“Hmm,” I mumble into his shirt, pressing myself closer. His chest rumbles with quiet laughter, but I don’t care. My eyes grow heavier and heavier until I fall asleep.
In Nicolas of Harlington’s arms.
“Sarah, what are you doing here?” Nicolas’s annoyed voice reaches my ear as I slowly open my eyes. My whole body aches, and as my vision clears, I’m surprised to find myself lying in mybed at the castle. I make out the familiar shapes in the dark and relax a little.
I strain to piece together exactly how I ended up here. When I try to sit up, my limbs and muscles protest loudly, and flashes of memories flood my mind.
“Oh damn,” I groan, and the mattress sinks beside me.
“Hey, you’re awake,” Lizzy’s voice sounds at my side, and I let out a small cry, startled.
“Damn, Lizzy, are you crazy?” I whisper angrily, clutching my pounding heart, which makes my best friend laugh. There’s a rustle, and soon the bedroom fills with warm light.
Just as she is about to say something, we hear voices outside again.
“Shit, Nic, I wanted to see you after what happened in front of theRoyal. I can’t believe that stupid woman got you into trouble again. And then involving the press too. Babe, you must be feeling terrible.”
I look at Lizzy with my mouth open, her eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. She’s about to say something, but I signal her to be quiet because I want to hear how Nicolas reacts, what he has to say.
My pulse speeds up, and I hold my breath.
“What bullshit are you talking about, Sarah? Amelia didn’t do any of that. On the contrary, she saved Damien’s ass. So where are you getting this crap from?” Lizzy and I both flinch at the sound of his harsh, threatening voice, and I breathe out in relief.
“Lucky you, brother, you just barely dodged a bullet,” Lizzy murmurs beside me, and a bubbling giggle rises in my throat. My best friend looks at me questioningly, and I have to laugh even harder. I don’t even know why.
“Now I want to know what would have happened if he hadn’t dodged it. God, Lizzy, this whole thing is so stupid.” I can’t stoplaughing, or I’d probably go insane. This whole situation, how the press is tearing me apart in front of the whole country, how that stupid bitch out there is trying to cozy up to Nicolas… and me, I’m stuck right in the middle, helpless against it all.
And then a casual remark makes me laugh even though I should be screaming and crying. I think I’m losing my mind.
“But babe, I know from a reliable source that Amelia called the press and sent Robins there too.” Sarah’s words slow down in my mind, and my laughter dies away.
“Excuse me?” Lizzy says, but I’m already on my feet. Blood rushes in my ears, and I storm to the door with fierce determination, ripping it open.
“Listen here, Miss Know-It-All, I didn’t order that bigoted asshole Robins there, and certainly not that crazy psycho Richardson. He’s the one responsible for Phil’s death. So don’t you dare spread that crap about me. Got it?” The anger coils heavy and hot in my veins, and before anyone can react, I grab Sarah and slam her against the wall. I drill my deadly, cold gaze into her wide-open eyes.
“Shit, Nic, help me. She’s insane. Don’t you see? He can—” I see red. My vision narrows to a tiny tunnel, and I can’t think straight.How dare she? How?
The boiling in my stomach erupts fully at that moment. My hand slams against her cheek as I grab that venom-spitting snake by the hair and drag her toward the door.
“Get out. Get out of my house or I’ll lose it completely, you malicious witch,” I growl, raging, pulling harder on her hair.
“Ahh, help! She’s crazy, get her away from me! Help!” She screams and thrashes, but I don’t care.
“Whoa, Goldilocks, enough,” a dark voice whispers in my ear as I’m suddenly grabbed by the waist and lifted off the ground.
The door bursts open and security rushes in. But I’m too enraged.
“Put me down, let me go right now…” I yell angrily and fight back, but Nicolas just throws me over his shoulder and marches off.
“Take that venom-spitting bitch out of here and make sure she’s banned from the castle. Lizzy, you go with them and make sure this snake doesn’t cause any trouble. Goldilocks and I need to talk,” he orders as he walks past his sister and the security, which makes me even angrier.
“No way. Let me down right now. How dare she…” But my yelling and threats bounce off Nicolas completely. I still hear Sarah spitting venom, calling me crazy and saying I belong in jail and that this will have consequences, then Nicolas slams the bedroom door shut with his foot behind us, and I’m alone with him.
He stops in front of the bed and roughly throws me down onto it.
“Don’t even try, you’re not getting out of here.” He looks down at me, his eyes nearly black with a threatening gleam. I gasp heavily and sit up, crossing my arms and glaring back.
“That…” I start, but he leans in close, his face inches from mine, and I freeze. I swallow hard.
