Stealing His Princess by Goode, Ella (classic novels txt) 📕

dug into him, all it said was that years ago he partied a lot. There was never any talk of who he was dating.

When I hear the elevator ding, my heart starts to race. If Milly is with him then I know he was only after one thing tonight. The elevator doors start to open, and I step back toward the stairs, ready to make my escape. He had invited me up here.

Then I hear a soft feminine laugh, making my heart drop and my eyes burn with tears. I don’t wait to see who it is.

“Mackenzie!” I hear my name shouted, but I don’t stop as I rush down the stairs, darting onto a random floor to make my escape.

He’s no Prince Charming at all.

Chapter Nine Sov

“Let her go. She needs time to cool down,” Alex advises, grabbing my arm. I shake her off, but by the time I get to the stairs, Mackenzie is gone. There are no footsteps echoing in the stairwell, only a scattering of gold dust from her dress. I lean down and pick up some of the jewels that had come free and tuck them in my pocket.

Zero leans over the railing to scan for signs of life.

“She’s small and wearing a dress. She’s on the floor beneath us or above us,” I suggest.

He straightens. “Could be two or three if she’s quick.”

“Let’s search.”

We aren’t as efficient as I hope because Zero won’t split up my bodyguards. He’s reluctant to leave my side, and I only get him to search the upper floors after swearing on my mother’s life I won’t abandon the security detail. I don’t find Mackenzie. There are a few other guests in the halls, and I question them, but they know nothing. The trail of golden gems started and stopped on the stairs.

“Fuck.” I want to punch something, but I’m Sov Charmont, and I don’t engage in that behavior. Instead, I stomp back up to my floor and nearly blow off the doors to my suite.

Alex, my old boarding school friend, jumps a half mile in the air. “Shit, Sov, you scared me.”

I stalk over to the bar and pour myself a glass of whiskey. “You didn’t find her?” she asks.

“What do you think?” I down the contents and refill the glass. After my third drink, I feel mildly placated. I pour the remainder of the bottle into my tumbler, yank off my tie, and throw myself onto the sofa across from Alex. Over the rim of the glass, I eye her. “Tell me the story of how a woman with three brothers and a father is in the Vieth compound.”

Alex waves her champagne flute in the air. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that whole story about Karin Vieth bringing in all these abandoned waifs to mother.”

“They aren’t called the Vieth Orphans for nothing.”

“It’s a story, Sov, designed to play on your need to be the chivalrous knight.”

“Does your daddy know you’re here?”

She scowls. “No and you better not tell him either. He and my brothers think I’m taking an extended spa vacation at an all-female retreat in Montana.”

“You’re in a city. People are bound to talk.”

“I haven’t left the Vieth territory since I arrived two months ago.”

As I sip on the whiskey, Parker arrives to remove my shoes and socks. He has me stand up and slides the tightly fitted jacket off my frame.

“If you’ve been here two months, then you know who the girl in yellow is.” The two valets carry over a dressing screen and proceed to remove all traces of my evening attire, replacing the military finery with sleep pants, a T-shirt, and a robe. I tighten the sash and nod for them to take the screen away.

Alex arches an eyebrow. “You didn’t need the screen. There isn’t anything you have that I’ve not seen before.”

“The Prince is not an object to be ogled,” Parker sniffs. He doesn’t approve of Alex or having a woman who is not fit to be my wife in my vicinity.

“Good God, Parker. I can’t believe you’re still here. Shouldn’t you retire and be on an island somewhere with hot cabana boys waving banana leaves over your head?”

“I would never.” Parker nearly quivers with indignation.

“Anyway.” Alex rolls her eyes. “I don’t know your girl. The one in yellow, right?”

I nod.

“Never seen her before. Maybe she was a guest.”

“Parker—”

“I’ll get right on it, sir.” He gives a slight bow and whisks away the valets to his own quarters.

“You never even finished your sentence.” Alex is impressed.

“He’s getting me the guest list, and that’s precisely why he’s still here. He knows what I want without me having to ask for it. But you are not Parker, so I must ask. Why, Alex, have you left the comforts of your home to be here at the Vieth territory? Is it reconnaissance?”

“I wish. As if my father thinks I am capable of anything but to sit home and look pretty. No, I’m here for freedom, Sov. I want to make my own choices in life, and Vieth makes that happen.”

“What must you do for that freedom?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know yet. I’m still getting a feel here.”

“Find me the girl in yellow, and I will give you enough money to be free without owing anything to your father or to Karin Vieth.”

Alex freezes. “Do you mean that?”

“I’ll give you money and property.”

She leans forward. “What did this girl do to you? Did she insult your mother? Commit a crime in your territory? Steal something? I’ve never seen you this desperate.”

“Yes, she stole something, and I want it back.” Even though I only held her for a few moments, she has awoken a hunger inside me. I need it appeased. I won’t be able to function until I sink my cock into her sweet pussy, until I feel her coming undone in my arms. She’s stolen my peace of mind at the very least and I want it—and her—back.

“Find