Twisted Kingdom (Royal Elite, #3)

by Rina Kent

“I was kidnapped by her mother first.” He steps back with the same smile still plastered on his face. “That means I’ll cut you if you hurt her.”

Still, he has no right to threaten me. Not when it comes to Elsa. Especially when it comes to Elsa.

“You’re not going to ask why I changed my mind?” “Doesn’t matter.” For now. “It’s because of her,” she huffs. “I might have unnecessarily been a bitch towards her.” “You think?”

Energy buzzes through my veins the closer I am to Elsa.

Alicia used to say that in order to be accepted, you have to bare yourself. I never understood what that meant. Until Elsa. Now, I’ll do whatever it takes to be accepted by her. If it means letting everything go, then so fucking be it.

Being back under my father’s wing has given me a sense of comfort I haven’t felt in ten years. Dinner time with Dad, Agnus, Knox, and Teal feels familial, and I’m thankful to have them as a family. However, something is missing.

Even when I laugh and smile and act completely normal, I can still sense the void inside. The terrifying hollowness. It echoes through my empty chest like an old rusty bell. It hurts. It really fucking hurts.

His scent fills my nostrils. He doesn’t smell like me anymore. His scent is mixed with Silver’s expensive Chanel perfume.

“Let go or I’ll scream the whole place down.” “I’d prefer you scream for another reason.” The dark, seductive tone takes me completely by surprise. Is he flirting with me in front of his fiancé? What the hell is wrong with this psycho?

“Let. Me. Go.” I emphasise every word. “If I do, you’ll run away and I can’t have that.”

One step is all I take before Aiden grips me by the shoulder and pins me in place. “Listen for once, and stop running away.”

All the pent up feelings I’ve been repressing explode to the surface. It’s ugly, it’s irrational, and it’s out of control.

“I’m not running away.” My voice raises with every word. “I’m walking the hell away from you, Aiden. You’re cancer who’ll keep eating me from the inside out until there’s nothing left. I’m done being your pawn. I’m done being played. I’m choosing me this time. Not you. Me!”

“The engagement is fake.” My lips part. “What?” “King and I were promised to each other since we were kids. We used it to get into our fathers’ good graces. That’s it. We never planned to go through with it.” She glares at him. “I would rather die before marrying this bastard. He’s an unfeeling psycho.” “Mutual, Queens.” He smiles at her without humour.

“I needed to stay engaged to him for other reasons, but he wanted to end our arrangement because of you. I figured if I pushed you out of the way, he’ll keep his side of the deal.”

She meets my gaze with a determined one. “We’re ending the arrangement in front of our parents somewhere next week. I’ll be completely out of your hair.”

“That’s all from me.” She throws up her hands dismissively. “Good luck with this twat. You’ll need a lot of it.” She flips him her middle finger on her way out. Aiden returns the gesture without breaking eye contact with me.

He’s watching me with that intensity again. Like a predator. It’s as if he’s trying to dissect my brain and stick his fingers inside.

“What are you expecting? A kiss or something?” His lips tilt in a beautifully cruel smirk. “That would be a good start. Although I have dirtier things in mind.” “Do you really think I’ll jump into your embrace now?” “And bed and sofa, and the fucking wall.” The sadism shines bright on his face. “I’m taking my fill.”

“You can’t stand here pretending you didn’t break my trust. Because you did. Every time I decide to give you a chance, you stomp all over my heart and prove me wrong, so excuse me if I have no trust to give anymore.”

His heat and scent overwhelm me even when I try to numb my senses. Is it even possible when he already owns them?

“I never lied to you, Elsa. I didn’t bring up the engagement because it held zero importance to me. It was a means to an end and a game I played to challenge Nash. It was also long before you and I got together.” He pauses. “I don’t spend energy on meaningless things, and you know that.”

“Meaningless?” I scoff. “How the hell is being engaged to your fuc...

“I never fucked Silver,” he says in a ...

“You heard her. We can’t stand each other.” “You don’t have to stand her to fuck her.” “Yes, I do.”

“But you didn’t deny you had her as a fuck buddy.” “I didn’t confirm it either.” “Why the hell didn’t you?” “I liked seeing you jealous.” My mouth hangs open, nearly hitting the ground. This fucking psycho will be the death of me.

The breaking of my heart. You know, people say you don’t feel it when your heart breaks. I did. I heard the cracking sound and felt it tear apart. Nothing will make me forget that. At least not yet.

“I still don’t trust you, Aiden,” I murmur. His left eye twitches. “Careful, sweetheart. You’re pushing me.” “You pushed me first. You started the war first. Don’t blame me for building my forts.”

He touches his finger to my mouth. I cease breathing at the feel of his skin on mine. His nearness has always been my undoing. Now that I lost the r...

“Run and I’ll chase. Hide and I’ll conquer.” He places a chaste kiss on the corner of my mouth. “Time to make your move, sweetheart.”

“If you keep your promise, I won’t get sick.” I grin and lean my head on his shoulder. It’s warm, his shoulder, even though the rest of him isn’t. “I will! Absolutely.”

It’s not like I can reincarnate the feeling of his hand in mine. Or the warmth of his shoulder when I laid my head against it. Or how easy our interactions were. We’re like two pieces of the same puzzle, him and I.

The words we exchanged play in a loop in my mind. We made a promise. How come I don’t remember it?

He’s a drug, Aiden. I’m just a loser on withdrawal. This is not healthy, but whatever. I miss him. As far as I know, there’s no cure for that, so I’ll just scroll through his IG.

It’s been a long time — nearly a month. My sexual cravings are going through withdrawals as well. Bringing myself to orgasm doesn’t even count. It’s pathetic compared to Aiden’s intensity.

You said you won’t touch me until I forgive you. I still haven’t. You were given all the reasons to forgive me. Now, you’re just playing hard to get. I’m not.

I really am not. I just want him to feel the weight of his betrayal, to recognise how much he shook my trust.

Yes, you are. So I’m changing my tactics. Changing his tactics? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

I want to fuck you so hard in all positions possible and remind you who you belong to. I’ll tongue-fuck you and finger-fuck you and come down your throat. Then I’ll claim that virgin arse for good measure. You’ll be all fucking mine. Every. Last. Inch. Of. You. Oh, and you’ll scream it for the world to hear. Then I’ll bathe you and loosen your muscles just so I can worship your body all over again. When you finally fall asleep it’ll be in my arms with your legs tucked between mine. As you rest, I’ll watch your adorable sleeping face until morning.

MY DREAM MAN SEXUALLY IM TELLING YOU

I waited for a long time. You know I’m not a patient person. Keep your promise.

Ronan searches around us. “Where’s my Kimmy?” That earns him a slap upside the head from Xander. Ronan elbows him in the side. “As I was saying, where’s my Kimmy?”

“You know I’m not big on parties,” I say. He waggles his eyebrows. “Unless King is there and you’re making babies with him.” My cheeks heat. Ronan won’t let me live down that time when he nearly walked in on us.

“Ellie,” Ronan leans in to whisper. “Are they really aliens? Do they do weird twin alien shit at home? Do I have to save you? I have my white horse waiting just outside.” I burst out laughing. He’s such a weirdo, but a great one at that. “Finally.” Ronan flings an arm over my shoulder. “I missed that laugh.”

I love him

Dread tightens my stomach as time slowly ticks by. Come back. Come back. Come fucking back.

I don’t dream, remember?

I’ll dream for the both of us.

The memory hits me out of nowhere. “I don’t remember my dreams,” I tell the boy with grey eyes. He pinches my cheek. “I’ll dream for the both of us.” “Promise?” “Promise, Elsa.”

There’s no getting rid of Aiden. He’ll always be there. A constant. A nuisance. A thrill. He’s under my skin, flowing in my bloodstream.

There’s no ounce of hesitation about where he’s heading. All the people in the cafeteria cease to exist in his eyes. It’s cruel, but it’s true. Aiden doesn’t and won’t ever care about them.

However, he cares about me. It’s in the way his features lighten upon seeing me even though his expression is still vastly unreadable. The way his entire body language points in my direction.