Ally sighed as she got into the back of the car. Jared had a way of getting under her skin and making her feel bad for no reason. He was constantly judging her. She could feel his scowl of disapproval every time she was stuck with him. All the rest of the guards seemed to enjoy her company and she never understood what his problem was with her.

When Jared got in she saw him glance in the rearview mirror. “Back to the hotel Princess, or were there more stores you wanted to hit?”

“Hotel will be fine,” Ally said thinking she would rather just order room service and lounge in the tub before her date tonight.

Ally gazed out the window watching the people walking around, noticing all the happy couples holding hands. She hated to admit it but she was very jealous of her baby sister who had recently found the love of her life and married the Dragon King. Ally wanted nothing more than to be happily married and to stay home and raise a houseful of babies to love. She was all prepared to do just that, but then her father died. Once her mother had taken over the clan, the Romans broke the peace and attacked them. In their eyes women were not equipped to rule. After the first attack Ally had run to her fiancé for help. But when he laughed at her and told her that he would gladly help if her mother was willing to make him the leader of her clan, she realized that he had never loved her. He was marrying her because of what he could get from her. Ally decided right there, if men could marry for what they could get from her, she would do the same. She would never be dumb enough to believe the pretty words that men told her.

That worked well until she saw Viktor look at her baby sister. To be honest the more time she spent with the dragon shifters the more she started to question herself. Her eyes went to the back of Jared’s head. He must have recently cut his hair, which was a shame because she loved the way his hair curled at the bottom.

Ally hated how, when he was near her, she couldn’t stop the way her stomach seemed to jump, and her heart seemed to race. She wondered if he knew her response to him and if that was why he always seemed angry with her and called her Princess in that tone.

When they got to the hotel she waited for him to open her door and she slid out. She resisted the urge to look over at him while he got her stuff and instead walked into the hotel. She was excited about her night out. He was a wolf shifter she’d met when Kassandra had invited pack leaders to meet with Damian and Warrick. He was the alpha of his pack and had lost his mate years ago. She didn’t know how it would work since she wasn’t his mate, but he had laughed and told her that it wasn’t a problem. He also convinced her to give it a try and meet up with him.

When she got to the elevator, she waited for Jared who was surprisingly close behind, carrying her bags. “Here Princess, let me get that for you,” he said with a smirk on his ridiculous kissable lips as he reached past her to push the up button.

She ignored him and stepped into the elevator as soon as the door opened. He got in behind her and she pushed the button to her floor before he could say anything. It was just the two of them in the small space and all she could smell was him. He always smelled so good. She often wondered if it was just him or did he have some cologne that all men should be wearing? He smelled clean, fresh, and manly.

It was hard to pretend to ignore him when they were in small spaces. Jared always seemed to run hot and radiate heat. She wanted nothing more than to lean into him. Well, at least until she looked at him and saw that look of contempt he always seemed to have when he was looking at her. The inside of the elevator door was polished so much she could make him out perfectly. Jared’s jaw was clenched so tight she thought it would break and he looked awkward carrying her bags. She should have bought a bunch of fun panties and lingerie and made him carry them around.

He turned to look at her and she blushed knowing he must somehow sense her amusement. When the door opened she said a small prayer of thanks and stepped from the elevator to the hallway. Her suite was one of four on this level and was closest to the elevator. If she had to guess, Jared had set that up, she was never in any trouble, but he took his job very seriously.

She opened the door and walked into the grand front room. She loved staying here; it wasn’t like staying in a hotel but a mini luxurious apartment. She could have a party with at least twenty guests and be comfortable. There was a giant private balcony that extended from the front room to her grand master suite.

“Put the bags anywhere, I’m going to soak in the tub,” she said as she stepped into her room. Discarding her clothes as she went, Ally started the water for the tub. There was nothing she loved more than a hot bath. Adding in vanilla bath scents and bubbles she smiled thinking that a glass of wine would be amazing. She decided to go and check out what the bar had to offer.

Having already stripped down to just her thong and not seeing her bags in the room yet she bit her lip as she opened the door to her bedroom just a sliver to see if she could see Jared. Her bags where in the front room and there was no hint of him. Ally let out a sigh. Thinking he must have gone to his room, she decided to be quick and grab what she could and bring it back to her room.

The bar was closer to his door and she stepped from the room walking quickly, stepping around the bar and looking at the wines on display. Bending over she smiled when she saw one of her favorite vintages. Before she could pick it up she felt someone watching her.

“Shit,” she whispered under her breath grabbing the wine and straightening up. She closed her eyes. With anyone else she would be worried that he would be thinking she was hitting on him but not Jared. His face would be disapproving, and she bet she could see the pulse in his jaw.

When she turned around she kept her back straight and did the only thing she could think of. “Oh Jared, would you mind opening this and bringing me a glass and the bottle.”

Without waiting for a reply, she left the bottle on the bar counter and, with her head held high, went back to the bathroom to check her water. Once in the bathroom she turned off the faucet saying a small prayer of thanks that she hadn’t taken more time out there or the tub might have started to overflow, giving Jared one more thing to step in and correct her about.

Ally stepped into the tub and sighed as she leaned back against the high back. She felt her body relax as the bubbles came up just enough to cover most of her. A soft knock on the door startled her awake. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw Jared standing in the doorway, a glass in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other.

“Your wine, Princess,” Jared said as he stepped into the bathroom.

Ally smiled, surprised that he’d done as she asked. When she leaned forward to grab the glass from him she felt the cold air as her chest raised from the warm water. Jared’s eyes went from their normal hazel to almost black and his nostrils flared before he thrust the glass into her hand. Without a word, he set the bottle down and stormed out of the bathroom.

The complete silence of the room was broken when she heard a door slam shut. It was far enough away that she knew it must have been his bedroom door. She frowned as she leaned back, taking a sip of her wine. Jared always seemed to be mad at her but he’d never acted like he had just now and she wondered what had brought that on.