The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe) (18 page)

Elizabeth laughed and felt herself flush. She watched him recline his seat further so that his physique stretched nicely, displaying the a
ttractive array of dips and valleys on his body.
Goodness!
She mentally fanned herself.
The guy is practically oozing with sizzling superhero appeal!

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

Startled, Elizabeth hastily lifted her eyes to look at him.

He returned her gaze with eyes that had brightened into a luminous scarlet, glowing vividly in the dark int
erior of the SUV.

“No, I don't.” Elizabeth swallowed. She should be frightened, but oddly, she was not.

His lips twitched in approval. “Good.”

They stared at each other.

A sudden mood shift and awareness invaded their friendly banter. They both quickly looked away and an awkward stillness followed. Neither of them spoke again until they reached Darian Hall.

“Let me get the door for you.” Chad touched her arm and then hastily withdrew his fingers, as if remin
ding himself to behave.

Elizabeth waited as he walked to the passenger side and opened the door for her. “Thank you.” She smiled.

“You're welcome,” he said in a husky voice, his eyes lingering on her.

Oh my,
she bit her lip as she stepped out, feeling toasty all of a sudden despite the cold winter night.

“Your friends are over there.” Chad pointed t
owards the entrance, placing a hand on the small of her back as they crossed the parking lot. They walked up the flight of concrete steps and wove through the throng of students standing on the stairs.

Elizabeth kept her head down, careful not to trip or step on an
yone's toes. “Excuse me,” she said as she tried to squeeze past someone who was blocking her way.

The guy didn't move.

“Excuse me,” she repeated, wedging herself between him and the railing.

He stepped in front of her, preventing her from passing through.

Annoyed, she looked up ready to confront the guy, and found herself face to face with none other than
Mr. Mockery
in the flesh.

He stood tall with his arms crossed over his chest, dressed in d
esigner jeans and a white cashmere sweater, looking every inch like the dashing Prince in every girl’s dream.

Good grief,
she noted his stormy expression,
he's even more gorgeous when he's about to foam at the mouth and breathe fire.

“I want to have a word with you,” he spoke acidly, instantly plummeting her fantasies to the nearby trash can. Before she could even answer, he grabbed her by the wrist and proceeded to drag her up the steps.

She caught a glimpse of Chad, stunned and rooted to the spot behind her, seeming to debate with himself if he should intervene or not.

“Y-your Highness!” Elizabeth rasped, conscious of the curious stares they elicited. “Is anything wrong? W-what are you doing?” She rolled her wrist from his grasp as he pulled her away from view.

He abruptly stopped behind a tall hedge and turned. “I warned you, Elizabeth!” He grabbed her other wrist and yanked her to his chest. “I told you not to share a ride with him.”

“I-I'm sorry?” She twisted her wrists harder in a f
utile attempt to free herself. “With all due respect, Sir, what I choose to do in my personal life is none of your business!”

“I don't give a damn about what you think!” he bit out. “You'll do what I
order
you to do! And right now, I'm
ordering
you to refrain from riding with him.”

“Your Highness—, excuse me, but I don't unde
rstand why you're being so unreasonable.” She pacified her building irritation, opting to be polite and avoid making a scene. “Did the two of us offend you in any way?”

“Aha!” He winced in distaste. “Yesterday it was
we.
Today, it became
the two of us!
I wonder what's it going to be tomorrow? Perhaps ... an engagement party?”

The real root of his problem instantly dawned on her. “You're jea
lous!” she gaped.

“Do you want me to be?” he taunted and for a m
oment, she thought she saw genuine jealousy in his eyes. “Was that why you decided to carpool with him?”

His latter comment caught her off guard.
Honestly,
w
asn't that the real reason? Didn't she carpool with Chad just to spite him? And possibly ... make him jealous too?

“Of course not!” she denied veh
emently.

“Truly?” He held her wrists securely behind his back such that her arms circled his waist. To her mortif
ication, the new position had forced her into an embrace. “So—, you
do
like him then,” the Prince drawled in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Yes! No! I mean yes—!” Elizabeth heard the school bell ring. “Your Highness? Please—, can I go now?”

“No.”

“No?” Her eyebrows shot upwards.
What did he mean—, no?

He shook his head slowly and mouthed the letters
N
and
O
, followed by a soundless
“no.”

The jerk!
Elizabeth counted to ten in her head to contain her frustration.
What was she going to do now—aside from wanting to twist his neck?
She gnawed on her lip, thinking—,
would he let her go if she asked nicely?

She cleared her throat and painted on her best smile. “Your Highness, please. I have to go to class.”

“I think
not.
” He pulled her even closer so that every contour of his hard body molded against her.

“Please,” she pleaded, emoting the look of a damsel in distress, all the while conscious of how good he smelled. “I can't be late.”

“Sure you can.” He gazed down at her completely unaffected by her performance, which she thought was good enough to make her theater arts teacher proud. 

“Sir, I can't miss class!” her voice escalated to dr
amatics worthy of an Oscar. “I'll get into trouble!” she implored with soulful puppy-dog eyes, batting her lashes, and secretly crossing her fingers behind his back.

“No, you won't.”

Well.
Her hopes wilted.
There goes her acting career.
The jerk had no intention of letting her go!
She glanced around hoping to locate Chad, but they were alone. Most of the students had gone to their classes. She began to feel real panic. Her body was crushed against him and her wrists were trapped in his iron grip. The only part she could move were...
her legs
.

Hmm.
She did ask nicely and he wouldn't listen, so ... perhaps it was time to switch to more drastic measures, in other words—,
Plan B.

She took a deep breath and stomped the heel of her tennis shoe as hard as she could on the toe of his riding boot.

The horrid guy didn’t even flinch, but the pain in her ankle shot up her leg like an electric shock. 

“Steel toed boots.” He looked down at her foot as she skipped on one leg, gasping and bracing herself against him. “I bet that hurt.”

Elizabeth felt an all-consuming impulse to inflict serious injury—, preferably with a very large heavy object, at the annoying Prince of Darkness, who at the moment was smirking at her like Satan himself.

Steel toed boots? Hah!
She narrowed her eyes.
Maybe she should check if he was wearing steel-lined underwear!
Her gaze zeroed in on his crotch.

“Ah, now you're thinking of kneeing my other te
nder spot, hmm?” he drawled in a silky baritone. “Don't stare too long.” His eyes flicked downwards. “Unless that's the very large object you had in mind.”

Elizabeth hastily tore her gaze from his groin, her face on fire, o
ffended and awfully embarrassed.
How did he know what she was thinki
—her temper erupted. “Your Highness, there's no need to make lewd comments! Now, if you'll just let me—.”

“I assure you,
Sweetheart
,” he cut in suggestively. “I'll let you do whatever you want and more.” He dipped his head and nuzzled her neck. “Hmmm ... you smell like garlic.”

“Stop it! I am
not
your
Sweetheart
!” Elizabeth steeled herself from letting him get under her skin as she silently churned every cuss word she could think of. Prince or no Prince, she wouldn't let him treat her like this! She had to do something—, fast!

Without a second thought, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth to heave a blood-curdling scream. Which would have been her gl
orious revenge, except the hateful scumbag had beaten her plot with a daring kiss! But even as she tried to protest, the moment his lips touched hers, every arsenal of resistance she had, was vanquished. All she could muster was a small sigh as his mouth moved against hers with a gentleness she had not expected. His kiss was so sweet, it stole her breath away and made her knees weak.

He slid her wrists from behind his back and held them over his heart. She responded by stroking her palms on his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat quicken underneath. A soft moan of pleasure sounded in his throat and he murmured sweet nothings in French against her lips.

He released her wrists and gathered her in a tender embrace, deepening the kiss. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and parting her lips, welcoming him. 

Something about him was strangely familiar, as if she'd known him from somewhere, from some other time. Being in his arms felt so good and natural, as if she'd always belonged here with him.

“My dearest ... “ He spoke the old fashioned endearment softly and someplace in the back of her mind it triggered a distant memory too obscure to remember, but those same words played lovingly over and over again.

“My dearest?” she echoed, searc
hing his face.

“Yes.” He bestowed her the most brilliant smile and rested his for
ehead against hers, framing her face in his hands. He brushed her cheeks with his thumbs in a mesmerizing caress, scrutinizing her in a way that sent tingles down her spine.

In that very moment, something amazing happened. The night hushed and the breeze wafted with the subtle scent of flowers. The clouds in the sky lifted, and the full moon slowly revealed itself. Then, as the stars merrily twinkled and dotted the dark canvas above, the moon poured down its silken beam of light, bathing them in a magical silver glow.

Elizabeth didn't miss a thing. She knew the instant the atmosphere had changed and wrapped its spell around them.

She returned her gaze to the beautiful eyes of the perfect guy holding her in his arms and her heart swelled, bursting with so many em
otions she didn't have the strength to quell. She was drowning, engulfed in a yearning beyond her control, and helplessly submerged in her boundless affection towards him. A poem she’d made up long ago drifted in her mind.

Is this what it feels like to fall in love?

Like a little boat tossed unto the sea,

Buffeted by relentless winds,

Lost and swirling,

Powerless in the eye of a storm?

She touched his lips ever so gently with her fingertips.
God, she could really fall for him.
Just the thought of it terrified her. She quickly withdrew her hand.

He sighed, and for a split second, she thought she caught a flicker of disappointment in his eyes like the very first time she saw him.

“Your Highness,” Chad's voice penetrated the mysterious phenomenon that had coiled itself around them, “I beg your permission to escort Elizabeth to class.” He bowed from a few paces away.

Elizabeth felt the sudden tension in the air. A frightening metallic glow radiated from the Prince's eyes as he regarded Chad with displeasure. He tightened his arms possessively around her.

She stole a peek at Chad. His angelic face was emotionless, but his keen, inquisitive eyes swiftly surveyed the scene before him. Elizabeth had the distinct impression that he was analyzing the situation, putting two and two together.

“Forgive me, Sir.” Chad seemed to have arrived at a logical conclusion. “I did not mean to intrude upon your privacy.”

“Leave us. Now.” Elizabeth shuddered at the warning in the Prince's voice. She flitted a worried glance at Chad and subtly signaled him to go.

“Elizabeth! Yoohoooo! Elizabeth!” Ben appeared just in time, followed by Lela and Carlos. “What are you doing here?” He sashayed towards her, obli
vious to the circumstances.

“We've been looking all over for you!” Lela sau
ntered after him.

“Hi, guys.” Elizabeth realized that they could see her, but the Prince was hidden from view by the tall hedge.