Page 88 of Heartbreak Prince

“And that’s it?” My voice is strained and shrill, on the verge of breaking. “You’re going to leave, and it’s the last time I will ever see you unless I watch your carriage pass by during an official parade?”

“Don’t you think it’s better this way?”

“No. What if you can’t trust all of the guards from Anyssir Castle? What if one of them turns you in to the Redemptive Fucking Authority?”

“I’ve explained this,” he grits out. “These people are loyal to the Lady and her husband, therefore they are loyal to me.”

“Forgive me if I’m not convinced,” I mutter.

“And I should trust you, whom I’ve known for a fraction of the time, above these people who have known me since childhood?”

“Yes.”

A raw laugh falls from his lips. “That’s all? Just… ‘yes’? Why should I trust you above all others, Forsythia?”

“Because.”

“Not an acceptable reason.” He seizes my jaw, fingers wrapping along my cheek. His pale eyes glitter. “Give me more.”

My heart gallops at the touch. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you do.” He squeezes my face, pushing my lips into a pout. His gaze stays on my mouth, even as his lips curl back and his teeth clench. “It was one thing to hire a brand-new bodyguard, freshly graduated from the Academy, when I was fifth in line for the throne and there was little danger to my life. It’s quite another to have you as my primary bodyguard during this time of upheaval, when I am fighting for my birthright. So tell me why I should bring you along, when it could mean your death?”

“My death?” I pull away. “That’s what you’re worried about?”

He glares at me like I’ve unearthed a secret he wanted to keep. “No.”

“Vawn, I’m not going to die.”

“No, you’re not, because you’re going to get out of my life while you still can. You’re going to stay here and rest, then get a lovely boring job with the town watch in some peaceful neighboring village. You’ll have the favor of the Lord and Lady, and you’ll be safe. You can live out your days pleasantly here.”

“Such a delightful picture. And I suppose I’ll meet some nice local man and fall madly in love with him, and he’ll fuck me soundly each night and fill me up with his babies. That’s part of your plan, too, right?”

Vawn looks like he might be sick, which pleases me deeply, so I press a bit further.

“You expect me to have a jolly little life near the castle while you go off to Tularesk? You want me to abandon you to the chaos and violence of your future? Not a chance. I’m coming with you. I’ll be riding at your side on Severin, or I’ll steal a horse and follow you on the ground. I will cheat, deceive, steal, and kill, but I will protect you.”

“I once knew a crazed woman who followed me to every pub and club I visited,” Vawn says. “She claimed to be in love with me. Said I was her one true mate. Perhaps you’re afflicted with the same illness.”

“Ah, but there’s a key difference. I’m not in love with you. If that ever happens, I’ll abandon you at once.”

Emotions I can’t decipher swirl in Vawn’s gaze, but he only says, “Promise?”

“I swear it.”

“I fear we’ll be at an impasse then, because anyone who truly loved you wouldn’t drag you back into danger. If you left for the love of me, and I loved you in return, I wouldn’t be able to come after you.”

“It’s a good thing neither one of us cares much about the other then,” I retort breathlessly. “We’ll be spared that inconvenient paradox.”

He’s still right in front of me, and the magnitude of his presence makes me feel small and quivery, which I hate. He’s in the full flush of his dominance, his authority… and fuck me, it’s more attractive than any other mood of his.

But when men are feeling cocky, they are also vulnerable.

Exhaling a long, slow breath, I look up at him with my softest, most pleading expression. “So… you’ll let me come with you?”

I already declared I was going anyway. It’s decided. But I’m going to let him think it was his choice.

His fierce expression relaxes immediately, his eyes filling with such tenderness that my heart does a delighted flutter in my chest.