Page 42 of The Reluctant Heir

I make a mental note to be wary of Prince Caedmon and his clan. Though, if I have my way, I won’t be seeing him again.

“Though, now you have me curious why he ended the date early.” Kaine leans forward in his seat, his leg bouncing up and down. “Don’t leave me in suspense, Madeline.”

Kaine never calls me anything exceptPrincessMadeline. Hearing him say my name without my title is jolting, though I try to hide my surprise. I’ve been asking him to drop the proper titles since I got here. If I call attention to the fact, he will make double sure not to do it in the future.

“Let’s see,” I say, continuing to recall my most recent date. “He took me to a nice restaurant where he flirted with the hostess, the waitress, and a group of girls at a nearby table. He even pulled some girl onto his lap and proceeded to kiss her on the neck while she giggled and told us about her boyfriend.”

Kaine clenches his jaw. “I’m going to murder him.”

I wave a hand at him. “Don’t worry about it. I got my revenge when I accidentally spilled an entire bottle of wine on him—and let me tell you, it wasn’t the cheap kind of wine.”

He grins. “That’s my girl.”

Hisgirl?

“I told him I didn’t drink, so it’s his fault for ordering wine anyway.” I chew on my bottom lip as I mull over him calling me his girl.

“You’ve been out on five dates and not one of them has gone well,” Kaine muses.

“Six,” I correct.

“Prince Laurent, Prince Octavia, Prince Alexander, Prince Karpov, and Prince Aliester.” He holds up five fingers. “Who am I missing?”

“PrinceLucas.”

He rolls his eyes. “You didn’t go out with Prince Lucas. You talked to him for less than five minutes, pretended to be sick, and proceeded to ignore every single call and text from him.”

I shrug. “Five minutes in his presence is still five minutes too long. I’d rather get a root canal. Or have period cramps.”

Kaine chokes. “Can you not talk about yourperiodin front of me?”

“I was unaware that the subject of blood made vampires uncomfortable.” I bite my bottom lip to try and hide my smile.

I just love pushing Kaine’s buttons.

His face is bright red, but he sits up straight and flawlessly changes the subject. “It has come to my attention that, even though you’re a succubus, none of your dates have gone well. Is it normal for your species to have issues dating?”

“I’mhalfsuccubus,” I remind him.

“Which means you should be at least half capable of having a good date. Can’t you use a bit of your succubus magic? Use your charm and charisma—it’s in your DNA.”

I snort. “What charm and charisma?”

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Poor guy. It can’t be easy to advise me, especially when it comes to my love life.

I lean forward. “Are you rethinking your career path? I’m sure Dad would give you a lovely parting bonus if you want to go back to college and get a different degree.” I nod toward the books. “With all your knowledge of vampire law, you could become a lawyer.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose like he’s trying to ward off a headache or something.

“Do vampires get headaches?” I ask.

He sits up and levels me with a stare. “What kind of stupid question is that?”

I shrug. “I was curious. Succubi get headaches. I always get them…” I trail off, not wanting to bring up my period again.

Kaine sighs. “I will admit, I didn’t get many headaches before you came. Now that you’re here, I frequently get them.”

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