Page 69 of Prince of Tides
“What?” I said, trying to be intimidating and failing as my glare slid off Gisele like she was covered in Teflon.
“I’m not sure how much of it is my place to say,” she explained, “versus Rip’s. If he hasn’t told you everything yet, I don’t want to step on his toes. Heisgoing to be the next prince. It pays not to piss those types of people off.”
“Goingto be the next prince?” I asked dangerously. “He told me heisa prince.”
“It’s more complicated than a he is slash he isn’t equation,” Gisele said. “Once he explains it, you’ll understand he wasn’t really lying.”
“Either he’s a prince, or he’s not a prince,” I pointed out.
“It’s sort of a formality thing,” Gisele countered.
“Formality? So, why hasn’t it been made official? What is he waiting for?”
“You,” Rip said from behind me. “I’ve been waiting on you.”
“I think I’ll go be anywhere but here,” Gisele said, scurrying off without waiting for a response.
Slowly, I turned around. “You have a lot of explaining to do,” I said, pointedly keeping my distance from him, whereas before, I would have gladly taken his arm or snuggled into his side.
“I know,” he said, frustration flickering in his eyes. “I’d intended to do just that, but we were sort of interrupted. Besides, I’ve already thrown the existence of dragons at you today, and I was trying to figure out how much more to share without overwhelming you. None of it will make much of a difference if it’s today, tomorrow, or another two or three days. But Iwasgoing to tell you. I swear.”
I had to admit hesoundedadamant and truthful. There was no guarded glint in his eyes, no body language to give it away that he wasn’t being honest.
“As you said, you’ve already sprung dragons on me,” I said, wondering just whenthatrevelation would hit home and overwhelm me. “You may as well get it all over withnowinstead of waiting for later. I’d rather know everything instead of being fed it piecemeal.”
Rip nodded. “And you have every right to that,” he agreed. “Do you have questions, or should I explain what I can, then fill in the blanks after?”
I gnawed on my lip. “You explain, then let’s go from there. Probably less jumping around.”
“Very well,” he said, extending an arm. “Can we walk while we do? Fighting like that is exhausting. I need some calories.”
“We can walk,” I said.
I didn’t take his arm.
Rip retracted the offer, clearly hurt but confident enough to understand I wasn’t feeling overly secure in anything just then and that his getting upset over it would only make it worse. Iwantedto feel comfortable close to him, but there were too many unknowns. Whowashe really, and why was I there? Until he answered, I doubted I could get close to him.
“Our society is split into four clans. The God-King, an immortal dragon who lives at the top of Mount Drakonus, set out the rules for our society ages ago. We follow them to this day,” Rip said, taking on the tone of an instructor. “A prince oversees each clan. Upon their rise to power, they rule for a century. Then the rule is turned over to their heirs. However, those heirs can only assume the mantle of prince if they have a mate.”
“A mate. People keep using that word. But you’re not animals,” I pointed out. “You’re intelligent beings.”
He smiled over at me. “Thank you for the compliment. But a mate, yes. It’s not a pairing like you might think. Mates are fated for one another. Destined. It is a union that will never be broken or sundered because the bond between mated pairs transcends emotions or feelings. It exists in them and draws each mated pair together. Regardless of anything in the way, including, say, feelings for an ex-fiancé.”
I looked at him sharply.
“Don’t tell me you don’t feel it,” he said. “That first night, you would have never driven me to town if I were someone else, let alone come up to my apartment. You felt the connection, the mate bond. We’re meant to be together, Laurie. You and me. I can feel it in my core, and if you open yourself up to the possibility, you will, too. Call it love at first sight, if you must. It’s the same thing.”
“I do feel something,” I said. “Right now, I’d call it anger. Frustration. You’re using me for that new shiny stick you want to fight with. Men. Always about a bigger stick with you.”
“The Trident of the Sea is the weapon given to us by the God-King to defend not just our clan but all clans,” Rip said. “My people protect the oceans around this entire realm. All of it. The Trident is the best way to ensure we suffer as few casualties as possible. It can only be wielded by the prince, however, as ordained by the God-King. If I were to try to use it now …”
“So you brought me here to wield it.”
“I brought you here because you’re my mate,” he said sharply. “Because I care for you on a level that I have never cared for another. I was skeptical of my mate being a human. I thought it should have been another dragon, but none ofthemmake me feel like you do, Laurie. None of them make me ache when I’m apart from them. I know this. I’m just waiting for you to know it, too. To believe in it.”
I looked away so that he wouldn’t see that I felt something, too. I wanted it to be anger, but it wasn’t. Maybe it was because he was the father of my child, but even as I thought it, I knew it was a lie. I’d felt itbeforeI’d known I was pregnant. In the days after that first fateful night, I oddly longed to go to his condo to see if he was home. Just to be around him. It irked me to be called out, that he could somehow know how I felt, but hedid.
“So, what now?” I said finally, wondering if maybe I should just go home and try to pretend none of it happened. I found myself torn about that idea—though home sounded nice andpeaceful, something I longed for at the moment.
