Page 62 of Twisted Royals

It was just as well, for I snickered not a moment later. It had been a game between us for as long as I could remember, and one I far from enjoyed.

But… perhaps this time… could he be right?

Belatedly, I realized she was near enough to have heard him. She would have realized what he’d meant. With a jolt to my chest, my muscles tightened and I turned ever so slightly to look at her.

She was blushing.

CHAPTER 6

Ari

Dinner had been a lovely, wonderful affair. In my world, we did not take meals together, nor at any particular time. Which explained why, from the first, I found it a bit strange. But when I took in the fancy gowns of the women present, I was thankful that the prince had forced me into one—and the whisper of the soft silk against my skin wasn’t the only reminder I had of that encounter.

No, in fact my skin still tingled with the imprint of his hand, and I felt it every time I shifted.

It had shocked me at the time. It had even made me feel angry (oh, how was I ever going to get used to the constant tidal wave of these human emotions?) but as I sat for dinner next to him, stealing furtive glances while he was speaking to someone else, my skin pulsed where he’d touched it. And all I could think about was how to get him to impart that feeling to every inch of me.

I’d never felt this way before. Part of me had feared that once I was here on human legs, I would not feel the same for him as I had when I’d owned a fin. But if anything, my feelings had intensified at a rate that often made it hard to breathe.

The Sea Witch had warned me that human emotions were different than our own, but nothing could have prepared me for the full-frontal assault of it. As he led me down the corridor now, murmuring softly, my hand shook in the crook of his arm and I struggled to listen to what he was saying.

“You… you were truly something tonight.”

I had no idea what that meant, and I couldn’t ask, so I contented myself with waiting.

“You charmed my father.” He looked at me with a mixture of awe and disbelief. “That is not an easy thing to do, I must tell you. But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You charmed everyone.”

I didn’t know what that meant either, but his tone sounded warm and loving, so I smiled.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a dinner like that in my life,” he shared. “There was laughter and dancing and…” He trailed off, grinning at me. “It’s all thanks to you. How is it possible, darling one, that a woman who cannot speak could inspire such a thing?”

He was right, I didn’t have words. I had to use what I had to communicate, which was why I lifted my hand and tenderly stroked his cheek.

Prince Damian captured my hand in his, not allowing me to pull it away. “I wish you could speak.” His voice was low, and his eyes had taken on a dark heat. “I would love nothing more than to hear your voice.”

Our gazes fused and my breath caught in my throat. I could feel the fierce pounding of my heart. Is this it? Is he going to declare his love for me?

His head dipped lower, and on instinct that I did not understand, I lifted my face.

But he only sighed and released my hand. I felt a pang of disappointment that I could not name.

“I should leave you here.” He reached out and turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. “This is the room I found for you to stay in.”

My eyes traveled across his face, seeing his regret and… was I imagining it? Was he truly longing for me? Then I saw something else. Something I’d never seen before. His pants had a bulge that seemed to be beckoning me.

So I reached out and took it in my hand.

Damian

The first thing I felt was shock. Well, to be more precise, the first thing I felt was her dainty hand closing around my erection. But the shock came next. Then fear. A strange fission of fear that she was not the woman I thought her to be. Was she not a proper lady as I’d expected?

Why would that cause me any concern? I’ve never hastened to make the acquaintance of any proper lady before.

True enough. So, what then?

The answer came to me so suddenly, it made me laugh aloud. Of course! She was the first woman I’d well and truly liked, short as our acquaintance had been, so even if it had only been in the back of my mind, I’d thought if she was a proper lady, perhaps in time we would wed. As much as I might hate my father’s well-meaning lectures, I knew he was right. I had to marry eventually. I had to provide my kingdom with an heir or two. Before meeting my little waif, that had seemed an impossibly dull task.

But something had changed tonight. She didn’t just intrigue me. As I’d watched her bounce babies on her knee—for they’d been passed to her one after the other and she was masterful at making them laugh and be at ease with her—and engage my countrymen as well as my peers with her smiles and enthusiastic head nods, I’d been just as charmed as everyone else.

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