Chapter 8

Barbie

Fuck!

This book was filthy.

That romance author, Lauren, overused cum and cunt. Wait, they fucked her four holes? I blinked. Where exactly were those four holes?

Let me read it!Sy perked up and peeked out of my eyes. An asshole can be counted as a hole, she informed me like she was some expert.

Fuck it, I needed a break from smut. I snatched another book. Dark Fairytale: Beauty and the Beast Retell. Hmm. That sounded interesting, but how many retells could you do?

I flipped the pages and was biting into a sponge cake I hadn't finished when my ghost familiar interrupted me. I didn't know how long I was reading the book, only that I started sobbing.

The door banged open.

I leapt out of the chair with a yip; the paperback flew over the edge of the desk littered with a dozen cakes.

Killian charged in, his storm-blue eyes darting wildly, seeking a threat, lightning twirling on his fingers. The chaos prince was menace incarnate.

When he couldn't find anyone to fry with his bolts, he trained his gaze on me, his menace vaporizing. Tenderness and concern filled his eyes while his brow furrowed.

He zoomed to my side. "What's wrong?"

I stared at him, my lower lip quivering.

He'd scared me for a second, but now that he was here, he provided a shoulder to cry on. It didn't matter who bumped in. Even if it was the things that went bump in the night, I'd cling to them as my emotional support.

I rushed to Killian and threw myself into his arms. He instantly wrapped his arms around me protectively.

Maybe I shouldn't be so clingy. Our relationship was in the twilight zone, or a mine field. But I didn't care when I felt so vulnerable. I had a solid chest to lean on and a nice shirt to wipe away my tears; I wasn't going to give it up.

That dark fairytale romance had left me wrecked!

"Why are you crying, Barbie?" Killian asked again, tilting my chin up so he could study me. "Who hurt you?"

"They broke up, Killian." I sobbed harder.

"Who broke up? And why should you care?" He frowned while wiping away my tears with his thumb, and I lifted my chin to make it easier for him to clean me up.

"You might want to use your silky handkerchief, sir," I suggested.

"I don't carry a handkerchief," he said. "I'm not Rowan, and I've never needed to wipe away a woman's tears until now."

I blinked at him in disappointment. "You're lacking practice, sir?" Then I dismissed the thought and swallowed a wail. "The billionaire dragon shifter heir and the virgin can't be together. They're star-crossed!"

Another tear leaked out of my green eye. My sapphire eye remained dry for some reason.

"Who is the fucking billionaire and who is the virgin?" he growled, confusion in his eyes.

"It's all in there," I said, pointing at the book that had fallen from the desk when he charged in and now lay on the ground, abandoned.

"You cry over a book?" he drawled, letting me go and striding toward the desk.

He gave the comfy rocking chair a suspicious glance, seemingly recognizing it from somewhere. Had the house taken it from his room and brought it here? The house magic had dragged a lot of stuff that didn't belong to me into my room. I ran my lip between my teeth. I wouldn't rat out my ally, but I needed to come up with excuses as to why those things were in my room.

Killian picked the smutty romance up and turned to the page I'd dogeared.

Shit!He had the wrong book.

I froze. Why did I have to dogear that page?

The prince read the line aloud. "I want to fill your tight cunt with my cum!"

He paused to ponder it, his eyes glued to the page, before moving to the next filthy line.

My face burning hot, I rushed toward him to grab the book from his hand, my tears drying up as embarrassment vanquished all my sadness. Killian lifted the book higher out of my reach.

"You got the wrong book, sir!"

"I don't think so," he said, his eyes laughing, brighter than stars.

"Give it back to me!"

"Come and get it," he purred, turning the page.

"Don't you dare read any further! It's not a book for guys!"

He arched an eyebrow, then glanced at my flaming face where my tears had probably left a trail—and at the remaining cupcakes spreading over the desk beside a stack of romance books—and laughed.

"How can you laugh, Highness?" I stared up at him. "I don't see HEA in their future. I'll never read any books by Lauren again!"

"How many cakes have you enjoyed while reading a book about a billionaire dragon leaving his cum in a sad virgin's cunt before they broke up?"

My jaw dropped. "That's not what the book is about."

"Should I read the next line to confirm for you?"

He teased, he taunted, yet the heat in his eyes was the most dangerous. It made my heart flutter and my body warm. My pussy throbbed with aching need; it was so wet that I was uncomfortable.

"I need the strength to overcome my sorrow, sir," I said defensively.

He puts down the book. "What am I going to do with you, little scorpion?"

"What do you mean?"

He looked at my lips, the air instantly turning electric, as if an unseen thread tried to pull us toward each other.

"What can I do to make you feel better?" he purred.

Was he flirting with me?

He flirts with you all the time, dummy. Sy rolled her eyes. She never did that before we came to Mist of Cinder. Every time he sees you, he wants to fuck you badly. You did the dirty deed with him in that space you call dream land. Why not just fuck each other right here, right now? It's so stupid to pretend you two haven't fucked in another reality.

Sy was her old annoying self again.

Pucker popped out. I jumped, but Killian didn't so much as twitch while slanting the ghost guardian a predatory look.

My ghost familiar darted glances between Killian and me. "Did I disrupt anything?" He brushed off phantom dust from the front of his shirt before giving Killian a small bow. "Princes from other houses are marching toward our house."

"Why the fuck are they still coming?" Killian growled. "I told them to be patient!"

Pucker grinned. "They ran out of patience, it seems, Your Highness. They demanded to see Barbie, declaring they won't leave until she is delivered." He rubbed his hands in excitement. "We're going to have a party, aren't we?"