Page 25 of Her Forbidden Prince
“Yes, you do!”he snapped, keeping up with her.“I have a right to tell you my side!”
She tried to sidestep him again, but he blocked her.“Carys, I’m your father!I have a right to be in your life.”
Carys didn’t agree.Not after what he’d done to her all those years ago.So she kept walking.“Please leave me alone!”she hissed, still trying to get around him.He blocked her again.No matter how quickly she moved, he moved faster.
Finally, his frustration erupted and he grabbed her upper arms, holding her still.“Carys, you need to listen to me!I’m not the evil villain, regardless of what you think!”
Carys cringed, trying to pull away, but he was stronger than he looked.“Let me go!”she cried out, feeling bruises forming under his grip.
“Not until you listen to me!”he insisted.“Just one meal.I’ll buy you dinner and we’ll talk.Just…stop fighting me!I won’t let you go!It’s my right as your father!”
Carys was just about to knee him in the groin when his hands were suddenly ripped away from her arms.She looked around and saw Rafi had one of her father’s hands in his and was twisting it.Her father dropped to his knees as his face contorted with pain.
Rafi’s voice was a low, menacing growl as he said, “The lady said no.That should be the end of the conversation.”Rafi twisted a little harder and Carys’s father let out a yelp, his head nearly touching the concrete.
Chapter 19
Rafi stared down at the man in disgust, contemplating ripping his arm out of his socket for daring to touch his woman.In the end, he let the bastard go, wanting to reassure Carys more than he needed to hurt the pathetic excuse of a man at his feet.
Turning, he offered a hand to Carys.“Are you okay?”he asked, moving closer and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.He was gentle, shifting so she couldn’t watch as his bodyguards dragged her father down the block.They would probably dump him in an alley somewhere.Rafi didn’t care what they did to him.Carys was his only concern.
“Let’s go,” he urged, guiding Carys to the waiting SUV.He got her settled inside and sat beside her, holding her closely as the car started to move.She was white faced and shaking, and he gently tightened his arms around her, hoping to share his strength with her.He’d noticed several pedestrians passing along, literally walking around the altercation.Why?Why would anyone walk by someone who was obviously being harassed and not stop to offer help?
Everyone was so busy these days, so focused on getting home to their own tasks that they forgot to be compassionate human beings.
“Thank you,” she whispered.He heard a little sniff then despite the fact that she was still trembling, Carys pulled away from him.She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, then turned away, trying to hide her face.
For a moment, Rafi felt as if he’d been slapped.Carys was pulling away from him?Why?She carefully moved to the seat, her hands lacing together in a white knuckled grip.
“Will you tell me about him?”
Carys stared out through the window, but he could still see her profile.Another tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it angrily away.
“Thank you for your help,” she whispered, her tone tortured.
“Let’s have a drink,” Rafi suggested.“Then you can tell me all about him or not.We can just sit in silence if that’s what you need.”
It was a relief when Carys nodded.The SUV came to a halt outside of a pub-style restaurant.It wasn’t somewhere he would have chosen himself, but when his driver had heard the “drink” offer, he’d gone to the first restaurant he saw.
Once they were seated at a small table, he ordered her a martini and a scotch for himself.She didn’t really touch the martini.Oh, she sipped it a bit, but Rafi suspected that the sip was more to appease him.In a small way, Rafi supposed that her desire not to hurt his feelings was a good sign.She wasn’t rejecting him.But he could see that she was still struggling.
“Who was that?”
“My father,” she replied, the second word cracking in the middle.
Rafi knew that she wasn’t going to relax with the alcohol.So more serious measures needed to be taken.He pointed to an item on the menu and the waitress nodded with a smile of understanding after a glance at Carys, promising that it would be out quickly.
Rafi waited in silence, wanting Carys to tell him in her own time.He didn’t want to pressure her.Still, it wasn’t until the waitress slid a piping hot platter of “loaded” fries between them, that Carys actually showed a smidge of interest.
With careful fingers, she pulled a fry from the mass of melted cheese, bacon, sour cream, and chives from the pile and bit into it.Rafi knew that he’d gotten it right when Carys closed her eyes and sighed.He wasn’t sure if that sigh was due to the comfort food or some other reason, but he didn’t care.After four more cheesy fries, Carys’s shoulders slowly started to relax.
“Thank you,” she finally whispered as she took another fry.
“Want to tell me about him?”he asked, taking his own fry and popping it into his mouth.But scotch wasn’t an appropriate drink for cheesy fries, so he downed his drink and ordered two beers.Carys laughed a little and the sound seemed to lighten the mood just a bit.When the waitress slid the two beers onto the table, Carys eyed her martini.And because she understood the value of a martini, she downed the drink in a few gulps, then let out an audible “Ahhh!”as she delicately set the glass back down, then pulled one of the beers closer.
There was another long silence as Rafi watched her.She nibbled thoughtfully on the fries, and he could almost see her inner gears whirling.He let her think, hoping that she would tell him what had happened.But for the moment, he was just relieved that he was with her again.
“My father is an ass,” she blurted suddenly, concentrating on extracting another fry and loading it with melted cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
