Ducking and dodging a prince was difficult. However, I had done it for two weeks. It hadn't been easy, because Cornell was everywhere. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, every dress fitting, every walk. He was there. Every party, he made his way to me. It was frustrating, but also kind of fun.
He and Malcolm were entertaining. They clearly didn't like each other, and I wasn't sure if it was all due to me. Malcolm had been by my side for day and night for the last few weeks, and I was enjoying his company. However, he had a hate for Cornell that was getting on my nerves a bit. They bickered all day, which mostly ended in Cornell walking away and Malcolm laughing.
Once word got out that I was back, invitations started showing up. Invitations for everything from store and school openings to charity events and galas. There were balls for everything, from birthdays to holidays. I was swimming in events. My first event in society had been interesting, with many people asking about Cornell. At every event Malcolm was by my side, not my soon to be husband, and that apparently had the rumors flying.
At dinner last night, Granny B had basically told me I needed to talk to him today, because he was going to be my escort for some event going forward. There were always events going on and it must not look like I favor anyone over the beloved prince. We had to dance and so we had to practice. I was not happy about that, but Malcolm was livid. He offered to escort me and when he was denied, he settled for glaring at Cornell, who smiled triumphantly.
So this morning I was preparing to leave my room to go to the smaller ballroom to practice dancing with the knucklehead. I was going to step on his toes every chance I got. There was a not so private war being rages in this palace and everyone knew it. It was a tragic start to something that was never started.
I was walking out of my room when I came to an abrupt stop. Standing in the hall right across from my bedroom door was none other than the man of the hour. He leaned casually against the wall as if he had all the time in the world. His angles were crossed and his hands stuffed in the pockets of grey slacks. He looked harmless from the neck down. His face, though, it was set in hard lines and his jaw was tense. HIs head was slightly tilted down, but his eyes were on me. I could barely see the blue through his thick lashes, his stare so intense it held me in place.
Even when he pushed off the wall and advanced towards me, I couldn't move. It should be a crime to have this kind of power over someone. I had escaped every time he tried to get me alone for the past two weeks, but he was clever. He stepped into my personal space and braced a hand on either side of my face.
"We need to talk." He spoke with purpose. He had an edge to his voice. He looked like a man on a mission.
However, I was still very much pissed. "There is nothing to talk about."
"Yes, there is," he ruffed out. "You have been avoiding me. I don't like it and to top this off, nothing happened with Emma."
"Oh, so she has a name and is not your imaginary friend," I sneered.
"Yeah," he admitted, "and she is nothing but a has been."
"Yeah okay."
"I'm serious." Cornell said, running a hand through his hair. "She tried it and she failed."
"I'm not interested in your excuses," I said, shocking myself by how much it sounded like Granny B.
"Well, you better get interested, because I'm not going anywhere. You are mine, and what you need to understand is that there will always be someone trying to come between us. There will always be temptations." He said possessively.
"Don't come at me with that crap, I did nothing wrong." I yelled.
"Like you, waltzing around with Malcolm isn't anything." he spat.
Oh, we were having a good word fight right here in the hallway.If this was his idea of patching things up, we would not make it. I rolled my eyes, and said, "Malcolm is my cousin, dummy. He is not a threat to you."
"He's your third Cousin, twice removed." He quipped, "It's not unheard of for cousins to fuck around."
"Well, I don't fuck around."
"In general, or just with your cousin?" Cornell asked, a smirk gracing his face.
It was a look that made me want to cave, still I was sticking to my guns. Ducking under his arm, I strutted down the hallway. "At this time, in general. Don't you have somewhere to be?"
"I'm where I should be." he said and followed me to the ballroom.
*****
Prince Cornell
Victoria's body was soft and stiff in my arms. She hadn't said a word since we started to dance. She was stepping on my toes on purpose, getting her revenge the best way she could. Still, I enjoyed every moment. I got to hold her. Her body was a work of art, that made me want to strip her bare and paint her the way I see her. We were an hour in and Victoria was growing tired of the game she was playing.
Her shoulders relaxed a bit, and she became softer. She sighed and finally laid her head on my chest as the dance instructor had been telling her to do. I pulled her closer and closed my eyes and just enjoyed being in her presence, with no interruptions and no Malcolm. He was going to cause me killing him. He sniffed around her like a hungry puppy. He didn't think of her as a cousin, no matter what he says. She never caught the hungry looks he gave her. Or how his eyes lingered on her curves when she walked away. His thoughts were anything but family oriented.
I was jealous. For the first time in my life, I wanted to fight over a woman. Every time he touched her, I wanted to chop off his hands. I wanted to beat him until he was a pretty shade of purple. I knew he was going to be a problem the moment I saw him with her. So I had a check ran on him. Needless to say, he was bad news. He was in debt up to his eyeballs and had run his father's estate into the ground. The credit cards and medical bill collectors were after what he had left. He was also dangerous. According to his medical records, he had spent some time at the county mental institute. There had been words like unstable, unruly, and dangerous throughout his files.
There was a reason he was returning now, and there was a reason he had befriended Victoria. I knew he wanted to take advantage of a naïve and lonely princess. He hadn't counted on her being so independent and he didn't expect was a fiance who gave a fuck. I gave a fuck. I found that I cared more than I thought, I would. I wanted to be close to her. That was new for me, yet every time I got close, I said the wrong things or that asshole set me off. However, he wasn't here now.
Right now there was just them and the wonderful music of Stevie Wonder. I ran a finger down her spine and relished her shiver. Pulling her close, I whispered, "I need you to give us a chance."
She jerked her head up towards me and once again I was caught in the web of Victoria. Her intense eyes swam with emotion and I was struck again by the realization that I had hurt her. Emma was not someone she should be worried about, although I'm sure it had looked bad. She should have known that I would need more than three minutes to satisfy a woman, and in the bushes. As if I was that kind of guy. Emma was desperate, but if I continued to ignore her, she would move on.
"A chance to do what?" She asked, "To make me look stupid? Excuse me while I skip that little fiasco."
"To make you happy." I replied. I meant it. I believed I could make her happy. With me, she would never grow bored.
"I'm not sleeping with you." She said, taking me off guard.
I smiled. That was a hell of a dilemma. I knew better, though. We were getting married, and I was going to taste every part of her. Victoria could tell herself that all she wanted to, but it was going to happen. I grabbed the hand she had on my shoulder and moved it around the back of my neck. Her fingers were warm, and she wasted no time in playing with the hair that grazed my nape.
"Baby, when we go to bed together. Sleep will be the last thing on your mind." She rolled her eyes and tried to pull away. I spun her, pulled her close again. Both her arms went around my neck and when I looked over her shoulder and saw Malcolm standing in the doorway, I cave into the urge that I had been fighting since the day I met her. I grabbed her ass, with both hands. She gasped and sputtered.
"What are you doing?" She asked breathlessly.
"Showing your cousin that he doesn't have a chance."
Her head whipped around just in time to see Malcolm leave. This time I let her leave, my point had been made.