She squeezed her eyes shut.
She was not pleased at being called the prince’s special lady.
She was not!
And yet her cheeks remained flushed as she stepped into the tub, which was filled with hot, rose-scented water.
Evil prince, evil right-hand man, this was definitely the house of evil!
Fawn took her time bathing and only stepped out of the tub when she was absolutely sure her cheeks were flushed from the steam and not from anything else. Coming out of the bathroom, Fawn was surprised to see Paula bent over the bed.
“Paula—-”
The brunette turned around, Fawn’s pajamas in her hands. “Hi, signorina.”
Fawn blinked. “What are you doing with those?”
“Readying it for you?”
“What?” She rushed to the other girl with a shake of her head. “You don’t have to do that—-” Fawn stopped dead at her friend’s suddenly grim look. “P-Paula?”
“I thought Igor was joking, but I guess not, signorina.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“The prince specifically chose me to be your personal maid, signorina.”
“I don’t want that!”
Paula’s lips pursed in visible disappointment. “And here I thought you were still my friend, signorina.”
“You are,” she insisted.
“Are you speaking the truth, signorina?”
“Yes!”
“Then…why don’t you want me as your personal maid?” Paula took a step towards her. “Why don’t you want me to have this amazing promotion—-” Paula took another step forward, “—-which pays more for less work?”
When Paula closed the distance between them, Fawn did her best to resist the urge to lean back, asking weakly, “A-are you saying you w-want me to be my personal maid?”
Paula smiled sweetly at her.
“Oh. Umm. Okay?”
“Yay!” Paula pulled her up. “I knew it, you’re still my friend, signorina.” She gave Fawn a quick hug. “Now, I’ve readied your pajamas, and once you’re done, please go to the master’s room, he’s waiting for you there.”
Evil bullies. It was all Fawn could think as she watched Paula cheerfully attend to her task. That was the exact term for it, and this house was full of them.
Five minutes later, and Paula had successfully dragged Fawn into the prince’s room.
The prince, seated elegantly on the settee next to the window while sipping a glass of red wine, looked up as Fawn stumbled into his room.
“Thank you for doing such a great job, Paula,” said the house’s biggest and most evil bully. “As promised, you will get your bonus tomorrow.”
Hearing that, Fawn mouthed furiously at Paula, Traitor. First Igor, and now Paula. Was no one in this house on her side?
Paula blew her a kiss, mouthing, Money talks, signorina. Then she turned to the prince and bowed. “Thank you, sir.”
The door closed behind Paula, leaving Fawn alone with the prince.
She waited for the prince to speak, but he didn’t, and the silence in the room was only interrupted by the sound of rustling clothes—-
Her head jerked up, and to her shock, she found the prince actually pulling his shirt over his head, revealing his sculpted chest inch by inch.
Her throat dried.
She had seen the prince bare-chested more than a few times, but even so she didn’t think she could ever get used to the sight of it. He was just so magnificently sexy, it was hard to breathe when seeing all those tight, whipped muscles—-
The prince’s lips curved in a grin. “You can also touch, you know.”
A squeak of embarrassment escaped her as she realized that the prince knew she had been staring the whole time. “I wasn’t—-what are you p-planning?” She tried not to panic as the prince started walking straight at her, an alarmingly dangerous glint in his green eyes.
The prince was just a few feet away now.
I’m not going to let him think he’s scaring me—-
The prince was just a foot away now.
Who cares if he knows the truth?
She was scared!
Fawn whirled around to run away, but it was too late, and she heard the prince release a low, dark chuckle just as he swept her up in his arms.
“Put me down—-”
And he did, but on his bed, and then he was joining her. She tried to roll away, but again the prince proved too fast. He moved on top of her, and she froze at suddenly having the hard, hot weight of the prince’s body pressing down on her.
The prince calmly reached for the switch next to the bed, and the incandescent light coming from the wall sconces went out, plunging the room into darkness.
Was this really happening? It seemed like she was fated to ask this question over and over, but—-
Was it really happening?
Was she actually sharing the same bed with the prince?
“Nervous?”
She could hear the smirk in the prince’s tone, and if she weren’t so nervous, she would have thumped him for it. Of course she was nervous. She was in his bed, and he was on top of her. She had just seen her boyfriend doing another girl, and an hour later she had let another man make her come—-