I take a deep breath in, my eyes filling with tears.
A knock on the door sounds. I whirl, cursing my emotions for running wild. Carefully swiping at my eyes, I call out.
“Just a moment!”
I check the mirror, telling myself to lock those damn emotions away for now. After making sure that I look okay, I call out again. “Come in!”
The door opens and Erik enters, his expression stormier than usual. He is wearing a dark suit that fits him like a glove. as though he was just called down off of a runway. He shoots his cuffs, running a hand through his neatly combed hair.
“What is this?” he asks, waving a tabloid paper at me. He tosses the newspaper onto the table, pinning me with a glare. “When did this happen?”
I flush but raise my head a little, running my hands down the front of my dress. “Months ago. It must’ve been a slow news day.”
He folds his arms across his chest, starting to prowl the room. “This isn’t good, Annika. You aren’t supposed to be covering any papers. What did you do to get the attention of the paparazzi?”
I give his words a little huff of disbelief. “I was born into the royal family, for starters. Do you know that when I was only two years old, a paper published photos of me and called me chunky?”
He stills. “No.”
I shake my head, turning back to the mirror to put my earrings in. “I have had a contentious relationship with the press since I had the gall to draw breath. The Danish people claim to love me. But they also buy every single paper that says nasty things about me so…”
I shrug helplessly.
Erik’s tawny green-brown gaze spears me when I turn around. He’s closer than I thought he was… almost close enough to touch.
My gaze dips down from his face to his impressive physique, exceptionally showcased in that tight white button-up and his tautly fitted black wool jacket. He’s dreamy, I’ll give him that.
“You can’t be doing anything to capture the attention of the paparazzi,” he says solemnly.
I roll my eyes. “Like you know anything about it. You just got here. Give yourself a minute to settle in and see how insane it all is.”
I walk past him, bumping his shoulder intentionally. But I don’t expect his reflexes to be so good that he catches me just as I brush against him.
Erik’s hands clamp around my arms. Eyes widening, I look up into his elegant face with its savage expression. His body presses against mine tightly. His hands control my every movement.
This close, he could kiss me. He could ravage me. He could even really hurt me. When he speaks, his deep voice slides down my spine like a chill.
“I don’t think you understand the implications of what we’re dealing with,” he grates out.
My gaze drops to his mouth. I bite my lip. “Oh, no?” I ask. My mouth curves upward, unbidden.
He gives me a little shake. “Be serious, Annika.”
I look him in the eye, raising a brow. “And if I am not?” I ask quietly. “What will you do with me then?”
He bristles. His hands press into the flesh of my arms so hard that they may leave me bruised. It’s obvious from this close that Erik is so much bigger than I am, that his height and weight mean he can haul me around with ease or even genuinely hurt me if he really wants to.
And though I don’t want to admit it, I think that’s what really turns me on about him. Lurking underneath that calm surface is something sleek and dangerous and calculating. It’s a little like going for a swim in a placid sea, knowing that just under the surface, a shark waits for his next meal.
“You should be punished.” His voice is gone to gravel. The anger in his expression and the volatility in his eyes is nearly frenetic; there is something almost violent mirrored in his eyes.
I open my mouth, my core clenching. “What will you do, Erik?” I look him square in the eye and toss off a haughty laugh. “What can you even do?”
If my goal is to goad him into action, to push him to a breaking point, I get exactly what I wish for. He glares down at me, sliding a hand into my mane of fair-colored hair. Fisting my hair, he tugs my head back, exposing my throat to him. My eyes widen and I stop breathing for several seconds.
“Someone should have taught you a lesson years ago,” he rasps, a cruel smile on his perfect lips. Then Erik bends his head down, placing a searing kiss on my throat.
I gasp at the feeling of his lips against my skin. But when he moves up an inch and bites my neck hard, I just shudder. I’m turned on, confused, and a little scared all at once.
Yes. Do it as hard as you want, I think.
But I don’t say that. I find myself strangely tongue tied around this furious, sexual version of Erik. He’s so uptight and controlled that seeing this side of him is fascinating and frightening and arousing all at once.
My hands come up to clutch at his arms, but he knocks them away. “Uh uh.”
His lips touch shoulder, my collarbone. Flexing his hips into me, he leaves me with no doubt that his cock is rigid. Pressed against my belly, every time he moves his hips, his cock thrusts against me hard.
I shiver as he trails hot, rough, wet kisses inward toward my breasts. He releases one of my arms and tweaks my nipple through my dress, pulling another gasp from my lips. It hurts… but there is a corresponding throb low in my body after he releases my flesh.
My body wants his. Between my tightly pressed thighs I can feel a slither of moisture slipping from my core, preparing me for him.
Erik lifts my head up, his eyes glittering. “It’s what you deserve, princess.”
I bite my lower lip, swallowing heavily. “Erik…” I manage.
His hazel eyes lock on mine. “Let’s see.”
Maintaining his brutal grip on my hair, he uses his free hand to begin rucking up my skirt. My eyes widen and I start struggling. Erik just lifts his fist clutching my hair and I wince, stilling.
“Stop resisting, Annika.”
His hand touches the inside of my thighs which is a shock to me. I feel burned, scorched by his touch. How dare he touch me like this? I push at his torso uselessly, my mouth twisting with bitter bile.
Then he looks down at my body, my white lace thong bared to his gaze. He brushes the apex of my thighs, his fingers arching in toward my core. He delves into the folds of my pussy and finds a pool of sticky moisture there. I stiffen, feeling both aroused and like I’ve been caught doing something naughty.
An involuntary shudder and a huff of breath leaves my lips. “Erik!”
He looks me in the eye, lifting a single brow. He wiggles the fingers he has pressed against me so intimately. “Don’t try to lie to me, princess. Your mouth says no, but your body says yes.”
I shake my head, trying to argue with him. “No, you don’t— “
Erik pulls my head toward his face for a brutal, devastating kiss. It leaves my lips feeling bruised and my pride feeling dimmed. At the same time, a part of me wants… more.
It makes my body ache.
He releases me suddenly, stepping back. “Before you try to fucking rattle my cage again, you’ll remember what happened here.”
Then he whirls and stalks out of the room, slamming the door behind him so loudly that it actually makes me jump. One of my hands runs across my lips. The other one is already pulling down my skirt, returning things to normal.