Princess Ninja Warrior (House of Garner Book 4) Read online

  When I laid eyes on her I was completely captivated. She was so real in a world where everyone wore masks and put up walls to hide who they were. And on top of it, she had every reason to shout the loudest and brag, but didn’t.

  Aether’s champion. Now I really had seen everything or so I thought.

  I was sunk the moment she protected me. Her, this baby vampire princess who was so in over her head, darted in front of me, licked me as her treat, and called me so no one could pull the normal court shit of unclaimed nobles being treated like cattle or worse. I couldn’t even make my voice work I was so shocked.

  My own family had never protected or helped me like that, and she was angry someone would treat me that way. I was completely speechless.

  Yeah, taking Tian down a few notches was cool and her power was great, but the fact she was ready to go toe to toe with every princess there so we were treated with respect, when she didn’t even know us, just completely sunk me.

  And it only got better. Watching her with the other princesses, calling them on their shit, and luring them into the fight was great. Her brain was amazing, especially as she figured out what they were trying to pull. All of it. I was… She was worthy of being Aether’s champion.

  I thought that before I got to see her naked and enjoy passion, but after I did, all I could think about was making her mine.

  Kristof of all people was completely sunk and I’d never thought anyone could pull him back from the darkness, but he was snuggling up to a princess, completely in love with her. She had healed him some. It was obvious and I felt myself drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

  And I didn’t care if she burned me up instead of maybe saving me.

  I knew it was pushy to ask for a chance to earn her favor, but she’d shut down Tian down hard on courting. Clearly Branko was on her radar and jumping at any chance to know her better or dote on her, and I wanted that chance too. My being older than Kristof hadn’t even registered to her and my being the last of the house Pacal, one of the strongest houses ever, didn’t even faze her.

  I didn’t even know what to do with that. I would have to actually win her heart—which was not how courting a princess worked. It was about alliances and our giving ourselves to a princesses who might pick one to love. And here this little baby vampire loved four equally.

  She really did. Watching them, she loved them all and was good to them in a way I’d never seen a princess be.

  Plus, she was so fucking sexy and perfect that I about died just from jerking off while watching her with them. It was a better orgasm than I’d had in a thousand years and it wasn’t even sex.

  Not yet but I would do whatever I needed to so she would be mine too. I wanted what they had. I wanted her. Fuck, I wanted her to tease me on my lap and I never wanted that silly sort of lovey idiocy. But I wanted it with her. It was just something about Inez that made me long for her to show me such affection and I’d never felt that before. Was it because she was Aether’s champion?

  No. It was her. She was pure and full of all the goodness I had long thought died out in the world.

  The moment Kristof carried her off so Jaxon could get his shower and fun with her, I grabbed Darius and brought him back to the hotel.

  “What navigator? I know Salt Lake City. Show me what you need and I will do it.”

  He opened his mouth but then closed it before bursting out laughing. “Oh wow, you fell harder and faster than Kristof. He didn’t even get he fell and was fighting against it the whole time until he realized it.”

  “I’ve never felt like this,” I admitted, scrubbing my hand over my chest. “I hate lovey-dovey couples and PDA, but I’m dying to have her sit on my lap and snuggle with me.”

  “Yeah, she’s easy to love,” he chuckled, scrubbing his hand over his head. “She’s come a long way but she will always be the girl I found who thought all of this crazy and will jump into the mix.” He gave me a dark look that made it clear the power of his house was in him even if he was young. “You hurt her or mistreat her and there will be nowhere you can hide from us.”

  “I just want to know her, make her smile at me,” I muttered, rolling my eyes when he snorted. Well, yeah, of course I wanted to fuck her. I wanted to bury my cock in her and never leave her body, but that would take time. I shivered, thinking of how she felt even sitting on my lap naked. Yes, I wanted her. “Tell me what to do.”

  So he did. I brought him to the places on the navigator and we went over which would work best. He wasn’t thrilled at what we found at the power plant, as corrupted had destroyed it. Lines were down and there was a lot of work that needed to be done, but everything underground was fine so we could get power to those places. We mapped out the other utilities and they were in bad shape as well.

  Shit.

  However, I knew a lot more about what needed to be done than the average person. I could really help her. Awesome. Seriously, just awesome.

  I grilled him a bit on what they’d been doing and where the problems were or hiccups were. After a bit longer, I realized he was itching to get back to Inez. Yeah, I would have too if I was welcome in her bed and arms. I brought him back and got to work, pushing my strength and speed in a way I hadn’t in a while, which made me feel a bit lazy.

  Apparently I’d needed her to give me a kick in the ass as well instead of just coasting through life.

  I headed back to the hotel and found Nick in the kitchen along with an early crew. I offered to help and he gave me a hesitant look before telling me where they’d located eggs and they were hoping to find some wheat. I made sure to bring both back, finding the wheat not too far away in the northern middle of the state, and told him where it was before going to get more.

  “She wakes with the sun, unlike other princesses from what I’ve heard,” Nick warned me when I brought back another huge barrel of wheat berries that just needed to be milled. He handed me a tray of cinnamon rolls that smelled divine and I remembered her saying she liked them.

  I thanked him and headed to the ballroom they were using like a dining hall. I just had enough time to fix myself some coffee and sit down for a breath when she came stumbling in. I about swallowed my tongue at what she was wearing. It was a sleep romper with super short shorts and long sleeves… And a hood with ears. Which of course she had up, her long brown hair spilling out around her face.

  “Inez, I didn’t mean for you to go out in that,” Jaxon muttered as he hurried after her. “We have guests, remember?”

  She shrugged. “Whatever. My first hangover needs coffee.”

  He snickered. “You’re not hungover if you’re smiling, My Princess.”

  “Shhh, no one will know the difference,” she teased him, smiling brightly up at him. “Just kiss me and rub my fuzzy butt because you all love doing that.”

  “I love doing lots of things to you,” he murmured, doing as she said and hugging her tightly. “All I want to eat for breakfast is you.”

  “As it happens, I am on the menu for you,” she purred, giving him a wink before hurrying over to the coffee. “After coffee you can gobble me up.”

  I stood and went over to her, dipping my head in greeting. “Nick made these for you and I promised to deliver them.”

  She moaned as she took the tray from me. “Thanks, this is—they smell so goooood.” She smiled up at me. “Do you want to try some? The cinnamon rolls are really great.”

  “I would love to join you, thank you.”

  “He has a hangover,” Jaxon informed Inez, pointing at one of her knights, James.

  “Need fuzzy butt,” James mumbled and went straight for Inez. He hugged her and rubbed her butt like it was a good luck charm or cure-all, but really, I would just do it because she allowed me. “Now I’m hungover and hard.” He kissed her cheek and fixed his own coffee. “But you should always wear that to breakfast. I’m more awake than I was before you walked in.”

  “Perv,” she giggled, bumping her hip into his. “I’ll share my cinnamon
rolls since I ditched you guys.”

  “Yeah, you brat, we drank your share too,” he threw right back. He came with her and Jaxon to the table I’d sat at and started in on the tray. “Nick loves you more than me. I like the strawberry ones better.”

  “Those are really good,” she agreed. “These are just comforting too and yesterday was crazy.”

  “Good point but today has a lot on the docket too,” he said and pulled her on his lap just before some other people came into the room. She looked confused but swallowed it when he started snuggling with her and just kept eating.

  “Matias said you were low-key, but I didn’t expect quite like this,” a man said, his tone amused.

  “Assuming she’s the right princess as there are also a lot here,” the other man said, giving a third one a confused look. It took me a moment but then I realized it was Matias Perez, head of the Perez clan and now Inez’s knight and managing Seattle for her.

  Wow, she really did have a lot on her shoulders and mind.

  “Princess, may I introduce Troy, head of clan Horne, and Glenn, head of clan Barr,” Matias said. “Princess Inez had some unexpected guests that she asked us to help out with.”

  “Asked or ordered?” Troy challenged.

  She sipped her coffee and gave him an assessing look. “Actually I didn’t even have to ask. Everyone just jumps in and we’re all nice like that.” She turned enough to see James. “Is it like a cougar thing to be snippy? Lara was like that before she knew me.”

  “Cat shifters in general are a bit like their animals and standoffish,” he answered. “But leopards are pretty playful when our territory isn’t threatened, so that’s what you’re most used to as you knew us first.”

  She smiled evilly at him. “Oh, is that why you’re being so affectionate this morning? Other cats are coming near your turf? Is that what you’re trying to tell me, Mr. Secretary of Defense?”

  “Yes,” he hissed, wrapping his arm tighter around her, and his hand moving just short of cupping her breast as he kissed her neck. “I may never be your noble or husband, but I like being your top cat.”

  “I thought Trisha was, because she was going to take me up in the fighter jet?” She laughed when he whispered something dirty in her ear and moved so she felt what she did to his body. “I’m telling Vance you’re getting dirty with me again.”

  “My baby brother would just demand to shower you clean and have his hands all over you,” James grumbled.

  “Oh, right, sit, eat, coffee, whatever,” Inez said, realizing the others were standing there waiting. “I’m not into all the formal stuff unless it makes me look bad to not be, like when the other princesses wake up.” She blew a raspberry. “I don’t get how vampires are night owls but I always wake with the sun. I’m a bad vampire then?”

  Nick came out with a cart and headed right for Inez, setting a plate in front of her. “Cerdic said you’re to have a lot of sugars and proteins today because you did too much yesterday. So stuff those cute little cheeks all you want.”

  She groaned when he lifted the cover. “Pancakes, really? I thought we were running low on flour?”

  “Your new noble hoping to become your suitor found a crop of them and brought back enough for us to spare making our princess pancakes. Another one went and brought back an array of fresh fruits from somewhere south and warm, and Kristof made sure there’s fresh milk for us to spoil you with.”

  She blushed so hard it went up to her ears. “Wow, um, that’s—not sure I deserve all of that.”

  “Oh, there’s more,” Nick chuckled heading back to the kitchen with a wave. “Whatever fun you had last night, they certainly appreciated it.”

  Then she really blushed, reaching for the syrup and digging in. She moaned at the first bite. “Shit, these are amazing. What are they?”

  “Banana and passion fruit,” I answered.

  She smiled at me and my heart fluttered. “You got the fruit?”

  “No, I found the wheat and brought some back. I will bring more, but I wanted to make sure I caught you early, as there were some things I wished to discuss with you.”

  She nodded, taking a few more bites and glancing between us. “Would cougars and bobcats like the temperature of Utah? I can’t remember if I read they had them naturally.”

  “They do,” I confirmed, having seen a few when I’d raced all over.

  She bobbed her head as the two new cat shifters sat down with coffee and their own plates. “So what do you guys bring to the table?” She smirked when they both gave her surprised looks. “Yeah, I’m going to be just as abrasive given you were. Matias was super sweet and nice to me so I was to him. So spit out why I should help you.”

  “He was actually the only snarky one,” Glenn reminded her. “I just wanted to make sure you were the right princess.”

  “True,” she agreed, giving him a wink. “I’ll be nice to you then.” She asked him about his clan and where they’d been living, how they’d survived, truly caring and worried about his clan and his immediate family. Her face was so expressive, and when he told her about how his sister died saving his pregnant mate, tears were in her eyes.

  She cared like I had never seen a princess care before.

  “Did you really get this all back online and let Matias have it?” Glenn asked when he was done, glancing all around.

  She nodded. “Yeah, for now. We’ll do better than a hotel forever, but we’ve got a lot to handle, so it’s a solid first step at least.”

  He blinked at her, having meant it was an awesome gift and she was talking like she hadn’t done enough. She really was one of a kind.

  Branko showed up and joined us, smirking when she kept enjoying the fruit pancakes so clearly he went for the fruit. He said as much when she said something about hoping there was always passion fruit on the menu.

  “I’ll make sure to get more,” he promised.

  “You did it? Thank you, it’s really great,” she said, beaming at him. She finished and stacked her plates on the others before hopping over to Jaxon’s lap, chuckling when James grumbled. “It took coffee to wake up my brain.” She took his hand in hers before her fangs came out and she cut her finger, dripping her blood on the wedding band he wore that matched hers.

  “Well good thing we have a lot of coffee,” he chuckled, giving her a soft kiss. Then he unzipped her top a bit to show the necklace she wore with four engagement rings. I watched as he cut his finger and rubbed it over one of the rings and her skin. “I love you, Inez.”

  “I love you too,” she whispered, giving him a kiss this time.

  It was so intimate and full of feeling that I felt as if I was watching them exchange vows, but then I realize that was exactly what I was seeing. She renewed her love for them every day, and they did the same to her.

  Wow.

  Darius joined us and they had an intimate moment as well, and I was so jealous of the love she showed them I was shocked at myself.

  “You have ears,” one of her knights teased her as he and his twin came to greet her. They hugged and snuggled on her like it was completely normal and she soaked up the affection. “I love it. You are totes adorbs.”

  “It’s really soft,” she admitted, rubbing her sleeve against her cheek. “The shorts are a bit short but at least someone put me in a bra this time, so I wasn’t just whatever at breakfast.”

  “I just wanted an excuse to touch my favorite girls,” Jaxon joked, smirking behind his mug when she blushed. It seemed to be a thing with them, trying to make her blush. I understood it because she was extra sexy when she flushed. “And I filled in the cracks in the pool. It will take today to dry but then the kiddies can have a pool in summer like you wanted.”

  “Oh, awesome, nice,” she praised, beaming at him before looking at Darius. “So they’re bobcats and cougars and that works for Utah. Should we do Salt Lake City like Seattle, and not just the construction places? Maybe we can map out areas to clear first so we can get the river going? I kno
w we need to hunt and clear the bases, but we need to focus on that area for the river.” She blew a raspberry.

  “Wait, huh?” Troy asked and he wasn’t the only one confused.

  “Right, we need the map,” she said glancing around.

  “I got it,” Darius told her and pulled it out of his back pocket. “I was doing some plotting after checking things out with Moon last night.” He laid out a detailed map of the US tapping where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona intersected. “This is where Inez’s coven is. She planted her tree there and it’s growing.”

  “Truly?” Princess Nora whispered, her eyes going wide. “You grew your own tree?”

  Inez nodded. “It was the first seed I got from a ghost. It was draining and it’s still a baby tree. It worries me to be away from it.”

  “Kristof checked on it and the protection,” Darius promised.

  “How did you grow it?” Nora asked as she pulled out a chair.

  “Please don’t make me answer that,” she whispered, covering her face with her hand.

  Jaxon took pity on her, hugging her to him as he smiled at his mother. “She bled on the seed and the ground during her menstruation while progressing our relationships with her.”

  “Well that must have been… Exhausting,” Nora muttered, looking ready to burst out laughing.

  “It was,” James confirmed, giving her a look that he understood her amusement but it had been a lot.

  “But the plan is to make ocean access,” Darius said, bringing us back around. “Starting north of here at Everett, there will be a major river that comes all the way to the coven so we need to clear the areas in between.”

  “How do you plan to do that?” Nora asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Sebastian cleared his throat as he set down coffee and a plate in front of her. He nodded across the room where Kristof was coming. So clearly Kristof had shared one of his gifts with Inez already. Interesting.