-
Fawn reminded him of her.
Georgie.
“I don’t have any first love,” he heard himself say harshly.
She asked shakily, “But you might have?”
His lips twisted. “She died before I could find out if I had it in me to love her.”
The scrub fell from her limp fingers. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I killed her.” The prince’s tone was dispassionate.
And somehow, that hurt even more.
“Prince, you don’t have—-”
“Her name was Georgie.”
So cold. His voice was so cold, and God, it hurt. She hurt. For him.
“She was a childhood friend, and she was the only girl who saw the good in me.”
Fawn’s heart started to crack. The prince was talking like no one else could see him the same way, and it wasn’t true.
“Knowing what my biological parents suffered – knowing that they died to get me out safe, it made me want to do good. And those first years with my foster parents, I tried...I goddamn tried my very best to do what I could to... help. ” His lips twisted. “I was an idealistic fool back then. I thought genuinely wanting to make the world a better place was enough. But I was wrong. You can’t help when most people around you are just waiting for you to stumble and prove to them that you’re what they expected.”
The prince inhaled sharply. “But Georgie was... different. She believed in me, she was in love with me, and because of that I was just a little bit nicer.” The prince’s voice became tight. “I thought I was being kind by letting her closer, but instead I ended up endangering her life because of it.”
His eyes met hers.
“They kidnapped Georgie and took turns raping and beating her, all so they could get to me.”
“Oh, prince.” She bit her lip hard, not wanting to cry because she didn’t want the prince to think she pitied him. “It wasn’t your fault—-”
But the prince didn’t seem to hear her. “They were hoping that I’d trade myself for her.”
The emptiness in his voice tore at her, and Fawn raised her eyes to the water raining down on them, hoping it would help her keep the tears back.
“They needed to kill me because of a fucking stupid vendetta against my parents, even though they had been dead for years. It didn’t have anything to do with me at all, and yet – I wasn’t the one who suffered. It was Georgie.”
Fawn could no longer bear it, and she shook her head desperately, whispering, “You don’t have to say anymore. Please, prince—-”
“But we’re just getting to the good part, parthena mou .” His smile was a knife to the heart, because it didn’t feel right, seeing the prince less than his usual cocky self.
I’m sorry, prince.
If only she had asked about something else.
If only she could absorb his pain in her.
If only.
“Georgie was rescued, and when I visited her in the hospital, she implored me not to blame myself for what happened to her.”
And again, his lips curved in a smile that made her heart bleed.
I’m sorry, prince.
“She’s quite the idiot, isn’t she?” The prince let out a hollow laugh, and the empty sound finished it for her, the cracks in her heart turning into fissures.
I’m sorry, prince.
“She’s not an idiot, p-prince.”
And the tears started to fall.
“On t-the contrary, I think s-she’s a genius, to h-have seen the truth about you.”
The prince wiped the tears that tracked down her cheeks. “You’re only saying that because you’re an idiot, too.”
She choked back a teary laugh. “Birds of the same feather, right?”
“I don’t think so. If you two could have met, she’d hate your guts.”
“W-what?”
“She hates all girls who want me.” And again, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, a smile that told her he wished he was the one who had died instead—-
I’m sorry, prince.
Fawn threw herself at the prince. “I’m sorry.” That they were naked, that she was still another man’s girlfriend and this man was more imperfect than anyone else—-
None of it mattered.
All that mattered was to make the prince stop hurting .
“I’m s-sorry, prince.” She hugged the prince as tightly as she could. “I’m so sorry for making you talk about this.”
“Idiot.” But the prince’s tone was ragged, and he inhaled deeply, the scent of her hair cleansing him like it was a gift from heaven.
“I’m sorry.” She tried to stop herself from crying, but she couldn’t. “When I asked you about your first love, I r-really expected you to tell me something like your first love w-was a porn star or the widow n-next door because you seemed like that kind of m-man.”
Ah.
His arms went around Fawn—-
His virgin.
His angel.
His idiot .
She cried harder as his arms around her tightened.
“You really are an idiot,” he muttered against her hair. “How can you cry this hard for someone who’s been bullying you?”
“I don’t know!” Her words came out a wail, and despite everything he couldn’t stop the smile from touching his lips at the sound of it.
“Should I even continue with the rest of my story?” He was only partly teasing, but he was surprised when she nodded vigorously against his chest.
Raising her head so she could look into his eyes, Fawn said tremulously, “Only because I think you need to finish it.”
Ah.
He pinched her cheeks.
“Ow!”
“It’s annoying when you’re being perceptive.” He pinched her cheeks harder.
“P-p-pwince,” she yelped incoherently.
“I like it better when you’re an idiot.”
“It w-wurts.”
“Sorry, but this is the only way I can finish the story.”
“Wully!”
“I know.”
She glared at him.
He smiled at her—-
A moment before breaking both their hearts.
“One of Georgie’s rapists got her pregnant.”
Ah.
God.
God.
God.
The prince’s fingers retreated from her cheeks, but Fawn almost wanted to pull them back, almost wanted to be a coward and hide behind her own pain.
Her own pain, which was manageable, compared to what the prince and Georgie had suffered.
She whispered brokenly, “I’m sorry.” She hated that they were the only words she could say, hated that there was nothing for her to do because Georgie was dead, and years had passed with the prince blaming himself.
“She chose to have an abortion, and she left me a letter before going into the operating room.” The prince’s tone became dull. “By the time I got the letter, it was too late. She was gone.”
Ah.
God.
“The words she wrote changed me. In her letter, Georgie said...if I couldn’t escape my past, then maybe I wasn’t meant to do so in the first place. She told me,” the prince continued dully, “that maybe I was meant to embrace it instead, that perhaps I should ruthlessly use my past to be the best I can be for those who needed me.”
His throat clogged at the last words, and suddenly all he could see again was Georgie.
Young, happy, shining—-
But because of him, her life had been cut short—-
“I’m who I am now because of her,” he said rawly.
The Prince of Darkness, saving everyone he could save, because he couldn’t do the same for those who really mattered to him.
“But if I had the power to change things – she’s the one who deserves to live, not me—-”
“Stop.” Small, soft hands claimed his cheeks, cupping his face. “I’m sorry.” And as tears ran down her own cheeks, she pinched his face.
“So you won’t cry.”
“I’m not the one who’s crying,” he pointed out unevenly.
“S-shut up.” She pinched his cheeks harder.
“Idiot.”
“J-just like you.” Her fingers uncurled. “Because you don’t seem to get it. G-Georgie wanted you to be the Prince of Darkness, but she didn’t want you to be just the prince—-”
More sobs threatened to crawl out of her throat, but she forced them down because she still had the most important thing to say.
“She loved you, remember?”
“Like I told you, she was an idiot.” But when the prince started to shake his head, Fawn’s hands slammed against his cheeks to keep it still.
“N-no! You’re the idiot. She loved you, prince. Georgie loved you. And because she loved you, surely you see? She can only be happy if you’re happy, too.”
Her hands fell away.
“So be happy, prince. Stop blaming yourself. Stop trying to make up for everything. Stop acting like your life is of so l-little value just because you’re the Prince of Darkness.” Her voice caught. “Because Georgie thinks...because I think ...your life is indispensable because you’re the Prince of Darkness.”
Ah.
“My turn.” The prince pinched her cheeks. “I’m ordering you to stay an idiot. Okay ?”
She laughed and cried, but she also yelped in pain when the prince pinched her cheeks harder.
“ Stay. An. Idiot. Because if you don’t—-” The prince’s hands left her cheeks, and he suddenly hauled her close to him. “I won’t be able to fuck you anymore.”
Fawn gaped. “You’re only attracted to idiots?”
Yes, if idiots were as sweet and as na?ve as her.
But he would rather die than let her know that.
“Enough talking.” And he made sure it was so by lowering his head to catch one nipple in his mouth.
“Prince—-aah!” Fawn couldn’t help moaning the last word out as he began sucking on her breast.
Oh God, oh God.
Just like that, and desire turned her world upside down, and she found herself clutching his hair as the prince sucked harder on her breasts. “P-prince—-”
The prince’s head lifted, and when their eyes clashed, he muttered savagely, “You talk too much.” He bent his head down again, and he started sucking on her other nipple. At the same time, his fingers found her pussy underwater once more, and she buckled against his body with a moan.
Need conquered her body as the prince shoved one finger into her.
“Prince!”
Two fingers—-
Three fingers—-
Her grip on his head tightened as her hips began to move on its own volition, meeting the wonderfully hard thrusts of his fingers.
“Priiiiiiince—-”
And then the prince was fisting her.
She began to sob.
His hand went in and out of her, harder, faster, and her body tightened and tightened.
More sobs tore out of her throat as desire threatened to rise and eclipse her mind.
The prince’s teeth closed over her nipple, and he bit the pouting tip hard.
Fawn buckled one last time in his hold, and then she was coming with a cry, her orgasm flowing out of nowhere.
Creamy moisture gushed out of her, making her Fawn shake with her release, and at that moment she couldn’t even remember why she was hurting over Grant. Right now, all she could remember was his name.
Prince.
Prince.
Prince.
THE PRINCE DIDN’T JOIN Fawn for breakfast.
And that’s totally fine, she told herself doggedly. Sure, the cereal pouring down her throat tasted more like liquefied weeds, but that was more like a delayed reaction to Grant’s cheating. It had nothing to do at all with the prince.
Nothing.
And yet—-
It was only when she saw teardrops falling into her cereal bowl that she realized she was crying.
Oh God, what was happening?
She no longer knew how she should feel, no longer knew where to go, or who was crying for.
Grant? The prince? Or herself?
Grant had cheated on her first, but did that make what she was doing now any less wrong?
“COME IN,” THE PRINCE said when he heard the knock on the door.
Igor opened the door but remained by the doorway. “You’re needed in the dining room, sir.”
Ah.
He pushed his chair back. “I told Fawn I’m busy.”
“She’s crying, sir.”
The prince only nodded. “You may leave.”
Igor wanted to say more, but the grim look on the prince’s face told him he would be overstepping, and he reluctantly turned away.
When the door closed behind Igor, the prince stood up and faced the window, his jaw clenching.
Fawn.
Even now, he had no fucking idea what happened, and the look of hurt on Fawn’s face when he told her he wouldn’t be joining her for breakfast slashed his mind.
She was just his lover, he thought savagely. She had no business acting like he was obliged to spend every damn minute in her company.
She had no right to think that.
Even if he had told her things he had never told anyone else—-
Even if there was nothing else he wanted more than to continue being with her—-
Even if she was crying now—-
Cursing under his breath, the prince swung away from the window and stalked out of his study. He started walking, but in the end he was running, feeling like the more seconds passed—-
The prince halted with a rare display of inelegance and tried to catch his breath as his gaze urgently sought Fawn—-
He found her seated alone at the dining table, gazing at him with wide-eyed shock, her half-opened mouth literally stuffed with... cake.
The prince couldn’t help it.
He laughed.
Cringing at the sound, Fawn hurriedly gulped down her glass of water so she could swallow the rest of her cake.
Holy sweet Jesus, this was just—-
The. Most. Embarrassing. Moment. Ever.
The prince strode into the room, looking his usual beautiful self. No swollen eyes like hers, no pale skin, no flaw whatsoever, and her shoulders slumped. Maybe I need to be a bit more evil , she thought miserably. The way it looked like now, bullies got prettier while idiots like her got uglier.
When the prince reached her side, she said weakly, “Hi.”
“Enjoying your breakfast?”
She nodded. When Igor had seen her sobbing over cereal, he had left without a word and came back with a large slice of her favorite red velvet cake.
“Sweets will always make you feel better,” Igor had told her politely before leaving.
She had decided to take him up on his word, stuffing herself with cake—-
And that was how the prince ended up catching her transformation into a glutton.
Fawn stiffened as the prince came to crouch beside her chair. When he slowly reached for her hands, she tried to pull away, but by then he had her locked in his grip.
“I’m sorry.”
She bit her lip hard.
“I didn’t know how to look at you. I didn’t know how to talk to you. Now that you know the kind of person I really am.”
Ah.
She still didn’t speak, but now it wasn’t because she didn’t want to.
Now, it was because she couldn’t.
“I don’t know what’s happening anymore,” Fawn choked out.
And as the truth came out, so did the tears.
“I’ve known you for months, but you...”
The prince’s hold on her hands tightened.
“You don’t just make the pain go away anymore, prince.” The tears fell faster. “It’s beyond that now. You...you can actually hurt me more than Grant can. And I don’t understand why.”
Ah.
The prince brought her hands to his lips. “I’m sorry,” he said harshly. And he was. He was sorry because unlike her—-
He knew.
He knew exactly why he could hurt her, knew exactly why she could hurt him the same way.
He knew, but it didn’t matter.
It couldn’t.
She looked down at the prince’s bent head, and she couldn’t keep herself from crying, couldn’t stop herself from remembering.
She remembered the first day they met—-