Page 19 of The King's Maiden
I ignored the way my core tightened at the sound of my name rolling off his tongue. “So, I know who to regret meeting as soon as I leave here.”
He smirked. “Oh, you won’t be going anywhere tonight.”
I lifted my chin, my tone haughty. “Then, I guess your name doesn’t matter. I won’t spare you a second thought once I’m in my Knight’s bed.”
His eyes blazed, the muscles in his arm tensing as they bunched under my palm. I tightened my grip reflexively.
“Dread.” He dropped his face to mine—so close the tips of our noses brushed. “My name is Max Dread.”
My pulse quickened. Bergamot and spice filled my nose, clinging to the air around him and overpowering everything else. My head spun and lashes fluttered.
Maxcaught my reaction and huffed a quiet laugh. “Oh, Princess…”
And for a second, I thought he might kiss me. Clamping his hand over mine, he laced our fingers together.
I let him.
Then, he smirked again.
“Let’s not pretendmeetingme is what you’re going to regret tonight.” He peeled my grip off his arm. “No matter whose bed you end up in.”
Tossing my hand away, he stalked off and left me fuming behind him.
Chapter Six
QUINN
Words burned at the back of my throat, but before I could draw them out,Max Dreaddisappeared into the crowd.
I lost sight of him as he weaved through the sea of booze-and-sex-soaked bodies, ignoring the girls and hands grasping for his attention. It took me a minute to get a grip on myselfandwhat had just happened.
He’d been right and wrong.
I wouldn’t regret meeting him, only because he had reminded me why I needed to keep my head on straight. But I wouldn’t regret anything else, either. Definitely not losing his interest, which seemed as volatile as an active volcano.
I refused to give anyone in this place that power over me.
I refused to care.
When my heart settled, I breathed out a shaky laugh. “What the hell was that?”
My question being rhetorical and voiced to no one, I didn’t expect a response.
But a low and silky voice murmured at my back.
“You met Sir Mordred.”
The man who stepped up beside me wasn’t the hulking, looming presence I’d met in Max Dread, yet somehow, he was no less imposing.
Soft brown curls loosely styled on top of his head, a sharp jaw and cheekbones, and a tall frame built of lean muscle—he commanded the room and my attention the minute he appeared.
Because his eyes, soft gray and glinting in the dim light, pierced right through me.
He nodded in the direction Max had gone. “You’ll want to be careful with that one.”
Facing the room, he rested his hands behind his back. He glanced down at me beside him, taking in my outfit and lingering on the string of pearls at my neck.
“You figured out my little secret.”
