Page 11 of Chess

Her eyes widened. What the fuck? He was dreaming abouther? Abouttastingher?

“Damn, you taste like sweet nectar.”

Ever cleared her throat and kicked him in the ribs with her foot, not wanting to think aboutwherehe was performing this act with his mouth. “That’s quite enough of that.”

Chess’s eyes jerked open, his yellow gaze meeting hers. He blinked while staring at her, as though he couldn’t believe she was standing before him.

“What were you dreaming about?” Ever cooed, holding up her viola and running the bow across its strings to play a melody.

The prince lifted his head and shook his arms behind his back when he seemed to finally come to a realization. “What the fuck is this?” He jerked his chains, writhing like an insufferable snake. However, his movements did go along well with her music as she continued to play, like a cobra being mesmerized by a charmer performing a song on a pungi. “Stop playing the damn violin!”

She cocked her head, her movements pausing. “It’s aviola.”

“What the fuck ever.” He clenched his jaw, still rattling the chains on his ankles as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. “Release me.”

“I don’t think so,Princeling. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you.” She knelt in front of him so her nose was incredibly close to brushing his. “You wanted a chat? Well, here we are. We do itmyway. Not yours. You’re the one who betrayed me in the first place. Trying to play the role of the Huntsman inSnow White. You know what happened at the end of that story? She won. The Evil Queen died.” Ever clucked her tongue—the dig was specifically about his wretch of a mother. “Refresh my memory … what happened to the Huntsman?”

Chess narrowed his eyes, his nostrils flaring. Her gaze unintentionally drifted down to his pouty lips that had been tasting her in his pathetic dream. But the little voice at the back of her mind wondered briefly what that would feel like, those plump lips between her thighs, flicking his devilish tongue slowly up her center.No. No. Bloody hell, no.

“Unbind me and I’ll be a good little boy,” he purred. Her gaze slid back up to his, thankfully clearing her horrendous thoughts.

She sat across from him, slowly plucking a string on her viola. “Name the song I was playing and perhaps I will.”

“Simple.” He grinned, his lips spreading wide so each of his perfect teeth were on display, his fangs bared. “‘Fur Elise.’”

Damn. She should’ve chosen a harder song. “I’m still not untying you, Princeling.”

“We can work together,” he said, confidence lacing his words. “We both want the same thing.”

What could they possibly both want that was ever the same? They had nothing in common besides liking the taste of blood. “And what is that?”

“Your brother dead.”

Ever held her gaze steady, keeping her features neutral. She knew Rav wanted him for the murder of Imogen. But she’d believed before that, they were the perfect devious trio. After all, he was the only father Chess had ever known. “And why does it matter to you if he’s dead?” she slowly asked. “Aren’t you Scarlet’s new king? You can do with him as you wish. Send him back to Ivory. I can then return to my home, reclaim my throne, and kill him myself.” She arched her brow, seeing if she could get him to admit his lie or not.

He gritted his teeth. “I can’t.”

“And why ever not?” She smiled, waiting for him to admit that he was wanted in Scarlet for the murder of his mother.

“Because Rav is the king at the moment.”

Ever laughed then, the heaviness of the sound spilling out from her throat, so much her eyes watered. “Of course he is. Did you really think my brother would hand over Scarlet to you, even though you’re the rightful heir? Look what he did to me, his own sister.” She paused. “My contact did say Rav seems to have narrowed his search for Imogen’s murderer, but we still don’t know who ripped out her heart.”

“Who’s yourcontact?” Chess asked, his voice suspicious.

She bet everything on it that he was thinking her contact was Maddie, but he couldn’t know she’d recently met up with her. “He’s here in London. I haven’t been back in Wonderland since I ran from the ball. I only recently emerged from thisfabuloushome of mine and reconnected with an old friend.”

Chess leaned toward her, his heavenly scent caressing her nose. “Yourlover?”

“That’s none of your business,” she spat.

“Help me become king and I’ll help you return to being queen.” His gaze focused on her hair. “And take off that wig. It looks like shit.”

“What a way to entice me into working with you,” Ever said dryly but drew off her wig, letting her long white locks fall down her back.

Chess’s eyes widened for a short moment before returning to their normally cocky stare. “Ah, there’s the White Queen in all her glory. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair down.” He ran his tongue across his lower lip. “If you unbind my wrists, I promise to play fair.”

He was such a lovely liar. But she was too. “Perhaps another day.” She lifted her bow and returned to playing a song, just for him, on her viola while he seethed.

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