Chapter 49

**Alicia **

*Present…*

“The deal you made that got you stuck here was…” Rowan stops talking as I nod.

“He agreed to let us go if I helped him get rid of his enemies. I was stupid enough to think that only meant the ones he had in Wonderland. It didn’t. When we came here there was a whole new set of enemies.” I explain.

“Since she hasn’t been able to finish her side of the deal all of us are stuck as well,” Cayden adds.

Rowan glances away from us and nods. “So how do we fix that? There has to be a loophole or something.”

My lips tip in a smile. It’s sweet for him to want to help, but pointless.

“The deal was vague at best. I’m bound by it until all the people he deems as enemies are gone. There is no way around it. You saw what happened.” I remind him.

He nods. “I hate seeing you hurt. It makes me murderous and that is saying something since I catch murderers for a living.”

I chuckle. “I’m honored but there is nothing you can do. I’m so sorry again for bringing you into this. I didn’t mean to, and if I knew how to break this I would so you could go back to your old life. Even if I erased your memory you would feel the pain of the distance between us.” I glance at Cayden and offer him a wordless apology. “I’ve tried.”

“What do you mean?” Rowan asks.

I move over to the window that looks over the club. You would think Wendell would use this as an office so he could look out over his kingdom, but no. I’m here so I can see a world I can never truly be a part of. All these people will leave her and have a life that I never will. I only exist here, and that is the worst torture of all.

“When it seemed like the guys would only be in more danger because of me I found a way to get them out. Wendell was distracted by some soldiers miles away from where we were, and I created a diversion to keep him there. That's when I told the guys my plan. They didn’t want to go through with it, but I didn’t give them a choice. I took their memories of me and told them to run. I figured the end of the war was close and my agreement would be void, but when the enemies fell I was still stuck. The guys were captured and I realized my mind wipe on them hadn’t worked.” I explain. “They were a part of my deal which meant they could never leave. Somehow that alone vacated my power.”

“We couldn’t physically get far, and were caught,” Cayden adds. “Not that we minded. We didn’t want to be away from you for even a moment.”

I turn and give him what I hoped was a happy smile. The way he looks at me though says it is anything but.

“So, that means that option is off the table,” I tell Rowan.

He shakes his head, stands, and moves over to me. His hands move to rest on my hips and a buzz of energy moves between us. It instantly turns me on which is beyond frustrating when I’m trying to have a serious conversation.

“Isn’t it clear that I don’t want to leave? Or lose you?” He says.

I look up at him and my heart aches. Why him? Why had fate brought him to me? How did he end up being the one who got this case?

“That’s just the bond,” I tell him but he shakes his head.

“No, it’s not. The moment I saw you I want you. You hadn’t bonded me yet and I knew.”

Why does he have to say that? It makes me happy and I want to feel bad about what I've done.

“I’ve sealed your fate. You’ll be just as much a prisoner as us.” I remind him.

He sighs and looks at Cayden. “How do you guys manage to leave her without getting sick?”

Cayden leans against the nearest wall and crosses his arms. “We have to be intimate with her often. The exchange of energy keeps her from needing us. The need is what hurts us. Her need for us.”

Another thing I hate…

“So I need to have sex with her if I want to go back to work and my other stuff…”

Cayden nods and gives him a small smirk. “That’s right. Don’t look so sad, you’ve had her. It’s not so tough a thing to deal with. In fact, she is far sweeter than anything else you have sampled I’m sure.”

I narrow my eyes on him. He doesn’t normally sound so crude but he clearly likes messing with Rowan. Rowan scoffs and gives Cayden a drawl look.

“That being said, how about I leave you two alone and go help downstairs. Just…come down when you're ready.” Cayden says with a wink.

He walks out and closes the door behind him. I roll my eyes because he’s assuming Rowan wants to do anything with me now that he knows a lot more about me. To prevent influncing him I step away and walk around him to the vanity. After what I've been through I need to touch myself up a bit, and change too.

It doesn’t take long for him to appear behind me in the mirror. I try to play it cool and go about fixing my makeup like my whole body isn’t on fire. Thanks a lot, Cayden…

Rowan watches me as I go through the motions but doesn’t say a word. I start to feel a well of anxiety at what he must be thinking and eventually give up ignoring him.

“I’m sor-“

“Fuck! Stop apologizing! It’s getting on my nerves. I want you, end of story. Got it?”

My eyes are a little wide by his outburst. He curses silently when he sees the way I reacted and runs a hand down his face. I’m not sure what to say or do. With the guys…I knew them. Even without my memories, I felt as if I knew everything about them and that I could trust them never to harm me. Rowan is a wildcard that I don’t know much about. Until he’s ready to share I won’t push. I’m also not ready to tell him about what I know.

He closes the distance between us and brushes my hair away to expose my neck and my left shoulder. My eyes flutter closed when he brushes a soft kiss against the skin and a gasp leaves my lips.

“You are beauty personified. A temptation no man could ever resist, and I don’t want to. I want to consume you in every possible way. I’m yours.” He whispers against my ear.

I feel that ink-like darkness creep up but I push it down. No way am I letting it take this away. It tries to every time the guys have me, but I don’t want to forget a single moment with them. So I push and push and push it down.

He slides his hand down the side of my neck and around to the front under my chin. My eyes find his in the mirror and I see the same lust in my eyes in his as well.

“I want you so badly it fucking hurts. So if you want to make it up to me, let’s start with letting me have you.” He says as he tightens his hand around my neck just slightly.

A moan escapes me from the sensation and a wicked chuckle comes from him. “You really are sinful…sin…such a fitting name…”

I have to admit I like it too. “Please…” I beg him.

He tucks a finger under my chin and turns my head enough for him to take my lips hard. I lean back into him and shiver from the intensity of our connection. It’s new and so intense that I feel overcharged already. This was how it felt with each of the guys in the beginning until we found our balance, but he isn’t just anyone. He’s a different kind of power that he has no idea about. I barely understand it, but I can feel it.

The power of a prince…

A second later he is turning the chair around and scooping me into his arms. My arms go around his neck and my legs around his waist as we continue to kiss. He carries me over to the bed and lays me down gently without breaking away from me. I break the kiss and stare up at his handsome and slightly familiar face. He looks a lot like his father but there is something thats just him and that’s the part I can’t look away from.

He’s more…so much more than his father ever was…I can feel it…How? I will have to wait for my mind to explain. For now, I’ll enjoy this moment with him.