Page 111 of Hateful Prince
“Is that a kilt?” I asked, eyeing Kai. Traditional highland dress might be a thing for me now that I’d seen him in it. Jesus. The jacket and vest might’ve covered his dragon, but I saw the sneaky head poking out of his collar on the side of his neck. And my Scot spared no detail when it came to his ensemble. He wore every piece with pride. From the kilt to the sporran, he looked like he’d walked right out of a romance novel.
He smirked under my appraisal. “I told you she’d like it.”
“Yes, yes, good for you. But what do you think about me, love?” Caspian asked, running his hands down what could only be described as pirate formal wear. He had on a fancy maroon coat that fell to his calves with gold embroidery and big buttons. There was a waistcoat beneath it and a pristine white ruffled shirt beneath that. And his legs were molded in tight black leather and knee-high boots.
“Impressive,” I said, intentionally understating my reaction so as not to stroke his ego. His head was big enough. “Where’s your hat?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t ask. It’s a sore spot.”
I giggled but gave him an approving look. “You are... mmm, let’s just say my pirate fantasies have nothing on this.”
That made him perk up, his shoulders a little straighter as he puffed out his chest. “Course they don’t. Fantasies are never as good as the real thing, darling.”
Hades was silent as usual, his eyes blue embers as he took me in. There was something wickedly sexy about his patience. As if he knew he was the biggest baddie in the room and had no reason to shove his way to the front of the line. He was simply waiting for me to go to him, as if it was inevitable. Because of course it was.
Dressed in black from head to toe, Hades looked every inch the god of the underworld. He was the most delicious bad boy with that black suit and flaming stare. My mouth ran dry until I pulled myself together.
“Like what you see, baby doll?”
“Nope. Not even a little,” I shamelessly lied.
“Brat,” he said, but it was so tenderly uttered there was no mistaking it as anything but an endearment. “You’ll pay for that later.”
“Promises, promises.”
His lips hitched up in a smile that told me I was in for a world of trouble. The fun kind.
“Well, shall we get this over with?” I asked, more than ready to say fuck the whole thing and invite them in.
“Not just yet, gem. I have something for ye.”
My gaze flicked up to meet his, excitement bubbling in my chest. “What is it?”
He pulled the most beautiful jewel-encrusted hair comb from his pocket, the emeralds matching my gown perfectly.
“Kai,” I whispered, noting that his dragon tattoo had shifted so that he could watch my reaction as well. That, more than anything, clued me in that this was no ordinary gift. “Is this from your hoard?”
“Aye.” He cleared his throat, pink dusting his cheeks. “It’s customary for a dragon to gift his mate items from his trove. We spend our lives trying to find the most perfect treasures so that we can give them to the one who is our most perfect treasure. Her acceptance of our offering is akin to her acceptance of us.”
“I love it.” I trailed my fingers over the delicate design. “Put it in for me?”
Pride shone on his face, and he waited for me to indicate where I wanted it. After he slid the teeth of the comb in place, I gave myself one more inspection in the mirror. The emeralds caught the light from the side of my hair and glimmered, just a tease of sparkle.
“Perfect,” I murmured.
“Yes, Kærasta, you are. Now, I won the right to have you on my arm as we walk in, so allow me to escort you, my beauty. Please?” Tor crooked his arm and God save me, my heart fluttered.
“It would be my honor,” I said, doing my best to live up to the moment.
“No, beauty. The honor is mine.”
Fucker. Over here one-upping me. Fuck it, he could have it.
I wove my arm through the crook of his elbow, and he swept me down the hall. The other three followed close behind us. Close enough I was sure that was Caspian’s hand brushing against my ass, and Kai’s fingers sweeping over my spine. Hades was biding his time, which meant when he finally did touch me, it was going to be more than worth it.
Strangely, all my nervous energy seemed to have melted away now that they were with me. I felt strong. Confident. Powerful. Not something I was used to.
“You know, you look quite like a queen right now,” Tor said.