𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 | ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟗

My job.

"Leave!" the princess repeats, her voice demanding like it used to be when I first met her.

The guard hesitates for a moment before nodding. He finally steps aside and retreats from the wine cellar, his footsteps echoing loudly against the tiled floor. Now that the princess has access to me, I feel weak under her gaze.

Elena rushes to me, a look of concern etched across her face. "You're hurt," she observes, her voice shaking slightly with worry.

My jaw tenses as I force myself to look away from her, but this time, I don't look back. I completely ignore her, silently wishing for her to go away. My eyes are closed shut, and even though her voice rings through my ears, I don't respond to her at all.

Suddenly, her hands are on my abdomen, trying to stop the bleeding by adding pressure. Her delicate yet firm touch sends a shiver down my spine—one that I'm afraid of. We can't be this close. We're not supposed to be this close. This is wrong, but it feels so right.

Damn it.

I can't control my urges anymore. I grip her wrists and spin her back, pinning her against the wall. My head hovers dangerously close to her neck, but even though I'm intoxicated, I still manage to keep the little control I have left over myself.

"Stop doing that," I whisper breathlessly, not paying attention to the fact that my blood is getting on her nightgown. "Or we'll both end up making a mistake."

My eyes lock with hers, and the fire inside them burns bright. The anger in me is too much to contain, and I can feel it coursing through my veins. The pain in my stomach becomes more intense, as do the multiple emotions I'm feeling. Confusion. Rage. Lust. And something else I can't put my finger on.

"I know," the princess finally says, her voice soft and delicate. Her slim fingers reach for my jaw, caressing it and trailing downward. "But I can't stop."

A lump forms in my throat, but I swallow it. The moment is still and quiet—too quiet. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Even with my double vision, I can see her more clearly than anything. She's in my mind—in my heart.

"I can't either." My voice slurs, and I lean forward, only to be stopped by the princess.

She removes her hand from my face, and my heart sinks. She stopped me. She stopped this. Us. I don't know how to feel about it. Elena's eyebrows furrow together, and she's giving me that stare she does when she's trying to examine me.

"Are you drunk?" she asks.

Was it that obvious?

After realizing that she heard my slurred speech, I groan quietly and turn away from her again, not wanting her to see me like this—in this state. I've never felt so ashamed and down before, and that's saying a lot.

"Alex." She puts her hand on my jaw again, turning my head around to gaze down at her. "Look at me."

My heart races at the feel of her fingers on my face, and I look into her blue-green eyes. There is so much there—concern, uncertainty, and fear. But there is also something else. Something I can't quite put my finger on. It's like she's waiting for something. Waiting for me to do or say something.