Four Princes: The Complete Dragon Realms Saga

Chapter One

Dela

“Watch it, buster,” I cried, swiftly stepping onto the sidewalk as an expensive-looking luxury car pulled into the entryway of the condo building in front of me, narrowly missing my posterior. If I filled out my jeans any more than I already did, he probably would have nicked me with his bumper.

No response came from behind the tinted windows, of course. The driver didn’t even look in my direction as he pulled up to the entrance. Passing the car, I walked up to the doors and watched as the driver got out and went to the passenger side.

“Figures, you couldn’t open your own door,” I muttered under my breath. “Money breeds incompetence.”

“It’s not about money,” the man within the car said, having somehow heard me. He stood up with a casual grace that was an immediate attention grabber. “It’s about power. Something I have, and you do not.”

He looked at me with disdain.

I stared back at him in awe, trying to make my jaw work.

Part of my brain knew I was quickly losing the opportunity for an excellent retort, but it didn’t matter.

The man had captured every bit of my body’s attention, from the tingle at the top of my head to the imagined curling of my toes as several very inappropriate visions swept through my mind, all involving him.

My boyfriend, whom I was there to see, was attractive, but next to this man, he was downright plain.

It started with the suit. Easily custom-tailored, it fit his body like a glove, showing off his perfect posture and broad shoulders.

It was pure black, without even a hint of pinstripes.

The only splash of color was the buttons.

He’d only done one up, but both were visible, drawing the eye to their deep crimson hue, an odd choice for buttons. But, somehow, he pulled it off.

From there, my eyes were drawn to his shirt. It, too, was black, except for the buttons, though they were a burnished orange, like flame captured in a circular disk and sewn to his body.

He took off his sunglasses, and abruptly, the colors of the world paled as I stared into twin circles of blue brighter than the clearest day.

They stared at me with such piercing intensity that my body began to burn warmer simply from his gaze.

My breath quickened, and under my thankfully thick shirt, my nipples hardened.

From a look. From a freaking look, the man made me fantasize.

His eyes were captured between low, thick eyebrows and high cheekbones, giving him a sharp but very, very handsome facial structure. His chin was easily discernable despite his thick black goatee, cropped incredibly close and with immaculate care.

“Having fun?” he asked, a pair of perfectly thick lips quirking upward, briefly parting to reveal two even rows of straight teeth.

He was calling me out for staring at him.

“Uh.” Wit wasn’t usually an issue for me, but with him, it seemed that my IQ plummeted until I was little more than a drooling cavewoman.

“As I said,” he purred, his voice deep and powerful yet sultry, like silk draped over titanium, “power.”

Then he swept by in an air of sex and man, an aroma too complex for my addled brain to break down into its parts. All it did was set my imagination running wild as I turned to stare after him.

Stop it, I told myself. You’re here to see your boyfriend.

You are taken. There’s no harm in looking.

That’s a perfectly normal part of life, but do not get swept up in his “holier than thou” sexiness.

Just because you want to ride him while shrieking like a banshee does not mean it’s a good thought to have.

With my vision cleared except for the exceptionally taut tush of the mysterious “power” man, I managed to regain some of my senses.

“What the hell was that?” I muttered, shaking my head and pushing my way through the revolving door into the condo building.

The man in black had stopped to talk to the woman manning the front desk.

She smiled broadly and giggled while standing up straighter, emphasizing the pull of her shirt against her chest. It was such a blatantly obvious move, but it didn’t work.

“Power” man didn’t care. He got his answer and started walking.

Oh, great. We were both heading for the elevator. I got there first, and the door opened immediately, the car waiting on the ground floor. I got in, punched the twelfth floor, and turned around without stepping farther inside.

I reached out and hit the close button as he neared.

“It’s called power,” I purred in my best imitation as the doors closed on him.

Was it my imagination, or did I see him smirk his approval at me?

I shook it off, trying to steady myself. I was there to see Paulo. I’d thought we’d go to dinner, but with how my blood was still pulsing through my body, making my clit practically ache, we might have to order in.

A smile blossomed across my face as I stepped out onto his floor. Tonight would be a good night for Paolo. I owed him an apology, at least in my head, after how my eyes had wandered so freely. Yes, we were definitely going to order dinner.

I knocked on his door. We’d only been dating for two months, but I hoped he’d give me a key soon. He was usually playing video games before I came over, and sometimes it was impossible to get him to answer the door. Nor would he unlock it when he knew I was on my way over. It was “unsafe,” he said.

Considering he lived in one of the swankiest condo buildings in the city, located in the posh northwest enclave of Swinden Hills, I wasn’t sure what he was worried about. The building had security and all sorts of cameras.

“Paolo!” I called, hitting the door harder.

It opened so swiftly that I was taken aback as my boyfriend filled the opening. He was tall, buff, and wearing nothing but a black wifebeater and gray shorts. My eyes scanned his bronzed skin, round face, and bald head, past his impressive pecs to his shorts. As usual, he wasn’t wearing underwear.

“Happy to see me?” I asked, noting that he looked rather … swollen already.

“Dela,” he said somewhat breathlessly. “Hello.”

“Hi,” I said, looking back up into his dark brown eyes. They were troubled. He had beads of sweat on his forehead. “What’s going on?”

His thick chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath. A preparatory breath.

Something was wrong. I knew it immediately, that gut intuition based on someone else acting extremely aloof. He was getting ready to tell me something he knew I didn’t want to hear.

“Is everyone okay?” I quietly asked, preempting him.

“What?” he blinked, his voice smooth, with nary a hint of an accent. “Yes, yes, everyone is alive. That is not it.”

“What is it, then? Can I come in?”

Paulo frowned, then slowly shook his head, stepping through the door, forcing me to back up into the hallway. “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he said.

“Why not?” I trembled, trying to keep my voice even. It couldn’t be happening. Paolo was different. He was different!

“Because, Dela, I cannot do this anymore.”

“Do what?”

“This,” he said, gesturing back and forth. “Us. It is too much. You are too much, Dela. You are too needy.”

“What did I do wrong?” I asked, starting to shake.

It always happened to me. I thought it was different with him. That things would go another path for once.

“Too much. Too clingy,” he said, waving a hand as if that explained everything. “I am not sure I want that.”

“Oh.” What else could I say to that?

“You’re a nice woman, Dela. Very nice,” he said, relenting somewhat. “I don’t hate you. You should know that. It’s just that I am not ready to settle down. And I think you are. You already hint at things far in the future. More than I can see. You understand?”

“I guess,” I said numbly as the circus tent that was my life crumpled, the air sucked out of it.

“Thank you for understanding,” he said.

We stood there, me in my pink halter top, dark blue jeans, and knee-high boots, and him in his black shirt and gray shorts. Me with my blonde hair done in a cute braid, him with sweat on his brow. Me with my makeup done, him with an extra day’s worth of stubble.

“Yeah. Understanding,” I said flatly, turning and wandering down the hallway in a daze, while behind me, the door closed.

What the fuck had just happened?