11. Chapter 11
Prince Damini
I was already sitting at the wood table, swirling the wine in my glass, when the doors creaked open. My chest tightened when I saw her.
Adanna walked in wearing a silk floor-length dress that hugged every curve of her body. Her skin was glowing under the warm sunset, and her hair pinned up. She looked like a royal beauty, instead of a crazy woman.
She pulled out the chair across from me, and offered a polite smirk as she sat down.
"Evening, Damini," she said softly, unfolding her napkin.
"Evening," I muttered. My eyes tracked the line of her throat down to her collarbone. She was sitting there looking way too good, looking too edible for a woman who was making my life harder than it had to be.
I leaned forward, coming on aggressive with a stilled stare that made my intent obvious. Adanna met my stare.
"I’m not about to hurt you," she said, leaning back in her chair. "You can relax."
The air left my lungs. I deflated back against my chair, running a hand down my face.
She asked, "You give up so easily? I could’ve been lying to you."
I replied, "If you come at me, I'm gonna shoot you."
Instead of pulling back, an unmistakable flare sparked in her eyes.
"Is that a threat or a promise?" she asked.
I found myself smirking at her.
"Yeah, you are crazy as fuck." I shook my head.
Adanna leaned her chin on her hand. "You have got to stop complimenting me like this, Dame. It really does something to me."
"I'm sure it does," I muttered, but the smirk stayed on my face.
The waiter came by and set down a heavy spread of grilled meats, seasoned rice, and roasted vegetables, pouring her a glass of dark wine before quietly backing away.
For the next twenty minutes, we just ate and let the time pass without any rush.
The banter between us stayed interesting, moving back and forth without awkward silence.
We complained about how terrible the council’s wine selection was, argued over the best low-key spots in the city, and slowly cleared our plates.
There was an unexpected kind of chemistry building between us.
When she wasn't doing too much, Adanna was quick-witted, and comical.
She held my attention without any issue, and that spoke volumes to me.
I watched the subtle way the candlelight hit her skin, watching her eat and realizing that she really more than her heated words.
"If we're speaking honestly about everything, I'd rather opt out of a wedding altogether," she said, setting her fork down, holding my gaze across the table. "No grand ceremony means no public spectacles. Just the papers and the alliance is enough for me."
"Agreed," I said, taking a slow pull of my wine and letting the glass rest in my hand. "I don't need my reckless siblings using a reception as a damn playground anyway."
She cut a small piece of her food and chewed thoughtfully before looking back up at me.
I decided to ask her a question.
“What’s your favorite thing in the world?”
She replied, “Vindication.”
I nodded, not expecting that answer.
"What’s your favorite thing in the world?"
My eyes dropped straight down to her lap. "Pussy."
Adanna tilted her head, keeping her eyes dead locked on mine. "What type of pussy?"
"Black pussy," I answered instantly, zero hesitation in my voice.
"Smart," she noted softly, dissecting my face like she was analyzing every nerve in my head. "You enjoy something that you can hold onto."
Before I could open my mouth to ask what the hell she meant by that, she reached into her purse, pulled out her phone, tapped open her notes app, and started typing away.
I burst out laughing at the table. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"I’m taking notes," she said as her thumb flew across the screen without her even looking up. "I’m getting you a bachelor gift."
I froze in my seat, shocked. "When?"
"Soon..."
She locked her screen and set the phone face down on the tablecloth.
"So here’s the thing," she continued. "We need to have a real conversations.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“I’m a sociopath."
I let out a short laugh and shook my head. "No shit."
Her face didn't move. "I was clinically diagnosed after my mom was killed, so don’t take it personal if I act a certain way towards you."
My smirk faded and I sat up further. "Oh shit... you’re serious."
"I don’t crack many jokes," Adanna replied smoothly, resting her elbows on the wood. "So, if you wake up with a knife in your chest, just blame it on my disability."
I paused, setting my wine glass down as I took in her words. "Can’t you control that shit?"
"I have been."
"How do you control it?" I pushed. "What is it even about? Are you just evil?"
"Just because I have it doesn't mean I'm automatically evil. I just have certain tendencies."
"Tendencies like what?"
"I choose to relieve stress in a way that other people do through sex and what not," she admitted without a single drop of shame in her voice. "But since I haven’t had sex in honor of my kingdom, I’ve just been letting out stress in other ways."
I stared at her for a moment. "So when you’re talking to me right now..."
"I'm telling the truth," she concluded. "Lying makes me break out in hives, so I’m very, very truthful."
I took a deep breath, letting the heavy reality of her words settle in while looking at the breathtaking woman sitting opposite me. "Okay... cool. So I can be brutally honest with you and you won't trip?"
"I actually prefer honesty more than anything else," I stated. I smirked, tilting my head as I leaned in closer. "Are you really gonna try to kill me?"
"I’ll do my best not to," Adanna said. "And you have my word on that."
"What do you really think about me, then?" I asked, testing the waters just to see what she'd say.
"Next question," she cut in.
“You said you can’t lie.”
“I did and I’m attempting to be nice. Next question.”
"All right then, answer this," I said, getting serious. "Are you actually gonna take this marriage seriously, or are we just playing games?"
Adanna went quiet. She searched my face as if weighing the risk of being vulnerable with a man she was supposed to mistrust.
"I’m not out to get you," she said softly. "I can’t confirm nor deny how I’ll react to everything down the line, but if you’re willing to actually put the work in and build something real out of this alliance... then I’m willing to give it an attempt."
"I'm willing to try too," I admitted. "I don't do fake shit, and I don't run from a challenge. If we're locked into this, I'm all in."
She nodded. "Good."
“Good.”
My eyes dropped down to her mouth.
"So... if we're really doing this," I muttered, "we might as well get our first kiss over with tonight, to clear the rest of this tension."
Adanna set her palms on the wood, holding my eyes as she gave a firm nod. "Fine."
I scraped my chair back and stood up, leaning over the table to close the gap between us. I was expecting a cold brush of lips, but that wasn't what happened.
The second my mouth touched hers, her fingers snaked up around the back of my neck as she pulled me closer.
Her teeth caught my lower lip, giving it a nip.
My brain short-circuited while my hand shot out and palmed the side of her jaw.
I slammed my mouth back against hers, kissing her deeper, taking back control until her breathing pattern sped up.
When we broke apart, we were barely an inch away.
I opened my eyes, ready to pull back, but Adanna’s hands clamped around both sides of my face.
She pulled me right back in, crashing her mouth onto mine a second time, hungrier than the first. She dragged her lips across mine, taking what she wanted, and my head went light.
She had me completely fucked up. I couldn't think, couldn't plan, couldn't do a damn thing except tangle my fingers deep into her hair and keep kissing her back.
Every time she pressed into me, I matched her, dragging her closer across the wood until I couldn't tell where my breath ended and hers started.
When she finally let go, my hand was still locked on the back of her neck, and my heart was hammering like a sledgehammer.
Both of us were breathing thin, ragged air.
Her eyes were wide, staring up at me with her cold mask stripped away.
I stood there bent over the table, holding her face, trying to catch my breath and pull my mind back together.