Royal Elite Epilogue (Royal Elite #7) by Rina Kent

Giddiness? Nervousness?

Or maybe it’s...happiness.

Before Silver, I didn’t know what that word meant. After her, it simply means...my Butterfly. My chaos. My world.

She understands when I need a challenge and she doesn’t shy away from meeting me head-on. That’s what I love the most about Silver. The fact that she never backs away and never gives up. Actually, she needs the challenge as much as I do, and that’s why she’s the perfect woman for me.

And because she is, I intend to live the rest of our lives proving that fact.

Sebastian kisses his daughter on the cheek before he gives her to me. Her smile is still shy, but those blue eyes? Fuck, how they look at me.

I’m the one who’s obsessed with seeing myself in her eyes, not the other way around. I’m the one who can’t get enough of how they look at me.

“Notice something?” she whispers.

“What?”

“Nothing?” Her lips pull into an adorable pout.

“You should know by now that I notice everything about you.” I motion at her dress’s ribbon with the butterfly brooch on it. “Fucking butterflies.”

“If you call them cockroaches with wings, I’ll kill you.”

I chuckle, tugging her to me because the distance between us is blasphemy. “They’re bright and beautiful and make people happy, just like you, my Butterfly.”

Her cheeks turn a deep shade of red. “Then you’re more important than them, because you make me happy, Cole. You make me so happy.”

“And I will continue to.”

“Are we really getting married?” she whispers. “I still think it’s a dream.”

“Let’s tie the knot here and I’ll show you later whether or not it’s a dream, Mrs Nash.”

Her lips part and the urge to devour her hits me, so I do just that. I tie our own knot before anyone else can do it.

I’m hers.

She’s mine.





III





The Honeymoon





11





Astrid





“I can’t keep up.” I laugh as Levi takes my hand while we run through the rain.

Even though we always do this and I’ve gotten kind of used to standing under the rain when I’m in his company, I really can’t keep up with his long athletic legs.

He’s a football player, after all, and I still have no tolerance for physical activity, no matter how much Levi tries to implement that in me.

He stops, his fingers still intertwined with mine, and faces me, panting.

We’re in Vegas.

No kidding.

When I told Levi the story about how my parents got married here and that I would love to visit it one day, he surprised me with a honeymoon in Vegas.

Sin City has never looked more sinful than when Levi is staring down at me with those deep blue eyes. His wet blond strands fall haphazardly across his forehead, shadowing his angular features and sharp jaw.

We’ve been here for a few days, and each one feels like a piece cut from paradise. I’m still not used to the fact that this man, who’s the embodiment of a strong Viking, caring and protective, is actually my husband.

The dreamy days we’ve spent here, walking around and fucking in every corner, haven’t helped, because since the wedding, I haven’t had a chance to stop and soak in the fact that I belong to him as much as he belongs to me. That I’m now Astrid Elizabeth Clifford King. And my full name, although long as hell, is the best form it could ever be.

I haven’t gotten the chance to watch him fall asleep and count his eyelashes or spy on him so I can sketch him later on.

Every day, he exhausts me to the point that I sleep in his arms like a kitten and only get up so he can whisk me off to a different adventure. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a casino, a restaurant, or the underground clubs where he can have me all for himself in dimly lit corners.

“Come on, Princess.” He grins down at me, cradling my cheeks in his big hands, and tips my face up until my entire surroundings are filled with his presence. “Is that all you got?”

Despite our height difference, I get closer and run my fingers through his hair, submitting the golden strands to order. I’ve always loved the colour of his hair, and it’s not just because he looks like a Viking. It’s the only colour that would suit him. Although the other King men, Jonathan and Aiden, have dark hair, Levi has a light shade, and that alone shows how special he is. He’s cut from an extraordinary cloth to be solely mine.

“I miss you,” I murmur.

Still clutching my cheeks, he taps my nose with his thumb. “I’ve been here the entire time.”

“I miss you, even when you’re close. That’s crazy isn’t it?”

He shakes his head once. “I’m the same. I miss you when I can’t breathe you. When I can’t hear your voice or touch you. I miss you when I think I have to leave you.”

“Levi…”

“So don’t let me miss you. I turn grumpy as fuck when I do, and that’s not good for anyone who’s near me at the time.”

“I won’t if you don’t let me miss you.”

“That’s out of the question. Not even when you’re old and grey and sick of me, Princess.”