The Dare Collection September 2018. Stefanie London

Something tugs at my memories, something that only now makes me pause. “There is one thing that never made sense to me. Mother and Father had a doctor visit a couple of times a year. It wasn’t the royal surgeon. It wasn’t even a citizen from Nightgardin. Once I spied on their meeting and discovered that he was an American, from Los... Los Angeles. He administered injections to my parents in the face. I watched it all from a crack in the door. I didn’t know what they were doing. Only that after they seemed pleased.”

      “Botox?” Damien asked, glancing to X.

      “Or stem cells. Did it change their appearances?”

      I shake my head. “Not change, but they both looked...younger after. Everyone complimented them on their seemingly eternal youth.”

      X jerks his head in my direction, his nostrils flaring. “What did you just say?”

      I blink twice, confused. “Eternal youth.”

      “Yes!” X drives his fist into his thigh again. He must give himself a lot of bruises. “Yes, of course! Christ, we’re finally on the right track.”

      And with that, he strides from the room without a backward glance.

      “Track? What track?” I ask Damien once the door snicked shut.

      “No clue,” he mutters.

      We sit in stunned silence, digesting everything we’ve learned since leaving the palace.

      “I feel like Alice after she went through the looking glass,” I whisper.

      “Guess that makes me the mad hatter.” Damien clears his throat. “For the record, I’m sorry about your parents. They don’t seem like the sort of people who should be allowed to reproduce.”

      “I always thought the problem was me. That I wasn’t lovable enough.”

      “You?” Damien’s eyes widened. “That’s the most absurd statement that I’ve ever heard.”

      “But is it more absurd than a secret lair in a remote mountain valley filled with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment?” I quip.

      “Touché.” He chuckles.

      “Just so you know...I don’t regret meeting you. I’ve lived more since our paths have crossed than I have in my entire life.” I get up and kneel before his chair. He stiffens as if he wants to pull away, but I don’t let him. Instead, I place my hand on his heart.

      “Let me in,” I whisper. “Let me find a way back to you.”

      He grabs my wrist. “Juliet.”

      The air is charged between us, thick with everything going unsaid. Then his mouth is slanting over mine, raw and hungry. Before I can return the kiss, he’s moved to the sensitive hollow in my throat, sending me to heaven with his lush wet sucks.

      “What do you do to me,” he groans, savoring my skin in slow licks.

      “The same thing you do to me.” My breath is hitched but my response is assured.

      “You tremble when I do this.” He doesn’t ask a question. So cocky. He knows he’s driving me mad. “Are you tight between your legs, in that snug little pussy? Do you tremble there too?”

      The door opens and I fly back, smoothing a hand over my hair, but feeling the tattle-tale blush staining my cheeks.

      But it’s not X who is joining us. A young woman, not much older than me with her hair in a tight bun that’s as no-nonsense as her black jumpsuit, appears.

      “I’m to take you somewhere more comfortable,” she says in a clipped tone. Her accent is from Rosegate.

      “On whose command?” Damien asks, every inch the arrogant prince, even as I see him subtly adjust his pants due to his massive bulge.

      The insides of my cheeks water. I’m so lust stricken that I barely hear her next words.

      “X’s, Highness. Here in The Hole, he is in charge.”

      “The Hole?” I inquire, trying to focus, to figure out what she is talking about.

      “That’s the name of our headquarters here.”

      “Didn’t stretch any creative muscles on that one, did you?” Damien drawls.

      She doesn’t crack a smile. “Come. He said he’d be there shortly.”

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

      Damien

      I SPIN SLOWLY, taking in the confines of our space. I suppose it does qualify as “more comfortable” if we are comparing it to the surveillance room we just came from, but two twin beds on metal frames and a small wooden dresser hardly equate to the lap of luxury.

      “We’re to stay here?” Juliet asks, no attempt at masking her distaste.

      “It seems so,” I tell her. But the question neither of us seems to be asking is for how long.

      A knock sounds on the steel door, but it opens before I can even say come in.

      X enters dressed head to toe in black—black moisture-wicking shirt; black cargo pants; black hiking boots.

      “Going somewhere?” I ask, brow raised.

      X’s stony expression doesn’t change. “You two will stay here for the night.”

      “Why?” I demand. “I am still your prince, X. Remember that you answer to me.”

      It is the first time in a long while that I’ve thought of myself as such.

      “Of course, Your Highness.” X sets his shoulders, dropping his hard jaw as he meets my glare. “Though as I am not a native of Edenvale, I do not exactly answer to anyone other than my superiors.”

      I take a step forward, but Juliet places a calming hand on my shoulder.

      “He’s keeping us here to help us. I can’t think of any other reason. Because if he wanted to harm us, he would have done so by now.”

      I take a steadying breath. “He’s not going to harm us,” I say. “But he is going to keep us in the dark. Aren’t you, X?”

      He nods curtly. “It does not help anyone to speak in what-ifs. That is my job, Highness. I find the answers needed to protect my employers.”

      “So that is all we’ve been to you for over twenty years? Your employers? Because clearly this has nothing to do with allegiance to our kingdom.”

      Something flashes across X’s face, the first real trace of emotion I’ve seen since I’ve known the man.

      “That is how it should be, Highness. It is what is best for all involved, that I do not form—attachments. But no. The Lorentz family is more than my employer. So much more than I may ever be able to reveal. But I think you know you can trust that my keeping you here is the safest option.”

      I grit my teeth. “I trust you,” I say. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I am here against my will—being kept in the dark when days of my life have already been stolen from me.”

      He nods. “Understood. I will brief you on what I can in the morning. For now, take care of your wife and your child. The accommodations may be sparse, but I assure you, both of you are well taken care of.”

      He starts to exit.

      “Wait!” Juliet says. “I do have one more question. One I hope you can answer.”

      X raises his brows.

      “It’s just—” she says. “Well, you have all this surveillance equipment. I was wondering about—the room.”

      A flush of heat creeps up her neck and to her cheeks, and