Later, in the safety of my room, I asked Mark to summon Nicholas. Yet, just as he arrived, Veronica arrived too. I wasn’t unhappy to see her, exactly, but there were things I had hoped to speak with Nicholas about that I hadn’t wanted others to overhear. When I heard Veronica’s reasons for visitin

“I’m here.” Nicholas walked to her, hugged her, and then joined in her game. I followed, eager for any moment of normalcy, no matter how fleeting. Later, I followed Nicholas to the guest room he was using. We hadn’t finished our conversation. As we crossed the threshold and closed the door behin

I clawed at Nicholas’s shoulders. He was wearing too many clothes. But then, so was I. His kiss devoured me, entranced me. I felt so fully under his spell that I couldn’t think clearly. All I knew was the trace of Nicholas’s hand up my spine, slipping under my shirt. He lifted it up and off my hea

I laughed, and he growled. Before the shirt even hit the floor, Nicholas was bent over the bed and burying his face in between my legs. With careful fingers, he pulled back the hood, and then licked at my clit with a firm tongue. I grabbed at the pillow behind me, and writhed on the cool sheets

Charlotte and I flipped through the fabrics on the table near the sewing machines. “It has to be a bright color, right? Something that says, I’m having fun,” I said. I picked up a bolt of red fabric. “What about this one?” Charlotte shook her head. “Red means danger. You’ll give someone an anxie

But first, I had to make her safe. That evening, I joined Veronica, Nicholas, and Julian in Julian’s private rooms, where we continued to talk about how to trap Jane. “I’ve been thinking,” Veronica said. “It is possible, if you want, to fight fire with fire.” “I like fire,” Julian said. I ig

“What the hell are you talking about?” Nicholas snapped back. “You need to stop walking Piper around,” Julian said, firm. “It makes me look bad. She’s supposed to be my date, remember?” “It’s after hours,” Nicholas said. “There shouldn’t be any cameras.” “’Shouldn’t be,’” Julian said. “You adm

“No one’s around,” Nicholas said. He was right. The hallways were dark and so quiet, we could likely hear a pin drop. It made me feel bold, knowing we were alone. I traced tiny circles onto the back of Nicholas’s palm with my finger. He closed his eyes a moment. His breath came a bit stuttered

Nicholas I was relieved to see Piper rush away, but I was also furious at myself. All my talk about protecting her, and I couldn’t stand up against my own father. Julian was right. I was a coward. And my cowardice was what was going to cost me Piper in the end. “Father,” I said, ready to try a

I couldn’t think clearly when faced with such an obvious threat. My protective instincts kicked into high gear. I would do anything to protect those closest to me. But Piper was close to me to. I swallowed hard. “I care about Piper.” The King’s demeanor had shifted. Maybe he could see the hesita