***
A firm knock sounded at my door, pulling me from unconsciousness. I pulled up drowsily and stared at the door. The knock sounded again. I pulled back the thick comforter and scooted toward the edge of the bed, dislodging pillows and driving them to the floor. Too tired to form a coherent thought, I stumbled to the door and jerked it open.
Liam stood at the door, sparing me a sweeping glance before landing his eyes on my own. “You look…rested.”
“Hmph,” was my eloquent response. I blinked, trying to remove the heavy fog that lingered on my eyelids and mind after my long nap.
Liam gave me a smirk, much like the one he’d given me after he kissed me.
Oh, the kiss.
At the thought, a deep blush rushed up my throat and over my cheeks, skin heating in its wake.
Liam cocked a perfect black brow, the incredible pale green of his eyes catching the light of the flickering torches that lined the halls. “Something on your mind, Dani?” The words slid from his lips fluidly.
I raised my own eyebrows and leveled him with a look. “Not at all.” I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction, though my skin betrayed me, palms sweating, blush deepening.
He nodded once and smirked again. Taking a deep breath, he got down to business. “I have something to ask you.” He turned the smolder on, sweeping his lashes down and looking at me from beneath their dark fringe . “I understand there is to be a ball in your honor, and I was hoping you would allow me the honor of escorting you.” He let the words hand in the air, piercing me with his eyes.
Crap.
I pictured Nikolas and Brigitte, her arms wrapped possessively around him as they swayed to the music.
The answer tumbled from my lips. “Absolutely.”
Liam looked mildly startled, then recovered and a smile lit the perfect planes of his face. “Thank you, my lady.” He swept down and seized my hand where it hung limply at my side, pressing a kiss to the thin skin that stretched across my bones.
I pulled my hand away. “Who are you, exactly?” I asked, eyes squinting to study him.
“I do not understand your meaning.” Liam said offhandedly.
I huffed out a breath. “Since you fessed up to your true identity, you’ve turned into something akin to a douche bag.”
Liam shook his head, dark locks swaying back and forth. “While I am not familiar with that terminology, I take it that was not a compliment.”
I shot him a look that confirmed that was true.
“You cannot imagine the freedom that comes with being known for who I am and being accepted for it. Forgive me if I am a bit…full of myself.” Vulnerability sparked in his eyes. “The man you encountered in the wood still lives in me.” He added with a playful smirk.
I forced a smile. “Fine. Maybe you should let him out more often and I told you not to call me Milady.”
A roguish grin tugged up one corner of his full mouth. “I said, my lady.” He drew out the words for emphasis. It was not a formal term said out of respect. These were two separate words, intimate and possessive.
My brow creased as the meaning sank in. My lady. “But, I’m not your—“
Liam silenced me with a finger to my lips, all trace of humor gone from his eyes. “Not yet.”
I scoffed. “Kind of cocky, aren’t we?” I accused, drawing back my chin and folding my arms across my chest. I leaned against the door frame, cocking an eyebrow in question.
He smiled, self-assured. “I like to think of it as…optimistic.” Liam’s eyebrows rose higher on his forehead and when I said nothing he continued. “I intend to pursue you, persistently. And, it makes no matter to me how many doe-eyed looks of longing you share with Sir Belmont, I will pursue you still. I will do so until you realize that there is nothing that can be had between the two of you, until I win you over.”
I flushed ten shades of red and probably a few more of purple. I was seething. “How dare you?” I spat.
Liam looked unbothered by my anger. “What was it you said to me? Only true? Yes, it is only true. The fault does not lie with you. You were swept away, taken advantage of, no doubt.”
Nostrils flaring, I was on the defense with a vengeance. “I was NOT taken advantage of! Nikolas has done nothing even remotely bordering on inappropriate to me. And if he had, and I said if, it wouldn’t fall into the universe of your business. You can take your misguided intentions and shove them up your ass! And just so you know, I am not interested in your pursual!” I realized I was yelling and also that pursual may not be an actual word.
Raised voices were good for attracting attention. I smoothed the lines of my dress as I tried to arrange my features into something resembling composure.
Nikolas rounded the corner on a mission. His eyes, filled with concern, locked with mine. He studied my face for half a second before his gaze tracked to Liam. I guessed my face didn’t appear all that composed. Footfalls heavy upon the stone floor, he made a beeline for us.
“I believe I have informed you that only the royal family and guard are allowed in this part of the castle.” Nikolas spoke with utter composure, words ringing with authority.
“I find it strange that you badger me with rules when you are so clearly working to break some of your own.” Liam shot a loaded look at Nikolas, and then his eyes slid to mine to drive the point home.
Nikolas remained steady and stoic, voice cool but level. “You should leave.”
Liam shifted his weight. “You deal out orders from your perch on high. Tell me, Sir Belmont, who do you answer to?”
Drawing in a deep breath, Nikolas replied. “The King and the Maker.”
“Your actions speak otherwise.”
“Tell me, Liam, what is it that makes you loathe me so?” Nikolas asked, sounding truly curious.
Liam glanced to me again. “I imagine the same thing that fuels your distain for me.”
Nikolas turned, placing himself between Liam and me. “I will tell you only once more. You. Should. Leave.” Voice never wavering, he delivered the words dripping in warning.
“Very well.” Liam addressed me next. “I shall see you tomorrow, at my induction. I do regret we cannot part as we did last night.” Liam smirked, pressing a fingertip to his lower lip.
Oh no.
Liam didn’t say the words, but the implication was plain. Nikolas’ fist snapped out, landing squarely on Liam’s nose with an audible crunch. Nikolas had leveled him. Liam rolled to one side, fingers tented over his nose as blood flowed around them.
Nikolas glanced over his shoulder and shot me a half-hearted smile. “Perhaps I should’ve said I would break his nose and not my own.” He looked down to Liam, still nursing his broken nose on the floor. “I told you you should leave. It was not a suggestion.”
Reaching around his back, Nikolas found my hand led me away.