Prince Of Stone - A Captive Prince Fanfiction

X. A Dance of Deceit

The interior of the hotel was opulent in a way that made Damen's head hurt. Glittering marble floors and columns were illuminated by countless crystal chandeliers, and countless hotel guests milled about the lobby. Though it was still early, several of them were holding flutes of champagne or wine glasses as they glided across the foyer. To the left of the lobby were several pool tables and other forms of gambling and vices. Directly ahead was a spacious, dimly lit restaurant. Intimate. Laurent ignored both, striding to the reception desk with all the arrogant grace one would expect from an affluent young man who looked like a model and knew it.

"I have a dinner and room reservation for Charls," Laurent said in rapid French to the lady at the reception desk. She flicked her gaze to Damen, regarding the two of them. Damen saw what she saw: a wealthy businessman and his slender blond lover out for an elegant evening of drinks and gambling.

"We have a table set aside for you in the dining room, and here is your room key. Please let us know if there is anything else you require, monsieur, ah . . ."

"Just Charls," Laurent said, giving her a dazzling smile then turning to Damen. "Escort me to the dining room," he ordered.

Damen began to wonder why he had agreed to this.

~

Their table was set away from the rest of the dining room, next to a small fireplace set into the wall. The seating was bench-style, so that Damen was forced to sit next to Laurent with his back to the dining room so Laurent could observe the rest of the restaurant patrons.

A server brought a basket of bread and a pitcher of still water, which Damen thanked him for in a murmur. Something about his close proximity to Laurent and the warmth of the fire made the surroundings seem intimate, hushed.

But that was ridiculous. Even as Laurent played the part of a flirtatious sugar baby (Damen cringed even as he thought the words), his limpid blue eyes were sharp, scanning the room. Watching everything all at once.

The tables held mostly couples consisting of older and younger men. Damen thought of what Laurent had said to him out in the car. Plenty of sugar daddies take their prospects here. But looking around, most of the boys hardly looked older than sixteen or seventeen, the men they were with two or three times that. A heavy feeling settled in his stomach and he looked away.

Before him, Laurent broke a piece of bread and offered half to Damen. His brows were raised, eyes steady. A challenge.

Damen tried to steady his breathing. Without breaking eye contact, he leaned in and took it between his teeth. Laurent snatched his hand away, but there was something changed in his expression now.

A moment passed tensely in which neither of them regarded each other.

When a table across from them began to clear, Laurent cast a significant glance at Damen and rose from his seat. "That was Govart," Laurent said, "My uncle's door guard. You met him before, at my uncle's dinner. If he's leaving the restaurant, it means he's en route to my uncle's apartment. We have a short window of time before my uncle will likely show up here."

Damen made to stand, But Laurent planted a hand firmly on his chest, pushing him back into his seat. Damen's heart skipped a beat before Laurent removed his hand.

"Not you," he said. "I do this alone."

You're not alone, Damen didn't say. Instead, he said, "Don't be stupid. You'll need someone to watch your back, warn you if Govart or The Regent is coming."

Laurent paused. His eyes narrowed and Damen knew he was considering. Damen added, "It will be obvious if I'm sat here at a table by myself. But no one will suspect if they see us going up to the room together."

Laurent said, "Very well." Damen's pulse nearly leapt out of his skin when Laurent reached for his hand and held it. Seeing Damen's look of surprise, he said simply, "Well, lover? Escort me upstairs. Don't you think it's time?"

~

Once upstairs, they located the hotel room Laurent had booked. Incidentally, The Regent's permanent room was just across the hall.

Laurent left Damen sitting on the hotel's king size bed, with a parting murmur of, "Don't do anything stupid. Watch out the window and warn me if my uncle's car arrives."

Damen stood at the window. Damen watched.

The hallway was silent. Damen had expected to hear Laurent picking a lock, perhaps punctuated by soft cursing in French. But Laurent was nothing if not strategic, and had somehow managed to make a copy of his uncle's hotel key during a recent family dinner at The Regent's apartment. Sly bastard, Damen thought somewhat fondly. Laurent was as cold and calculating as a serpent.

The sound of boxes being shuffled and a frustrated sigh had Damen abandoning his post by the window and crossing the hallway.

Laurent had closed the door behind him, but had not bothered to lock it. Presumably for ease of escape, thought Damen as he pushed the door open.

The plush carpet within the hotel room had muffled his footsteps, so it took Laurent a moment to register Damen's presence in the room. In that time, Damen surveyed the luxurious space--a balcony room crammed with boxes and an oversized desk at which sat a decrepit computer. It struck Damen as out of character for The Regent to own something so old, but perhaps he favoured antiquated forms of technology.

Laurent's pale head jerked up as Damen cleared his throat, announcing himself. "You idiot," Laurent hissed. "Why did you follow me in here?"

There was a loud thud as he set down an unmarked cardboard box, sliding a manila envelope into the briefcase at his side. Damen opened his mouth to defend his abandonment of the window, but was stopped by the sound of voices in the corridor. Heavy footfalls sounded, and a moment later the door handle began to turn.

Laurent's eyes widened, sapphire earring winking at Damen under the crystalline light of the room. Without hesitating, Laurent seized Damen by the arm and hauled him towards the huge double-doored balcony.