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

“Can I see you later tonight then?”

“I … I have plans with Grace.”

“Again?”

“Well, she is my best friend.”

Peter grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap. He stared into my eyes. When I tried to look away, he held me by my chin. “Kiss me,” he commanded.

Maria’s voice came back. I tried to come up with an excuse for why now wasn’t a good time, but my mind had gone blank.

I wanted to resist him, but I couldn’t. It was like I was under his spell. His hands caressed my arms, traveling their length until reaching my shoulders. He pulled me closer, and I kissed him just like he wanted me to. But then my mind flashed to Nicolai. He was the man I wanted to be kissing. I suddenly longed for him in a way that was almost painful.

“What’s wrong?” Peter asked.

“Nothing. I … I’m just not feeling well, that’s all.”

I slid off his lap and stood. Peter looked up at me with a frown on his face before standing. “Will you at least call me later?” he asked.

“Of course I will.” I should’ve told him no, that it wasn’t going to work out between the two of us, but if he really was an incubus, there was no way I could battle him by myself. At least not now. Not after that kiss he’d just demanded. The thought made me sick to my stomach.

He gave me a half-hearted smile. “I won’t keep you from your work then.”

I breathed a sigh of relief after he left. How could I have been so blind? If Maria hadn’t told me that Peter was an incubus, would I have ever suspected there was something off about him? The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had. But I’d never been able to put my finger on what exactly it was that troubled me about him. If only I’d listened to my own intuition. Instead I’d put myself and the people I cared about in danger.

I’d have to figure out a way to get Peter out of my life. And I owed Maria an apology for not listening to her, but more than anything I had to let Nicolai know that I’d made up my mind. It was just after one. He wasn’t expecting me until dinner time, but I didn’t care. I needed to be with him.

Chapter 18

Frederic answered the door this time. “You’re here early.”

“You don’t like me very much, do you?” I said as I stepped inside.

“On the contrary, Willow.” He smiled seductively. “I like you very much.”

My face heated. Frederic claimed to love Nicolai, and I was certain he did in his own way, but he was also utterly oblivious to his youngest brother’s feelings. It infuriated me. But saying or doing anything about it meant possibly causing a rift between brothers, and I cared about Nicolai too much to put him in that position.

“Where’s Nicolai?” I stammered.

“In the music room. You seem to have revived his interest in cello. My father would be so pleased.”

I practically bolted down the entryway, eager to get away from Frederic.

I found Nicolai playing his cello. He pulled the bow across the instrument’s strings with his eyes closed. I stood in the doorway, entranced by both Nicolai and the song he was playing.

“Willow, I know you’re there. I may not be able to shift, but werewolves have keen senses even in their human form,” he said.

I took a few steps inside the room. “That’s hardly fair.”

Nicolai put his bow and cello down and walked over to me. “There are many things you can do that I cannot.”

“All I can do is a few simple spells.”

“You’d be able to do a lot more if you didn’t keep letting that demon feed from you.” Maria’s voice. I looked over my shoulder as she stepped inside the room.

She must have followed me. “Were you listening in on our conversation?” I asked, grimacing. I wasn’t up for another argument.

“I am the least of your worries.”

“Were you with him today?” Nicolai asked. The pain in his voice was almost palpable.

“Yes. We had lunch together.”

Nicolai turned his back to me. “So you’ve made your decision?” His voice was cold, detached.

I pressed myself up against his back and slipped my hand into his. “As a matter of fact, I have.” He didn’t reply, so I continued, “I choose you.”

He turned, searching my face. I put a hand on his cheek. His arm snaked around me.

“Maria, can you leave the two of us alone?” he said, staring into my eyes.

“Of course.” I heard her footsteps, then the door as she closed it behind herself. As soon as she was gone, Nicolai kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him. He deepened the kiss, and his hands grabbed my hips, sending shivers through my body at the contact.

“Did you tell him?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I … I was too scared to.”

“With good reason. Incubi are dangerous creatures. I’ll send my brothers to warn him to stay away from you.”

“I think it’s better if I tell him myself.”

“That’s the last thing you should do. He won’t just let you walk away from him.”

“You don’t know that.”

“There’s a reason that incubus set his sights on you, and it isn’t because of how amazingly beautiful you are. From the beginning he must have sensed your power. He chose you because you can satisfy his hunger in a way no regular human can.”

“But my powers were still bound when Peter and I first met.”

“Bound or not, they were still a part of you. He knew that there was something special about you.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “I feel like such an idiot.”

“Don’t. Incubi are known to be quite charming,” Nicolai said. “Even now that you know what Peter is, if he got close enough to touch you, there’s a chance you might fall under his spell again. Which is why the safest thing to do