“Okay…Julian, what does being your partner mean?”
He released a breath, and at the same time I held mine. I had a feeling what he was about to say would change things tremendously.
“I want to keep you, Wynn. When someone in the royal family is courting a person, we refer to them as our partner until marriage. At which point you’d be referred to as Prince Consort until I take the throne; then it could be simply, Prince.”
Yep, that was the wrecking ball slamming straight into my life. “Marriage?”
He nodded curtly. “Yes, I want to keep you.”
Keep me…I tilted my head and really looked at Julian. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt in his expression that he meant everything he was saying.
“You can’t keep people, Julian. You can’t choose my life for me.”
“In order for my father to risk the crown, I had to tell them that you were mine forever.” He was so matter of fact about his response.
“So, you lied?”
His eyes narrowed slightly, and it was as if the temperature had dropped in the room. “No, Wynn, I didn’t lie.”
“You intend to keep me here forever? What about my life at home, my friends, my family?”
“We can move them to Lamdera.”
I shook my head. “What?”
“Do you honestly not understand what I’m saying, Wynn, or are you interjecting out of shock or disbelief?”
“Julian.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I can’t move everyone I know here.”
“Why not?”
The conversation was interrupted when Hannah and Mark entered the room. Both were beaming and had mugs in their hands.
“This place is crazy.” Mark laughed.
“Thank you so much for letting us stay here.” Hannah smiled.
“You’re welcome.” Julian regarded them briefly before his attention was back on me. “We can talk about this later. I had lunch prepared, and then the attorney will be coming by with papers and to explain what happens next.”
“Julian, I’m not agreeing to this.”
He leaned closer to me, so close neither Hannah nor Mark would hear him. “I’m not asking you to, Wynn. This is how it willbe.” He brushed a kiss against my cheek. “You’ll learn to love this life…to love me.”
An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. He pulled away, and I looked into his eyes; that same darkness I’d seen a few times was lurking behind them. That was the moment I realized it: I had, in fact, made a deal with the devil. And hell was disguised as a fairy tale.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Julian
I recognizedthe fear in Wynn’s eyes; it was an emotion I was quite intimate with. I saw it in every one of my victims at the realization of their imminent death. However, I didn’t want to kill Wynn. I wanted to keep him alive for as long as I lived.
The four of us entered the dining hall, and I knew I had to smooth things over with Wynn, but since Hannah and Mark were near, I decided to wait.
All through lunch his friends laughed, smiled, and complimented the entire estate. I asked them questions, which they gladly answered. Wynn was noticeably silent.
“Hey, you okay?” Hannah scrutinized Wynn.
He nodded. “Yeah, just got a lot on my mind.” His gaze shifted to me briefly, then returned to his plate.
