Before he made it out, he skidded to a stop and turned back, wrapping me in a bone-crunching embrace.
“Thank you, Aurelius. Seriously. Thank you,” he whispered.
I patted him on the back. “No problem. Now get out of here before your father sees you and asks why you aren’t dressed yet. If he asks about you, I’ll tell him you’re on an important diplomatic mission.”
His smile widened so much I thought his face might break. “Nice. Thanks,” he said, then he was out the door.
“I think you made his day,” Rasp said.
“I hope so.” I glanced at my watch and winced. “Fuck. I need to finish dressing, then head to Elle’s room. I’m escorting her to the gala.” I looked at Rasp. “Can I trust you with a job?”
“Yeah,” he said with a casual shrug.
Suppressing my temper, I reached out and grabbed his wrist, harder than I should have, but it got his attention and wiped the smile off his face.
“I’m serious, Rasp. This is important. If you screw it up, you’ll be putting not only me, but also Elle, in danger.”
It wasn’t often that I saw Rasp looking somber and mature, but he did now. The look he gave me was full of intense understanding.
“What is it, Aurelius? I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Good man,” I said, sighing with relief. “Go around to our team at the doors and make sure they are ready and prepared. I’m sure they are, but they need to be reminded. Got it?”
“I’ll do it.” He looked into my eyes with an earnestness I’d never seen before. “I’ll do it right. I promise.”
“Go then,” I said, squeezing his shoulder. “Hurry and meet me at Elle’s room in ten minutes. You’ll be escorting Delphine to the gala.”
“I’ll be quick. I swear.” He hustled off, his coat-tails flying out behind him as he went.
Once he was gone, I made my way back to my room and put on the rest of my outfit, feeling like an idiot as I attached the ribbons, cords, and even the ornate dagger and scabbard at my thigh-all holdovers from older times when the royal family was required to do battle in the fields. Even in the ancient past, our species had to hide from the humans to ensure our safety, and that meant swearing allegiance to human kings and fighting in their armies for them. It was a strange dichotomy with kings and princes pretending to be simple noble lords and bending the knee to a human king.
Once fully dressed, I left to find Elle. Two of our best men were guarding her rooms, one being Damascus, who I’d seen a few weeks before standing guard outside the meeting room when I returned from my diplomatic mission days early.
“Prince Aurelius,” Damascus greeted, standing rigid alongside with the other guard. “Is it time?”
“It is, indeed.” I waved at them. “At ease. Is the Lady Brielle ready?”
“Uh, I assume so,” Damascus said with a frown. “We haven’t checked.”
“Go ahead and announce my arrival. I’ll check in on her.”
Damascus turned and pounded on the door three times, then called out, “Prince Aurelius Decimus for you, my lady.”
“Oh shit,” came a muffled curse from inside, and I suppressed a smile. “Uh, okay. Ugh, send him in, I guess.”
Damascus turned the knob and swung the door inward. A grin spread on my face when it opened, but it froze when I laid eyes on Elle. A violent warmth surged through my chest down to my stomach and into my groin. My cock twitched to life as I took her in.
She was dressed in a traditional shifter gown, which was a cross between a regency-style ballgown and a Roman-style toga. The fabric flowed to the ground, but the upper portion hugged her generous curves like a lover’s hands would. The neckline dipped low and tight, accentuating her impressive chest. It was somehow both classy and sexy at the same time. Her makeup brought out the bright green of her eyes, and her full lips stood out in bright red contrast to her milky-white skin. A diamond-encrusted diadem pinned her hair back from her face and eyes, and ringlets cascaded down her shoulders and back. She was, quite possibly, the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen in my life.
Elle must have mistaken my awe for distaste because she wrinkled her nose and groaned. “God! Do I really look that bad?”
“What? No!” I said. “You look amazing. Beautiful.”
Delphine whacked Elle gently on the shoulder. “I told you that. Do you listen to me? No, of course not.”
“Do I really look okay?” Elle asked.
She arched her back and twisted to look at the gown from behind. This caused the fabric to tighten around her body, hugging the curves of her chest and hips. Saliva flooded my mouth as I imagined tasting her skin and gliding my tongue along every beautiful hidden area of her body. The images flashing through my mind aroused me so much, it was hard to think of anything but what I wanted to do to her. I cleared my throat and turned slightly to hide what was happening below my belt.
“Lady Brielle,” I said, my voice husky with barely hidden desire. “I’m here to escort you to the gala. Are you ready?”
“I suppose so.” She shrugged her bare shoulder and ran her tongue along her bottom lip. It sent another flash of heat through me.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted. “A tiny bit terrified.”
“You’ll be fine, dear,” Delphine said, patting Elle’s arm. “The prince here will keep you safe.” Delphine turned blazing, motherly eyes upon me, and despite my station and power, I almost quailed beneath that gaze. “You will keep her safe, won’t you?”
I bowed my head slightly. “I will stake my life on her safety, Lady Delphine. I promise you that.”
Elle stretched out her hand to me. “I guess it’s now or never.”
I took her hand, and the softness of her fingers and palm on mine nearly made me moan in delight. What was it about this woman? I’d spent the last two weeks getting to know her, and no matter what we talked about or did around the grounds, I found myself weaving fantasies in my head: vacations on Grecian beaches, candlelit dinners beneath Japanese pagodas, writhing and moaning trysts on the moss-covered forest floor, or an evening of cocktails on a yacht in the Mediterranean, both of us laughing until our stomachs hurt. She’d wedged herself in my mind, and at this point I didn’t know how or even if I wanted that to stop.
“I’m back,” Rasp called out as he ran to join us. “I made it. Everything is all good,” he added, giving me a look that told me all I needed to know. Security was prepared and ready.
Delphine nodded to Rasp and held her arm out for him to take. Her dress was beautiful, but more demure and subdued than Elle’s. It was her personality, but also by design. Elle was supposed to stand out among the crowd, and by God, the tailors had done their job well.
“Has, uh, everyone started to arrive?” Elle asked as we made our way down the hall toward the old inner castle portion of the manor.
Her question was simple enough, but it hid much more. She was asking whether her family had arrived.
“I believe most have arrived or are arriving as we speak,” I said, putting my hand on hers. “From what I understand, your family will be arriving last since Bastien is the guest of honor. They might already be here for all I know, though.”
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