His skin is pale and smooth. Completely unblemished. His cheekbones are inhumanly pronounced, giving his face sharp angles. His antlers are strangely majestic. I can sense his magic. Vast and endless. I feel like I am standing next to a star. Or a void.
He really is not human.
I wonder what his cock is like? Maybe he has two? What if it is barbed? Or normal enough except for being enormous? Whatever it is, I’m going to have to take it inside me.
A shiver wracks my body.
Something vaguely resembling a smile twists his lips. He is staring at me intently. Extremely intently. As if he is attempting to see the back of my skull and down into my soul.
“Laurie,” he says softly.
I blink. He just said Laurie. My childhood name. What my brother and father called me. What my brother still calls me even though Mother has been insisting on Lawrence for years.
How does he know my name?
I stare into his eyes.
His smile widens. My heart crashes against my ribcage.
I have a feeling Prince Selwyn Y Mabinogi knows a lot of things he should not.
Chapter two
The birds have begun their dawn chorus. Another night of no sleep. This time it is because gold-flecked eyes are haunting my dreams, and have done so since the moment I first saw them.
Today, I get to see those eyes again for real. In person. It’s the day of our formal engagement party. I am going to be in the same room as Prince Selwyn once more.
The thought of that is giving me a strange feeling in my stomach. I think I might be looking forward to it. Which doesn’t make any sense at all. I met him seven days ago, neither enough time to miss him nor long enough to forget the trauma.
He was terrifying. Otherworldly. Inhuman. A monster who whispered my name.
The only thing I should be feeling is fear. And dread. Possibly a strong desire to run away.
Anything else does not bode well for the state of my sanity. But maybe losing my mind could be a good thing. It is the only means of escape available to me.
Heaven knows nothing else will work. In a few short weeks, I will belong to Prince Selwyn. My body will be his to use as he pleases. My magic will swirl in his veins. My obedience will be his to command.
All of this is as certain as the sun rising in the east. It is going to happen. Regardless of what I feel about it.
I sigh and sit up in bed. Rupert will be opening the door any minute now. I might as well be ready for him, and ready to face the day ahead.
One day at a time. It is the only thing I can do.
This is just a cocktail party. I can pretend that is true. If I stay quietly in this corner and stare at my feet.
The carpet looks like an original Buckingham Palace fitting. All around me is the murmur of voices and the clink of glasses. A hundred different conversations merging into background noise.
I’ve been to hundreds of cocktail parties before. I’ve even been to Buckingham Palace a couple of times. Before the fey made it theirs.
The point is, fancy, refined surroundings are not new to me. I am the son of a duke, after all.
My lungs stutter for a moment. The pain is still sharp. I am no longer the son of a duke. I am the brother of one. My father is dead, and I am the only one who mourns him.
Mother has never had the warmth for emotions. Monty always butted heads with our father. And Papa was so sick, for so long, the rest of the world had long forgotten he existed by the time he finally passed.
I inhale sharply through my nose. Now is not the time to be dwelling on love, loss and grief. This is my engagement party. My performance needs to be impeccable.
Panic starts to twist into my lungs. I shove it down and continue to breathe steadily.
