Gasping, Lucy pulled back enough to search my face. “You could tell?”
She was so fucking adorable. “First time in a drafty old church, Princess?” I teased.
Her face turned the most beautiful shade of pink, and she groaned in embarrassment. “Do you think everyone could tell?”
I could lie to her, but the stills and video of the ceremony would reveal the truth. It wasn’t worth it putting a dent in the trust we were trying to rebuild, even if it would offer temporary comfort. “Only if they had eyes.”
Blowing out a breath, Lucy grumbled, “Guess that’s what I get for ditching the uncomfortable strapless bra.”
“You know, they have these adhesive lifting bras these days.”
Lucy’s jaw dropped. “And what would you know of that?”
I shrugged. “I’ve done my research. My future wife is in fashion, in case you haven’t heard.”
“Very funny.” She rolled her pretty blue eyes.
Sliding my hand from her waist to her ass, I gave it a squeeze. “What’s not funny is that you gave everyone in that church—correction, everyone around the world watching—a peek at what belongs to me. That’s a very serious offense, Princess.”
Lucy’s pupils dilated, and I watched that pulse point at the base of her throat flutter rapidly as she shifted her hips against the leather seat. “I’m very sorry, Sir.”
“You will be,” I growled in her ear. “The impure thoughts running through my head in a house of God were bad enough. But knowing that other men are going to use that image of you—with your nipples visible through the fabric of your dress—intheir personal spank banks for years to come is enough to throw me into a jealous rage.”
She bit her lip, knowing she was in trouble, and that I would punish her later. I pressed my thumb against her mouth, providing enough pressure to pull her lip from her teeth. Dipping my head, I was about to claim it for myself when I felt the car stop.
Damn, this would have to wait.
Disappointed, I looked up, ready to exit the car at the palace, when I noticed we were stopped by the side of the road just outside the city, nowhere near the steep switchback road that led up the mountain to Stonecrest Palace. My confusion was mirrored on Lucy’s face. We were so lost in each other that we hadn’t noticed we were going in the wrong direction.
Before I could ask why we’d taken a detour, the security agent in the front passenger seat opened his door, stepping out and opening mine.
“Time to go, lover boy,” he snarled before yanking me out through the open door.
“What the hell is going on here?” I yelled, twisting my body, trying to escape his grip.
“Preston!” I heard Lucy scream from inside the car, and I stopped struggling long enough to see the second agent putting his hands on her.
I saw red.
“Lucy!” I fought back with every bit of strength I possessed, desperate to get to her, but I couldn’t break free. “Get the fuck off her!” I shouted right before a blinding pain tore through my head, and my world went black.
Chapter 28
Lucy
I began to regainconsciousness but kept my eyes closed against the persistent pounding in my head. My mouth felt dry, like it was stuffed with cotton balls, and every muscle in my body ached.
What the hell happened?
Thinking back, the last thing I remember was driving away from the cathedral after the wedding in a car with Preston. We were cuddled together in the backseat, and he made it clear he planned to punish me later when we stopped suddenly. By the time we noticed we were nowhere near the route back to the palace, he was being pulled from the car by one of the two security guards escorting us. The other grabbed me when I tried to reach for Preston, and I felt a sting in my neck before the edges of my vision closed around me.
I hadn’t recognized either of the guards in our car, but that wasn’t unusual during such a large-scale event. Additional agents being brought in was standard procedure.
Reality sank in that someone used the chaos of the wedding to kidnap me.
Panic clawed up my chest to the point where I almost couldn’t breathe, but I willed myself to remain calm. I’d been trained for this my whole life. Granted, I never thought I would need to use the survival tactics drilled into my brain as a child, but I was suddenly very thankful for my parents’ insistence on their importance.
The first thing I needed to do was gather information—figure out where I was, who I was with, and what they wanted to gain by abducting me.
