During a mental self-defense lesson, Julian tried to instruct me on the best way to evade answering Terry’s invasive questions. “He’ll goad you,” Julian said. “You just have to keep your head. If all else fails, just don’t say a word. He can’t twist your words if you don’t give him any to twist.

Nicholas’s mouth was hot on mine. His arms wrapped around my waist, holding me closely. I clutched at his shoulders, early accepting his kisses, until the need for air forced us apart. He rested his forehead against mine. “You have to change.” “Nick,” I said. He was being ridiculous. “This dress

“Didn’t Julian mention the pendant to you?” I asked. “No,” Nicholas said curtly. “He gave me this.” I lifted the pendant higher, for Nicholas to see. “He said that all I have to do is press down on the moon, and my location would be sent to him. I asked him to include you in on it…” “Convenien

While the princes were giving interviews with the camera crews, Terry and a few of his servants escorted the candidates, including myself, on a tour of his mansion. When the plan had been suggested, I had seen the worry in both Nicholas’s and Julian’s gazes, but their concern was merely blinding t

Where could I hide? Behind the desk? But wouldn’t that be the first place someone would go to if they came to this room? There weren’t many other spots to hide. A couple of high-back chairs were dotted around, but they wouldn’t provide much cover. “Piper?” My thoughts came to a screeching halt.

“You said you would tell him,” I said. “I was getting around to it.” Julian shrugged. “The right moment just hadn’t come up yet.” “You gave her that necklace to help her out specifically in this place,” Nicholas said. “I highly doubt that you couldn’t find a moment to tell me about it.” “That’

Together, Julian, Nicholas, and I walked out into the hallway. We made it down to the main hallway before Terry himself saw us and stepped into our path. Julian, Nicholas, and I stopped in our tracks. “There you are, Piper. And I see you’ve run into my errant nephews.” “Don’t worry, uncle,” Ju

No sooner had we all sat down, then Terry stretched his arm across the back of my chair. He leaned into me enough to whisper, “Should we make those two brothers jealous, Piper?” He reached up, snatched a loose strand of my hair, and tucked it behind my ear. His fingers lingered on my cheek. I want

Terry slowly trailed his hand up the length of my thigh. He stopped at the meatiest point, just beneath my hip and squeezed. I wanted to bolt from the table. I wanted to elbow him in the ribs or kick at his shins. All I could actually do was sit very still and try not to draw attention from the

Terry narrowed his eyes a small margin. Julian had put him in a corner now. It would seem almost cruel to deny Piper, especially with Julian himself defending her. “Hurry back,” Terry said, voice silky smooth for the watching cameras. “I will,” I promised, a blatant lie, and hurried away from th