𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐄

-𝘵𝘸𝘰

Marcus could never truly admit why Alice was also his favorite woman to dance with, not even to himself. Of course she was beautiful, but she was his best friend's little sister. That's all she could be to him.

They immediately found a rhythm, with Marcus leading Alice into a graceful dance that followed the beat. Eventually, Henry made his way over to them with a beautiful lady in his arms. His face was completely red, indicating that he was very drunk.

"Alice!"

She couldn't help but chuckle at his antics, shaking her head in amusement.

"I presume this is Lady Anne?" She focused her attention to the lady, who smiled and curtsied.

"Lovely to meet you, Princess Alice."

Alice chuckled and grabbed both of her hands, standing Anne up straight.

"Just Alice. I'm very happy to meet you."

Before they could make further conversation, Henry made a vulgar comment and whisked Anne away, much to Alice's disgust. Marcus couldn't help but chuckle at the look that was on her face, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Something funny, Marcus?"

The way she said his name should not have caused the blood flow from his brain to rush further down, but it did. He was hoping to god that Alice wouldn't notice, but another more sinister side of him hoped she did.

"Not at all, Princess," he teased back, earning a smile from her.

"I am quite tired, actually," she trailed off, trying to search for Mackenzie but to no prevail. He sensed her nervousness almost instantly.

"I can walk you back, if you'd like," he offered with a raised arm that she happily accepted with a nod. He quickly led her away from the ballroom and towards the more private hallways so they wouldn't be disturbed.

For the first time in her life, Alice was nervous to be alone with Marcus. Not in a bad way like she didn't feel safe, that wasn't the case at all. In fact, she felt her safest with him around, she always did. She couldn't explain why she felt the way she felt in this moment.

"Are you feeling okay, Princess?"

She jumped up, cut off from her thoughts and looked up at Marcus. Despite her telling him countless times to just call her Alice, he always called her Princess. It used to annoy her, but now it was sending chills down her spine. She hoped he didn't notice and just smiled.

"Yes, just distracted tonight I guess."

He rubbed her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Are you still upset about the ambassador? Just say the word, Henry will send him right back."

Alice just chuckled and shook her head.

"No, that won't be necessary. I have my guards," she gave him a pointed look, "to protect me. Thank you for stepping in when you did."

They approached her chambers, and suddenly she found herself not wanting Marcus to leave. He also hesitated at the door, also noticing that he didn't want to leave as well. Especially since her guards weren't at their post.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked before she could over think it. However, once the words came out, she internally cringed. He was her brother's best friend, and she was just his little sister. That's all Marcus would probably ever see her as. She felt even worse when he hesistated. Little did she realize, his hesitation was because he wasn't sure if he could trust himself to not do something if he was alone with her in her rooms.