Page 127 of The Bastard Prince

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This was a trick.

Of that, I was certain.

Trigger was testing me – testing my loyalty – and expecting me to fail.

There was no other possible explanation for why Anton Crellid had been granted entry into my father's fortress, never mind my personal living quarters.

And yet there he was, leaning against my bedroom wall when I stepped out of the bathroom after a long soak in the tub.

This isn’t Trigger's doing, Ashton.

Something is off here.

Something is terribly wrong…

The moment my gaze landed on his cold, dead eyes, I bolted for the door, sensing a trap,sensing the world of danger, but he was too fast for me.

Moving like a ninja, Anton lunged forward and intercepted me before I could get more than four feet away.

Knocking the air from my lungs with the force he ploughed into me, we crashed onto the bed with his big frame on top of me.

Naked beneath him, my hands immediately moved to my stomach, desperate to protect the unborn life inside of me. Before I could get a word out or scream my lungs out, his hand came down over my mouth.

"I'm not here to hurt you," came his hushed words, "but if you scream, I won't have a choice."

His words gave me pause for that.

He wasn’t here to hurt me?

Then what the hell did he want?

Goddammit, why was I so hasty in sending the whore away?

I could use a bitch right now.

Sensing my temporary compliance, Anton began to speak. "Believe it or not, I'm not your enemy, Ashton."

Yeah fucking right,I told him with my eyes.

His hand was still clamped firmly over my mouth, but he wasn’t resting his weight on me anymore, which was a small plus.

"I'mnotyour enemy, Ashton," he repeated, eyes glued to mine. "I'm your brother."

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This was ludicrous.

The revelations coming out of Anton's mouth werebeyondinsane.

And still, I found myself hanging on his every word.

"Royce was my father, too," he declared, breathing hard and fast. "I only found out the truth when my mother died. She confessed everything to me on her death bed. I'm not a Crellid, Ashton – I wasnevera Crellid." Slowly, he removed his hand from my mouth. "I'm a Northwood."

What.

The.

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