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They could put her in a designer gown, but she was still the girl who knehat it ated She was still the dumb animal who had watched as the women around her were tortured, raped, and snuffed out
"Don’t touch me"
He jerked back "I won’t I wouldn’t hurt you for the world Take a deep breath You’re here in Bezakistan You’re at the palace No one will ever hurt you here Me, Dane, and Coop willbreath I’ll do it with you"
He breathed in, his chest filling with air He was so cal his directions When he reached for her this time, she let hi
God, she wanted him to hold her She wanted what Piper had She wanted to be surrounded by men who loved her, who accepted her…who could want her even after all that had happened
Her captors had ensured she would never have any of that
She gently pulled her hand froer connected palm to palm "Thank you I’m fine now"
"Talk to h your head"
She couldn’t It didn’tto talk about it, especially to the threeto tell anyone about her shahness,’ please It isn’t seemly for you to call me by my first name"
Alea needed distance before she cruet it
But when she saw his face in the next moment, she cared very much Her heart ached as Landon drew back, his shoulders squaring and his eyes icing over "I apologize, Your Highness Like I said, I’et o back to the party"
The urge to apologize and tell hi Dane and Cooper in and confess everything, release all her pain to them, tempted her But the past was her private hell They were not only protectors, but kind ones, and she couldn’t take advantage of that, is for them in any way mirrored theirs for her
She couldn’t have theh to try
Landon opened the door, and ht Alea followed him back into the ballroom Instantly, friends and family surrounded her, yet she still felt utterly alone
Dane Mitchell cursed under his breath as Alea walked into the ballroom followed by a sullen Landon To an outsider, Lan’s froouldn’t look any different than norh to knohen he was in a real shit-kicker of a ht, hisbut pissed off Dane had little doubt it was so the prickly princess had said
"Dayum, what do you think happened out there?" Coop’s voice ca his whole ‘stony soldier’ routine"
"No idea" But so had happened, and it had affected Alea, too She’d pressed her ri at the edge of the ballroom, she drew in a breath and collected herself Oh, it looked toher dress down and checking her hair in one of the ornate mirrors that lined the hallway, but Dane knew better If she’d listen, he’d tell her that she looked stunning He’d tried to tell her about a hundred tieous wo planet, but she always demurred He would have comforted her, but she’d just shut him down and push him away Saested that she find the rest of her bodice, do you? Because we all agreed that was likely a damn fine way to lose our balls," Coop joked
When she’d first walked out of her rooht there on the tip of his tongue to order her back inside to find a dress that actually covered her breasts Luckily Coop had known he was about to unleash his inner Dominant on a woman asn’t ready to handle the delance that warned Dane he was about to make an idiot of himself Into the silence, Coop had loudly proclaimed to Alea that she looked beautiful She’d taken that to mean her dress, then explained that soive a shit Narciso needed to learn how to sew a proper top into his wretchedly expensive evening gowns
Lan had just kind of drooled
Alea had finally cracked a sown a fraction and showed off her ridiculously hot shoes Then all Dane could think about was just how nice those stilettos would look wrapped around his neck as he drove his cock deep And then she’d utterly shut down as though she’d realized she’d sought their opinions and enjoyed their attention After that, she’d straightened her gown and disetting real da them away If he believed for a minute that she didn’t want them, he would take a mental step back and protect her from afar But he’d noticed the way she soht no one was looking
Now, Lan stood a good ten feet behind her, watching her as she visibly cal, her hands coo I’ve lived this scene before Allow eous self horribly ht’" Coop soue when they were too far away to hear the object of their affection actually speak
Landon had moved past Dane, but he could still see the way his friend moved his head in a sharp, unmistakable shake Coop continued his translation "And then Lan says, in his too often verbose diatribe against her stubbornness, ‘no’ You know, I think the dude should explain hiner shoe stoht foot, threw her hands up, and stalked off, tossing open the door to the ballroohts Dane saw the way Lan sighed and opened the door again, his stare following her as he pursued
Dane’s hand twitched, and he e to sod, Coop, soirl over my knee and not let her up until we’ve reached an understanding"
"Only sometimes, Dane?"