Sinful Princess

SINFUL PRINCESS KNIGHT’S RIDGE EMPIRE BOOK 17 TRACY LORRAINE CONTENTS 1. Alex 2. Alex 3. Evie 4. Evie 5. Alex 6. Evie 7. Alex 8. Evie 9. Evie 10. Alex 11. Evie 12. Evie 13. Alex 14. Evie 15. Alex 16. Evie 17. Alex 18. Evie 19. Alex 20. Evie 21. Alex 22. Evie 23. Alex 24. Evie 25. Alex 26. Evie 27. Alex 28. Evie 29. Alex 30. Evie 31. Alex About the Author Also by Tracy Lorraine The Mistakes You Make The Revenge You Seek Sneak Peek Copyright © 2022 by Tracy Lorraine All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Editing by Pinpoint Editing Proofreading by Sisters Get Lit.erary Photography by Wander Aguiar Models - Zakk Davis & Evan Keys 1 ALEX I watched one of my best friends get married. Fucking married. In Las Vegas. I shake my head and then rest it against the tall leather bench behind me and close my eyes. There’s a whole myriad of feelings warring for dominance inside me. The sadness I’ve been battling since the moment I drove away from Evie on Monday evening only gets worse with every day that passes. The regrets grow as I think about finishing things like that after the time we spent together. It just solidifies what I already know. I’m not good enough for her. Then, there’s the loneliness… I knew walking away from her was going to rip me to pieces, but I couldn’t have imagined it would be this bad. That it would hurt so much. I barely know her. It’s crazy to be this attached already. But it hasn’t just been a few days. You’ve been pining for this girl for months. You fell the second you saw her. “Hey,” Calli shouts over the music, sliding into the booth with me. The others are all on the dance floor having the time of their lives. It’s been the same since we got into that Hummer outside our building at the arse crack of dawn on Tuesday morning. Everything since has been a blur of excitement, disbelief, and happiness—for everyone else. Well, I am happy. I’m so fucking happy for Nico and Brianna, that’s not in question. It’s my own misery I’m drowning in. I’m doing my best to play my part, because I know I’ll regret not making the most of this crazy trip. But I just can’t shake myself out of it. I don’t even know what day it is right now with the time difference and everything. Alcohol. I reach forward and grab my drink, finding the level way lower than I was hoping for. Alcohol is my friend. It helps to drown the sadness, and it blurs the concerned expressions on my friends’ faces every time they look at me. That exact look stares at me right now when I glance over at my companion. Her eyes soften and she reaches for my hand. “Getting a bit much for you?” I ask. We’ve barely stopped since we got here, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about her. Yes, she slept most of the flight here, and when we’d eventually crashed into bed when the sun had been starting to rise the last few mornings, she’s slept a solid ten hours, but I’m still worried. She’s growing our future queen, and that’s a really fucking important—and exhausting—job. “My feet are killing me,” she confesses, kicking her shoes off under the table. “How’s blob?” I ask, dropping my eyes to the very slight bump she’s sporting in her fitted dress. Over the past few weeks, it’s been easy to forget she’s growing my niece or nephew, but that’s all about to change. Everything is about to change. We’ve got a handful of exams left between us. Calli is going to start waddling around like she has a bowling ball stuffed up her shirt. Brianna is going to return as a teacher to Knight’s Ridge College as Mrs. Cirillo. Seb and Stella, Theo and Emmie, Toby and Jodie… they’re all making plans for their summers, for their futures. And here I am. Alone. Miserable as fuck. I throw the rest of my drink back and groan to myself that it no longer burns. I need that pain, that punishment, anything to make the ache in my chest lessen for even a few seconds. “Where’s D?” I ask, turning to search for him in the crowded nightclub before me. He’s never very far away from his angel. “Bathroom,” she says, leaning closer so we don’t have to shout at each other too much. “I wish you’d talk to me,” she begs, squeezing my hand tighter. I shake my head. “What’s the point? It won’t fix anything.” “No, but it’ll get it off your chest. Maybe I’d have some killer advice for you.” “Maybe,” I mutter. Problem is, I already know what she’ll say, and it won’t help. “I hate seeing you sad, Alex,” she says, resting her head on my shoulder. “I’ll be fine,” I say weakly. “We’re in Vegas. You should be up there with them, having the time of your life.” Seb and Stella break through the crowd as she says that with wide smiles on their red, sweaty faces. They take one look at us in the booth we snagged and dart toward the bar for more drinks. Something I can totally get on board with. My phone burns a hole in my pocket. I’ve got a couple of messages from her sitting there, taunting me. I should have deleted them. And her contact. I don’t trust myself when I’m wasted, and the last thing I want to do is give her hope that something will happen when I return. It can’t. She deserves so much more