“Yes,” I sigh. “We most certainly don’t.” I march forward and grab the woman’s wrist.
“What are you doing?” both her and Kennix shout in unison.
“Stall him,” I bark at my adviser, wrangling the girl until she’s walking ahead of me.
“Get off me!” she squeaks, but I ignore her protests, pinning her arms behind her back.
“This may be our only chance to interrogate Elheart!” Kennix argues. “We can’t let him get away?—”
“So don’t.Stall him,” I snarl. Keeping one hand over the girl’s mouth, I drag her out of the ballroom.
We’re outside when I finally let her go, in a small paved clearing outside the ballroom, lit up by lanterns and the full moon above us. It’s much cooler out here, and quieter. Or at least itwas, until I take my hand away from her mouth and she screeches, “How dare you?”
Before I can reply, she slaps me. Hard.
I bring my hand to my cheek, too damned shocked to do anything else.
“You cannot just drag a lady out here to do Stars knows what! Have you no shame at all? You’re lucky the guards didn’t notice. If they did, they’d?—”
“You are going to be quiet now,” I snarl, pacing towards her. Flattening my palms against the wall on either side of her head, I stoop over her.
Any trace of her earlier confidence vanishes in the night air. “What?” she stammers.
“You are going to be quiet now.” I keep my voice low. “Unless you would like me to force you to your knees and give you something to fill your pretty mouth with.”
Her eyes widen. I already want to reach forward and kiss her again, but instead I brush my thumb over her lower lip, my voice softening.
“Would you like me to be gentle or rough with you?” I’ll punish her for her slap later. Now all I can think about are her rosy lips, and how divine they’d feel around my cock.
When she doesn’t reply, I lean forward to kiss her ear. “Gentle or rough, sweetheart. Those are your options. Pick one or I will choose for you.”
“Rough.”
I pull back to look at her, my brows raised.
“You heard me. I said I want rough.” She pouts.
I chuckle. “You don’t look like the sort of girl who’d like to be treated that way.” With her soft hands and noble features she looks like she’d want me to get down on my knees, part her thighs, and treat her like a princess. Which I would do for her. Gladly. “Let me be gentle for you.” I stroke her cheek.
She rolls her eyes, pushing my hand away. “If you’re just going to ignore what I asked for, can you let me go? I probably need to grind on at least another four princes in there to really make my point.”
“What?” I sputter.
“It’s nothing personal,” she carries on. “You’re handsome and all, but I plan to ruin my reputation tonight and I’m not getting anything done by standing out here with you.”
“What are you talking about?—”
She goes to duck under my arm, but I lower it, shoving her back against the wall. “I didn’t give you permission to leave.”
“Excuse me?” she scoffs.
“You said you wanted me to be rough, sweetheart,” I remind her, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand and using the other to push up her skirt. “Now you’re going to be a good girl and listen when I speak, or I will treat you like the little slut you seem so desperate to be tonight. Do you understand?”
She nods breathily, her gaze flicking to my lips.
“That’s better.” I grin. Her bratty attitude is going straight to my dick, but nothing is sweeter than the submission in her gaze. The second we’re back in my castle, she’ll find out just how submissive my magic can make her be.
Slowly, I push my hand up her thigh. She gasps as my thumb brushes over her clit.
