She's No Faerie Princess by Christine Warren Read Free Book Online Page A

todo?"
    "Nothing. I can take care of myself."
    "I need you to babysit. Keep an eye on her while I catch a couple hours of sleep. When I wake up, we'll figure out the best way to get her to the gate without being seen."
    "No problem."
    "Babysit?!" Fiona couldn't decide which of them to glare at first, so she got up and stood where she could keep them both in her furious sights. "I already told you, I don't need your protection, and I sure as demon spit don't need to be 'babysat' by a kid whose   parents   weren't even born when I was celebrating my two hundred fiftieth birthday!"
    Walker turned to her, those golden eyes finally fixingback on her, but they didn't look any more cooperativethan his attitude so far had indicated.
    "Well, that's just your tough luck, Princess, because you've got yourself protection whether you want it or not. You're in my city now, and until I put your butt back through the gate that takes you out of my city, you're my responsibility. You'll do what I say, and as ridiculous as even I find it, you'll do what the puppy here says, or I'll

    take it out of your hide."
    It took a few seconds for Fiona to process that threat. Noone had ever threatened her before, and certainly no onehad ever tried to order her around before. She might notcare about her position as a sidhe princess, but now thatsomeone was treating her as if that position didn't matter,she found that the alternative to the prerogative of royaltypretty much sucked.
    "Princess?" Jake asked, his eyes wide. They both
    ignored him.
    "You've got no right to try and tell me what I can or can't
    do—"
    "As in daughter of the queen? That kind of princess?"
    Jake's voice had risen half an octave.
    "In Faerie, you'd probably be right about that, Princess, but you're not in Faerie anymore. You're here and around here, might makes right. I've got the might, so that makes me right."
    "Holy shit," Jake breathed. "No wonder you wanted someone who wouldn't run right back to the alpha with that news. We gotta get her home before he hears about this."
    If she hadn't already been drained of magic, she wouldhave used whatever reserves it took to turn the pair ofthem into sea slugs. Come to think of it, based on theirbehavior, it might not take much magical energy after all.
    She settled for killing looks, folded her arms over herchest, and plotted what exactly she would do once shegot her powers back. Maybe a trip back home wouldn't

    be the end of the world. Going through the gate didn't mean she had to go back to the palace. She could spend a few hours, replenish her magical reserves, then come back when the werewolf of her nightmares wasn't looking. That sounded a lot easier than trying to change his rock-hard mind about something.
    Walker stared at her for a long while before he turnedback to his nephew and gave the last of his instructions. "Remember, if you lay so much as a paw on her, I'll bite itoff. And keep your damned mind on business. She mightlook like a sugar-coated bonbon, but she's more troublethan a coven of witches, and she's smart enough to useyour own damned hormones against you. Don't listen to aword of her twisted logic, and if you let her step one footout of this apartment, I'll rip off something you'll miss ahell of a lot more than your hand. Got it?"
    Jake nodded and Fiona stifled a scream. "Got it. Neitherone of us will be going anywhere. You can count on me."
    "Good."
    He turned and headed for his bedroom, and Fionawatched the broad back flex before she purred a promiseof her own.
    "You can count on me, too, Tobias. You can count on
    paying for this one day. A lot."
    He glanced back over his shoulder just before hedisappeared into the darkened bedroom. The look on hisface was inscrutable. "Princess, I've been counting onthat since the first minute you opened your eyes andlooked at me. The only question is how I'll come up withthe price."

    CHAPTER 7

    Within two hours of Walker's disappearance into