ANGEL'S FORBIDDEN LUST Read online

  She means nothing to me, I told myself. She was damned anyway. Nothing and no one could change that.

  “This way, Princess.” I gestured toward the south exit that led to a flight of stairs. At the top of the staircase, I offered her my hand, but she declined it.

  She glided down the stairs and treaded on the cobblestone walkway.

  In two long strides, I fell in step beside her.

  Her ladies-in-waiting stayed close to us, too close, as did her royal guards. They were trying to be inconspicuous as they eavesdropped. I’d waved the angel guards away and they trailed in the distance, so at least my brother’s spies wouldn’t hear the conversation between the princess and me.

  “The king’s library is near his chamber. Is your true intention to spy on him and his mistress?” I asked, testing her.

  “You’re the spymaster, High Prince,” she said, almost sweetly. “And do I look a curious or possessive type to you?”

  “You won’t need to be either if you don’t plan to truly wed King Agro.”

  She wheeled around to me, dark fire flashing in her whiskey-colored eyes.

  My heart stuttered and my cock jerked forward.

  “That’s a treacherous thing to say, High Prince,” she said with a feral smile.

  “I say what’s in my mind and heart,” I said coldly.

  She laughed silkily. At the same time her scent flitted around me like it had wings of its own. “Sorry, but did I mishear you? They say angels have no hearts. To compensate for that, your kind has minds that are too vivid and imaginations too wild. I can see that’s probably why you speculated that I wanted to get out of this marriage with King Agro. Or is it your desire to shatter our union like other conspirators? Your brother will be so thrilled to learn just that.”

  “We don’t need hearts to conquer other worlds,” I said, “as we conquered yours.”

  Instantly the dark fire swirled back into her, as if she wanted to set me ablaze and then send me straight to hell. Strangely, that only turned me on more. My cock arched in my trousers, and I pictured shoving her against the trimmed high bushes behind her, lifting her gown up to her waist, pulling the string of her panties aside if she wore any, and shoving my hard shaft inside her. And pounding her again and again.

  I shifted my weight and turned slightly aside to stop myself from actually acting on that wicked thought. Neither the princess nor anyone else could know the girl had awoken my carnal desire.

  She tilted her head, a predatory light sparkling in her eyes. “Your kind hasn’t conquered the whole Earth.”

  “We breached your unbreakable magic walls, didn’t we?” I said with a lopsided grin. “We haven’t taken it yet the way we seized Atlantis because we decided to be leisurely and savor it. Why rush, when we have all the time on Earth?”

  “You might not have as much time as you think you have, Prince Seth.”

  “Are you planning to stop us then, Princess Rose?” I taunted. “You might not be a jealous or possessive type, but I can see you’re one who likes a challenge.”

  “Aren’t your angels the unstoppable force?” she said flatly. “So who would want to challenge such a force?”

  Was she actually resigned to her fate?

  In less than two months, she would end up in my brother’s bed, first being sexually abused or even tortured, then drained of her magic.

  She’d be dead either way.

  An unexpected nausea cut into me.

  I cursed under my breath. Why did I care?

  My burning desire for her answered it. Even her biting attitude couldn’t cool the lust. As it pumped into my heart, it beat harder than I’d ever remembered. My close proximity to her only made it worse, yet I didn’t want to tear myself away.

  This nineteen-year-old girl would never have a chance to live her life to the full, and she wasn’t going to have a good time in Atlantis even before her doom. Maybe I should be less harsh with her.

  “Princess,” I heard myself saying, my tone softer. “I think I owe you an apology for my former behavior when you first arrived. I did not mean to scare you.”

  Not slowing her pace, she turned to me with widened eyes and a fake innocent expression. “What did you do to scare me?”

  She wasn’t one to let go easily, I saw. In the past, I wouldn’t even bother with any female’s disapproval. But for some stupid reason, I felt a sudden need to change her perception of me. I hadn’t intended to frighten her. Her scent had assaulted me first, so it wasn’t my fault that I’d dove toward her on that bridge.

  But I couldn’t explain that to her.

  “I apologized,” I emphasized. She should be honored. I never apologized to anyone.

  “Oh.” She sucked in her cheeks and her lips formed a lovely, yet mocking circle before she let out the words of surprise. “Were you apologizing for sniffing at me and my ladies-in-waiting like we were bones, fanning me with those glossy, peacock-like wings of yours, and charging at me with claws and a blade in the throne room?”

  I frowned. “Peacock-like?”

  “There’s no need to apologize, High Prince, when it actually sounded like a triumph. Plus, I thought your performance at my arrival was a typical angel’s heart-warming welcome.”

  My frown deepened as I led her toward the king’s library. “First, I didn’t exactly sniff at you,” I said. “Second, my wings aren’t peacock-like. Not even close. Third, I have no claws. And the last, I didn’t hurt you or your guards even after you greatly offended me in court. I took off and left the victory to you.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “So, instead of accepting your apologies, I should thank you?”

  “We can start with forgiving each other,” I said, then growled at myself for being soft. This unbridled lust was turning me into a different male, who was all too strange and pathetic. But maybe my gentler approach could disarm her.

  “Why do you even care if I forgive you?” she asked.

  “I don’t, actually,” I blurted out, then stopped myself. Hadn’t I decided on a mellow approach? I’d started contradicting myself constantly. “But if you’re going to be my—” I took a breath and amended, “—my sister-in-law, then we should try to get along.”

  The word “sister-in-law” tasted bad in my mouth.

  “I’m confused,” she said. “Didn’t you accuse me a minute ago of not planning a future with the king?”

  Did she always have to be the pain in the butt?

  “So you contest that my opinion was unfair?” I asked.

  “You tell me. From what I’ve learned, your angels hate the idea of interracial marriage.”

  “What I heard is that Mysthians are the most notorious racists on Earth.”

  She sneered, then lifted her chin, purposefully ignoring me as she headed toward the royal garden. At its end was the king’s gallery and library. She seemed to know where she was going.

  The garden, cascading with blue jasmine, was a combination of the art and engineering of the Dragonian. At its center was a statue of a naked male angel embracing a mortal female, his arm wrapped around her waist possessively, his other hand cupping her small breast. The female bent backward, as if enthralled.

  Fountains poured out from the angel’s spread wings and his huge penis.

  The Dragonian had sculpted this before we’d arrived on Earth. It was as if they’d expected us—the master from the sky—to come to their world.

  The princess cast a disdainful look at the statue. Knowing her, she might be cursing the Dragonian for sending the beacons into the universe to call us to Earth, or complaining about the size of the angel’s manhood. She did steal a quick glance at the angel’s erection and blushed.

  I chuckled. “I didn’t expect that the Dragonian were a sensual race.”

  Dragonian weren’t an attractive species. They were a hairless, blue-skinned, and flat-nosed race, with luminous cat-like eyes that always flashed with greediness and neediness.

  From my spies’ reports, I knew the f
ormer Dragonian chief had asked for the hand of the Princess of Mysth for his elder son and received a harsh rebuke from Emperor Oberon.

  Mysthians were considered the most superior species in beauty, art, and magic. Though they had different skin tones and hair colors, all Mysthians had perfect symmetrical features. Some were more beautiful than others, and Princess Rose was the fairest. Her people called her the Morning Star of Mysth.

  They regarded every species beneath them, and they considered the Dragonian close to reptile, despite the engineer race’s intelligence and their advancements in science and technology.

  The two races were also the opposite in food choices. The Dragonians were carnivores, and Mysthians were vegetarians and wine drinkers. Mysthians were forever turned off by the smell of goat-cheese from the Dragonian.

  They’d been at the edge of war with each other, until we came to their hometown and grabbed the top spot on the food chain.

  I didn’t care how hard it was for the earthlings to swallow their pride while we angels, the mightiest race in universe, dominated their planet. Fight us or suck it up.

  Since the Mysthian princess hadn’t really sucked up, I deducted that she might have debated fighting. “What is the real reason you want to go to the king’s library that bores every angel to no end, Princess Rose Jekaterina Faylinn?” I asked.

  She gave me a cold sidelong look as I called her full name. “Even if I give you a thousand true reasons, you’re going to suspect every one of them.”

  “Offer me one then,” I said. “I’m merely curious.”

  “I can do better than one,” she said. “Shouldn’t I, the bride of the king of the conquerors of the universe, pay homage to his war spoils? Shouldn’t I, the future queen of the conquerors of the Earth, study and understand your angel culture, in order to lead my future, mighty angel subjects? As the High Prince of All Angels, would you prefer to keep your future queen in the dark? Isn’t higher education and science the key to the advanced civilization that your angels have brought to Earth? I believe the word you angels use is enlightenment, as in the speech your king made to the Earth residents upon your arrival. Your beings are the new light in our backwoods planet. So shine your light on me.”

  She’d never rule the angels as my brother’s consort queen. She knew it very well, so she mocked me again.

  “You’re all teeth, Princess,” I said.

  She pulled her lips back and bared them. “And they’re very even and pearl white.”

  I stared at her teeth, then her lips. An image of them on the head of my cock slammed into my mind. I shifted uncomfortably and adjusted the front of my trench coat to cover my large erection.

  I forced frostiness into my eyes. Glaciers were part of my essence, and now I had to conjure them to conceal the burning lust in me.

  The day this fey female spotted my desire would be the end of me.

  “Plus, I like books, especially books from other cultures,” she toned down.

  Time flowed fast when I was with her, even bantering. We stood in front of a vanilla-colored, neo-electric building with a sharp angled roof.

  “The king’s gallery,” I said.

  “Thank you, Your Highness,” the princess said. “My ladies-in-waiting and I can handle it from here. You and your boys enjoy the sunshine in the garden.”

  “Are you sure, Princess?”

  “Yes! I’ll read a book or stare at a painting for hours. I don’t want you to be bored. As you said, the library bores every angel to no end.”

  “But I’m not just every angel,” I said. “With such a pleasant companion as you, I won’t even be slightly bored. Never.”

  She dropped all the niceness. “Can you take a hint?” the princess hissed. “I want to be left alone. I want to have some breathing room and not be bothered by anyone. That includes you!”

  “Unfortunately, you were born a princess, so you’ll forever be bothered, either by the likes of me or someone else. I take my job as the head of your security very seriously. And,” I stressed, “the royal library isn’t for a public sighting. It opens only for the royal bloodline. I mean the royal bloodline of angels. Since my brother isn’t around, I’m your only ticket to get in.”

  She bit her lip. “And you just remembered to tell me now?”

  “You didn’t ask, and I didn’t expect you’d leave me behind.”

  “Does the central library also require your special royal bloodline’s biometric signature?”

  “The central library is a public library. Would you like to go there instead?”

  “Well,” she said, “since we’re already here, we should just go with it. But I don’t want a huge crowd. Four of us will do: you, my ladies-in-waiting, and me.”

  One of her maids was a warrior. If the princess and her blond guard believed they could take me, then they would be deeply disappointed.

  Her proposal suited me well. It would offer me an opportunity to observe her without my brother’s guards to spy on us. I kept a blank expression, not showing any eagerness at her arrangement.

  “You don’t think I’ll be a threat to a mighty warrior like you, or do you, Prince Seth?”

  “I actually prefer threats, Princess Rose,” I said. “But I promise I won’t bite.”

  “You bite,” she said, “and I’ll bite back harder.”

  I chuckled, then dropped my laughter as I felt the heat from my erection at her words.

  Chapter 15

  PRINCE SETH

  The princess padded beside me under the soaring ceilings of the king’s library.

  Her lady-in-waiting trailed closely behind us, hanging on our every word. My back was exposed to her hostile guard, but she did not concern me. My reflexes, honed over an eon, would block any attack from behind. I could end the blonde with one blow if she so much as touched me.

  The princess gave the hall a quick survey, paying attention to every exit, wall, and entrance to side chambers. She took in everything with her peripheral sight, aware that I was watching her.

  The gallery didn’t have as many war plunders as my brother had bragged about. The most treasured items and secret weapons were kept in the vault, and I was the only one who had full access, which irked my brother endlessly.

  The princess skimmed her gaze over antique swords, jewelry, and paintings. Her interest wasn’t in any of them.

  I didn’t believe she had come here to read. When we reached a high bookshelf rising to a hundred feet, I tested her. “What do you want to read, Princess? Some books are on the top shelf, but I can get them for you.”

  “Thank you, Your Highness,” she said, “but I can pick my own book.”

  She passed by me and scuttled between two high shelves stacked with dozens of books in all forms.

  “If you’re curious about the books on the top shelves,” I offered, “I can fly you up.” Then I caught my over-eagerness. I was actually trying to find an excuse to touch her. “I suppose you aren’t afraid of the height?”

  She gave me a deadpan look. “I’m not afraid of the height.”

  “I promise I won’t drop you.”

  “Thank you for your niceness,” she said, “but I’ll start from the bottom.”

  She browsed the titles and picked one of the thickest hard covers. Carrying the big book, she found a soft seat near a side window.

  She then turned one page after another, fixing her sole attention on the content, completely engrossed. Her maids stood on each side of her, ready to attend to her every whim at the rise of her eyebrows.

  I sank into the chair across from her.

  The book wasn’t written in the Mysthian language. There weren’t any graphic references on the pages either. The princess kept leafing through them slowly, forgetting the world all around her.

  The girl was trying to bore me to tears to make me go away.

  Sunlight sifted through the window, willingly trapped in her thick lashes and shimmering in her hair. Her soft appearance was but an illusion. The Prince
ss of Mysth guarded herself to the teeth.

  She was indeed the most stunning creature I’d ever seen. I’d thought her beauty had no effect on me, but now it began to exact its revenge.

  I maintained my usual steely look. I wouldn’t let her spot the slightest appreciation of her lovely form in my eyes. She didn’t seem to mind my hard exterior, as if she’d expected no less.

  Her enemy. She regarded me as her sworn enemy. She regarded all angels as her immortal enemies.

  That was why she’d acted with calculated ruthlessness ever since she’d come to Atlantis.

  No one had seen though her masquerade. No one except me.

  The shadow of the sunbeam shifted in the room. Her scent, rising like unseen mist, drifted down to me.

  Biting back a dark curse, I adjusted my long coat where it draped over my groin, my hands crossing over my bulging erection and pressing it down. Was I going to have this hard-on the whole day in her presence?

  My wings unfurled in annoyance.

  The princess raised her head and looked at me. “Prince Seth,” she said sweetly, “I’m going to read this book for a long time. If you have other business to attend to, don’t mind me. When you come back, I’ll still be here.”

  “My only business is to keep you safe,” I said, “and I’m not bored at all. Libraries and museums and galleries are my favorite places. I can do this all day and all night.”

  “Then shouldn’t you also find a book to read?” She pointed to a far corner. “There’s a nice, quiet place.”

  She wanted to keep me in the distance, even for a few minutes.

  “I like where I am,” I said. “I’m very comfortable.” I flashed her a grin, and she stared at my teeth. Females liked the way I grinned, though I seldom smiled. But there was no appreciation in the princess’s eyes. She looked like she wanted to smack my head with that thick book.

  “By the way, Princess,” I added, “the book you’re reading is upside down.”

  “I used to read books upside down for fun,” she said. “There is no need to change a habit now.”

  “Then you must be a genius,” I said, “to read an upside down book that isn’t written in any Earth language. It isn’t even in an angelic language. Do you have linguistic training from another universe that I am not aware of?”