Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite #6) by Rina Kent

Aiden is out. I know his limit is to stay engaged to me. He’ll never — and I mean, ever — hurt Elsa by taking responsibility for the baby.

Worse, Cole and I are stepsiblings. He can’t take responsibility, even if he wants to. Our world doesn’t work that way.

On the other hand, there’s a life growing inside me. Little hands and feet. A human being. How will I ever live with myself if I murder it? How will I have a future? How will I wake up every day and pretend I’m not a killer?

I scream again, the intensity popping my ears. There’s so much pent-up frustration inside me, broken pieces and wishes for an alternative reality.

A shadow appears in my peripheral vision and I jump back, my heart stammering in my chest. If it’s Adam, I swear to God —

“You’re kind of predictable, Butterfly. The park, really?”

Cole comes into view and pauses when he notices the tears in my eyes, the way my hands are balled into fists, my trembling lips, and the general mess I’m in the midst of.

His brow furrows. “Why are you crying?”

“Why am I crying?” I hit his chest. “Why am I fucking crying? Fuck you, Cole, okay? It’s all because of you.”

He lets me hit him, curse him, and doesn’t attempt to stop me. “Correction, Silver. It’s because of you. You shouldn’t have provoked Elsa. You knew she’d snap one day.”

He thinks it’s because of Elsa? I hit him over and over again. Hit. Hit. Hit. “Idiot. Wanker. Bastard. I hate you. If it weren’t for you, none of this would’ve happened. You barged into my life and invaded my space and now…now look at this mess!”

“I barged in?” He grabs both my hands, forcing me to stop, but he doesn’t yank them away from his chest. “I did it? How about you? Why the fuck did you have to be here that day? Why did you jump me, push me to the bench, and cry your glitter tears on me? Why did you refuse to let me go and promise me your firsts? If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself. You made me obsessed with you to the point I can’t fucking breathe until I see you.”

Oh, God.

Oh. My. Freaking. God.

That’s the first time he’s ever said anything like that to me.

I hiccough, my fingers splaying on his wet shirt, feeling over the muscles of his hard chest. “Cole…”

My voice trails off when I can’t find words to say. Should I be mad or touched right now? Should I kiss him or bite his lip off?

Cole has always been an enigma I couldn’t figure out, even if I tried.

“What?” His voice softens.

“Why did it have to be you?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Stop answering my questions with questions, wanker.”

He strokes my wet hair away from my face and I shiver, then wince when he touches my bruised cheek. “Come take shelter from the rain.”

Cole leads me to his car that is parked nearby. After we slide inside, he brings out a towel from a grocery bag.

“Did you make a stop to get this?” It looks new.

“Shut up.” He throws the towel over my head and dries my hair and face. He brings out a tube of ointment and applies it on the area where Elsa hit me.

His ministrations are gentle and I find myself caught up in his tender touch. Cole doesn’t show this side. Ever. At least not in a genuine way, so I know not to take it for granted.

“Take off your clothes.”

I cross a hand over my chest. “No. We’re in public.”

“The windows are tinted. Take them off before you catch a cold.”

“No.”

His jaw tightens, but he continues speaking in that infuriatingly calm tone. “What did I say about that fucking word?”

“I won’t take them off.”

“I’m mad at you right now, so don’t make me rip them off you.”

“You…won’t.” Right?

Just as I’m contemplating the option, Cole reaches out for me. I wiggle away from his merciless clutch at the last second.

“Fine, I’ll do it!” I remove my jacket and unbutton my shirt, murmuring under my breath, “Brute.”

“I heard that.”

I make a face, then grimace when my bruises burn.

By the time I’m down to my underwear, Cole yanks the bra away and I shiver, even though he already turned on the heater.

I grab the big towel and wrap my body in it, peeking at him through my lashes. His shirt is also wet and it’s completely transparent, showing his muscular chest and hard nipples. “You’ll catch a cold, too.”

“I don’t catch colds.” He reaches into the grocery bag and retrieves a thermos.

“What is it?”

“Hot chocolate I got from Aiden’s kitchen.”

I try not to be touched that he not only came after me, but he also thought it all through.

Sipping from the thermos, I let the warmth seep through me. “What else do you have in that bag?”

He retrieves a Snickers bar and my eyes double in size. I snatch it away and eat almost half of it in one go.

I don’t even think about the calories in the big bar. I usually eat small ones, and only occasionally or when I’m feeling really down.

“No one will take it away, Silver. Eat slowly.”

I face away from him to finish it. What if he changes his mind?