My Dark Prince: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Dark Prince Road)

Briar didn’t know that I’d canceled the ski resorts in Dubai and Palm Springs. And because the “lobotomy” truly had done wild things to my brain, I ditched work earlier and rushed back to tell her.

She should’ve been back from her baking date with Dallas – whatever that was – by now, hopefully waiting for me in the bedroom in nothing but her birthday suit.

The image I’d conjured – of Briar patting my head like a parent slapping a gold-star sticker on their child’s workbook – quickened my pulse. It thrummed so hard, I could feel it at my neck.

The faster I drove, the more ridiculous I found this whole ordeal. It wasn’t as if I’d spent my childhood starved of affection. Mom praised me for the mere feat of existence, which if you thought about it, was a total self-compliment. And Dad had his ways of showing his pride in me and Seb.

But I wanted it from her.

My girl.

I wanted to hear her praise, see her smile, and bask in the glow of her approval. Fucking sue me.

The car barely screeched to a halt before I thundered out of it, straight up to our bedroom we’d shared since leaving New York. (I really did hope she’d be waiting for me naked on our bed.)

Alas, no such luck. I weaved in and out of my office, the library, and the two guestrooms upstairs. All empty.

I fished out my phone, shooting Dallas a text, knowing Briar sucked at answering – and using technology in general. She’d always been a boomer trapped in a younger body.

Ollie vB: Where’s my fiancée?

Dallas Costa: I ate her. Sorry. :/

Ollie vB: Jokes aren’t supposed to be so realistic.

Dallas Costa: She left my place half an hour ago. Is she okay?

Ollie vB: I’m sure it’s nothing.

I switched over to the security app, sliding the timer back thirty minutes. Normally, I didn’t bother to use it, mostly because I wouldn’t put it past my brother to leave me nasty footage doing god-knows-what out by the lake.

The outdoor cameras confirmed that she’d certainly entered the home, but I’d searched everywhere. So, unless she jumped through one of the windows – unlikely, it was a tall fucking house – she had to still be here.

But where?

My blood ran cold, freezing into icicles in my veins.

No.

No fucking way.

She wouldn’t.

But of course, she would. She wasn’t Briar Rose. She was Briar. And Briar was nothing like the girl I once left behind. She wielded a wild rebellious streak and didn’t take kindly to people telling her what to do.

I rushed to the first baby gate of the south wing, my heart in my goddamn throat. The violent pitter-patter would lead to a heart attack if I didn’t stop to take a breath. This shouldn’t have scared me. Seb wouldn’t hurt her. He knew I’d destroy him if he did.

Still, my knees fucking trembled as I hurled my way to the second baby gate as if my ass was on fire. I nearly ripped it out of the wall on my quest to open it. I stalked deeper into Sebastian’s wing, just short of the bend into his living room.

Then, I heard it.

Laughter.

Not just any laughter.

Sebastian’s laughter.

A sound so rare, so beautiful, so fucking foreign to my own ears at this point, my kneejerk reaction was to think I’d imagined it.

I stopped mid-step, panting hard, swallowing my breaths in a bid to listen.

“… I would literally cheat on my diet for it,” Briar teased, sending Sebastian into another spiral of laughter.

“Is that before or after you overdose on Brigadeiro?”

“Neither.” Briar sighed. “I cannot cheat on something that’s not in existence. Diets are the enemy of humanity. I will always choose carbs. They are my one true love.”

I almost gulped on spit, torn between collapsing into soaring, out-of-control happiness at them having fun together and soaring, out-of-control jealousy at a fucking food group. Briar’s carb addiction aside, Sebastian was having fun.

For the first time.

In fifteen years.

Actually, maybe not the first time. For all I knew, this could’ve started the day she’d entered my home. Judging by their chemistry, this couldn’t be their first meeting. How could I be so blind to it? They must’ve been sneaky. Kept it from me on purpose.

Seb’s idea, no doubt. He probably thought I’d haul him off to a 180-day world-wide cruise, and he’d be right. I was already making a mental note to call everyone. The therapist, the doctors, the travel agency. Holy shit. HOLY SHIT.

My brother might live again.

I tried to reel myself in. I knew he hated when I got like this – excited for him, pushy, too pumped to let him make his own decisions.

Calm the fuck down or you’ll blow it, dude.

I propped my shoulder against the wall obscuring me from view and continued eavesdropping without a drop of shame. The high buzzing inside me washed that all away. Whiffs of pizza and beer wafted in the air. In the background, Peter Griffin’s distinctive whine drifted from the surround sound. Family Guy.

Legends.

“I don’t know how you eat all this crap and stay so ripped.” Briar groaned, her mouth obviously stuffed with pizza.

“I work out five hours a day. Plenty of time to burn, you see.”

They continued to eat in silence while I slid to the floor, just enjoying the sound of my brother and fiancée happy.

So.” Seb paused to swallow his bite. “Heard from your folks again since the last time?”

Since the last time? There was a last time, and she hadn’t told me?

Jealousy cloyed at my throat, gripping me in a chokehold. They shared an entire language between them, secrets and conversations I’d been left out of. But joy won out. Sebastian had made progress for the first time in years. He’d accepted someone, enjoyed their company, and connected.

“Nope.” Briar popped the P. “Guess I successfully sent the message that I want them in my life a little less than I do the Grim Reaper.”

“Don’t be so harsh. I’m sure the Grim Reaper has some redeeming qualities.”

More laughter. More pizza. More Family Guy.

I loved my brother. I really did. I had put my entire fucking life on hold for him, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. But I didn’t love that he’d asked her to keep their hangouts a secret – and I had no doubt the order had come from him. That fucker was born to piss me off.

Once the clock ticked closer to six, the time I normally arrived home, I stalked out of Sebastian’s wing, my throat pulsating. I wanted to rip something to shreds. To release my anger on someone. And to cry of relief.

Sebastian was capable of happiness.

He was capable of being human again.

He just needed someone to pull him out of his shell.

Too many emotions swirled in my stomach. As soon as my feet hit my office rug, I buckled over the trash can, dry heaving. Nothing came out. I plopped onto my ass and hung my head, releasing a feral growl.

The love of my life was healing my brother.

But she had goals, and work, and a life in Los Angeles.

If she left … I drove my fist into my desk, chipping the heavy wood and splitting open my own knuckles.

This time, she would not go anywhere.