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My chest feels tight. I slide my hand from her hip around to the small of her back, pulling her closer. She smells like sweet summer rain. My head spins. “Sending Nathaniel to your room was as much for me as it was for you,” I admit, my voice low.
With Jazz this close to me, I can feel every movement she makes. How her breath catches, and her fingers tighten against mine. How her back arches toward me for just a moment before she forces herself to pull away.
Putting space between us, she won’t meet my eye. “I hear you’re going to make a speech tonight,” she says, staring off in the distance over my shoulder.
I’m busy staring at the curve of her neck, that space behind her ear where I’d love to brush my lips, when her words finally register. “What?”
“That’s what Will said when we walked in. He heard you were going to be asked to speak for Nord.”
“First I’ve heard about it.” I try to keep the gruffness out of my voice, but I can’t help it. I was hoping to actually enjoy my night with Jazz, but responsibilities never seem to give me any space.
The music ends, and Jazz pulls away. That’s when I notice that beside the three other couples on the floor, no one else has joined us. The whole room is just watching, until they start applauding.
Jazz turns a beautiful shade of red. I watch it creep up her neck and flush all the way to the tips of her ears, and I try to fight the smile off my face. She’s cute when she’s off-balance. When the venom is gone from her tongue.
An elderly woman approaches, wearing a simple navy dress with a sash made of shimmering gossamer fabric. Her heavy diamond necklace gleams under the chandeliers, and she drops into a non-existent curtsy before extending a silk-gloved hand toward me. “Prince Silas,” she croons.
I drop my lips to her fingers before straightening up. “Lady Connaught,” I say. “Looking radiant as always.”
She swats at me, laughing. “You’re nothing but a flirt, Prince.” Her eyes shift to Jacinthe. “Be careful around him. You’ll fall under his spell.”
“I’m immune,” she replies.
“I’m not so sure,” Lady Connaught answers with a conspiratorial wink. She glances at me again, a soft smile stretching over her lips. “I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for the Farcliff Learning Center. The funds and documents you sent over helped rebuild our curriculum from the ground up. We’ll be able to take on an extra hundred students this year. We even implemented the photography class you so generously sponsored. The kids have taken to it like fish to water. You were right about the need to offer a space for them to do something creative and visual.”
My heart warms as I nod my head. “It’s no problem at all. Glad to be of assistance.”
Lady Connaught is pulled away by her husband, and I turn to see a frown on Jazz’s face.
“The Farcliff Learning Center?”
“What, you think you know everything there is to know about me?” I grin. “How much have you been reading up on me, Jazz?”
Her blush deepens, and I pick up her hand to lay it in the crook of my elbow. “Walk with me, and I’ll tell you about it. That way I can avoid this stupid speech and spend time with you alone. Win-win.”
“You are a flirt, Silas,” she says, shaking her head. “That woman was right.”
“Except when Lady Connaught said it, it sounded like a compliment.”
13
Jazz
I let Silas lead me through a side door and down a narrow hallway. I know I should probably stay at the gala. I should observe and take notes, but…
Gosh, he smells good. It’s like a drug, soaking into my pores and turning me into a kitten who just wants to curl up in his lap and feel his hands all over me. I keep my fingers notched into his elbow and fall into step beside him. We walk through the hallways of Farcliff Castle, and I almost feel like I belong here. In this dress, with a prince on my arm, and my hair and makeup done, no one looks at me twice.
Discomfort churns in my gut, but I try to ignore it. This type of luxury—this supposed elite class of people—it’s exactly what I’ve always despised about the monarchy. I’ve made a point to not dress in luxury labels, to not do anything that might be considered ‘rich,’ and it makes me wonder how much I’ve actually denied myself.
Having people dress me and make me up today felt good. Being here with Prince Silas makes me feel special. What if there were a middle ground? What if I could enjoy the nicer things in life and still push for more representation for the people of Nord?
“I can hear your mind whirring from all the way over here,” Silas says in that low, growly voice of his. It sends shivers crashing through my stomach, and I feel my insides clench on the emptiness between my legs.
I take a deep breath before answering. “I was just wondering if I’ve been wrong to deny myself nice things for so long.”
He glances at me, frowning. “What do you mean?”
I want to tell him, to open up. I want to tell him how much it hurt to see my father treated like a lesser human. How it destroyed me when Liam Birchal tossed me aside. How everyone who knew me treated me like a leper once he spread rumors about me.
