Prince Albert Read online

  leads to a dead end before I reach him.

  Gaige is standing there holding a drink, and wearing a tuxedo. The party is black tie, which is ridiculous given the weather and the fact that it's a July Fourth party in Texas, but Anja insists we're not a bunch of hicks. It's still warm and humid, even though it's almost eleven at night.

  The only other time I've seen Gaige in a suit is at the July Fourth party the summer of my eighteenth birthday. I have a hard time deciding if he looks better in this or in the racing gear that fits him like a glove.

  Gaige doesn't move. He just stands there, watching me.

  "What Chelsea said --" I start, but he interrupts me quickly.

  "Chelsea is a bitch," he says.

  "Gaige, the two of you never..." My voice trails off. I can't say what I want to ask, because I'm not sure I really want to know the answer to the question.

  Gaige steps close to me, his voice low in my ear. "What do you want to know, Delaney?"

  "Nothing," I say. "The way she talks to you..."

  "You think I fucked her?" he asks. His fingers trail along my arm, and I shiver at his touch. "Is that what you want to know? You should say what you mean, Delaney."

  "Fine," I say. "I'm asking if you fucked her."

  "Does it matter?" His face is close to my neck, and when I feel him inhale deeply, I close my eyes, wanting his lips on me.

  "Yes, it matters," I say. I put my hand on his chest to stop him from continuing to do what he's doing to me. I feel like he's unraveling me.

  "Why does it matter?" he asks. "You wanted us to be a one-night stand, didn't you?"

  "I -" I shake my head. "I -- you're right. I don't know. It's none of my business. And, yeah, one night." I'm too confused right now to be angry. Earlier, he acted like he couldn't keep his hands off me, as if one night wasn't enough. And now, he acts like we're just hooking up. "You know what? I should go."

  I turn to leave, and he catches my wrist. My drink splashes in the glass, and champagne drips onto my hand.

  "No," he says. "You're not leaving."

  "It was a mistake coming here." But the way he looks at me, like he did in my room earlier, makes me melt.

  Gaige's eyes never leave mine, as he leans over, tilting his head down and slowly licking the droplets off my skin, his tongue lingering, moving so slowly I think I might die. He takes the drink from my hand and sets both of our glasses on the ground a few feet away before turning to face me again. "You sure about that?"

  I swear my body is so responsive to him, that he can make me wet with merely a glance. Why is that? I like him, and then I see him with Chelsea, and I'm sure I despise him. "It was a mistake," I repeat.

  He reaches for my wrist again and brings it to his mouth, touching his lips to the sensitive skin on the inside. My body – my stupid traitorous body – responds with raised goosebumps along my arms and hardened nipples against my bra. Gaige looks up at me. "Chelsea and I did not fuck," he says.

  "Okay," I say. But I'm not entirely sure.

  "You didn't come down here to talk about Chelsea," he says. "But, just so you know, I've never touched her."

  "She wants you to," I say.

  "The way that the Japanese businessman wants you?" he asks. Touché. Gaige slides his finger under the strap of my dress, and then looks at me. "You're wearing a bra," he says. "That's disappointing."

  My heart races when I look at him. "It went with the dress."

  Gaige raises his eyebrows. "Panties?" he asks, and a knowing smile creeps over his face when I nod. He takes my earlobe in his mouth, his tongue flicking over it slowly, sensually. "I suppose you made yourself come earlier, too, didn't you?"

  I swallow hard. "Yes."

  "Did you think of me?" he asks, his hand gripping my waist, sliding down the side of my hip tightly. He makes a sound under his breath, low and primal.

  "Yes," I whisper.

  "You've been a very bad girl, Delaney Marlowe," he says, his breath warm on my ear. "I left you with very specific, very particular instructions. I told you not to wear a bra or panties, and definitely not to touch yourself, and you did both. I wonder whatever should I do with you?" I want to reach up and unbutton his shirt, slide my hands across his bare chest. I want him right now, out in the open, so close to everything, the din of music and people up near the house. Anyone could wander in at any moment, and yet I still want him.

  Gaige steps back, away from me. Shit, I think, he's leaving. And I'm practically soaked. But he just looks at me for a long time, his expression unreadable. Then he speaks. "Panties. Ankles. Now."

  "Excuse me?"

  "You heard me," he says, his gaze intense. "Reach up underneath your skirt and take off your panties and hand them to me."

  No one has ever talked to me the way Gaige does. A bossy, demanding, misogynistic dickhead – who is also my stepbrother – should not order me around and make me wet with anticipation. I should tell him to fuck off. Then I should turn around and walk away.

  But I don't.

  Instead, I do what he tells me to do. And it makes me wet. My eyes never leave his as I reach underneath my skirt and slide them over my hips, letting them fall to the ground. Bending over, I pick them up and walk to Gaige, panties dangling from the tip of my finger. "Is this what you wanted?" I ask.

  "This is nowhere near what I want," he says. He takes my thong from my hand and puts it in the pocket of his jacket. "Turn around."

  "Why?"

  "Has anyone ever told you that you're mouthy as all fucking get out?" he asks.

  "Never."

  "Liar," he says. "Turn around and close your mouth before I put something in it."

  "Promise?" I whisper.

  The corners of his mouth curl up. "Is that what you want?"

  I don't answer him. I turn around instead. "Yes?" I ask, but I'm really answering his question. What I want is Gaige's cock in my mouth again. What I want is to taste him when he comes.

  "Pull your skirt up over your ass."

  "Not out here, Gaige," I protest, but the protest is weak.

  "Now."

  I hold my breath, flipping my skirt up to my waist, the air cool against my skin. And I wait. Gaige moves his hand slowly over the curves of my ass, then brings his palm down hard on my flesh. "That's for wearing panties."

  I let out a little moan as the vibration from his touch moves through me, a jolt of pleasure and pain between my legs. The initial sharp sting becomes a dull throb, but only for a moment until he brings his hand down again. "And that's for wearing a bra."

  He pauses, letting his fingers brush my pussy lips, already wet with my arousal. His touch sends pleasure ricocheting through my body that far eclipses the pain. Then he draws his hand back and spanks me again. "And that's for flirting with Japanese businessmen."

  I face him, my ass cheek throbbing and tears stinging my eyes. "Now you're the jealous one," I say.

  Gaige's hands grip my flesh, and he pulls me hard against him, my skirt still bunched up around my waist. "You're goddamned right I'm jealous," he says, his voice hoarse. "I don't like thinking about you with someone else."

  "Why?" I ask, my face upturned. "You're the one who…dates around, Gaige O'Neal. Everyone knows that."

  "Not since you," he says.

  "So you haven't slept with anyone else in a couple weeks?" I say. "Congratulations."

  "I haven't looked at anyone since you came back here," he says, his voice angry. "And, just so you understand -- as long as I'm fucking you, you belong to me."

  "Who the hell says shit like that, Gaige?" I ask. Part of me bristles at his possessiveness, but another part of me is so turned on I can't think clearly. I don't know whether to smack his hands off my ass and tell him to go screw himself and his caveman antics, or whether to drop to my knees and take him in my mouth. He's that infuriating. And confusing. "You can't just…tell me you own me. That's not something normal people say."

  "Fuck normal," Gaige says, taking my face in his hands. He st