If that was punishment, I was going to be bad more often.

Carrick was amazing in bed; well, bed and all other flat surfaces. More than amazing, he was a freaking sex god on steroids; better than any drug I’d ever tried. And I wanted more. Why had I ever wasted my time on boys? My soon-to-be husband was all man, which made for one happy Scarlett. All I wanted to do was call my sister and talk to her about the advantages of older men. Their stamina. Their knowledge.

Holy hell.

The only problem with that idea was that Ava would probably just blush and tell me to shut up. She wasn’t a prude, but she definitely didn’t want me to share about my sex life with her. I was positive her little virgin ears would probably burn if I told her about the things Carrick could do with his tongue. I loved her, but the girl seriously needed to get laid.

She would also, more than likely, tell me I needed to grow up. And I probably did—it was way past time—but that didn’t mean that I was happy about it. Carrick deserved someone worthy to be his queen, not someone who was as messed up as I was. He’d told me he always got what he wanted, but I didn’t understand why he had his sights set on me.

I walked down for breakfast to see Carrick standing at the huge floor to ceiling windows, stoically staring out into the beautiful courtyard. I wrapped my long black satin robe tighter around my waist. He was impeccably dressed, in navy blue slacks and a white button-down shirt, causing me to second-guess my decision not to dress for breakfast. He’d insisted I treat the castle as my home, but this felt odd. Apparently, I felt more at home than he did, if he was already fully-dressed and it was barely seven in the morning.

“Good morning,” I mumbled as I passed by Carrick without looking in his direction. My hands shook as I fixed myself a cup of coffee. The man made me nervous—not that I would ever let him know that—but for years, I’d admired this man from afar. Now, he was supposed to be my husband. That word alone was enough to blow my mind.

I made sure the saucer didn’t rattle and give away my nerves as I walked back to the table. There was no way I could eat like this, though. I stared at the food longingly, wishing that the normally amazing smell of pancakes and eggs wasn’t making my stomach tumble this morning.

Carrick didn’t acknowledge my presence, and I didn’t really know how to react to that, but something was definitely different with him this morning. Was he still mad at me for yesterday? I’d apologized and last night, he seemed okay, even if he was still a little miffed. I was confused about why there was such a rush for this marriage, but I also understood that this was bigger than me. His uncle had been sick for a long time, and he had to be under immense pressure, running the country in his stead. And yesterday, I’d made it worse by disappearing. I winced, a little ashamed that I’d acted like a spoiled brat.

I pushed away my plate and stood, completely disgusted with myself. If I ate anything, I would probably throw it up anyway. There was no use in wasting good food to that fate. Carrick still hadn’t turned in my direction, and I was almost out of the room before he spoke.

“We’re making our first public outing tonight.”

I turned back toward the room slowly, careful not to spill my coffee. He’d taken a few steps in my direction and was studying me, almost demanding that I tell him no.

I shivered a little.

“Okay,” I said hoarsely, my voice giving away just how anxious I was about the whole situation. He looked so damn yummy; it really wasn’t fair. Each day I denied what I wanted made me a little more desperate than the last. Here we were, two days later, and I was going insane not knowing what he was thinking. Carrick had been my fantasy guy for as long as I could remember, and it made me nervous to know that he had some type of feelings for me too.

I cleared my throat, trying to sound more confident. “Where will we be going?”

He took a few more steps and his eyes dipped to where my robe gaped open. I swallowed hard and repressed the urge to clutch it closed. Fuck that, I would hold my head high and own that shit.

His eyes burned when they met mine again. “The hospital is holding a gala in my uncle’s honor and I’ll be expected to attend. As my fiancée, your presence will be expected as well.”

I nodded once. “Of course.”

“Wear black,” he said, never breaking eye contact. “It suits you.”

I felt the blush creeping over my face and chest. It took some doing, but I refrained from letting the shiver run its way up my spine. But that voice. Carrick had to know exactly what he did to me when he spoke to me in that husky tone.

“Tonight?” I asked.

“At eight o’clock, Princess.”

He took my hand in his and placed his soft lips against my skin. This time, I couldn’t hold back the shiver. My heart pounded in my chest, just from that small touch alone.

“I’ll be ready,” I whispered.

He touched the fragile lace on the collar of the robe for a second before pushing past me and walking out of the room. I heaved a sigh of relief and sagged with the realization that I wouldn’t be able to fight my attraction to Carrick for long. There was something between us. Every time he touched me, it felt like electricity coursing through my veins. And I wanted more. He was a drug I hadn’t expected. I wondered if he knew the effect he had on me.

I mean, he knew I wanted him; there was no doubt in my mind about that. It was written all over my face, and I’d been imagining a life with him since I was a teenager. My little crush had turned into full-blown infatuation as I’d gotten older. Of course, I’d tried hard not to let myself get too carried away, but to me, he was the perfect guy. There were a few years in there, where he’d gone a little wild and crazy, experimenting with drugs and alcohol, but that just made him sexier and more dangerous in my eyes. If he’d been able to pull his shit together and run a fucking country, I could do the same.

Right?

I could hope anyway.

My day passed quickly as I picked out a dress for our night out—black, of course—and pampered myself with a manicure and pedicure. If I’d had time, I probably would’ve got a massage too, but it was late notice. I might be spoiled, but I wasn’t so demanding and selfish that I would make an entire company come to me for something so frivolous.

I was putting on my makeup, staring in the mirror and attempting to get my eyeliner just right, when there was a soft knock on my door. I frowned slightly. There were very few people who actually knew I was in Warington. I wasn’t expecting anyone for makeup or hair, and my dress had already been delivered for the evening. And Carrick would have just walked inside, since it was his room. The last person I expected to see when I opened the door was standing on the other side.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling Ava into a tight hug. “I thought you were leaving to go back home to Carleigh this morning?”

“Carrick invited me,” she smirked and put her hands on her hips. “Apparently, he knew I was already in Warington. Did you have something to do with that, little sister?”

I grinned and choked back a laugh. “Maybe. He’s just so fun to bait.”

She chuckled and walked further into the room, closing the door behind her. It took me a few seconds of staring at her to realize she really was here with me. I pulled her in for another hug, afraid she might disappear if I let her go. This was an amazing surprise, but it confused me that Carrick would go to these lengths just to make me happy. Nevertheless, I was thankful for his thoughtfulness.

“You’re engaged,” Ava breathed as she hugged me tighter. I gave her a tight-lipped smile as she pushed me out to arm’s length. “I can’t believe you’re engaged—like its official official, on TMZ and CNN official. Oh gosh, you’re going to be a queen!”

I scowled. “I am. We haven’t had any of that pomp and circumstance yet, thank goodness. I didn’t even know that Carrick had announced the engagement.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “You were never one for big showy ceremonies. I’m sure Carrick is glad for that right now, since things are going to have to be done so quickly. I also haven’t seen your name in the papers, unless it was linked with his, the past few days.” She paused. “What does he think of your…nighttime activities?”

I shrugged. “It wouldn’t be right for a queen to go out and get drunk or high, would it? I guess it’s time to grow up.”

She pulled me over to the bed and patted the seat next to her. “Scarlett, I’m just happy that you’re not—”

I shook my head. “I know you’ve been concerned, but Ava, I had it under control.”

She looked at me in disbelief. “Your security detail found you passed out in the back of a limo three weeks ago. What I don’t understand, is why you didn’t come to me if you were so upset. You need help, Scarlett.”

I turned away for a second to gather myself. We’d never actually talked about that part of my life. Ava was the good girl, the favorite, and even though I was the fuck-up, she never looked at me like that. My father hated me because he saw me as the reason his beloved wife was dead—not that he’d taken much time in finding the step-monster after her death.

“You’re the golden child. It’s hard to ruin that for you.” I took a deep breath. “Since the accident, Dad has hated me. He blamed me for what happened to Mom.”

Ava shook her head, but I took her hand in mine and continued. “I’ve always been the odd one out and I didn’t want to drag you through my hell too. Dad was interested in marrying you off to the highest bidder, since Roman was going to take over Carleigh when he finally died—which is completely unfair that our step-brother gets to be king, and you get screwed over, by the way.” She gave me a sad smile. I knew it bothered her, but she wasn’t one to make waves. So Roman would take over Carleigh, and she would allow our dad to marry her off to whoever would pay the most.

“I was just the troublemaker because I didn’t fall in line. Sometimes I needed to forget, just for one second, that my life completely sucked.”

She frowned. “Dad doesn’t hate you.”

I snorted. “The king is good at hiding his feelings from people, when he doesn’t want them to know.”

I could see that she wanted to believe the best in our father—that’s how she was—but deep down, she’d had to know it was the truth. “What has he done to make you think he hates you?”

“To him, it was my fault that Mom died in the wreck. It didn’t matter that I’d been through hell too, or that it was the paparazzi chasing us that caused the driver to swerve.” I swallowed thickly. “If I’d died in the car wreck and not Mom, he would have been much happier.”

Ava gasped softly and took my face in her hands. “You don’t truly believe that, do you?”

I couldn’t look her in the eye, because yes, I did.

With all my heart.

I pulled away and sighed. “Maybe things will be better with Carrick. I’m surprised that the king even let him pay my dowry. That’s not how all this is supposed to work. You were always supposed to be first, and we all know how he is about how things are supposed to be.”

She smiled. “Father told me that Carrick only offered for you. And he offered more than just than the dowry. So much more so that he had to accept Carrick’s offer.” I watched her mess with the items on my dresser. “He seems quite taken with you, especially if he’s willing to put up so much cash just to marry you.”

That’s something to file away and think about later.

“Does it bother you?” I asked softly.

“What? That you’re getting married before me? Not at all.” She grinned. “If anything, it gives me a few more years of freedom.”

I smiled back at her. “You’re welcome for that,” I teased, trying to break out of my spoiled mood.

She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Let’s get you ready for this night. Something tells me it’s going to be amazing.”

Ava helped me finish my makeup. I don’t know how she was able to do such a natural smoky eye, but I was incredibly thankful because most of my makeup consisted of drag queen amounts of black eyeliner. Even though we looked nothing alike—me, blonde and sunny, which was enough of a contradiction in and of itself, and her with beautiful long dark tresses—we both cleaned up nicely.

She was done in minutes. It wasn’t fair that she was so good at everything. Peopling, makeup, making our father love her. Ava was definitely the perfect one. Her dress was beautiful, a deep crimson color that looked gorgeous against her pale skin. It fit her like a glove, skimming her curves as it flowed to the ground. My dress was completely opposite, just like everything else about us. The black high low-cut dress I wore had a sweetheart neckline that accentuated my chest, instead of being long-sleeved and fitted like hers. And of course, my favorite thing about my dress was that it had pockets. Ava shook her head and grinned when I pointed them out.

In my royal opinion, all formal dresses should come equipped with pockets.

Carrick wrapped my arm through his, leading me down the sweeping staircase and into the shark tank of people he wanted to introduce me to as his fiancée. He was being the perfect gentleman tonight, which went against every story I’d ever heard about him. He’d been a wild child, messed up in the wrong things just like me, when he was younger. Scandal was normally attached to his name, not that I cared, but tonight I was the scandalous one. People turned to stare at us as we entered the large ballroom and whispered to their neighbors. It was a little disconcerting. Carrick smiled at me, and I tried to hold my head high and act like the whispers didn’t bother me.

“We were supposed to be married by now,” he grumbled, as he leaned down next to my ear. His breath tickled the hair on the back of my neck, causing my skin to prickle.

“And I’m sorry that was delayed. Maybe you’ll have to punish me again for it.”

Carrick smirked. “Sounds like a solid plan, but we just walked in the door. I’m afraid that might not look decent if we turned right back around.”

I arched an eyebrow. “You care about propriety?”

He shrugged. “I do when I’m going to be king in a matter of a few weeks.”

I felt like such an idiot. “Fair enough.”

He grabbed two glasses of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter, and handed me one. Carrick was smooth in the way only an older man could pull off. Not that thirty-nine was old, but no boy my age would have been able to pull off that maneuver and look as elegant as he did.

We made our way around the room slowly. Carrick introduced me as his fiancée to friends and dignitaries of his that I hadn’t met before. Mainly, it was the same people that were at every one of these stuffy events, but I knew it was important to keep up our image. My sister was perfect, flitting around and making nice with the people we knew and charming the ones we didn’t. It was fun seeing her in her element. She would make an amazing queen one day, but I felt inadequate. Watching her work the room made me wish that I hadn’t blown the last few years of my life in drug-induced hazes. She would clearly be the better choice for Carrick.

I got quieter as the evening wore on. My head pounded and I wanted to be at home in bed, except my bed was hundreds of miles away, and I had to get used to a new home. A new bed. I hated being unsure of myself, but lately it seemed like I lived that way.

Carrick tensed beside me and before I could turn back to him, I knew something was wrong. One glance at the beautiful woman staring daggers at me proved my intuition right. I tried not to narrow my eyes at Carrick’s ex-wife, but she was looking at Carrick like she still owned him. She approached us like a tiger might trap their prey, and I felt a prickle of unease run over my skin. The look in her eye was unnerving, but I’d never show how it affected me. The woman standing in front of us was toxic.

“Well, well, Carrick. So, you’re a cradle robber now, huh?” she sneered, glancing me up and down, clearly unimpressed with what was standing in front of her. “You’ve moved from women to children. Such a disappointing turn of events. I’m sure your uncle wouldn’t approve.”

I smirked and placed a hand on Carrick’s arm. As I spoke, I leaned in closer so no one could overhear. “Carrick isn’t into old pussy. He enjoys when he doesn’t have to use an entire bottle of lube to fuck.”

The bitch sucked in a breath and Carrick tried to stifle his chuckle.

“You little—”

I leaned in even closer to the woman. “You probably shouldn’t make a scene with the future king and queen of Warington. I’m assuming you probably lost your title in the divorce, and if you say the wrong thing, you’ll probably be thrown out before you could even say bitter.”

If looks could kill, I would probably be dead on the floor. This was going to be more fun than I thought.

“Hello, Jade,” Carrick finally said when he’d pulled himself together.

“You’re going to let her talk to me that way?” she demanded.

I moved my hand so the ring Carrick had given me to wear was visible. The woman gaped at the beautiful sapphire stone.

“She’s my fiancée. She’s cute when she gets all possessive. You’re just a crazy bitch.”

We all knew about the infamous Jade and all her crazy antics, but I had never had the pleasure of meeting her before. I hoped I never had to again because the woman was creepy as hell. I watched in amusement as her eyes narrowed at me, and I could see the wheels turning in her head.

“Darling,” she purred, clearly changing tactics. “Don’t be hasty. Can we talk? Privately.”

Carrick studied me for a second. “I’ll be right back, Princess Scarlett.”

I glared back at him. “Really?”

“There are a few things I need to clear up,” he said, kissing my temple and pulling his arm from mine. “I promise I’ll be right back.” He leaned in closer and whispered. “I want to make sure she isn’t an issue going forward.”

I didn’t like it, but who was I to try to stop him? She was his ex after all, so he must know what he’s doing.

“I’ll go talk to Ava. Come find me when you’re done?”

He nodded. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach, but there wasn’t anything I could do. Carrick had paid my dowry, so at least I knew he wanted to marry me, but I didn’t like his ex trolling around, trying to get back together with him. I thought there was more between us, but that might have just been a childish dream. Maybe Carrick did want only sex, and because I was young and pretty, I fit the bill of a trophy wife. God, could it even be that he wanted to save me from myself, and I was simply a charity case to him? I hated that idea more than if he just wanted to use me as a fuck toy. The uncertainty of this whole relationship was going to drive me nuts.

I slowly circled the room twice, feeling the sense of panic start to consume me, trying to decide my best escape route. That was, after all, what I did best—run when things got tough. It only took me a minute to grab my purse and jacket from the coat check and make my way to the back exit where I was least likely to be seen. There would be a ton of cars outside, so I could easily get a driver to take me wherever I wanted to go. As I was about to slip out the door, a hand wrapped around my wrist. I winced and turned around to find Ava’s whisky-brown eyes staring back into mine.

“Why are you leaving?” She glanced around suspiciously. “And without Carrick?”

I tried to fight back the tears. “I can’t do this, Ava. I’m not you.” My eyes pleaded with her to let me go. “He’s with his ex-wife, and I just need to get out of here. I need room to breathe, but I swear I’m not running.”

Her face was full of concern, something I didn’t deserve. Not from her. Not from anyone, really.

“I’ll go with you.”

A soft, sad smile crossed my face. “I appreciate it, but you should stay here.” Maybe she could distract him, give me more time to put some much-needed space between us. “You look like you’re having fun. Stay. Enjoy. I’m just going to go back to the castle and go to bed. My head is killing me, and this is all too much for me tonight. I’m too young to be dealing with ex-wives and marriage contracts. Two days ago, I was drunk in a club and tonight, I’m meeting dignitaries with my fiancé. It all seems a little surreal.”

She was quiet for a minute; probably debating with herself if I was a flight risk or not. “Text me when you get there, so I know you’re okay.”

I gave her a quick hug. “I will. Promise.”

“Does Carrick know you’re leaving?” she asked, suspicion tinting her voice again.

I didn’t want to outright lie to her. “I’m sure he’ll be right behind me.”

Heaven forbid his property get away.

“Okay, I’ll be back in a few hours. Just don’t...” She paused. “Don’t get yourself into any trouble please.”

“Yes, Mother,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be a good little girl.”

She watched me duck into the car. I told the driver to take me back to Brixton Falls and leaned back into the seat, breathing a sigh of relief. Before we started moving, the door opened quickly and Carrick climbed in beside me, an angry expression on his handsome face. Of course I’d pissed him off. It was what I did—even when I wasn’t trying to. I wanted to leave for the night and not cause a scene, but as usual, I was the bad guy for quietly leaving. No one trusted me to take care of myself. Now he was leaving early with me, which was probably just as awful, since this was a charity event in honor of his uncle. I sighed and leaned back in my seat.

So much for making it look like I had my shit together for Carrick.