The Dark Prince's Captive • Complete

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨 - 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓

I tossed and turned all night. Once I was able to fall asleep, that was.

But that was only after beating myself up for about an hour—replaying the moment with Alex over and over and over again. And then it finally hit me—I hadn’t been the only participant in that kiss!

I glared at the wall between Alex’s and my room.

He’d kissed me back!

He was the one doing all that magical tongue action, not me.

Then my most insecure fears reared right back up—maybe he’d been sleeping before I got there. He was groggy, and yeah, he might have been talking to me, River, but once the kissing started, his tired brain had confused me for Savannah—who he did want to kiss, before his conscious brain woke all the way back up and realized it was actually me on the other end of his tongue and jolted back in revulsion.

But finally, after a tortuous hour of self-doubt that anyone could ever be attracted to me—I just stopped.

Because FUCK THAT.

How the hell was I still dealing with that bullshit after all this time? I made money as a model for Chrissakes! But a childhood of being chubby and invisible beside my beautiful, rail-thin sister—because she used drugs instead of eating food—who everyone called the “beauty of the family,” it finally occurred to me.

What if Alex was just attracted to… me? And had some other dumb hang-up? Cause that was what my intuition was telling me beneath all the other bullshit lies I’d been told about myself all these years.

I sat up in bed at the shocking thought.

Oh my God. I was being one of those girls. One of those girls I hated. The ones who everybody tried to tell wasn’t ugly or useless or disposable—but who could still never believe it.

I mean, seriously.

I was sort of a badass.

I hadn’t even given it a second thought before risking my life to go get my sister out of hot water.

It wasn’t even the first time, either. I’d settled up with her dealers on several occasions when she couldn’t pay up, and some of them were dangerous men.

But it wasn’t even a choice to me…because obviously her life was more important than mine. After all, she was the beauty. The family treasure.

And I…I mean, I was just the family workhorse.

I made the money, paid the bills, and was always supposed to put all my dreams on hold to take care of everyone else.

My desires never mattered.

So how could I ever believe anyone else could ever possibly desire me?

But Alex was in his Crisis year and he was full of desire. He was so crazy fit and handsome, he could walk into any bar, anywhere in the world, and have any woman he wanted.

But it was me he was attracted to.

And…maybe he was fighting that attraction with every ounce of will, if last night was any demonstration.

He wanted me that much.

At the realization of even the possibility, my heart started thumping more quickly in my chest. I felt a little lightheaded and I lifted the palm of my hand to the thin wall separating our rooms.

From the layout of his room I’d seen, I knew his bed was right on the other side of the wall.

If he really was becoming a… one of them… did it mean he could hear my heartbeat right now?

Or did he only get those sorts of powers after he turned? And good Lord, did I really believe it all now? That he was… that he could turn into some sort of mythical monster?

Which, according to him, could only happen if he bit a woman, sucked her blood, and impregnated her at the same time.

A little shudder ran through my body. But it wasn’t a shudder of fear.

I squirmed on my bed and yanked the light blanket over myself, and tried, mostly in vain, to get some sleep.

River, no! 😅
Click on the star. Please.