Chapter 1

“If you are going to keep pretending you did not enjoy having me in your bed all night, Lucian, at least have the decency to stop looking at my mouth like you are imagining what would happen if I kissed you again.”

I opened my eyes after saying it and found him already staring down at me.

His expression was murderous. I was lying with my hand around his waist, my head on his chest and one leg tangled over his, wearing nothing but his shirt, which had become a rather unfortunate habit over the past few months. Lucian had one arm beneath my neck and the other resting against my hip, and judging by the way his fingers had curled into the fabric, he had been trying very hard not to move.

I smiled but he did not.

“You have managed to turn waking up beside you into something I now dread, Your Highness, because every morning you seem determined to begin the day by saying something outrageous and then waiting to see whether my discipline survives it.”

I pushed myself higher, deliberately letting his shirt slide farther down my shoulder.

“Perhaps your discipline is the problem, because I have never asked you to be disciplined when we are alone.”

“You have asked me for many things while we are alone, and most of them would become extremely difficult to explain if anyone discovered them.”

“That sounds like an accusation.”

“It is an observation from a man who has spent months allowing the Crown Prince to crawl into his bed after midnight and then pretending there is nothing dangerous about it.”

I tilted my head.

“You said allowing.”

“I am aware of what I said.”

“So you admit you could have stopped me.”

His eyes hardened.

“I could have.”

“But you didn't.”

“No.”

I shifted closer, watching his face.

“Then perhaps you should stop blaming me for something you keep choosing.”

His hand tightened around my hip.

“You are confusing two very different things, Adrian. I chose to protect you when you came here unable to sleep. I chose to let you stay when you were upset. I chose to sit beside you when you needed somebody who would not treat you like a prince for a few hours. What I did not choose was the way you started turning every kindness into an invitation.”

The smile disappeared from my face.

“You make it sound disgusting.”

“I did not say that.”

“You didn't have to.”

Lucian sat up, forcing me to move with him, and suddenly we were facing each other with barely any space between us.

His voice became quieter.

“You want honesty so badly, so stop making me soften it for you. You have been pushing at me because you want me to break first. You want me to say that I want you, because then you can stop wondering whether every moment between us exists only because I am too loyal to push you away.”

My throat tightened.

“And if I do want you to say it?”

“Then you are asking the wrong man.”

I knew he saw my reaction because something shifted in his expression, but he did not take the words back.

I climbed out of the bed.

“Fine. Then perhaps I will find someone who does not make me beg for every scrap of affection.”

Lucian stood immediately.

“Do not use another person to punish me for refusing to become what you want.”

I turned.

“That sounds remarkably possessive for a man who just told me I am asking the wrong person.”

“It is not possessiveness.”

“Then what is it?”

“It is a warning.”

I laughed, but there was nothing amused in it.

“You are unbelievable. You can reject me, lecture me, tell me I am confusing your kindness with desire, but the moment I suggest giving somebody else the attention you clearly do not want, suddenly you have an opinion.”

His face became cold.

“You want to know what my opinion is? I think you are so accustomed to getting what you want that you have convinced yourself wanting me gives you the right to destroy every boundary between us.”

I stared at him, but then he continued before I could answer.

“You are the Crown Prince, Adrian. You can order me to follow you into battle. You can order me to stand between you and a blade. You can order me to die for you, and I will do it because that is what I swore to do. But you cannot order me to become the man who destroys you simply because you are lonely enough to want me.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

I looked away, pretending to adjust the sleeve of his shirt because I refused to let him see what his voice had done to me.

Then I looked back.

“What if I ordered you to stay?”

His expression did not change.

“I would stay.”

“What if I ordered you not to leave me?”

“I would obey.”

“What if I ordered you to kiss me?”

His jaw tightened.

“I would refuse.”

I stepped closer.

“And if I ordered you to admit that you want me?”

His eyes held mine.

“I would tell you that wanting you is exactly why I have spent so long refusing you.”

That shut me up. Before I could decide what to do, somebody knocked on the door.

Lucian's entire posture changed.

The teasing, the argument, everything disappeared beneath the bodyguard I knew better than anyone.

Another knock came.

“Lucien?”

My father's voice.

I stared at him. He stared back.

Then his eyes dropped to the shirt I was wearing.

“Get behind the screen.”

I almost laughed.

“My father is standing outside my bedroom, I am wearing your clothes, and you have just spent ten minutes telling me that you refuse to become the man who destroys me. I would say this is an excellent opportunity to prove how disciplined you are.”

His expression became lethal.

“Adrian, I am not asking you to be amusing. I am asking you to move before the King opens that door and finds his son standing in my quarters at dawn dressed like a scandal.”

I moved behind the carved wooden screen just as Lucian opened the door.

My father entered.

“Lucien, I need a private word with you.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

I held my breath.

My father crossed the room, and from where I stood, I could see Lucian's back straightening as he listened.

“The council is becoming increasingly concerned about the succession,” my father said. “You know Adrian better than almost anyone, and I trust you to keep him focused while we begin looking for a suitable wife.”

My stomach dropped.

Lucian remained silent while my father continued, completely unaware that I was standing only a few feet away.

“He will resist, naturally. I expect you to prevent him from turning the courtship into another one of his games.”

Lucian lowered his head.

“You have my word, Your Majesty.”

I stared at him through the gap in the screen.

My father took a breath. Then he delivered the sentence that made every word Lucian had just said to me feel like a knife being turned slowly beneath my ribs.

“I want my son married before the end of the year.”