Caught Between Two Princes

As Aaron finished, the music died. Their eyes locked on each other. A dumb-founded look replaced the pout on her face. The people around them stared and whispered.

"Hello, Caines!" CC's voice came booming through the speakers.

The crowd went wild. Frozen in the moment, Aaron and Emily continued to stare at each other.

"CC! CC! CC!" the crowd chanted.

"It's so awesome to be back here with you all! Now it's not actually until tomorrow, but thanks so much for coming out for my 18th birthday party!"

Bart watched CC go to work, captivated by the way she could capture the attention of a crowd.

"Happy birthday CC!" random voices yelled out from the dance floor below.

"Thank you. Thank you all so much. And a special thanks to Prince Aaron, my big brother, for making this happen."

The crowd cheered and applauded. A spotlight landed on Aaron, bringing him back to his senses.

"Ask Mario to take you home once you're sober," Aaron whispered to Emily.

He took a few steps away from Emily, turning his back on her to look up at CC and wave at her.

"Please give an extra special welcome to Aaron's new girlfriend. Isn't she beautiful? Make some noise guys!"

The applause died down, replaced by curious inquiries about the mystery woman.

The spotlight moved away from Aaron and onto Zoey. She stood at the other end of the bar with six tequila shots lined up in front of her. The light hovered for a brief moment over her, before landing on CC.

The crowd went wild chanting CC's name. Aaron smiled at CC and gave her a thumbs up before making his way to Zoey.

Zoey should have marched back into that house and demanded that they take her home. Instead, here she stood, alone in a nightclub, feeling foolish. Facing rejection twice in 24 hours would do that to you.

After she came running when Duke Arden asked for her, what did he do? Immediately decide to marry her off without so much as an apology. How did she respond? By going out in a foreign city with a stranger who ditched her for another woman. So much for her intellect.

The bitter resentment of abandonment seeped in. What was one more bad decision at this point?

She picked up her first shot ever and knocked it back. Appearing out of thin air, Aaron brought a lime quarter up to her mouth.

"Bite."

She coughed, the liquor burning her throat as it flowed through her. Desperate for relief, she covered his hand with hers and bit down hard.

"Why do people drink this stuff!"

"This isn't meant for beginners," Aaron teased with a cocky grin.

What a pair they were. He had given up on his long-time crush mere moments ago. Zoey had what the hell am I doing here written on her forehead. Misery loves company. From the look on Zoey's face though, she wasn't in the mood to share woes.

Zoey pulled her hand away from Aaron's. She was about to pick up her second shot when Aaron stopped her.

"Dance with me," he ventured.

Gently claiming her hand, he kept his eyes locked with hers as he coaxed her body towards his. Something came over her. She watched powerlessly as his hands travelled down her body and settled onto her hips. He led her out onto the dance floor and she followed like she was his puppet.

Fluid movements. His caresses were soft as silk as he manipulated her body to bend to his will. Tenderly he slid up behind her and whispered into her ear, "It's too dark in here for anyone to see. No one's looking at you."

Aaron had Zoey pegged. She didn't do crowds. Being in one had never had her heart thumping in her chest though. Attempting to keep calm, she looked around. Everyone was letting loose and having a good time.

"Well no one except me, that is."

His husky voice was like a call to turn around in his arms. Their eyes met, foreheads pressed against each other's as they began to sway together. Within five minutes they were laughing. Her dancing was completely out of rhythm and she couldn't care less. She was having fun.

Aaron too found himself enjoying the dance. A wave of emotion flooded Aaron's mind as he thought about the implications of marrying Zoey. Old habits kicked in. He wrapped his arms around her waist and moved in for a kiss. That was the end of it. She put her hands up against his chest, shoved him away and ran.

Seconds later Bart bumped into Aaron and shoved him again. This time Aaron ended up on the floor.

"You don't have any class, do you?" Bart snarled.

CC whipped her head around to look at Aaron as he got up.

"Don't you dare lose that woman," she said, stepping between Bart and Aaron.

Aaron glared at Bart, opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and took off running. CC turned her face back to Bart.

"Do you even want this thing to work?”

"She's my sister! She's not some tool to use and manipulate. She's my sister, Caroline."

"Still loyal to a fault," said CC with a smile. "No one forced her to come here. Let them figure it out."

"If he messes this up-"

CC picked up two tequila shots off the bar and handed one to Bart.

"Then we'll fix it, like we always do," she said, raising her glass to his.

Aaron was a fast runner, but Zoey had a head start on him. Still bitter about the forced engagement, Aaron found himself running after Zoey anyway. He wasn't sure why, but the guilt was eating at him. Having her upset with him was, to his surprise, unsettling.

Aaron watched Zoey speed off in his car just as he made it out into the alleyway. Damn him for leaving his keys in the car. He looked around and saw Jesse waiting in front of CC's hot pink Ferrari. Jesse held out the keys without a word.

"I'll arrange a car for Her Royal Highness," Jesse said dryly.

"Thanks," said Aaron, grabbing the keys from him.

Having had just about enough of Caines of Duke Arden and his demands for her, Zoey sped through unknown roads. Had she known what awaited, she might have rethought that last right. Now driving on an unstable mountain road, she watched the last two days flash before her eyes. The adrenaline pumping through her veins gave her courage enough to accelerate, despite the fear that one wrong move on this narrow road would land her and the stolen car in the ocean. So single-minded was she, that she almost missed the upcoming cliff. Zoey slammed on the brakes hard.

A car pulled up behind her. The door flew open and heavy feet stomped over.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Aaron yelled.

Her car had stopped just short of the edge of the cliff and the adrenaline was fading fast. She yanked open her own door and started running to him. This was the stupidest, most dangerous thing she had ever done. The edge is coming up. Alarm bells were going off in her head. She always stopped. Had always been a good daughter. Done the safe thing. This time she wanted to be reckless just a little more.

"You just had to pick the most dangerous street in Caines! You could have been kill-"

Zoey grabbed Aaron's collar and kissed him. He tasted like sweet sin, like all the wrong things she'd never done and she loved it.

He pulled away almost immediately. Their eyes met. They stared each other down. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. The hard look she was giving him frustrated him. Just as she was about to give him a piece of her mind, he pulled her into his arms and went right back to kissing her.