Page 27 of Dark Prince's Captive

I push aside my speculations for now and refocus on my appearance.The dress is made of a soft material with a pearly glimmer.It fastens at my nape and drapes with soft folds over my breasts and hips before flaring out from my thighs.The hem stops just above my ankles.The back is open, not allowing for any sort of bra—if they even wear them here.Fortunately, with my small breasts, I don’t need one.The skirt is embroidered with shiny white stones, which may or may not be diamonds.Begrudgingly, I have to admit that the gown is gorgeous.I’ve never looked prettier.

“Shoes,” Gaia announces with a clap of her hands.

One of the women rushes forward with a pair of satiny slippers.The crystal beads decorating them match the stones on the dress.She kneels in front of me while another woman takes my arm to steady me and a third carefully lifts my skirt.

I shove my feet into the flat-heeled, pointy shoes.To my surprise, they’re very comfortable, not pinching my toes as I expected.

Gaia takes a small flacon from the dresser and sprays a fine mist of perfume over my hair.It smells powdery soft, almost like roses, with something exotic like ylang-ylang in the mix.

“It’s a very precious and rare perfume made from the petals of dragon flower blossoms,” Gaia says as she points the atomizer at my barely-there cleavage.“They only bloom once a century under a full moon.”

Puff.

“A drop is worth a hundred opal stones.”

Puff, puff.

She winks before giving my neck the same treatment.“Aruan loves the smell.”

I suppress a protest.Objecting to the dollying-up isn’t going to help.I argued until my throat was hoarse, and it got me nowhere.

To them, it may seem as if I’ve accepted my fate, which is to take vows I don’t mean andconsummatesome bizarre mating.

Ha.

That’s not going to happen.

I’m just biding my time.My docility is all for show.Sooner rather than later, an opportunity to escape will present itself.If I’m going to a banquet, they have to take me out of this room.I’ll grab my chance then.I have no idea where I’m going to go in this strange place, but I’ll escape first and figure it out later.

Someone around here has to know how to open a portal back to Earth, right?

The flurry of activity comes to an abrupt halt.The women freeze.

I lift my head to see what’s going on, and then an uninvited and very unwelcome shiver runs through me.

Aruan stands in the doorway, his large frame blocking out the light that reflects from the walls in the hallway.With all those muscles packed onto his body, he looks imposing and lethal.He’s changed into a black jacket with silver and red embroidery around the collar and cuffs.Knee-high boots polished to a shine are fitted over his pants.His long dark hair is tied back, exposing his angular face and drawing attention to the masculine lines of his square jaw, aristocratic nose, and broad forehead.There’s no arguing that he’s strikingly handsome.He stands there like a king, rendering people silent with his mere presence.

Our gazes lock in the reflection of the mirror.His piercing stare is too intense for my liking.

My heartbeat picks up, and heat rushes through my veins.It’s like stepping from a snowy winter’s day into a cozy sauna.I can’t control it.

Gaia says something, but her words are white noise in my ears.I’m vaguely aware of the guards and women leaving the room.The air is trapped in my lungs as Aruan and I continue our stare off, yet it’s impossible to look away from his foreboding gaze.

Gaia slips a tiara with sparkling stones into my hair.“Everything will be all right.You’ll see.”She mouths, “Good luck,” and then she’s gone.

Silence stretches as Aruan and I are locked in an invisible vise.What I read in his eyes frightens me.They’re filled with the carnal hunger of a starving predator—and the determination to satiate that hunger.

It’s more than a little unsettling that I can read his intentions so well.Even more concerning are the responding zaps of awareness that sizzle under my skin, which I do my best to ignore.Although it’s difficult to do so when, under the dress, my naked lady parts are wet, and my nipples are so hard they poke through the thin fabric.It really doesn’t help that underwear was apparently never invented here.

A knowing smile plucks at Aruan’s lips as he studies me.I swear he knows exactly what’s going through my mind.He can’t be blind to the effect he has on me.We have a weird capacity to communicate without words.

Finally, he breaks the spell by stepping deeper into the room.The archway closes behind him.

I gulp.

I don’t like being locked in here with him alone.

My breathing grows shallow.He’s like a huge, all-consuming vacuum that sucks up all the oxygen in the room.

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