Regal Queen by Ivy Mason

Eleven

Eyes brimmingwith a humor that I hadn't seen since Russia, she turned towards me, taking the red, styrofoam ball off her nose and put it on mine. I scowled, only to entertain her more, and her responding grin lit up her face.

"You look handsome, maybe less like Gothel and more like Flynn Rider.”

I frowned. “I’ll never be Flynn.”

Smiling, she shook her head. “The King then.” I just raised an eyebrow in response. “Regardless, it looks good on you. Possibly the most handsome I've ever seen you be."

I scowled. “And not when we were fucking?”

“Yes.” Smiling, she nodded, leaning in to me. Taking in a shuttering breath, I clasped my arms around her, holding her there. She was so perfect, right in my arms where she belonged.

I nuzzled her cheek with my own, then brushed my lips across hers, my tongue licking at the seams of her lips, gently prodding her open.

She bit down on my tongue gently, her lips spreading in a mischievous grin. I chuckled, low and deep, loving the playful side coming out of her.

I was glad I'd brought her to see Rocky. He had a way about him that made people feel at ease. His obnoxious childishness had opened her up again. Plus, she was probably relieved to hear that her hearing would come back, combined with getting out of the apartment. It had been far too long since she’d been able to move around on her own.

“What would you like to do now?” I asked when she let my tongue go.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, closing her eyes and softly brushing her lips against mine.

“Mmm,” I murmured.

"I have the perfect idea," she whispered, her lips rubbing against mine, so soft and sweet, so gentle that it made my chest ache.

“And what's that?" I whispered in return.

Her tongue flicked out, brushing against my mouth. "I think now's the perfect time to eat, don't you think?"

“I definitely want something to eat.”

“Pizza sounds good.”

I pulled back, groaning and regretting my already hardening cock. “You tease.”

She grinned. “I know.”

Sighing, I wrapped my arm around her neck and steered her towards the door, pulling the ridiculous nose off and stuffing it into my pocket. When we opened the door, both Liam and Noah were standing outside the door.

"Hi!" She greeted them cheerily and I slid my hand down her back, steering her forward.

"Don't distract them," I chastised her. "They're keeping us safe."

She nodded thoughtfully but the reminder didn't seem to dampen her good mood as we made our way to the main dining room, now filled with people.

It was your stereotypical Italian pizza joint, with candle lit tables and checkered tablecloths. A fat, italian-looking man stood at the counter and he grunted at us as we made out way towards him.

I turned towards her. “What kind of pizza do you like?"

"Pepperoni, duh. And black olives. And onions, and green peppers. With a cherry coke.”

I pulled out my wallet, ordering their house specialty, then we carried our drinks towards the back room, where the more private tables were set up.

Luca often conducted business here, and there were several of his men sitting around, eating and talking. I took her to a table in the corner and a few men glanced our way, but quickly went back to their own business. By the time we sat down, Rose was slurping her drink, pushing the straw around to get the last bit of liquid at the bottom of the cup.

She sat in the booth and I scooted in next to her, needing to feel her against me.

“So,” she tilted her head, a teasing look in her eyes. “Gumpy?”

I exhaled a small laugh. “Yeah, he’s called me that since I was a kid.”

“How long have you known him?”

I tried to think, “I can’t remember. I think he was my mother’s gynecologist when I was born, so, forever, I guess. She used to bring me to him when we would visit New York.”

“And?” She prodded. “Gumpy because?”

“I was a serious kid.”

“Of course.”

“And he used to call me the little grumpy king.” I shrugged a shoulder. “It eventually evolved into Gumpy. I think he was teased me about it to try and lighten me up.”

“I see.” She nodded. “That makes sense.”

She kissed my shoulder, then lay her head on it, humming softly and played with the straw wrapper as we waited for the pizza.

It was a moment of such domesticity that it made me pause, reveling in the warmth inside me. Is this what it felt like to be a 'normal' couple?

I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her to lay next to my chest, watching as she made a spit ball with the paper. Then she put it into the end of the straw and, before I could stop her, it shot it across the room.

I stilled as it hit one of Luca’s men. Horror shot through me as the man straightened, then he turned around, a scowl on his face.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Rose laughed, trying to apologize through her laughter. I could tell that her reaction had surprised him and, instead of being angry, the man grabbed a napkin, tearing off a strip, then made a spit ball of his own, lobbying it at her.

It landed on the table with a plop, she she tsked her lips, shaking her head.

"You need to take a deeper breath."

Oh hell, was this really happening?Was she really teaching one of Luca’s guys how to shoot a spit ball?

All his friends had turned to watch and I kept my eye on them carefully, but they all seemed intrigued by the woman on my side and her interaction with the man, who now shot a second spitball across the room.

It landed right on my cheek, and I closed my eyes for a moment, gritting my teeth, disgusted.

Despite the fact that some man's spit was now on my face, it would a bad decision to retaliate on Luca’s own men.

The room fell quiet, and growling, I opened my eyes and picked up my straw wrapper, not looking at anyone.

Once my spit ball was complete and in my straw, I blew and, at the last minute, lobbed it right in Rose's face.

Her mouth dropped open as it landed right on her cheek, her eyes wide with incredulity. “What the hell?”

The men across the room roared with laughter, quickly loosing interest in us as Rose narrowed her eyes, glaring at me.

I returned her gaze with a cocky grin of my own. "You deserved it."

"I didn't spit on you."

"But you did spit it on one of Luca’s top capos."

She let out a shuttered breath and her eyes darted towards the man. Her mouth snapped shut and she shook her head.

"Don't worry," I bumped my shoulder into her. "I think he liked it."

"Mmmm," was all she responded, still watching them carefully.

Thankfully, at that exact moment, our pizza arrived, along with more drinks. We were distracted by the taste of melted cheese and the tang of traditional italian spices on our tongues.

Rose moaned in happiness as she bit into her first piece. "This is the best pizza I've ever had in my life."

I nodded, in agreement. "Why do you think I told Rocky to meet us here?"

"Good job, King.” She mused as she leaned her head on my shoulder again, diving in to her food.

We sat like that for a while, with her head on my shoulder and me pressing soft kisses into her hair.

"So,” I said after a moment, "tell me one your favorite memories."

She suddenly stilled, placing her pizza on her plate and titling her head up to eye me. "Like, what, from when I was a kid?"

I shrugged, knowing that she didin't quite trust me, that she thought I was fishing for information. "Whatever, just a happy memory. Or tell me something else about your past, something you remember fondly.”

I wanted to get to know her more. Plus, I wanted her to keep feeling good.

She picked up her pizza again, biting down on her lower lip to think. Then she took a bite and explained between thoughts.

"My first year of college was amazing. I was learning about something I was passionate about."

"Which was?" I interrupted her.

"Graphic design. Drawing."

I nodded, understanading now. "Keep going."

“Anyhow, it was the first time I had any sort of freedom. My dad--or, the man who raised me--"

"James," I supplied for her.

She nodded, “Growing up, James never let me have any of my own friends, or do anything that normal girls were doing when I was a teenager. So I was surprised when he let me go to college, even though it was only the local trade school."

"What did you expect to happen when you were done with high school?”

She raised a shoulder. "I don't know. A marriage contract, I guess, though I wasn't sure I would be given to anyone important. James is only in the middle and I'm nothing special--"

I reached out, gripping her chin and she stuttered to a stop at the fierce look on my face.

“Never say that again, do you understand me?" I growled out, ignoring the attention I was attracting from the men across the room.

Her throat bobbed and she nodded, her voice a whisper of a breath. “Okay."

"You are the most stunning woman I've ever met, and I would pay every single cent in the bank to have you by my side." I raised an eyebrow. "Does that make things clear about how special you are, Rapunzel?"

She nodded, a dazed look on her face and, satisfied, I let her go, brushing my lips over hers briefly before going back to eating my pizza. "Go on."

She inhaled a deep breath, continuing. "Anyhow, as I was saying, I had two roommates my first year and we became good friends. It was diferent for me than it was for them. They'd had friends before me but I'd never had anyone to talk to, not like that. So I was completely intrigued by their lives. We would stay up late at night and I would ask question after question about them. Their lives weren’t anything remarkable, you know? But just having close friends for the first time in my life was amazing.”

"And what would you say if they asked about your life?”

She took a moment to answer, finishing up her crust. "I don't know. I guess I was mostly vague or even told little white lies, enough that they could still get a sense of me but without revealing much of the truth.”

I nodded, “That’s understandable.”

“What about you?” She asked me, and I just gave her a look that said, ‘really?’

She blew air from her mouth, tossing the last bite of her crust onto her plate. “So you were always the king of Vegas? You never cared what anyone knew about your life? Along with that throne of yours and the pretty crown a top your head?”

I leaned back in the booth, resting my arm on the booth, and she shifted so that she could look at me. I wiped my fingers on my napkin, throwing it on the plate and she just watched me curiously, asking.

“What, your life wasn’t filled with balls and tons of women hanging on to your every word, trying to catch your eye?”

“No.” I shook my head, my gaze penetrating hers. “It was. All that, and more.”

“But you hated it.”

“I hated it.” I repeated her. “Every minute.”

“Because all that didn’t mean shit when it came down to what your life was really like.”

I glanced away, hating that she was speaking out loud the words I’d never wanted to admit, even to myself. “Yeah.”

Her hand ran up my chest, sending a shooting thrill through me, across the knot of my tie, to the skin at my throat, stilling there. Her fingers wrapped around it, not softly, but tight. I stared into her eyes, gazing deep into her soul, not moving an inch.

“Tell me something else, Bourbon. Something you’ve never told anyone else.”

I opened my mouth to speak. Even though she was squeezing my neck, she wasn’t cutting off my air. Not really. But the threat was there.

Not the threat that she could actually kill me, she would never be able to do that unless I let her, but this was about control. She wanted something from me.

I’d done my best to show her these past few days how much she meant to me but she still needed more. And I would give it to her.

It took me a long moment to speak, to force the words through my lips, and when I did, my voice was hoarse and cracked. “Just a few more nights, Bourbon, and we’ll be free.”

Her gaze focused in on my face, her eyes darkening with curiosity. “What is that?”

When she spoke, her voice was soft like the caress of the wind on my cheek, like the trickle of silk over my heart. As if she knew she needed to be soft to break me open further.

And so, I gave her my truth. The only time I’d ever spoken it out loud. “The last words my mother ever spoke to me.”

She didn’t react. Not at first. Just stared into my eyes.

There was a lump in my throat so large, I couldn’t swallow it down. My eyes burned with unshed tears. I’d never cried over my mother’s disappearance. Not once. I could never do it. Maybe it was because something deeply intrinsic in my core didn’t actually believe that she was dead. That any day now, she would appear like an shadow, haunting me for never finding her.

We stared at each other for a long moment, and in that moment, there was no one else in the room but her, and me. Her fingers tightened even further on my throat and she leaned even closer to me, her lips a whisper of a breath from mine. She stared into my eyes as she spoke, giving me a deep, penetrating gaze filled with ferocity.

“We’re going to kill your father. We’re going to hunt him down and kill the son of a bitch.”

God, this woman.

I didn’t even know it until this very moment but her words were exactly what I needed to hear. Not, I’m so sorry, or, that’s terrible, some kind of meaningless, unhelpful, hopeless words like that. Because what did they really mean?

Nothing.

But this. This was a promise that wrapped around my heart, permanently sealing this woman to me.

I was a fucking goner.

I would never in my life want another woman. Because this one, this one was exactly what I needed. She was mine.

I growled, sealing my lips over hers and she tugged me closer, our pressing lips quickly turning into tongues tangling. I grabbed her waist, pulling her up into my lap so that she was straddling me, then slid my hand up her back, wrapping her hair around my hand, fisting it possessively.

“You are my fucking princess, you understand me? You’re my Rapunzel, and I’m going to lock you up in a tower that I make with my own hands, then throw away the key so you can never escape me.”

“No.” She shook her head, staring into my eyes, “Never. I will never be locked up again. Not after Dimitri. You might as well kill me.”

“I can never let you go. Not after this.”

I was pulling on her hair so tight that her neck was stretched tight with tension. A display of dominance. A display that she belonged to me.

I owned her.

And yet, the regal fucking queen that she was stared straight into my eyes, and when she spoke, I suddenly realized that she was the one with all the power between us. “I will never be owned by anyone. Not any. Fucking. One. If you keep me locked up, I will never surrender my heart to you.”

My eyes flit closed, my lips pressing against hers in a soft moan, my words a desperate whisper. “Rose.”

God, how could I ever capture this woman? This creature who’d managed to seize my pounding heart in her small hand. She could easily clench her fist and squeeze the life out of me.

If she ever left me, I don’t know that I could ever recover from that.

I was the prisoner now, and her, the Queen who lauded her power over me.

She kissed me, wrapping her arms around me, clutching tight to me like she never wanted to let go but I knew the truth.

I couldn’t hold her hostage any more.

I had to let her go.

And hope to fucking god that she came back to me.