Page 100 of The Prince of Power

I swallow, and my pulse kicks up. “Kane’s dad?”

He nods. “He called it a dinner offriendship. No doubt, Gabriel has done something to prove that he wasn’t a part of Kane’s kidnapping scheme.”

My heart stutters. “Do you believe it?”

He scowls. “No.”

“And what exactly are you worried about?”

His eyes bore into mine. “I just don’t like the idea of you and Gabriel being under the same roof. I won’t let anything happen to you, and I don’t think Gabriel would try anything with my father there, but still…” His brows pull together. “I don’t like it.”

He reaches out, and his fingers brush damp strands of hair away from my face. “You don’t belong in their world, Ava. You belong in mine, and I’ll burn the rest to keep you safe.”

30

Damian

As the jet engine roars to life, Ava lifts her head from her lap and smiles at me. It’s warm and unguarded. Like she means it.

Ever since she recovered from her fever, she’s been like this—soft,open. And I’ve been drinking it up like a dying man at an oasis.

But I haven’t gotten to fuck her again. The Sacred Light has whisperers everywhere. Most likely, he’s recruited some of the Thornecroft house staff. It’s a risk I’m not willing to take.

The hunger for her has been so intense that it threatens to rip me open.

The acceleration of the jet presses me back against my seat. Then there’s a moment of weightlessness as the wheels leave the ground.

My gaze fixes on the steady rise and fall of Ava’s chest as she stares out the window. My dad specifically ordered for her to come, probably as a demonstration of his trust in Gabriel. To show him that he doesn’t think for a moment that Gabriel would make the same reckless move as Kane.

The solstice ceremony is in two weeks. Stealing my virgin sacrifice now would make things much more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

Especially to someone who really believes in the magic of it all. According to Hunter, Gabriel is delusional enough to really think that the virgin sacrifice imparts some kind of mystical power on the man who beds her. He thinks that all he has to do is sabotage this process, and the Sacred Light will choose someone else as prior.

These men are stupid, which makes them dangerous.

I just don’t fucking like any of it. After I’ve bargained to keep Ava and this whole process is over, I’ll never let her near any of these men again.

Ava’s eyes flick briefly toward me before dropping to her bag. She pulls out a book.

Mansfield Park.

God, how fucking adorable is this woman? She really brought that book of all books when we have a TV and video game console in the bedroom in the back.

“What part are you at?” I ask, trying to keep the smugness out of my voice.

She shoots me a questioning frown. “I’m at the part where Henry visits Fanny in Portsmouth. Why?”

I nod. “Poor guy’s about to fuck it all up. If only he could have waited…”

The book falls to her lap. “Damian Cross, have you read it?”

I lean back into the leather seat. “I have.”

Ava narrows her eyes, her lips parting slightly before she shakes her head. “You told me you hadn’t read Jane Austen.”

“I’ve read it since then. I figured out it’s your favorite book. All I had to do was look up Maria Rushworth, and I found it.”

I watch her carefully, waiting for the reaction I know is coming. Her expression shifts, her features softening into…

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