Thirty Adriana
“Y OU CANNOT BE serious, Axton. My answer is no. Absolutely not. ”
The prince gave me a bemused look while he refreshed our cups of brandy, appearing far too relaxed considering the circumstances as he settled back on the furs.
Though I supposed he wasn’t as shocked as I was. He’d strongly suspected it was me.
And while I might have harbored some passing, deranged fantasy that Axton was my stranger—obviously to live out some masochistic desire for emotional punishment I needed to work through—I had been surprised it was true.
“It’s a little late for buyer’s remorse, darling. The oath can’t be broken.”
“But it doesn’t mean I have to be a suitor. And I certainly won’t ruin my sister’s chance at happiness.”
“Need I remind you that your will is bound to mine for the next several weeks?”
“I do not recall agreeing to become one of your suitors.”
“You didn’t have to. And I quote, ‘My wants are your wants, my desires, your desires.’” His smile was far too pleased for the situation. “Devil’s in the details, as they say.”
“Never bargain with a demon prince,” I muttered, the familiar motto no longer seeming like a silly fable mothers told their children to keep them out of trouble.
Cursed Prince of Sin.
I exhaled, trying to calm my racing thoughts. Surely there had to be some way out of this. I simply needed to make him see reason.
“I will not take my sister’s place.”
His brows rose. “You’d rather keep what happened tonight a secret from her?”
No, I absolutely wished I could go back in time and remake all my choices that led up to this point. “It wouldn’t be the first time,” I muttered.
He gave me a puzzled look. “Do you often court the same people?”
Now it was my turn to look confused. “I was talking about you.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. My temper flared as understanding dawned.
“How positively infuriating. You’ve gone through so many lovers that you don’t even recall the time we shared, do you?”
He studied me like maybe I’d gone into some hypothermic state after all.
“You and I have never been… intimately acquainted before tonight.” His gaze narrowed. “Unless you know something I don’t.”
“You have no recollection of the All-Sinners Ball?” I stared at him, wondering if it was possible to suddenly incinerate him on the spot. When he remained damnably unscathed, I gave up trying to torch him with my mind and the conversation as a whole. “Forget it.”
“Adriana—”
“Please. This night has already been eventful enough. I’d rather not discuss it.”
He seemed unwilling to let it go, but from either the steel in my tone or the hard expression on my face, he finally turned away and glanced at the discarded wig. “Where did you get that?”
“The Scene Stealer.”
He seemed vaguely impressed but said nothing else.
I downed the rest of my brandy, holding my cup out for him to splash more into it. There wasn’t enough brandy in this cave to get me through the night.
I forced myself to think of anything besides the prince and what we’d just done as he refilled my cup. My column and my plan for it blessedly came to mind.
“I’d like to write a special Miss Match article introducing the suitors. Do you object to me interviewing them?”
Axton studied me for a long moment. “If you’re plotting some revenge, then I object.”
I smiled faintly at that. “Not this time.”
Silence stretched between us, giving my more pressing thoughts an opportunity to creep back in. Cursed thoughts. They were like ghosts in need of banishment. Since we were stuck here for the foreseeable future, I might as well ask what I really wanted to know.
“Why did you keep seeing me when you were hosting a competition to find a wife? Were you always aware it was me?”
“No. And can’t it simply be about adventure? I do love indulging in a good challenge.”
He didn’t really answer my first question, indicating he was skirting the truth. My fingers tapped against my cup. If it was a battle of wills he desired, I’d give it to him.
“If you didn’t know it was me that first night, there had to be something you…”
I smiled. He might be cleverer than I’d originally given him credit for, but after nearly a decade of watching him for any way to ruin him, I was well-versed in reading him.
“You needed a distraction,” I said, paying close attention to his reaction. “That’s why you kept seeing me.”
“When don’t I enjoy a good diversion?”
“Don’t you have enough lovers to occupy you on any given night?”
“I’d been taken with you all week. You’re quite enchanting when you’re Lady F.”
And yet, the rake of rakes hadn’t actually attempted to take me to his bed until tonight. I couldn’t quite figure out if that was solely because he’d wanted me to swear the oath to him or if he simply craved me the same way I craved him in spite of his suspicion.
“I’ve never known you to go so long without feeding your sin.”
“My appetites are far ranging and diverse. There are many ways, aside from bedroom activities, to sate my hunger.”
“Then why do you spend so much time crafting an image of hopping from one bed to the next?”
He gave me a lazy grin. “Just because I was alone in bed this week doesn’t mean I was any less satisfied. I thought of you. Often. Even without the mask.”
He was trying to divert my attention by offering a shocking bit of honesty, but it wasn’t working. Once my reporter’s mind was engaged, there was no quelling the need to uncover the truth. I loved a good mystery, especially one that could lead to my rival’s downfall.
What else had he been doing when he left me at the Seven Sins, alone and worked up?
He might play it off now, but he’d been equally aroused. I didn’t doubt that he’d tended to himself later on, but what had been more important than his need to overindulge?
Especially when the entire realm was watching him so closely now.
He was up to something—something more than his hunt to find a wife.
I thought back to our first encounter at the Seven Sins, when that second male had interrupted. Had that been one of his brothers or a high-ranking member of his court?
They must have needed him for something important. Enough to leave their typical debauchery behind. Had that been the night Jackson died? Or was there something else going on? I couldn’t quite pinpoint the timeline of events. But I would.
We studied each other in the flickering firelight, quietly sipping our drinks.
His attention dropped to my lips, remaining there entirely too long for either of our good. I wasn’t sure if he was hoping to distract me from prying into his secrets.
Or maybe he was remembering how our night began.
It took every ounce of willpower I possessed to not return the favor.
Kissing Axton when I had no idea it was him was one thing, but giving in to my desire fully aware of his identity was another.
I hadn’t yet determined if my sister truly liked him or if she was simply swept up in the extravagance of courting a prince, but on the off chance she did fancy him, what happened earlier… could never happen again. Not that I wanted it to.
I tugged the blanket closer, realizing I still wore nothing beneath it.
My skin burned with the memory of Axton’s caresses, his languorous kisses, aching for a touch I’d never allow from him again. I wanted him to sink into me, ending my torment.
His gaze flicked up, flaring. His eyes were not simply hazel, but an incredible mixture of gold, green, and brown all vying for dominance. They’d been blazing with heat when he’d touched me earlier, the memory making me crave him once more.
He knew. As a Prince of Sin, he could detect arousal.
I couldn’t stop my cursed attention from falling to his lap, noting with satisfaction that I wasn’t the only one affected by our earlier mistake.
It would be easy to lean into our bond, blaming the magic for anything else that happened between us. We could claim to be overcome from our earlier foreplay.
I could invite him to share my blanket, or crawl onto his lap.
I doubted he’d refuse either offer. We were two adults with needs. We could satisfy them, then move on. Never speaking of it again. He certainly knew how to do that.
He shifted uncomfortably, eyeing the bottle of brandy again. For a brief moment, I almost wished we were back at the Seven Sins, still blissfully unaware of the truth.
If we were still masked, there would be no question of what we’d be doing now.
His gaze locked onto mine. He looked like he was envisioning all the ways he’d make me call out his name—before he wiped his expression clean.
Whether it was for his sake or mine, I couldn’t tell. I took another large sip of my drink, listening to the fire crackle, trying desperately to stop thinking about the prince’s wicked mouth.
“Are we spending the night here?” I finally asked, breaking the silence.
For a cave, it was rather cozy and welcoming. Despite the fact that I usually didn’t like being caged in, I didn’t mind it, even if the circumstances that brought us here weren’t ideal. It was a night adventure, being trapped with a wicked prince in a cave while a storm raged on. It made for a good story, even if the company could have been better.
I was surprised Axton had chosen something so rustic when his castle overflowed with riches.
Somehow, it suited him more.
He glanced toward the mouth of the cave. “We’ll wait until the storm passes.”
I drew in a deep breath. That could take hours, but I didn’t protest. I wasn’t quite ready to face my sister or stepmother. Hopefully by the time I returned, they’d be fast asleep.
“You cannot speak a word of this,” I said. “I trust you know this will never happen again. And I think it’s best if we avoid each other from here on out.”
“‘My wants are your wants, my desires, your desires,’” he quoted. “If that’s what you want, then I have no choice but to agree.”
His attention slid over me again, this time in quiet assessment.
He stood and rummaged in a small trunk on the far wall I hadn’t noticed, returning with an oversized shirt and a thick pair of socks.
“They’ll be big but will keep you warm.”
My brows rose. Axton was… doting wasn’t quite the right term, but he was certainly fussing. It was a side of him I didn’t know existed. Because he’d kept it hidden.
Or maybe he’d just kept this side of himself hidden from me.
The prince was full of secrets, it seemed.
Axton was an enigma, a tantalizing mystery begging to be solved.
Which was dangerous. Or perhaps disastrous for him. There was nothing I enjoyed more than unraveling secrets. And uncovering his truth would be especially sweet.
I pulled the socks on, pleased they almost reached my knees. They were soft and warm and felt like clouds. I felt Axton’s attention on me as I stood.
I dropped the blanket, hiding my smile as he cursed and quickly averted his gaze, suddenly finding the bottle of brandy immensely intriguing.
His shirt was so long it hit mid-thigh. I took my time pulling it on and buttoned it much slower than necessary. Torturing the prince might become my new favorite pastime. He’d tricked me into a bond with him. I might as well enjoy watching him squirm as payback.
I settled down onto the fur again and sighed. It felt decadent to be warm and dry.
He ran his attention over me, then flicked it to the fire.
Without warning, he pulled his trousers off, his muscles flexing with the movement, making the tattoos on his shoulders seem to take flight. I had no memory of the ink from our previous time together and wondered when he’d gotten them done. Or maybe I simply had forgotten them over the years, more focused on how horridly our night had gone.
He straightened, standing up with all his proud glory on display.
My mouth was suddenly dry. It was going to be difficult, pretending our passionate encounter on the roof never happened. But that was an issue for tomorrow. Tonight, I stole another look at him, avoiding his lower half and impressive erection.
I scanned his chiseled torso, hating that he still looked like a dark, tempting god of sin.
His real wings had been a sight to behold. He didn’t show them off often, and rumors suggested he’d been unable to access them during the realm-wide curse that House Wrath had broken a few months back. I wondered how it felt when he’d magicked them away.
I realized I was still staring and yanked my attention away from his tattoos, trying to ignore the flutter in my pulse as I scooted back, giving him room to do… whatever he was doing.
“Don’t worry,” he drawled. “I won’t bite until you ask me to.”
I gave him a flat look. “You mean unless I ask you to.”
He held his trousers close to the fire, his mouth curving in that frustratingly smug grin as he turned the garment over, drying the other side. He’d already been drying his shirt—something I hadn’t even registered before he tested to see if it was dry.
“I said exactly what I meant.”
“We just established that tonight was a mistake.”
“Maybe.” He casually lifted a shoulder and dropped it. “Some lessons are harder to learn than others, especially after you’ve had a taste of temptation.”
The sinful way he said taste ignited a flurry of images I couldn’t escape.
Which was exactly what he’d intended, the bastard.
His soft laugh carried through the cave as he stood, watching me with dark amusement as he stepped into his trousers and grabbed the shirt.
Much to my misery, he didn’t put the damn thing on.
“Need I remind you, yet again, rake, that you are searching for true love.”
He balled the shirt up and crouched before me, hazel eyes sparking with mirth. “Is that what I’m doing?”
“You’ve certainly made it seem that way.”
His expression was one of pure amusement. “Here. Use this to sleep on. I’ll let you know when the storm passes.”
I took his offering and lay back, attention fixed to the mysterious male I thought I knew.
Axton picked up my discarded blanket and draped it over me—all but tucking me in—then moved to the far edge of the fire’s light, his face now hidden in shadow.
As I watched the fire play over his bronze skin, I wondered who the real male was. I’d been researching and watching him for years, writing all sorts of scandal sheets about him, but was startled to discover in these quiet moments he was nothing like I imagined.
I wasn’t sure if he was better or worse. Definitely more complex.
Sinner certainly, never a saint. Villain, antihero, nothing quite suited him.
He was wicked and kind and aloof. Mysterious and dangerous, yet concerned for others, even someone like me who he disliked. He was brutish and dominant and crass and still retained a sense of softness when the need struck. He was also devious when it suited. Ruthless Rake. I’d forgotten all about that moniker.
Secret keeper. Debauched prince. Tender lover. Arrogant male.
Now more than ever, I wanted to unravel the mystery of Gabriel Axton once and for all.
I told myself it was strictly to help my sister for the competition and to see if Axton’s secret had anything to do with the ice dragon rumors, but deep down I suspected my reasons were not nearly as altruistic as that.
I exhaled again. Six weeks. All I had to do was steer clear of him for six weeks. Even with a magical bond it shouldn’t be that hard.
I hoped.