The Naughty Princess

“You are.” His eyes were on mine, shades of green and brown muddled together to create the
perfect hazel. “The most beautiful.”

“You don’t have to humor me,” I whispered, my chest expanding.

He wasn’t even touching me, not really, just holding my hand. Yet it felt like I was completely
bare to him.

“I’m not humoring you, Princess. I think about you often. Naked. In my bed. In the shower.
Beneath me. On top of me.” He lowered his voice, still looking into my eyes, though they were
blurring and I could barely keep them open. “But I’ve been told to stay away. To keep my hands
to myself. And I should.”

That made me turn swiftly, my steps faltering as I looked up at him. “You shouldn’t. Please
don’t.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking.” His voice was hoarse, as if my plea were the ultimate
test of his resolve.

“I never ask for anything.” I pressed myself closer, my breasts against his chest. “But I’m
asking for this.”

The Prince

Air hitched in my throat. That was yet another word of kindness from him that I didn’t know how
to process. “That’s nice of you to say, but you… you don’t know me well enough to think that.”

“I am hardly ever wrong about these kinds of things.”

A laugh escaped me. “Okay. Even if that is the case, like I said before, I don’t understand
why you care this much to have this conversation again. Remember? I’m just a human woman
and I’m already half dead.”

His jaw worked as those lashes lowered again. “I should not have spoken those words.”

“Why? Because they were ignorant?”

“Because what you said about yourself is a lie.”

I stilled. “What do you mean?”

A long moment passed, so much so that I thought he wouldn’t answer, but then those thick
lashes lifted and those eyes seemed to see straight through me once more. “You’re not a ghost.
You never could be one, not when you burn as brilliant as the sun.”

Arranged

“I can offer you my body.”

She sat up because he was getting closer. “I have a body of my own.”

His jaw tightened, but she saw the light of competition in his eyes. He might be frustrated,
but he was also intrigued. He put his hands on his hips, perfectly comfortable with his nudity.

“All right, my future queen. Let me tell you what I can offer you. I can offer you the touch of my
hands on your flesh, skimming every inch of your body. I can offer the heat of my mouth, my lips
and tongue exploring you, tasting your essence. I won’t stop quickly because you’re complex. I’ll
have to taste you everywhere, nipping and licking and sucking until I know you by heart.”

FINALE

“Some will say I’m an indulgent husband. Buy whatever you want. Go wherever you want. Do
whatever you want, but when you’re with me, your body is mine. I’ll use it at any time in any way
I see fit. Do you understand?”

Her mouth opens on a silent gasp. “Yes.”

“You don’t. Not yet, but you will.”