Page 15 of Savage Prince

“Who is she?” I ask. “The woman? I got the feeling we’re related somehow, too.”

“Probably your mother,” Ford says, “the one you only met once, when we first arrived at Lost Moon. Your entire life, you thought she was dead, but she isn’t. She’s alive and the president of the university. Or…she was.”

“But now Hammer’s taken her prisoner.” I nibble my bottom lip, wondering why my parents hate each other so much.

“And taken over the campus, I’m guessing,” Ford says. “Probably with the help of the New Lupine Brotherhood. I’d bet my left nut the big blond guy you saw was Beck.”

“And judging by your tone, you hate Beck.”

“Wehate Beck,” he corrects. “Beck’s a piece of shit.” He hesitates for a moment before adding in a softer voice, “He’s the reason you went full burn. During the first trial to get into Lost Moon, he tried to kill me. You flamed out carrying me away and saving my life.”

“I gave you my fire. To heal you.” I nod slowly, the movement gathering speed as my cells hum with certainty that that’s what happened. “I remember. Almost. At least that’s as close to a fully formed memory as anything I’ve experienced so far.”

“I didn’t even know you could do that. Heal someone,” he says. “I don’t think you did, either. You just…did it. You gave me your fire without knowing what would happen after.”

“I didn’t know?” I frown. “That’s strange. Now, it feels so instinctive.”

“In your other life, you were kept from your phoenix form for a long time. I’m guessing it dulled your instincts. But you still managed to pull off a miracle. At least for me. I wouldn’t be here without you.”

I glance his way out of the corner of my eyes. “So, I’m basically your knight in shining armor?”

His lips quirk again and his sexy silver eyes flash. “Princess in shining armor. I’m into the breast plate with the boobs in the front.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Boobs. What a horrible word.”

“You used to love it,” he says. “Boobs was one of your favorite words. ‘Please, Ford, touch my boobs,’ you used to say.”

“Teasing the girl with no memory.” I cluck my tongue in mock disapproval. “Not cool. You’re going to get me all confused.”

“You would never say anything like that. I was kidding.”

“I know,” I say, butterfly wings fluttering in my stomach as I add, “but I’m not sure about the other part.”

“What other part?” he asks.

“The…you and me naked together part,” I say, trying to keep the words casual and failing miserably. My voice cracks in the middle of the sentence and my already flushed cheeks feel like they’re on fire. “Was that a thing?”

“No,” he says with a shrug. “At least not like that. And not on a regular basis. We messed around a couple of times, but we were waiting until after the trials to take things any further.” He pulls in a breath and exhales audibly as he adds, “And you wanted to keep it casual if we did. At least until you thought I was dying. Then you told me you loved me and wanted me for the long haul, but I’m not sure it counts since you were under duress.”

I chew at my bottom lip again, feeling like a stranger in my own skin.

Who was the old me? This girl who had the love of a kind, loyal, sexy as hell man and was so determined to push him away? Was I really the kind of person who didn’t realize I loved a guy enough to go full burn for him until it was almost too late?

I’m about to ask why I was so hesitant to embrace our obvious chemistry and connection, but suddenly I know. “I wasn’t sure you really loved me,” I say, my chest going tight. “I was worried that you only wanted the throne. Or at least that you wouldn’t want me without it.”

His focus sharpens on my face. “You remember?”

I shake my head, hating to disappoint him, but determined to be honest in this incarnation, even if I wasn’t in the last one. “No. But that makes sense. As a princess poised to inherit a significant amount of money and power…” I sigh. “Well, that could make trusting that someone wants you foryoucomplicated.”

“Yeah, I get that,” he says, almost beneath his breath. “And I was your stepbrother, so…”

My jaw drops and I trip over my own feet. He reaches for my elbow, but I right myself and take a step away. “What? No way. You’re teasing me again.”

“I’m not,” he says. “But it wasn’t like what you’re thinking. We only lived together for about a year, when we were much younger, and we never had a sibling relationship. We weren’t even friends until recently.”

I arch a brow. “Because you bullied me and wanted my throne?”

He sighs again. “Can we discuss this later? We have more pressing problems. Like your father staging a coup and taking your mother prisoner. And potentially killing or imprisoning innocent people while he’s at it. There are a lot of good people at that school. Teachers and students and at least three or four of them are our allies. We owe them a rescue.”

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