Cruel King (Royal Elite #0) by Rina Kent

He grips both my hips in his merciless, strong hands until I’m half-straddling his lap.

“The pictures aren’t my doing,” he says with fake calmness on his face.

Tears blur my vision as anger and shame roll off me in waves. “Don’t lie to me. I deserve at least that.”

“I never lied to you, princess. If I do something, I own up to it.”

“Yeah, sure. Then why was your face and even your damn car blurred?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll find out and whoever did this will pay.”

Every word coming out of his mouth is so sure and confident, I’m starting to doubt myself.

But isn’t that what he wants me to feel?

Isn’t it his purpose to reduce me to a mindless being?

A hand remains at my hip while his fingers snake up the hollow of my waist. I suck in a stuttering breath at the sensuality in his touch.

I can fight, but then what? He’ll just have me back exactly where he wants.

And maybe, just maybe I’m tired of fighting.

“You’ll also pay, princess.” His voice turns deadly and so do his eyes.

“For what?”

“For bringing that fucker when I told you to stay away from him. What were you trying to prove, hmm?”

I swallow as his deft fingers snake a path to the zipper of my dress, slowly pulling it down.

“Were you perhaps trying to prove that you’re not mine?” He yanks my dress down my shoulders with one tug.

I gasp as my breasts spill free from the built-in bra. My knee-jerk reaction is to hide them, but it’s impossible with my bound hands.

Levi’s black gaze turns feral as he takes them all in. He looks at me like he wants to devour me and leave nothing behind. A rush of need spirals through me and my nipples tighten and pucker as if begging for his attention.

It’s crazy how I’m ready to jump out of my skin whenever he looks at me like this.

Levi and I have always shared this weird, insane connection that I’ve never felt with anyone else.

A push.

A pull.

A current of power.

His thumb finds a throbbing nipple and he flicks it up and down. His pale eyes meet mine in a challenge. He’s teasing me, punishing me, and daring me to do something about it.

Tiny bolts of pleasure shoot between my legs as I bite my lower lip against the onslaught.

His mouth wraps around my other nipple and he bites down. Hard. A zap of electricity starts from his hot mouth on my breasts and ends pooling at my core.

“L-Levi… please…”

“Please what?” He speaks against the skin of my breast, his breath heating my skin. “Stop or keep going?”

I don’t know. I don’t know anything at the moment.

My head is dizzy and my legs turn into puddles around his thighs. Since I can’t answer with words, my body takes over and I push my breasts into his fingers and mouth, silently begging for more.

He speaks against my tender flesh. “Do you want me to suck harder on these tight pink nipples, princess?”

A small, needy voice leaves me as my eyes droop with uncontainable lust.

“Do you want me to make them tender and painful with pleasure?”

Oh. God.

His dirty words have always been my undoing.

I nod a little, pushing into him.

“Not so fast.” He smiles with contempt, looking up at me. “What were you trying to prove tonight?”

“That you don’t own me!” I shout, my voice hoarse.

“I don’t own you, huh?” His smile disappears and he’s back to his scary calm façade. “Is that what you really think?”

“You hurt me,” I bite out against the agonising mixture of pleasure, pain, and anger shooting through me all at once. “All you ever do is hurt me. You’re toxic, Levi, and I won’t continue being manipulated like a piece on your chessboard.”

He removes his mouth, but his thumb continues swiping back and forth on my other breast.

“All I ever do is hurt you,” he repeats as if he’s mulling the words over. Only this time, there isn’t that usual mocking edge. If anything, he appears genuinely confused.

I recall what Aiden told me the other time and feel horrible for saying what I said.

All the anger from moments ago withers away at the lost look in Levi’s gaze. It’s like he wants to act out on something, but he doesn’t know how.

And I might have said something wrong.

“No. Wait.” I wrap my legs around his waist tighter, not wanting to lose him. “I didn’t mean that.”

He tilts his head to the side. “You didn’t mean what?”

“That all you do is hurt me. You… make me happy, too.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I do, huh?”

“It drives me crazy, but yeah, you do. You take my mind off things and I feel free with you. And I guess, I hate that. I hate how vulnerable you make me feel. I hate that you’re able to hurt me so easily like no one else ever could.”

There, I said it.

My deepest, darkest fears are out in the open.

I swallow audibly after my confession, peeking at Levi through my eyelashes. I barely get a glimpse before his hand wraps around my nape and he crushes his lips to mine.

A strangled moan escapes me as he pulls me into him. My response is just as violent as his claiming.