Page 31 of In Love with a Ruthless Man

“If you think I’m still going to try seducing you, you’ll feel you have no choice but to leave this job. If you do leave, you’re unlikely to find something that pays as well as this job does, which would force you to either quit college or swallow your pride and borrow money from your fiancé, which is even more distasteful.”

The last words had her swallowing back a nervous laugh. “B-borrowing money from Grant is more distasteful than me quitting college?”

“Everything about Grant Bennett,” the prince said succinctly, “is distasteful.”

She almost choked, but even so she could feel her tension easing, and even she knew the prince was saying such words also so she could relax. Without looking up, she mumbled, “Thank you for liking me. I think it’s weird that you do—-”

The prince stared stonily at the girl mumbling in front of him.Weird, was he?

“But I also think you’re being so awfully sweet to promise not to seduce me—-”

His teeth began to gnash. In the prince’s vocabulary,‘awfully sweet’was synonymous to being a weak ass.

“I mean, it’s so crazy that you can want me so much even when I don’t—-” She stopped speaking, realizing too late she had ended up babbling her thoughts out loud.

Slowly, she raised her gaze to the prince, and the sight of his extremely nice smile had her paling. The prince scowling at her was normal. But the prince smiling at her?

Nope.

She began walking backwards towards the door. “I s-should probably go now, right?”

“Probably,” he agreed very pleasantly, “before I forget howawfully sweetI am, and make you feel thisweirdthing called dying—-”

“G-going now, prince.” She quickly stepped out of the door and turned to him, saying, “But I mean it. Thank you for being so kind and understanding—-”

The prince took a furious step towards her.

Right. All nice words were definitely off-limits.

“Shutting up now, prince.” And this time, Fawn broke into a run lest the prince changed his mind about liking her—-

She tripped on her feet as the thought sank in, really sank in.

Oh my God, the prince liked herthat way.

Unbelievable.

But true.

A MILITANT GLEAM SHONEin Fawn’s eyes as she came marching back to work the next day. Literally marching, which had Noah scratching his head from his post at the watchtower.

Rumor had it that the prince and his fawn had a lover’s quarrel but then they made up yesterday. So why was she acting like the driveway was their version of The Green Mile?

As Fawn hiked her way to the main house, a conversation between her emotional and practical sides began to take place.

The Prince of Darkness is a good and trustworthy man, Fawn. He helps girls in need, even though his methods aren’t exactly by the book. If he says he won’t try to seduce you, he won’t.

But he is the Prince of Darkness. There’s a possibility he wouldn’t be able to help himself when he sees you—-

Can you hear yourself? You’re making it sound like you’re a fawn fatale. Haha! Get it? Fawn fatale, femme fatale—-

Fawn stopped walking.

She was seriously going crazy, and this was the prince’s fault.

She took a deep breath. There was no point worrying about the unknown. All she had to do was just get to work and see how things played out.

Nodding, she continued down the road and when she reached the end, the first thing she heard was splashes coming from the pool area.

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