Chapter l216

Chapter 0216

“I’ve told the guards everything I know,” Lilliana said. “They’ll be watching you. Joseph himself just assured me of it.'”

I shook my head. I had no idea what she was up to this time, but I was tired of the schemes and lies. How many manipulative games would I have to endure during this competition? Every day, it felt like a new threat was emerging, oftentimes trivial, and I grew tired of dealing with it.

Especially when more pressing, life-threatening issues were just around the corner.

I had no patience for whatever new game Lilliana had concocted. Plus, when I looked at her, my anger sp iked. I recognized the shade of l*pstick she wore as the same that had marked Nichola s’s l*ps.

Nicholas had said it hadn’t meant anything. I wondered if the same was true for Lilliana.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I said.

“You can play dumb all you want,” Lilliana said. “We’ll let Joseph sort out all the truth. But no one is buying your bu llshit anymore, Piper.”

I blinked, surprised by her break of character. Since when did Lilliana swear?

As I watched her, open mouthed, she swiveled on her heel and stormed away. She pushed straight past Susie, who had just started to emerge into the hallway.

“What was that about?” Susie asked me.

I didn’t exactly know how to answer, because truthfully I had no idea, “Same old drama,” I said, because

that at least, seemed to be the nature of it.

Yet even so, I felt a chill run up my spine. I felt like someone was watching me.

I glanced behind me quickly, but no one was there.

After last night, I had felt more on edge than ever before.

Was this feeling just my imagination?

That afternoon I met Nicholas in the gym for more self-defense exercises. We utilized the mats this time, and took turns throwing each other down to the ground. I was thrown much more than I threw, but I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it a little at least.

Until thoughts of Joseph and Lilliana began to pop up in my head. Joseph, as a traditionalist, already hated my presence in the palace. I knew he was always looking for ways to get me kicked out of the

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility to think they might conspire some type of false charge against me, to have me eliminated from the competition.

What if it actually worked this time, and I was asked to leave?

Nicholas and I had been meant to be grappling, but in that moment, Nicholas easily toppled me onto the

mat.

My back hit the cu shioned ground and a puff of breath punched out of me.

Standing over me, looking down, Nicholas crossed his arms. “You are distracted.”

“I have a lot on my mind,” I said.

“You have to keep your head in the moment, Piper. You can’t lose focus.”

“Sorry, I mumbled.

He sighed and unhooked his arms. Then he reached down and offered me his hand. When I accepted it, he helped me to my feet.

“Since you don’t have a wolf, you will never have a natural advantage in a fight,” he said.

Upright, I realized my bra had gotten a bit twisted. Through my shirt, I grabbed my cups and attempted to adjust.

“You have to be constantly looking… for opportunities to… to…”

As his words trailed off, I glanced up at him. He was staring at my chest, specifically where I had pushed up my breasts to readjust the strap underneath.

I had straightened it. I could let go now. But I liked the way he was looking at me.

With my u-n*eck tank-top, pushing up my breasts placed much of my cleavage on more obvious display: the upper swells of my breasts, the deep valley between them. He might have even seen a sl*p of a n*pple from where it escaped above the cup of my bra.

He was openly gaping, with his mouth ajar slightly.

Opportunities, he said.

Perhaps this was a perfect one.

I purposefully and unnecessarily pushed my breasts higher still, causing not one, but two n*pples to pop free over the top of my bra and the u-n*eck of my shirt.

Nichola s’s mouth snapped shut. He swallowed hard.

I moved at once, grabbing him as he had shown me, and throwing him down hard onto the mat.

Unfortunately, the force of it also sent me off balance and I fell directly on top of him. I straddled his

waist, my thighs on either side of his hips. My hands hit the mat on either side of his head.

My hair had come undone from the tie, and created a screen to hide our faces from the rest of the

world.

He glanced up at me with wide-eyes, like he couldn’t believe what he was doing on the ground all the

sudden. Had the sight of my n*pples addled his thoughts?

Then I felt some movement in his pants, pressing up against my core. This position aroused him. It

aroused me too. My panties felt damp, all of the sudden.

Nicholas blinked a few times and slowly recovered. “Piper…”

I wanted to k*ss him. I wanted to grind my hips and make him wild.

But slowly I returned to my senses too. This wasn’t the time or the place for that.

Quickly, I rolled away from him and bounced up onto my feet.

“Some opportunities can be created with a solid distraction,” I said, parroting something he had earlier

said to me. Thinking of the training helped cool some of the fire in my veins.

“Maybe we should forget that lesson.” Nichola s’s voice was low and rough.

“I thought I was here to learn.”

He pushed himself upward, sitting. “Don’t do that particular move with anyone else, got it?”

His jealousy sent tingles through me. He had seen my breasts and didn’t want to share.

His use of anyone else made it seem like he himself wouldn’t mind seeing it again, however.

I opened my mouth to tease him when a new voice cut me off.

“Oh, now I’m desperate to see the move myself,” Julian said. He’d appeared at the door and was

walking toward us. “You’ll show me, Piper, right?”

My cheeks began to burn.

“Absolutely not,” Nicholas said.

“That hardly seems fair,” Julian continued. “I’m sure I could help offer some pointers.” He smirked. “Or

Nicholas immediately lowered his hands, covering his cr otch. “You are a ba stard, Nicholas.” 2

“You wish I was,” Julian laughed. “Then you’d have no competition for the crown.”

“I can help you stand, Nicholas,” I said, and reached my hand out, as he had done for me.

He looked at my hand, then my face. His eyes dropped to my breasts again for a half-second before his

whole head dropped as if in shame.

“I need to stay as I am for a few moments longer,” he said.

Julian laughed.

“I didn’t hurt you?” I asked, suddenly concerned.

“No,” Nicholas said quickly. “Nothing like that.”

“Come on, Piper, it’s time for me to steal you away,” Julian said.

“For what?” Lasked.

“Did you forget already? It’s time for your me ntal self-defense classes.”