“It’s a new day in the kingdom. Snare King and Prince Charming have taken their queens. If the belles at this particular ball want a prince, their time would be better spent on the two royal bachelors left. But fair warning, subjects, these princes … aren’t easy to tame.”
My voice echoes through the stairs.
A grand, enveloping warmth falls on my shoulders.
This feels so right.
I smile as I whisper, “Until the next post, keep your enemies close and your secrets even closer.”
The chem lab is empty except for a handful of dutiful students. I move toward the workstation where Finn caught me hiding last night.
I spot the glass vials, and suddenly, a memory overtakes me. Time spins backward and I’m watching myself like a movie on repeat.
There I am, caught against the desk.
And thereheis.
Finn Cross.
Magnificent.
Cruel.
Dangerous.
A predator toying with his prey.
Back muscles strain against his simple white T-shirt. His silky black hair falls over his firm, expressionless face. Muscles ripple in his arms as he ties my hands behind me in one sure grip. His eyes hold me spellbound, dark and depthless, a black hole sucking me in until I’m lost in him.
Finn thinks I’m holding still because he has me overpowered, but he doesn’t know the truth.
I wouldn’t run even if he set me free.
Someone drags out a chair, and the memory that was choking me releases my throat. I shake my head, tormented by my own breathlessness.
Last night was not romantic.
It was psychotic.
Finn knew my heart was self-destructing, but he didn’t stop.
You didn’t want him to stop either.
I blow out a heavy breath, avoiding the truth in that statement.
I’ve been here before, on the outside looking in.
This is where battles are lost.
Cadence and Miss Jamieson put up a great fight and then fell right at the critical moment. They could not separate the physical beauty of The Kings from the ruthlessness embedded just beneath their skin.
I know where the pitfalls are. I willnotbe drawn in by a cold force like Finn Cross. He’s a beautiful but soulless masterpiece. An angel carved from ice. He will never be able to return someone’s devotion, and I refuse to be the idiot who becomes blind to that truth.
“Excuse me,” I mumble, shooing away the students and pushing aside the tall stools in front of the lab desks.
The wallet isn’t there.
I look everywhere in the chemistry lab.
