Page 49 of The Reluctant Heir

I turn to him, raising an eyebrow. “Julien, it’s ten o’clock right now. How would you expect me to be home by midnight?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. That’s just what they always say in human movies before a teenager goes out.” He pauses. “Fine. Be home before five.”

Damek looks at me.

I shake my head. “I’m twenty three. I don’t have a curfew. Julien is just being annoying.”

“Don’t break her heart,” Julien says to Damek, thenfinallyturns to leave us.

Damek holds out his arm for me. “Are you ready?”

I loop my arm through his. “Yes.”

Butterflies tickle my stomach as Damek leads me to his car in front of the house. I hope that my pretend date with Kaine helped me because I want this date to go well.

Damek opens the passenger side door for me. He’s the first of my royal dates to do that unless I count Prince Caedmon. But he didn’t really open the door. His driver opened it for me.

Maybe this date will go well. At some point, it has to, right?

14

A ROYAL I ACTUALLY LIKE

When Damek gets in the driver’s seat of the car, he reaches his hand over the center console and gently laces our fingers together, holding my hand. As hard as I try not to react, my heartbeat gives me away.

Of all the dates I’ve been on, nobody has ever tried to hold my hand. And with his warm palm pressed against mine, I find that I like it. It feelsnice.

“I’m glad that it’s your turn,” I tell Damek.

“My turn?” he asks.

I grin. “You don’t have to pretend you don’t know. The vampire community isn’tthatbig, so I know you know about my previous dates. My advisor thought it would be a good idea for me to go out with each prince and my dad loved the idea.”

“Yes, I did hear about that.” He clears his throat. “I also heard about Prince Caedmon pulling some chick into his lap at the restaurant.”

My eyes widen at his confession. “How did you hear about that?”

Damek puts the car in drive. “Like you said, the vampire community isn’tthatbig. There were others there and word got around. I also heard that Prince Caedmon’s father took awayhis Porsche for a month because of his behavior. And he’s not allowed to go out with any girls. I think he was set on his son wooing you.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Even without the flirting with other women, Prince Caedmon is too much like an incubus to be my type.”

“How is he like an incubus?” Damek inquires.

“He took the time to check out his appearance on every single reflective surface he came across. And he frequently checked himself in the camera app on his phone.” I chew on my bottom lip. “Incubi are very vain about their looks. I don’t know if you knew that.”

Damek chuckles. “Prince Caedmonisin love with himself. I didn’t realize how deep the love went.”

I find myself laughing along with him. “It’s not funny, but it is. It’s just so pathetic that my life has been like this. I don’t like the idea that I have to choose a husband from a limited group of men. I don’t want a marriage of alliance—I want one of love. Part of me wishes I had just stayed with my mom, but then I wouldn’t have met Julien. As annoying as my little brother is, I love him.”

“Even if you hadn’t come, wouldn’t you be forced into a marriage alliance of your grandfather’s choosing?” Damek stops to look at me before pulling out on the main road.

“No.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “He tried that with my mom when she was younger and she flat out refused. He was going to force it, but then she got pregnant with me. I almost wonder if what happened with my dad was a defiance thing. But she wouldn’t have allowed my grandfather to try it with me.”

“I’ve always known that I would have a political marriage, likely chosen by my father.” Damek keeps his eyes on the road as he says, “I always hated it, but now I’m thinking it might not be so bad.”

Once again, my heart audibly reacts to him. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Damek’s smile grow which makes my cheeks warm. Of course he heard my heart rate increase. I resist the urge to hide my face.

“You worked for your grandfather before you moved here?” Damek asks, kindly changing the subject to something less embarrassing than my body’s reaction to him.

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