The Soldier and the Princess

“I’m glad,” Daphne said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “He deserves whatever it is that makes him happy.”

“Speaking of which,” I started, clearing my throat when it felt like I was about to swallow my own tongue. “I’ve been talking to Stone about some things, too.” Daphne lifted her head and looked at me, her green eyes serious. “I’m gonna take a position here at the hotel in New York.” Her mouth popped open in shock, but I pressed on. “It’s not the head of security, or anything, because that’s filled, but Stone said he’d keep my salary the same.” That part had really stuck in my craw, but I knew if I was gonna support my girl in the Big Apple, I’d need the money. “And who knows? Maybe after a bit, I can move up, find something that would be a little more respectable, and then—”

“Wait.” The word cut across my ramblings like a blade. “What in the hell are you talking about?”

“Uh, moving? To New York?”

“What ever for?”

I froze, the open space of the dance floor suddenly feeling like a firing range as I stared down into the confused eyes of the woman I loved.

“So that I can, um, court you.”

“Court me?”

Releasing her, I stepped back, running one hand through my hair as I exhaled. Was that the wrong thing to say? Did she not want me to come to the city with her?

“Well, yeah. I mean, I thought... that is, I know we hadn’t really talked about it, but I was hoping that if I moved here, we could, you know? Be together.” Fuck, why did I sound like a slack-jawed teenager asking the pretty girl to prom.

She might be small, but in those moments, I had never been more afraid of anyone in my life as I was Daphne; her silence dragged on, shredding my heart more and more with every breath.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a huge smile spread across her face, and the vice across my chest relaxed.

“Silas,” she said wistfully. “Are you really planning to leave Nevada and move to New York, just so you can be with me?”

“Yes,” I replied simply, because that was nothing but the truth.

“And when you say court me, what does that entail, exactly?” She was laughing at me now, but I didn’t mind.

“That means, Princess, that I will be taking you out.” I reached for her, one hand curling around the back of her neck while the other lightly gripped her hip, drawing her to me. “Showing you off. I will be spending every waking moment lavishing you with attention.” Using my thumb under her jaw, I lifted her chin so that I could press a kiss to her forehead. “Here.” I dropped another on one cheek. “Here.” Running my nose along hers, I watched as her pupils dilated and I leaned closer. “And especially here.” Our lips met, firm yet tender, as I lingered over her mouth, just enjoying the taste of her. “Basically, doing everything I can to steal your heart.”

I watched as a soft shiver rolled through her body before she reached up, lacing her hands behind my neck.

“Oh, Silas, you stole my heart a long time ago.”

“And what a clumsy thief I turned out to be.”

Daphne gasped, drawing back and staring at me in shock.

“Did you just quote Ever After? While dancing with me at a fancy ball?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, but maybe don’t tell anyone.”

“Oh, no way, Soldier-boy. I’m telling absolutely everyone! That was the most swoon-worthy moment of my entire life!”

With that, she threw her arms around me again, pulling me down as she rose up on her toes, and kissed the shit out of me. I tried to keep it sort of safe for public consumption, but when her tongue swept across my lips, I forgot about where we were and who might have been watching.

All I could focus on was her as I devoured her mouth, wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of my life doing exactly this. Not able to get close enough, I dropped my hand from her waist to her ass, grabbing a good handful and pulling her against me, my erection straining behind the zipper of my suit pants.

The sound of someone loudly clearing their throat ended our kiss, but I still held Daphne close. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Stone and Penelope, his arm around her shoulders, and they stood at the side of the still empty dance floor. Stone scowled—but only a little—but Penelope’s smile was wide, as she tossed a thumbs up to Daphne, who giggled and buried her face in my shirt.

Looking around, I could see the disapproving looks from the other party guests, their sophisticated sensibilities seemingly offended by our little show of affection.

Okay, it was less of a show and more skirting the border of indecent, but still. Shaking my head, I wrapped her in my arms again, resuming our slow circle to the music and not really giving a fuck who stared at us.

“Silas?”

I looked down into the face I loved so much and raised my eyebrow at her question.

“Take me home.”

Looking around, I noticed that the guests were still milling about, but no one seemed to be interested in actually talking to Daphne, even though the party was supposed to be for her.

“Sure,” I said, happy to take her away from these people who obviously didn’t give a single shit about her. “Let’s go upstairs.”

“No.” She stopped me with her hand on my arm, and I turned to her in question. “I mean, take me home.”

For a minute, I didn’t understand; she lived in the building, so how could I take her anywhere but upstairs.

But then it dawned on me, and my heart started to race.

“You mean it?” I asked, thinking it was too good to be true. “Are you sure?”

“More sure than I’ve ever been about anything.”

Bending down, I wrapped my arms around her waist, yanking her off the floor and spinning her around, causing her to squeal and drawing even more frowns from around the room.

“Come on, Princess.” I didn’t even set her down, instead just striding off of the dance floor and straight out of the ballroom. “We’ve got a plane to catch.”