Chapter Eighteen

THE ONLY TIME ETIENNE remembered having his heart beat this hard and fast was when he was fucking . Yet here he was, heart racing like an adolescent boy's, and all because he had taken Torv's unsolicited advice and stopped on the way home to buy her flowers. It was cheesy as fuck, and if it didn't work, he was going to fucking rip the man's throat and let him bleed to death.

Torv was puzzled when his employer came out with a box rather than a bouquet. "Changed your mind about the flowers, did ya?"

"I have the box, don't I?"

He had heard about flowers in boxes, but they were usually imported roses sold individually. The box that the prince held in his hand, however...

Etienne saw the older man trying to take a peek and swiftly hid it behind his back. "Quit it," he said irritably. "It's a surprise for Spencer, and I'd prefer she was the one to see it first."

"It's really flowers?" Torv asked, unconvinced, when they were back inside the limousine.

"I took your advice to the letter, alright? There is no way Spencer won't understand my feelings —-" Etienne could still feel himself freezing up at the word. "—-once she sees this."

"If you say so."

"Have you forgotten I manage a billion-dollar company and rule among my kind?" Etienne was exasperated. "Why the hell are you acting like I'd mess up when I'm just buying flowers?"

"You're right." Torv was feeling sheepish now. "Probably just typical Caro paranoia," he admitted.

"Exactly. Now, will you get back to driving?"

"Your wish is my command, Your Highness."

Etienne didn't bother responding. The words were a blatant lie, anyway. Like Anderson, Torv had been with him for over a decade, and nowadays, his command was only their wish when it suited them to follow him.

The silence inside the limousine soothed the ragged edges of his nerves, and as soon as he closed his eyes and leaned back, images of Spencer flashed behind his eyelids.

Spencer.

The girl he loved.

And now that he had accepted his feelings, he realized that Domenico was right. Love was a stealthy son of a bitch, the way it fucking snuck up on people and made itself felt all of a sudden. He still couldn't pinpoint the hows and whens, but what became exceedingly clearer to him with every second that passed were all the instances love had been the driving force behind his words and actions.

She probably didn't know it, but he had actually only signed up for a fucking Facebook account when he learned it was the only social networking site she used. He had even hurriedly people to his network before adding her, not wanting Spencer to think she was the only person he wanted to talk to online.

Seemed fitting then , he mused absently, that Spencer had also chosen the same platform to make their relationship official.

And then there were all the times he sought her company when work or Caro matters were particularly frustrating. It had made a whole fucking world of difference to him, just seeing Spencer all riled up because of him. In those days, her bitchiness had made him want to strangle her. These days, it was still the same... and kiss her at the same time.

His thoughts drifted back to Luka's theory on the correlation between chemical compatibility and love, but this time the idea no longer bothered him. He hadn't realized it at that time, but he had a feeling the reason Luka's theory chafed on him so was because he had resented the possibility of Spencer being the person he had fallen in love with because he had been physiologically programmed to do so.

He was in love with Spencer because of all the things that made her the person she was. It was his choice and not a matter of destiny that he had fallen for her, and one day, Etienne was determined to prove this scientifically as well.

But for now, all thoughts of quantifiable formulas for love had to be set aside. He had his own love to take care of, and he could already feel himself tensing as he reached his apartment and asked Anderson where Spencer was.

"In the library, sir. She's been on the phone since dinner."

Etienne stiffened. "With whom?" Because if it was a fucking guy—-

"Caylie Sonora, Your Highness."

Fuck.

Caylie...was Luka's fiancée. Caylie was the one person the normally reserved Luka told everything to. Caylie...had to know everything about sangferia , and since Spencer was no idiot...

Etienne was at the library in seconds, and the first thing he saw were the track marks of dried tears on Spencer's beautiful face.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Despair and regret shot through Etienne. Once again, Spencer had caught him lying before he could tell her the truth, and this time...this time, he wasn't sure at all if she had it in her to forgive him.

IT HAD STARTED WITH a phone call . Caylie Sonora, a Caro heiress, was on the phone , Anderson had told her while she was at the library, trying to get through another chapter on Caro history. And at the butler's assurance that Caylie was in good terms with his master, she had taken the call and was immediately greeted with a sweet, feminine voice from the other end.

Caylie, as it turned out, was quite the fun-loving chatterbox, and it had surprised Spencer to realize that this was also the same Caylie she often read about in society pages. Apparently, 'hiding in plain sight' was common practice among their kind, and why numerous celebrities and famous figures were of their race.

After that, what was supposed to be a short courtesy call with Caylie inviting Spencer to another party she was hosting ( 'I was supposed to meet you the other night, but you guys never showed up) turned into a Q&A session, with Caylie assuring her she was free to ask any questions about their race. Most other Caros are stuck-ups, Caylie had told her, so I'm your best bet as a reference person.

One thing led to another, and when they started swapping about each other's love stories, it was then Caylie unknowingly dropped a bombshell on Spencer. You got tested for sangferia, too, didn't you?

Sangferia, she had asked.

Virgin's blood, Caylie had translated. Etienne is sort of like the Elon Musk of our race, and he's the one who discovered about how a virgin's blood, if proven chemically compatible with a Caro male, could increase the latter's strength...

And that was when Spencer's heart had started to break.

"I'm sorry."

The tautly spoken words drew Spencer out of her reverie, and a gasp escaped her when she found Etienne already down on one knee in front of her. His beautiful face was harsh with regret, and it hurt to see him that way. But what hurt even more was how she couldn't stop thinking of the way he had kept lying to her.

"It was you," she said stiltedly. "Wasn't it?"

"Spencer—-"

"That's why there were all those weird requirements for blood tests. Because you wanted to find a woman whose sangferia would be compatible with your blood. That was you. That night—-" Oh God. It hit her all of a sudden, how humiliatingly stupid she might have seemed to him that night, to not know it was her own boss who had bought her virginity...

Etienne's chest nearly caved at the look of devastation on her face. "I'm sorry," he repeated hoarsely.

"Why didn't you tell me it was you?"

"I couldn't risk it," he said hollowly. "The survival of our race was at stake."

"And after? When you knew I did it because I was in love with you?"

"You already left me once when you found out I lied about not knowing how you felt about me—-"

"So you lied to me again?" she asked bitterly.

"I'm sorry." It was all he could say, and he had to clench his fists against the urge to reach for her. "I was a fucking coward. All I could think about at that time was not hurting you and risk losing you again."

" God ..." A painful laugh escaped her. "I was so silly. I thought...because you're what you are, I thought, the problems we'd have...it would be different from other couples. That we'd be worrying about vampire attacks, hiding the truth of your nature...but instead, every time we...it's because you lied to me, and it's such a cliché. Such a stupid, human thing—-"

"It's not a matter of race," he cut in rawly. "I just fucked up. And I know. I knew from the start I should've told you. I planned to. But when I saw how much it hurt you to think about that night, it was why I asked you..."

She knew exactly what he was talking about.

Remembered that time when he had asked her about that night.

But it wasn't enough.