The Cursed Prince, Teresa Roman [the reader ebook TXT] 📗

I don’t think I could’ve stopped myself from falling into Nicolai’s arms. “Tell me what I have to do.”

“You and Nicolai must be married,” Maria announced.

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. “You can’t be serious.”

“Do we look like we’re joking?” Frederic asked.

“You never look like you’re joking,” Maxim said.

Frederic growled at his brother, who growled right back.

“I can’t marry Nicolai,” I said. “You all know that I have a boyfriend.”

“Right. The demon,” Maxim muttered.

“I think you may be the first woman in the history of the world to pass up marrying a prince in favor of a demon,” Alexander said.

“That’s enough,” Maria snapped at the brothers before turning to look at me. “It wouldn’t be a legal marriage, it would be a Wiccan ceremony binding you and Nicolai together.”

“It won’t work,” Nicolai grumbled.

“We won’t know until we try,” Maria said.

“Of all people you should know better,” Nicolai said. “The binding of two souls requires both parties involved to give themselves completely to each other. It can create powerful magic, perhaps powerful enough to break this curse, but—”

“Come on. I see the way the two of you look at each other. And you were seconds away from punching Frederic in the face for shifting in front of Willow, even though it would’ve hurt you more than him,” Alexander said. “If I hadn’t stopped you, he’d probably have a black eye right now.”

“Maria’s right,” I said. Everyone’s eyes turned to me. “I think we should at least try.” I cared for Nicolai, deeply. And it seemed like he might possibly care for me too. Maybe those feelings were enough to break Nicolai’s curse.

“Are you going to let the demon know?” Nicolai asked, not hiding the contempt in his voice.

“I don’t know how many times I have to say this. He’s not a demon.”

“Perhaps we should just call him leech,” Frederic said. “I see very little difference between those vile creatures and incubi.”

I chose to ignore him. “Maria, when can we do this Wiccan ceremony?”

“I’ll need a few days to prepare everything.” She took my hand. “In the meantime, you must stay away from Peter.”

“I can’t do that. We’re planning on meeting for lunch tomorrow.”

“Do not lie with him, Willow. That is when the incubi sap the most power from their victims. A kiss or an embrace is one thing, you can recover from that within hours, but sharing a bed … it could take weeks for you to recover your abilities.”

“Or worse. What if he gets her pregnant with his little demon offspring?” Maxim said.

“That’s enough!” Nicolai shouted. When everyone’s eyes were on him, he continued. “I’m not sure how much more of this you expect me to take.” He turned and stormed out of the room.

I hesitated for a moment before running after him. I didn’t care if he wanted to be left alone. I needed to talk to him.

“Nicolai, wait!” I called out.

He glanced over his shoulder. “Please, Willow. Just leave me be.”

I continued to follow him. He was walking so fast that he was already halfway down the upstairs hallway before I caught up to him. I grabbed his hand, and he spun around.

“I’ve been tortured enough. Please don’t make me endure any more.”

“Why are you so angry?”

“The idea of you and that … boyfriend of yours being together makes me furious. And not just because I know what an incubus does to a woman. But because I can’t bear to think of you with another man.”

“I … I’m sorry,” I said, knowing those words were inadequate.

“How much do you know about werewolves?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Not much. Up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t even think they existed.”

“Some of us, like Frederic, have many lovers, others dream of finding their one true mate. The person they were meant to spend the rest of their life with. I’ve longed for a bond like that, but I never thought it was possible.” Nicolai lifted his eyes to meet my gaze. “Until I met you.”

I stared into his eyes, trying to think of the right response. “Nicolai, we’ve only known each other for a few weeks.”

“I knew from the moment you fell into my arms.”

“Why? Because you could touch me?”

“Maria told me there’s a reason why I could. Why doing this”—he lifted his hand to my cheek—“feels so good when normally it would bring me to my knees.”

I rested my hand over his. “Oh, Nicolai. I’m so confused.”

“Ever since the night we met, I’ve wondered how kissing you would feel.” He inched closer to me and put one hand on my waist. My heart raced, and my legs felt like they could barely hold me up. “Will you let me find out?”

Desire drowned out reason. This didn’t make sense, but I didn’t care. In that moment, the only thing that existed was Nicolai. I nodded, and Nicolai slid his hand around the back of my neck, drawing me closer. He paused for a moment before pressing his lips on mine. My body tensed, but as Nicolai deepened the kiss I melted into him, wrapping my arms around my prince. His tongue parted my lips, searching for mine. I breathed in his earthy scent. As our kiss deepened, he twined his hands through my hair. I was drowning, but it didn’t matter because Nicolai was drowning with me.

I could’ve stood there kissing him forever, but eventually he pulled away. “Better than I imagined,” he said, resting his forehead on mine. He dropped his hands and stepped back. “I have nothing to offer you, Willow. I can’t take you out to dinner or whisk you away for a weekend together. It’s why I’ve kept my feelings to myself. You deserve better than me, but I can’t stop myself from wanting you.”

“Nicolai, I—”

“You’ll have to make a decision, Willow. The demon or me.”

He spun around and walked away while I stood there speechless, watching his back as he turned the corner and vanished from my sight.

Chapter 17

Nicolai