Claimed by the Crown Heir novel Chapter 95

Vanessa scrambled to shove him away, stumbling back two steps to put a blatant, deliberate distance between them.

"Alistair, you knew I was engaged to someone from the Howard family. Why did you hide your relationship with Ace?"

The man's narrow dark eyes instantly cooled, his tone dripping with cynical edge. "Ms. Grant, I wasn't the one who threw myself at my savior back then."

"..."

Vanessa's face stiffened, her swirling emotions slowly settling into a cold reality.

"Sorry, I just found out about your relationship, and it's a bit hard to accept for a moment."

Back in Savannah, when she had nearly been assaulted by those three thugs, it was Alistair who showed up just in time to save her.

And it was her who lost control first, taking his innocence in the chaotic aftermath.

She had initiated everything. She had absolutely no right to throw a tantrum now.

Alistair pulled out a cigarette, trapping it between his lips. The lighter flared, and a slow haze of smoke drifted up, blurring the sharp, unyielding lines of his handsome face.

"Are you in such a rush to join the Howard family because you feel guilty about running away three years ago? Or does it simply not matter who you marry, as long as it's a Howard?"

Vanessa paused, letting silence stretch before speaking softly. "I just think it's a suitable arrangement."

"You met my uncle tonight. Are you satisfied with everything he brings to the table?"

"I don't know. He wasn't exactly what I expected."

He wasn't bad-looking, but she wouldn't call him jaw-droppingly handsome either. However, judging by his conversation, he seemed easygoing and approachable.

Spending a lifetime in a mutually respectful marriage with someone like that didn't seem so terrible.

Alistair slowly exhaled a plume of smoke, his tone dangerously casual. "How was he different?"

"Frank said he was breathtakingly handsome and one in a million, but I think... he's not even as good-looking as you," Vanessa mumbled under her breath.

"If you're not into him, maybe you should consider swapping him out for someone else."

Vanessa's heart gave a violent jolt.

Swap him out?

The second she settled into the passenger seat, a looming shadow trapped her, bringing with it a sharp rush of crisp cedar and faint tobacco.

Her heart seized in her chest. She instinctively shrank back, pressing herself flat against the leather seat.

"What are you doing?"

Alistair leaned over, snagging the seatbelt and efficiently clicking it into place for her.

His dark, slanted eyes swept over her tense, flustered expression, and he let out a low, mocking scoff. "I've seen every inch of you. Are you really worried I'm going to take advantage of you now?"

A violent blush exploded across Vanessa's cheeks.

She naturally had a luminous complexion, her skin so pale it was almost translucent. The moment she blushed, the color bled from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears, like rose petals scattered over snow—subtle but devastatingly striking.

The sheer wash of pink even traveled down the slender, delicate curve of her neck, making a man's throat go dry just looking at it.

It forced him to vividly remember exactly how seductive and yielding she looked completely undone in his bed.

Alistair's eyes instantly went black. His Adam's apple bobbed in a slow, heavy swallow as an intense, predatory hunger surged to the surface.