27
Alarie
Nik silently popped into existence in my bedroom, landing gracefully on his back, feet crossed, right onto my bed. My bed frame made a soft creak under his weight, a reminder that he had previously judged my bed as not built for more strenuous activity.
He looked entirely too comfortable on top of my white, puffy comforter, both of his hands tucked behind his head, somehow managing to prop himself up but not ruffle a single hair on his stupid, sexy full head of hair.
Luckily, I was already dressed, although if he had just popped into existence a minute or two before, I would not have been. I knew there was no point in pointing this out to him. If anything, it would just encourage further drop-ins from him. He would do anything to put me on edge.
He was wearing a three-piece tailored suit, the suit itself so deeply green that it almost appeared black. The vest underneath the jacket was more of an emerald green, and his tie was thin and black.
“You’ve been at Court today?” I asked. I knew he only dressed that way when he was at the High Court. He dressed much more casually at the M.
“No. Just getting here, princess,” he responded.
“Then why are you all dressed up?” I asked, gesturing toward his get-up.
“Oh, you noticed, did you?” he asked, sitting up on my bed. He gave me a devious look.
I stood at the end of my bed, arms crossed, looking at him as if I were unimpressed with the sight, which we both knew couldn’t be entirely true. No woman could have taken in that man in her bed and not be enticed.
The next second, he was behind me.
“You like my suit?” he whispered.
He was so close that the fabric of his pants brushed against my bare legs. His words on my neck brought an involuntary shiver up my spine.
“Gods damn it, Nik!” I exclaimed, startled.
I turned around and beat on his chest with my hands. It was so firm it felt like I was pounding against a rock wall. I realized my efforts were futile and looked up into a smile so devilish that all I could do was scowl.
“I like your outfit too, princess,” he teased, taking a step back from me.
Of course, he liked my outfit. I’d wanted something more comfortable than my usual High Court attire, so I’d gone with some of the clothing Nik had provided. Most of my High Court attire was blue, thanks to Jay, and any clothing provided by Nik was the green of House Heroux. I made a conscious note to get over my dislike of shopping and go buy some clothing that was not a color associated with any of the main Houses of the Court.
I huffed out a sigh of breath.
“So, why are you all dressed up if you haven‘t been at Court?” I asked.
“Because I’m escorting you to the Golden Court, princess,” he responded, for once directly answering one of my questions.
“You didn’t have to get all dressed up for me, not for the two seconds it takes you to travel me there,” I teased.
“Oh, princess. You really think that I am just here to take you to the Golden Court?” he asked.
“Well, yes, isn’t that what the plan was?” I asked, confused.
My stuff had already been sent along to the Golden Court. Instead of a lengthy carriage ride, the Prince was traveling me to the Golden Court. I was thankful for it, more than ready to see Cass again. It got harder and harder to spend time apart while he was off handling his duties as Commander.
“You are lovely,” he stated simply as if this were a universal truth, wrapping a piece of my long hair around his finger in a curl. “But I’m a chauffeur for no one. Not even you, princess.”
My room grew darker despite the sunny day outside.
“You are accompanying me to the Golden Court this evening, where there is a reception being held in my honor.”
His darkness pressed around us, and somehow it felt like the blackness was responsible for our bodies being pressed closer together. He was inches from my face. I stared up into his intense dark green eyes. I’d grown so used to being around him that I had forgotten that he was the Prince of Darkness and could actually be quite scary.
“And you are to be my escort for the night.” His hand moved from my hair to under my chin.
I’d never felt threatened by Nik before. And I still didn’t feel unsafe. But the situation I found myself in felt precarious. I gulped down air.
“I… Cass—” I grasped for words.
“Has already agreed to the terms of this arrangement, princess,” he said.
He stepped away from me, and his cloud of darkness dissipated. I took a deep breath, like the absence of his shadows had returned the oxygen to the room.
“Now, as much as I love to see you in my House colors, tell me you packed something more appropriate to wear for the party,” he japed.
Ass. I’d known there was a party that evening, and I had sent several gowns along as options for the night. I just didn’t know that the party was for the Prince and that I would be his date, not Cass’s.
I rolled my eyes. “If you are done with your little shadow show, then I’m ready to go,” I said dismissively.
He flashed me a feline smirk in response to my sass, then surged toward me. Still shaken by the display of his power, my heart leapt into my throat, and then I found myself reaching for him as I was surrounded by his darkness once again. He picked me up, wrapping my legs around him, and in the darkness, as I always did, I clung to him, my arms wrapped around his neck like I was afraid what would happen if I was separated from him in the all-encompassing darkness that accompanied traveling. Before I could yell at him for scaring me again, we were already at the Golden Court.
We popped into existence, my legs wrapped around the front of the Prince, his large hands firmly grasping my thighs. And, of course, there was a retinue of people waiting to greet us. I dislodged myself from the Prince’s body with as much dignity as I could muster in a room surrounded by people. Luckily, I was wearing a skirt that had a pair of shorts underneath it.
Just as I dismounted the Prince’s large frame, I spotted Cass’s hulking mass approaching. I groaned under my breath.
“Fucking hell,” I breathed.
I thought I heard Nik chuckle, clearly pleased with himself. Being the good soldier that he was, Cass made no reaction to the unusual circumstances in which the Prince and I appeared.
“Commander,” he greeted Nik with a slight inclination of his head.
Then Cass pulled me away from Nik and into the warmth of his body.
“Mandy, babe. Tough day of travel?” he joked.
I laughed and the tension around us eased.
“I’ll be by your room at eight-thirty this evening, princess,” Nik called out, walking away.
“Better knock first,” I retorted, meaningfully grabbing Cass’s hand and wrapping it around my waist.
Before Cass could say anything, I felt the need to explain.
“He tried to startle me. You know, he is always trying new things to try to…get my magic to show. And then we just kind of ended up tangled during the traveling. Oh, Cass, you know he does it just to fuck with you, with me, with everyone,” I said.
“I know, Mand. You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” he reassured me, tugging my hips toward his.
“I…I didn’t know that the party tonight was in the Prince’s honor,” I began, working my way up to the subject I wanted to broach.
“I thought you knew,” Cass replied with a shrug. “It’s not technically in his honor. It is the Golden Court’s welcoming of the Crown. The Prince is standing in on behalf of the King.”
“And how exactly did I come to be his date for the evening?” I asked, thinking back on Nik’s words that Cass knew of the arrangement.
“Well, as honoree, he had the right to choose any woman in attendance as his date for the evening. And seeing as how you will be in attendance…”
“Cass, I’m sorry. Is this going to be trouble for you?” I asked.
“Quite the contrary, Mand,” Cass replied coolly. “It is considered the highest honor for your…date to be selected by an honoree for the evening. My House will be remembered for years to come,” Cass said.
Despite his words, he still sounded less than thrilled. I was glad he wasn’t mad about the situation, but Cass still sounded uneasy.
“There, uh… Well, Mandy… The issue is that I cannot go without a date to the party. I am the host. I have to do dances and, you know, hosting stuff,” he finished ineloquently.
What the hell? I went from going to a nice party with my boyfriend to my boyfriend going on a date with some other woman.
“Okay,” I said.
He peered into my face, and his roguish handsomeness was laced with concern.
“Okay,” I repeated this time, meaning it a little more. So, the party would be a bit different from what I’d expected. “But we’re still going home together at the end of the night, right?” I asked.
“The end of the night, Mand? I’m not waiting that long. Where do you think I am taking you right now?” he growled.