"That would be wonderful," she admitted.
"But?"
"But he's still a jackass."
The smile that lit Ellen's pretty face only caused Hannah's temper to rise. "You like him."
"Hardly," Hannah huffed as she folded her arms over her chest.
Ellen laughed and dropped her glasses into the sink. "Who are you trying to kid? I've never seen you look at a guy the way that you look at him."
Hannah hated the heat she felt creeping into her cheeks. "I don't know what I feel for him but he's a prince and I'm an Undesirable, there is no future for us."
Ellen shrugged. "You never know, his brother married a human."
"She's a vampire now, a perfectly normal one, she's not like us."
Ellen's blond brows furrowed over the bridge of her nose as she leaned against the counter. "True, but weirder things have happened Hannah."
"Let's not pretend we live in a fairytale Ellen, it will only lead to disappointment."
Though Ellen's face scrunched like she was going to argue with her, in the end practicality won out. "You're right, but I can dream for you, can't I?"
Hannah smiled at her. "If you would like."
"I would," she said with a brisk nod. A loud, garbled shout turned both of their heads toward the tavern room. "They're going to be at it all night."
"I told Tilly that most of them would probably be staying at the boarding house but they're going to be sleeping on the floor out there if this keeps up."
"That's pretty much a guarantee."
Hannah braced herself before returning to the tavern room, but her constantly turbulent emotions were really starting to wear on her.
***
There was only an hour to go before sunrise when she was finally able to slip out of the tavern for a few minutes of peace and tranquility. Her head was pounding and as much as she was aware of the coming dawn, she was even more aware of the fact that she needed a dip in the lake in order to cool off. She pulled at the collar of her dress as she tried to free it from the sweat causing the thin material to stick to her skin. She'd been correct in her estimate that they would have a fair amount of the king's men sleeping on the floor, but the prince wasn't amongst them and she didn't know when he had decided to retreat to his room.
The cool air felt good against her skin, but not nearly as good as the water was going to feel. She ran through the trees as the smell of the fresh water hit her. Topping the hill, she was almost to the edge of the lake before she noticed the dark head breaking through the surface. Water slid through his hair, down the planes of his high cheekbones, and across his lips.
Her feet stopped as suddenly as if she'd hit a brick wall. Despite her every intention to turn and run back to the tavern, she remained rooted to the spot as he rose further from the water. There were Gods that hadn't been as perfectly built as this man, she was certain of that much as his chest appeared, then his sculpted abs, his slender waist...
A startled cry escaped her, her eyes finally darted away as she realized that he wasn't wearing anything. Fire crept through her face as she took a couple of steps back and almost fell on her butt when she tripped over a tree root. Thankfully she caught herself in time, but she'd also revealed her presence amongst the trees.
His low chuckle did nothing to ease her discomfort over being caught in this position. "You can look, it's safe now."
She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of looking but she couldn't seem to stop her eyes from drifting back to him. He may have been wearing pants now but it was nowhere near safe enough for her to look at him as his chest was still bare and glistening with water, his hair was tussled temptingly and the thin pants he wore were molded to his heavily muscled thighs. She didn't know if he was aware of what his disheveled state was doing to her but she would love it if he put a shirt on. On second thought, she might actually prefer it if he never wore one again.
His eyes gleamed in the fading moonlight as he tilted his head to study her. "Were you planning to go for a swim?"
"No!" she blurted and then mentally kicked herself in the ass. What else would she be doing here if she hadn't been planning to jump in the lake? One glimpse of a naked man and she had turned into a blubbering, rambling mess. But to be fair she thought he could turn any woman into a rambling mess. "I mean yes."
She fought the urge to flee as he took a step toward her. He was so large, so powerful, just so much. She didn't know how to handle him, didn't know how to react to the aura of power and sensuality he exuded. She felt like a complete, inexperienced idiot and she didn't like it one bit.
"The water's refreshing."
She silently thanked him for not commenting on her obvious discomfort, or trying to tease her, both of which she knew he could do. "It was a long night," she muttered.
"It was," he agreed as he bent to pick his shirt up from the ground.
"Your friends are all sleeping on the floor."
"Not all of them," he assured her. "There are more of my brother's men in the woods at the edge of town." Hannah couldn't keep the surprise from her face, a fact he picked up on as he grinned at her. "You never reveal your hand before your ready Hannah. Even though it was the anniversary of our victory, tonight was a show. Calvin needs to think the soldiers are a non-issue, that their time away from the palace, and away from my brother's leadership, has made them incompetent. They're not though, and there are a couple dozen more than what he realizes. It is a show that will get back to Calvin."
Hannah couldn't stop her mouth from dropping open further and further with each new revelation. He was lethal, she knew that. She'd seen what he'd done to Calvin in his house, but now she realized just how calculating and unfeeling he could be too. She couldn't decide if she was more impressed or terrified by the man standing across from her.