Page 10 of Praise Me: Princess
“I want names. I want locations.” He searches my eyes and I’m taken aback by the rage I see in his, though it’s tempered by…affection? For me? “What happened, baby?”
The pressure he’s applying to the juncture of my thighs combined with that rasp ofbabyis making me feel funny. Heavy and uncomfortable…in an enjoyable way? Does that even makesense? “About a year ago, I traveled north for a summit. The rebels were ready to negotiate an armistice. Or so they said. My mother thought it was time I represent the palace, but…I let her down. I didn’t recognize soon enough that we’d been duped. It was a trap. They intercepted our convoy as we crossed the border.” I’m breathing so hard, his mouth just above mine. Focusing on his vengeful eyes is all I can do. “They kept me for two weeks, demanding my mother set their prisoners free. She couldn’t. Not without jeopardizing our troops. Not right away. And…”
“They hurt you.”
I nod.
“Badly enough that you sleep in a closet with a fuckingdagger.” His voice is anguished, his face dropping into the crook of my neck, rubbing there. “And I was horrible to you. I am the worst kind of bastard. One who judges without having the facts.”
My fingers find purchase in his hair, stroking, razing his scalp with my nails. “It’s okay. The details weren’t made public. You would have no way of knowing—”
“It’s not okay,” he growls, rolling his puckered forehead against mine. “Were you raped, princess?”
“No. No.”
He makes a sound that I can’t describe. It’s excess frustration and a downpour of relief, all at the same time. “I won’t rest until I’ve spat on their graves.” His mouth roams over mine, but it’s still not a kiss. It’s a reassuring touch. It’s our lips becoming acquainted, even if their acquaintance can only be brief. It’s comfort and neither one of us can help it, our breaths accelerating, my legs growing anxious around his hips. And God, when those hips shift upward, to the right and I feel something thick and large and stiff tuck my against the seam of my pants, I cry out behind my teeth. “I won’t rest until the nightmares are banished from your head.”
“That’s not your job, Commander,” I assure him, gasping when he moves again, the friction shooting static all the way down to my toes. “Your obligation to me will be fulfilled soon. Today. I promise.”
His eyes pinch shut. “I’m going to regret all that obligation talk, aren’t I?”
What does he mean? Why would he regret being truthful?
“I’m going to set you free of your obligation to me soon, but…” I arch my back a little, wanting to make the most of the moment before it comes to an end. There’s no other option. We have to stop. “My life is nothingbutobligations.”
He reaches beneath me to cradle my backside, lifting and yanking me against his groin, his powerful body shuddering above me. “You don’t need to think about anything but this right now,” he rasps.
“If you were obligated to get married to a prince in a couple weeks’ time, would you be able to forget about it for a second?” I ask, squeaking when he pins me hard to the seat, his face a mask of denial.
“Married to…?” he bellows, the reality of the situation returning to him in a rush, him visibly remembering what lies ahead for me. “Nothing is set in stone. You could very easily hate him.Ialready fucking do.”
“If it’s not him,” I point out, “it’ll eventually be someone else.”
His stare is haunted. “Are you trying to kill me?”
Why would my impending engagement bother him? He’s leaving. That’s all he’s wanted since he arrived. “You’re confusing me, Commander,” I whisper. “You hated me yesterday, now you seem almost angry that I’m going to be engaged soon.”
“Almost?Almostangry, Greta?”
“What do you want from me?” I explode.
“Right now?” His mouth is suddenly pressed firm to mine, parting my lips, his breath moist and minty, his palm keeping my backside in place while he rocks into the notch of my hips and the stirrings of a kiss. “I want to know what it’s like to kiss a brave girl who lived through kidnapping.Torture.Then left the palace today because she’s selfless and wanted to do a kindness for someone else. I want to know what it’s like to kiss the most beautiful girl I’ve ever fucking seen. Sound all right with you?”
I wet my lips, overcome, tears swimming in my eyes over the praise. The way he’s noticed me, made note of my actions, appreciated them. “I’ve never kissed anyone.”
He groans brokenly, slanting his mouth—
There’s a knock on the door of the SUV. “We’ve arrived at the ranch, princess,” calls the chauffer through the window. “I’ll wait for the Commander’s order before I open the door.”
The physical pain represented on Conrad’s face almost alarms me. Based on the famished way he’s staring at my mouth, at first I think he’s going to kiss me, despite the interruption or the fact that we’ve arrived. Instead, he bites off a curse and sits up, raking both hands down his face. Taking several moments to gather himself.
“Stay beside me the whole time, Greta.”
“I will,” I say, sitting up in kind of a daze, my body still thrumming.
My thoughts are so scattered by what just took place—and the change in Conrad’s attitude toward me—I haven’t had time for nerves. They creep in now, however, when I look out the window and see the ranch I’ve not visited for a year, the stables looking different, new faces staring back at me. New, different, scary.
So many places the rebels could be hiding.