Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2) by Rina Kent

My eyes fly open and I gasp through the sob. I know, I just know that Aiden’s threats aren’t empty ones.

The crazy psycho would do it.

“Now.” He drops a quick kiss on my mouth before he nibbles on my bottom lip with his teeth.

I stop breathing, expecting him to draw blood.

He’s not that vindictive, right?

Scratch that. He is.

Shit. I really should’ve thought of that before drawing his blood. Not once, but twice.

“Are you going to be mine?”

I want to cry.

God. I want to cry and smash his head to the ground at the same time.

For a few seconds, I remain silent, glaring up at him.

He tilts his head to the side, a slight smirk tilting his lips. The cut only makes it appear more monstrous. “The only way to stop me from going near Queens is if you’re mine.”

Screw him.

Screw the fucking bastard and his mind games.

And screw that bitch queen.

“I ha—” I cut off when I notice the gleaming look in his eyes.

“Go on,” he challenges. “Say it.”

I clamp my lips shut.

He releases my hands and pulls at my cheek. “See. You can be adorable.”

I swat his hand away.

“Hmm. And here I was contemplating telling you what you want to know.”

I blink through the water. “What I want to know?”

“The story behind what you heard from Jonathan and Queens’ conversation.”

My heartbeat escalates. He’s willing to tell me that?

Aside from Aunt and Uncle, Aiden is the only one who can shine a light on my past.

He said it before, didn’t he? That he knows a lot more than I think I do.

This is my golden opportunity.

Wait.

Aiden is a fucking psycho and he’s probably playing a mind game.

“What do I have to do in return?” I ask.

“You’re learning.” He smiles, and it’s more proud rather than sadistic. “You should’ve done this from the beginning, you know.”

“As if you’d tell me.”

“I would’ve. For the right price.” He strokes my bottom lip and for some reason, it feels intimate. Too intimate, it’s scary.

I step back from his touch. The tenderness in his eyes is creeping me out. What is that supposed to mean? Another mindfuck?

Don’t you dare fall for it, Elsa. Don’t you fucking dare.

I need to deal with this opportunity logically.

I stare up at him. “What’s the price?”

“Not so fast.” He grabs me by the waist and pulls me to him as he shuts off the water. “First, you have to pay.”





14





Elsa





When Aiden said he’ll make me pay, I didn’t know what the hell he meant.

I had to fight him off so I could dry myself and wear my clothes.

He sits on the bench, elbows resting on his thighs and fingers interlacing at his chin. He watches me with darkened heat as if I’m putting on an erotic show for him.

Oh, and he’s doing that while stark naked.

I couldn’t escape his gaze even if I wanted to. It penetrates my skin and flows into my blood.

It takes everything in me not to watch him.

My cheeks heat.

The fact that he watches me as I change my clothes is a different level of intimacy. For Aiden, it seems as if mundane things like buttoning my skirt or my bra is the show of the day.

My gaze falls on my scar, and I step behind a row of the lockers to finish dressing without combusting.

A light chuckle reaches me from the other side before a rustling of clothes follows.

Finally.

It should be a crime that he walks around naked like that.

It isn’t until he drags me to the car park that I start thinking about the meaning behind his words in the shower.

No way in hell am I going to let him take me in the car. I barely escaped his caveman clutches in the school — a place full of people. Who knows what he’ll do if he takes me somewhere no one can find me?

I come to a screeching halt in front of his Ferrari and yank my arm from his.

He stops, too, and looks between me and his car. “I thought you wanted to know the story.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “You can tell me here. I don’t have to get into your car.”

“Tough shit, sweetheart. You have to get into my car to know the story.”

I bite my lower lip and my hands ball into fists. He knows I’m desperate for answers, and he’s using it against me in the most brutal way possible.

If I go with him, I don’t know what the hell he’ll do. But am I ready to throw away my only chance to know about my past?

Even my therapy sessions with Dr Khan will become useless if I keep blocking myself.

“I’m almost sure you don’t mean to seduce me.” Aiden tilts his head to the side, eyes darkening. “But you are.”

I follow his gaze. With my hands folded, my breasts push against my shirt in which there’s an undone button. My bra and the line of my breast show through.

“Perv.” I turn away from him and button the shirt. “It’s because of you that I dressed in a rush.”

His grin widens. “Hmm. Do I unsettle you that much, sweetheart?”

Yes, dickhead.