BOOK 1: THE PRINCE

S E A S O N  1  :  T H E  P R I N C E 

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess from a very powerful kingdom. The King held a contest, to find a suitable husband for his daughter. Then a prince came, won the contest and got the princess for himself. They fell madly in love. Even the moon got jealous just by watching them together."

* * *

4 years ago. The Venetian—Macau, China.

“What an asshole! Does he think just because I love him, he can force me to do whatever he wants?!"

Even though her consciousness began to blur, curse words still continued to flow from her thin lips, polished with bright red lipstick to match her high slit red dress and her long hair that was let loose. Her blood rumbled in her ears as if she could still hear the cold, commanding voice of his lover filling her eardrums. "Besides, what is wrong with a woman being in control of a company?! How could he—" The girl's curse hung in the air for a moment before turning into a groan as soon as she realized that her glass was empty.

“Shit!” she cursed again in annoyance and took a deep breath, her blue eyes were roaming at her surrounding. The casino bar table looked very luxurious and classy, ​​plated in black gold. However, she did not bother to admire all the luxuries she had gotten from the first breath of air. She just needed someone to pour her a glass of whiskey.

Tonight... just tonight, Crystal Princessa Leonidas wants to be free. Free from all the rules that tied her. She was furious. As the only daughter ever born into the Leonidas family—the world's number one family—there were too many rules restraining her all of her life. Whether it was the rules from her daddy, her brother, even everyone in her family. Enough. She did not need any additional rules from Aiden Lucero, her perfect lover, especially for things that are already her daddy - Javier Leonidas had allowed.

With or without Aiden's approval, the Inquireta remained hers. Crystal would still control the jewelry company. Even though she was a girl, she was still a Leonidas. She was even sure that she could be far greater than Xavier Leonidas, her brother if she wanted to.

She wanted to cry, but she held it all in.

"Amber?" asked a soft, hoarse voice.

She looked up at the denim-clad man looking down above her, standing with one arm propped up on the table close to her, as if he was confining her. She blinked, as soon as her gaze caught a rosy, sweaty face closed to hers. A few strands of the man's hair stuck to his temples, his body like a well-oiled machine—tall, well-built, and perfectly shaped. All that beauty clearly reflected through the thin black shirt under the man's denim jacket. Not to mention the masculine scent that seduced her nose, further depriving her of sanity. She forgot whatever was tormenting his mind earlier. She simply wanted to admire the beauty of this perfect creation of God, especially his blue eyes.

“You—” Crystal struggled to control herself as she caught a seductive glint flashing across those damn gorgeous blue eyes. “Why are you even here?” she asked absentmindedly.

Without her invitation nor permission, the man sat in the chair next to her. "Why? Am I not allowed here, Amber?" the man asked, leaning his elbows against the edge of the table, then flashing a naughty, naughty smile.

Amber. Crystal smiled stiffly, remembering the fake name she had told this man a few days ago. Then his expression turned flat. "Anyone with access can enter." He shrugged his shoulders as if to question whether he had entered illegally or not.

The man's eyebrow rose. "So you don't think my face looks like someone who has access?”

"Last time, I remembered you were a maid. Now you—" Crystal looked up and down at the man, then gave him a disdainful smile. "You look like a boss. Is this a rented outfit? Or—"

The air around them suddenly filled with the man's masculine laughter. "Let's just say I am accompanying the big boss to his casino."

Crystal did not respond when a bartender came in, about to pour whiskey into her glass — which the man finally did. This was the last one. She made a promise in her heart when the rim of the glass touched her lips. "Looks like your big boss is very, very rich," she muttered, after taking a sip of her whiskey.

"With his underground business, yes, he is very, very rich."

"Oh, yeah? How rich?" She shook her glass in front of the man's face, smiling confidently "But I am sure I can pay you more."

In response to her sentence, the man stared meaningfully as he refilled the Crystal glass. "Very rich. Probably richer than you and everyone else here. But he prefers to hide it."

Her mocking laughter broke out, as the words floated low. Who could be richer than the Leonidas family? What was that joke?

“Oh, come on, there are only two families that have been undefeated until now.”

She was silent for a moment, clearing her throat, then looked away. She had no intention of explaining that she was a member of one of the two families being mentioned. She went back to drinking, unsure how much Rock Glass she had had. She was too drunk to remember. "But, if what you said is true, your boss is unique too." She looked back at his thick eyebrows, sensual lips, and pointed nose as he was now only inches away from her.

The corners of his lips curved in the sexiest way she had ever seen, forming a smile that prompted her to imagine; how did those lips taste like?

"Want to know him?" Suddenly the question came out.

She leaned forward, came closer, landed her index finger on his lips, then slowly moved along the lines. "Rather than knowing him," Her index finger tapped the man's lips twice. "I would rather get to know this figure." She moved her fingers to his face, stroking his eyebrows and sturdy jaw. She stopped for a split second and when he did not seem to mind, her slender fingers went down boldly, caressing his neck and then down to the man's chest. "So, what is your name? You have not told me yet."

The man caught her fingers and held them against his chest. "Real name, or pseudonym?"

She frowned. "How would you know if what I gave you was fake?"

"You are driving me to near insanity," said the man. Crystal did not truly understand, but she smiled. Overwhelmed by drowsiness, Crystal watched the man move to his feet—blocking the light shining on him. "I was looking for you, but all the girls named Amber Kimberly were so different from you. In the end, I realized that you have tricked me."

"And are you mad?"

"Yes, I chose to forget you." He touched her back. "Until," he paused and sucked in a breath, "I saw you here again. Your red hair. I recognized you right away."

"Hmm, okay." Her eyes closed for a brief second, then she reopened them. "Now that you have found me, what are your plans?"

"All the things we can do," he answered with determination, full of promises. She looked up. The man stood in front of her, then lowered his head until their foreheads touched. His big warm hands clasped together and pulled her face closer, letting their breaths greet each other.

"Such as?" asked her hoarsely.

"This." He tilted his head, brushing his lips against the corners of her lips "Next is up to you. Decide what I can and can not do."

Crystal could not think. The man's touch was like a fire ready to burn her. Dangerous, but irresistible.

Forget the rules.

Forget Aiden.

Now there was only him, this nameless man, and a passion that demanded to be satisfied.

"I am Crystal Princessa Leonidas," she whispered as their lips met. "All of my life I have never combed my hair or undressed. The maid always does it for me." Then her head landed on the man's left shoulder. "So if you want, then you can do it. Set your own limits. Serve me." Her voice trailed off, followed by her loss of consciousness.