Chapter 10

I gripmy phone tightly and an ominous cracking noise emanates from it. I toss it towards one of my men. I know I'm going to need a new one. What the fuck happened while I was gone? I left my princess satisfied in bed only to find out now she's trying to escape my castle.

Before I left I made sure to have a small army keep an eye on her for me. It was intended to protect her rather than stopping her from leaving. Either way, I'm glad now that I did it. I never thought about how they would stop her if she did try to leave, given my strict order that no one touch her.

The order had come from pure jealousy. How could any man look at her and not want to touch her? So I made it clear that anyone who did wouldn"t breathe to tell anyone about how soft her skin is. If I could I would tell them not to even look at her, but even I know that's over the top. They wouldn't be able to protect her that way, and I couldn"t keep her locked away in our room, no matter how much I like that idea.

I pick up the pace back to the car, sliding into the back seat when the driver opens the door. "Get me back now," I order. I should have stayed at the castle, but I wanted to make sure things were done, and done the way I wanted.

When the castle comes into view, relief fills me just knowing I'm closer to her. The car doesn"t even come to a stop before I'm jumping out and running up the stairs. I hear John shout my name, but I ignore him. He's just going to bitch about my safety and I have more important matters to deal with.

I jog towards our room, but slow down when I see the head guard I put on Kate, Grant, standing there.

"What the fuck happened?" I ask. Whoever upset her is going to face my wrath, and it won"t be good.

"Nicolette Court has been detained and is being held in John's office."

I tense at the mention of Nicolette's name and know it's no coincidence after what my mom told me earlier. She did something.

"She was in your office."

"And how the fuck was that possible?" I yell.

"She came with her father, Dexter, but slipped away from him and ventured over to your office. Claimed she was looking to speak to you. That you wouldn"t mind." The way Grant says it makes it sound like she implied we were having some secret affair. I give him a hard look.

"I knew better than that, sir. Why we are holding her, he adds quickly.

"Give me the rest of it," I tell him, knowing there is more and he is not excited to tell me.

"Kate was given free rein, as you told us. When she went into your office, I didn"t stop her."

I close my eyes, knowing where this is going. "I'll deal with this later," I tell him as I walk past him and head for my room.

"Her father, sir," I hear Grant say from behind me.

"He can fuck off," I throw back, not giving a shit. When I open my door, I growl when I don't see my Kate anywhere. I search the room, double-checking the bathroom. I know she is in this wing of the castle. That's why her guards are at the end of the hallway, waiting in case she leaves again.

I pause at the door and know she must be in one of the other rooms. I start flinging opening doors in search of her. I'll rip this place apart until I find her. When I get to the last room, I turn the knob but it's locked.

"Princess," I call out, but she doesn"t respond. "Do you really thinking a locked door will keep me away from you?" I ask. Again, no response.

"Stand back because I'm kicking the door in," I shout. I don't want her to get hurt in the process. I could call for a key, it's the civilized thing to do, but then I'd have to wait, and I'm done waiting, especially if my princess is upset. She can try and put up all the walls she wants, but I'll show her I will only rip them all down to get to her. There will be no space between us.

"Fine." She flings open the door before I can throw my shoulder into it. She marches past me. I go to grab her, but she sidesteps me. I have to fight a small laugh at the angry look she tries to give me, but even in her anger she's fucking adorable. I keep myself under control, knowing that smiling right now will not get me any points. I don't stop her as she marches towards our room. I only follow and lock the door behind us, knowing now I have her right where I want her.

She puts her hands on her narrow waist, fire lighting in her eyes, but I can tell she has been crying. I like this spark she's showing, but the tears I know she shed cut deep. It reignites the anger I felt moments ago. I push it down because I know I need to be soft with her. She might have some fire right now, but she's all soft and sweet under it. In fact, I think she's using her feistiness now so that she doesn"t cry in front of me. I don't like the idea of her trying to hide any part of herself from me.

"I will not be a mistress," she throws out.

"No," I agree, clearing the distance between us and picking her up. She squeals in surprise, but her body melts into mine as she places her small hands on my chest, reminding me how little she is compared to me and that I need to be gentle with her. "I've never had a mistress, nor will I have one. I'll have a wife."

In my conversations with her, I've been dancing around what she'll be to me, because I don't want to scare her. I know it's fast and I want to ease her into it, but the word mistress has put me on edge. For her to think she would ever be such a thing snapped that razor-thin control I had, and now I have no qualms about letting her know she's going to be mine in every way.

Her fingers dig into my shirt, grabbing tightly. "I met her," she cries, her eyes filling with tears. She thinks she caught me in a lie. "No, you met a liar. I've never touched that woman," I grit out. The idea of touching that woman makes my stomach turn. I don't even want to say her name out loud.

Nicolette is nothing but a spoiled brat, which would be almost forgivable if it wasn"t for her behavior. Her attitude is the only that that makes her memorable and clearly not in a good way.

"I won't lie to you, Kate. There are many women who want to marry me." Her face scrunches up in distaste, but I press on. I want to get this out there so there won't ever be confusion on the subject again. "They want my title, want to be queen and have a cushy life."

"I don't care about any of that," she cuts in.

She's telling me something I already know. She's too sweet for that. She's not a user. "I know." I kiss the end of her nose, watching her face soften for me. "You want what I want. Love. A family. All of it."

"I'd like that more than anything in the whole world. To just be happy."

"If you let me, I'll give you that. Let me prove it. Don't fight it."