Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
My cheeks turned redder at his words. He made it seem like I was refusing his offer to dance because he was just my Cavaliere, but of course it wasn’t that at all!
“I think I need to go to the ladies’ room.” I meant it. The way everyone was watching us even more intently now was suffocating, and the way Alejandro was making me feel so guilty wasn’t helping.
At my words, Alejandro surprised me by suddenly bowing. “Of course, princess. Let me lead the way.”
I glanced at Stefano.
He nodded. “I’ll let Pasquale know where you are if he asks.”
After, I found myself following Alejandro, more than a little bemused at the sudden turn of events. A while ago, he seemed hell-bent on ignoring me, dancing with one woman after another, and now he was acting like he couldn’t serve me fast enough. Was it just him, or were all Lyccans this moody?
When I saw that we were heading towards one of the ballroom’s side exits, I halted in my steps, asking warily, “Where are we going?”
“The ladies’ room inside here is always full of people. I thought you’d prefer some privacy, princess.”
“Oh. You’re right. T-thank you.” As we resumed walking, I couldn’t help but stare. How could a man appear so beautiful and sexy even when he had his back to me?
It shouldn’t be so, but that was how it was, and I wasn’t alone in admiring him. All the women we walked past had the same look on their faces, a look that was part wonder, part adoration.
Alejandro turned left at a narrow carpeted hallway at the end of the lobby, stopping in front of a door, which he opened with a card key.
“Princess?”
It was only when I had stepped past him into the room that it occurred to me: ladies’ rooms weren’t supposed to be locked with card keys, were they?
And that was when I saw it.
This was no ladies’ room. This was one of the hotel’s guest rooms, with a luxurious king-sized bed in the middle and its own appointed suite.
I whirled around just in time to see Alejandro lock the door.
My eyes widened. “What do you think you’re doing?” I hurried towards him, reaching for the doorknob, but the next thing I knew, he had gotten hold of my shoulders. Another second and I was trapped between the door and his arms.
He was suddenly too close, and my world seemed to shrink until everything I sensed was from him. The sound of his breathing, the hard feel of his body against mine, the seductive smell of his aftershave.
“A little uppity at the dance floor, don’t you think, kitten?” His voice was ominously soft over my head.
“This is all about me refusing you a dance?” I demanded incredulously even as I turned my head to the side, not wanting him to see my face. I didn’t want him to know how affected I was by his nearness.
“Yes.” Alejandro growled the word into my ear, making me jump, and the hairs at the back of my body rose in heightened awareness. A shockingly delicious sense of warmth started to spread all over my body, making me cringe inside. I couldn’t believe I was so turned on when he hadn’t even done anything to me.
“Why did you refuse me?” This time, he cupped my face to make me look at him.
“Why does it matter?” I shot back. “You’ve got so many ladies after you, anyway.”
A wicked gleam flashed in his green eyes. “Are you saying you’re jealous, kitten?”
I flushed, realizing that it was true. I had been jealous. I had no right to be. I was utterly stupid to feel that way, in fact, but it was the hateful and shameful truth.
“Nothing to say, kitten?” he purred.
Unable to lie, I found myself going on the offensive, anything to avoid admitting the truth. “You disappoint me. The way you remain so carefree even when your pack’s name is still tainted—-” The moment I said the words, I knew it was a mistake. I had good as called him a ‘dog’, a racial slur against his kind.
“You dare...” Fury darkened his gaze. It was the last thing I saw before his lips slammed down on mine. My eyes involuntarily closed even as my body stiffened in shock. A second later, I recovered myself and tried to struggle, but it was too late. He was kissing me the way I loved to be kissed – the way he taught me to kiss. His lips, his tongue, his teeth – Alejandro used everything in his sexual arsenal to possess my mouth, dominating my senses in such a way that I barely noticed his hands expertly working on the back of my gown.
I only realized what he was doing when I felt the gown falling to the floor, leaving my body completely bare except for a skimpy pair of black lace panties. But that was soon gone, too, Alejandro breaking our kiss to rip the scrap of lace away from my body.