Page 36 of The Nymph Prince
I only wanted to sleep and forget about the ass I’d just made of myself.
9
Lorcan
I was in a foul mood as I left my chambers that morning and headed toward the private dining hall to meet Father for morning meal. I’d thought Alek wanted me. Even before he’d confessed as much, I’d seen the truth in the way his eyes had raked over my naked body. The hunger I’d seen in the blue depths.
Yet, when I asked him to join me in bed, he’d fled my chambers like a scared child.
He was no virgin. During the near two weeks when he and I’d traveled, we’d shared many stories of our adventures throughout the years. He’d mentioned how he visited every brothel in each town theCrimson Nightmade port in, and he’d said he enjoyed the company of both men and women.
But he refused me.
Was there something wrong with me?
Stomping down the corridor, I suppressed a frustrated growl.
If Alek didn’t want to bed me, so be it. I never wanted to force him to do something he didn’t want to do. My irritation sprung from my confusion over it. He’d wanted me one moment and left me glistening with oil and wearing my favorite chain the next.
And what incredible things I’d wanted to do to him with that chain.
It’d been forged by the sons of Aphrodite. When two lovers tangled themselves in the delicate links of the chain while lost in the throes of passion, their pleasure was increased tenfold. I’d never used that particular chain on anyone else, because I’d known for years that it was special and not meant for any ordinary lover.
It’d been forged for mates. And although not much time had passed since we’d met, I knew Alek was mine.
“Good morrow, Prince Lorcan,” a serving girl greeted as I passed. She was dusting the marble statues at the top of the stairs.
The center statue was of the king and at his side was a smaller one of me when I’d been around nine years of age. People often spoke of the pride Father had at my birth, of how he’d cradled me in his arms and held me as if I were the most precious jewel in Avalontis. I heard the stories, yet they were as fictitious to me as the legends of old. Myths that sounded pleasant but were no more real than a ship that could sail the skies.
Father cared for me, but not in the loving way he should’ve. He was my king and he never failed to remind me of such.
I nodded in response to the girl and continued on my way.
Dathan spotted me and rushed over in a panic. His already large honey-colored eyes were even bigger, like a frightened rabbit. “Prince Lorcan, I was just about to bring you your morning meal.”
I understood his alarm. I normally didn’t leave my chamber so early, and he always brought my food so I could eat at my table. He should’ve known better than to be nervous, though, for I’d never become angry at him for something so small.
“The king has requested for me to eat with him,” I told my manservant before he could go into some type of anxiety-ridden fit. “Attend to my bedding, if you will, and then take the morning off to do as you wish.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” He bowed his head before rushing down the corridor.
Malik was quiet as he trailed me. Around others, it was normal behavior, but when it was only us? Not so much.
I stopped walking and turned to him. “What’s bothering you?”
His orange eyes widened a fraction, as if he’d been zoning, and then he focused on me. “Nothing, my prince.”
“Liar,” I scoffed.
A tic started in his strong jaw. “I’m running through all the ways I could kill the mage.”
“What? Why?”
Malik’s brow furrowed. “He hurt you. He stormed out of your chamber last night, and now you’re in an off mood. Even a fool could see it.’
“We…” I actually didn’t know what happened between us, for I was still trying to figure it out for myself. “We had a slight misunderstanding is all.” I started walking again, passing the grand staircase and going up to another corridor that led to the king’s private dining area. Flipping back around to the large male, I then added, “Don’t kill him.”
He smirked. “How about maim? Just a little?”
