Princess of Pride (Cruel Legacies #2)

Prologue

Is a first kiss worth getting grounded for life?

I duck into the shadow of the alcove under the grand staircase so the head of security doesn’t see me. If Leo knew I was about to sneak out, he’d wake up my dad just to tell on me.

Spencer Securities is the center of his world.

The reason for his existence. Mom doesn’t rank high on Dad’s priority list, unfortunately.

My older sister, Pippa, and I have a higher status—but only because he needs us.

As in, he needs us to remain pure until he arranges marriages for us that will benefit the business.

Which is why my sneaking out to meet a boy is beyond risky. Stupid even. When Dad threatens a chastity belt, he means it. But I’m not going out to have sex. I’m only fifteen. I just want a kiss.

It’s minor. Almost as minor as sneaking out to the backyard.

Leo pauses at the panel to the security system. My heart sucks up my throat. He never sets the alarm. There’s no need to when we have him stationed inside the guard-house at the gated entrance all night.

Sweat drips down my back as I wait to see if he ruins my chance at sneaking out. I hold my breath as he continues to the door and don’t exhale until he’s gone.

Thank God he didn’t arm the system, or I’d be heading back to my room and returning to school tomorrow like the loser I am.

It’s not my fault I haven’t kissed a boy. I’m willing to try, but no one has ever shown interest in me until now. The gardener’s son is my only chance to kiss someone before I turn sixteen. He’s been flirting with me for a few weeks now—and by flirting, I mean smiling from a distance.

Yesterday, I ran into him after swimming in the pool, and we talked for a whole ten minutes before his dad yelled for him to get back to work.

It was long enough for him to ask me to meet him.

He’s cute enough to kiss, but even if he wasn’t, I’d still go to get this prude label off me.

I’ll need to get a picture of us kissing too, for proof.

I run my tongue across my freshly brushed teeth and continue to the back of the house, careful not to bump into any furniture or knock anything over and chance waking up Candace, the head housekeeper who always seems to know what I’m up to.

Crystal nightlights that look like small wall sconces help me find my way through the dark room.

I slip through one of several French doors and step out onto the terrace. My stomach erupts with what feels like one thousand butterflies.

Don’t chicken out.

The chilly spring night air kisses my clammy skin, offering some relief.

Raphael said he’d be at the pool house by midnight, waiting for me. I’m a few minutes early, but it’s not like he has to go far to get there. His family lives on our fifteen-acre property in a cottage near the woods.

For a moment, I worry he’s confused me with my older sister and won’t be interested in kissing me when he realizes his error.

But it’d be hard to confuse me with Pippa.

She’s taller, has a bombshell figure, strawberry blonde hair, and blue eyes.

She’s a younger version of our stunning mother.

She’s also a snotty bitch who has all the boys at our prep school swooning at her feet.

With her around, I don’t stand a chance of gaining attention from anyone.

I take the stairs down to the lawn and gasp when a breeze catches the hem of my night shirt, lifting it high enough to show off my boobs.

Maybe I should have thrown on a bra or a dress.

This matching shirt-shorts satin set is hardly sexy, but I thought I’d look less suspicious wearing this rather than clothes.

If I get caught in the yard, I can simply say I couldn’t sleep.

I’m being careful though, taking paths that security cameras don’t monitor.

The moon offers just enough light for me to find my way across the thick lawn to the pool house in the distance.

The scent of flowers perfumes the air in a romantic way. If this were a romance novel, I’d be meeting up with my true love—perhaps sneaking off with him to elope against our parents’ wishes.

Fiction is better than real life.

Once I’m on the pool deck, I walk faster, desperate to get out of sight. Even with the house a good bit away, I feel too exposed.

I wrench open one of the glass doors to the pool house and slip inside.

I made it.

The cool air smells clean, minus the fresh flowers and candle scents of the mansion.

I turn and whisper-shout into the darkness. “Raphael?”

“Over here.” His Spanish accented voice sounds from near the tall stone fireplace. Moonlight filters through the windows and his shadowed form appears.

Slowly, I walk toward him, my skin growing hotter with each step.

“You came,” he says with excitement.

I almost blurt, “I’m not Pippa.” My caramel blonde hair and skin and lack of curves make that more than obvious.

I stop a foot away from him. He’s only an inch taller, but he’s my age and could be a late bloomer like me.

“So…?” I begin and give a nervous laugh. “What do you want to do?”

“What most people do in the dark.”

Oh god. Here we go. “What’s that?” I ask, playing dumb.

“It involves our lips.”

“Oh—kay.” I draw out the word and dig in my pocket for my phone to get that picture.

Raphael’s hands go around my waist and then his lips are on mine. I gasp with surprise and drop my phone. It hits the floor with a thud.

My picture! It doesn’t count if I don’t get a picture!

I’m about to pick up my phone when Raphael’s tongue invades my mouth. The foreign sensation jolts me, and I freeze. My heart isn’t fluttering like I expected. I’m not sighing or feeling faint. This is how kisses are in the books I read. Real life is very different.

“Raphael?” I murmur between kisses, about to tap-out so we can start over when I’m ready. Maybe then I’ll feel something.

“Don’t worry. We won’t get caught,” he says and drags me closer. “Is this your first kiss?”

I stiffen. He can tell? How embarrassing.

“No,” I squeak and take charge kissing him to prove I’m not lying when I totally am. I just don’t want him to think I gave my first kiss to him. I was saving it for Anton, the hottest boy in school, but he only has eyes for Pippa. Hate her.

I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m rolling my tongue and mimicking Raphael’s movements. He doesn’t say anything else, and I decide, although much sloppier than I imagined, kissing is kind of fun.

I want to learn from this experience so I can be good when I kiss a boy I like in the future. The thought makes me feel a little bad, like I’m using Raphael. He invited me. I remind myself. And he hasn’t called me Pippa, so he knows which sister I am. For all I know he’s using me.

We kiss more, and I’m certain I’m getting better at it because he moans—so I moan too.

In the next instant, my shirt is tugged over my head and thrown on the floor. I’m bare-chested for the first time in my life in front of a boy and terrified of rejection. What if he doesn’t like my small boobs—not that he can see them in the dark. Should I say I’m a late bloomer?

A loud sound echoes off the walls. I whirl to face the front door and scream.

“Grab him!” a man orders.

A second larger figure runs at us.

Raphael jumps over the nearby couch and darts to the back of the pool house with the man chasing after him. Leo?

My heart left my body and is cowering under the coffee table. I have my arms wrapped tightly around my chest, shielding myself from whoever barged in like a Swat team.

“Did you really think you could do this under my roof?” Dad barks as he walks toward me, his shadowed features becoming clearer.

I back up to the couch and fall onto the cushion.

Dad snatches my shirt from the floor and tosses it at me. “Get dressed,” he orders and turns away.

I fumble to yank on my nightshirt, shocked that Dad’s here and that he caught me. Had Leo known what I’d been up to?

With his back to me, Dad shakes his head. “You will be punished for this.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, my chin trembling from the verbal lashing I’m about to get. Never in my life have I been so mortified.

Dad turns and stares down at me with a look of disgust. “I’m going to explain this in a way you understand.

” He walks closer until he’s towering over me.

“Your mother was supposed to do this when you were thirteen but, as with most things, she dropped the ball. Hear me now, Emery, and hear me good. No boy or man will ever want you for more than sex or your money. You will only ever be one or the other to them. so you will be neither until I say so. You will not test the waters and explore. You will save yourself for marriage—a man of my choosing who is worthy of being a part of the Spencer name. For that to happen, you must remain pure. A virgin. No reputable man wants used goods for a wife. You’re no good to this family if you’re tainted. Do you understand?”

I nod, willing to agree to anything just to get this horrific moment over so I can return to my room and hide under my covers until the day I die.

“Remember this moment, Emery,” Dad scowls. “Remember the shame and these words. Every move you make in the future will be watched. Any time you do anything like this with a boy again, I’ll know, and I’ll end it in the most humiliating way for both of you. Is that clear?”

“Yes,” I whimper and wipe tears from my cheeks.

“Is that clear?” he roars again through gritted teeth.

“Yes, sir!” I reply as loudly as I can on the verge of sobbing, my body shaking with fear.

“Good. Now pack your things.”

“What? Why?” Is he kicking me out? Oh god. I should never have done this.

“I’m enrolling you in an all-girls boarding school in Vermont where there are no boys for miles. You’ll leave first thing in the morning.” He turns his back and walks away as I sit there in shock, terrified over the night’s events.

Why does Pippa get to stay? I want to ask. She flirts endlessly and kisses boys all the time.

But that’s all she does. Two kisses are her limit. She’s the biggest tease in school. It’s partly why all the boys want her—because they can’t have her.

They even make bets about what guy will be the first to touch her boobs or see her topless.

She loves it too. That’s why Dad will never send her away.

She follows orders and doesn’t do anything more than what Dad will allow.

I think he even likes that she’s desired but no boy can have her.

It makes her more appealing for his future plans.

Which daughter will get him the best opportunity and benefit the family business the most. That’s all that matters.