Twisted Kingdom (Royal Elite, #3)

by Rina Kent

Teal has an eccentric personality and the weirdest sense of humour. Sometimes, I don’t realise it’s a joke until she says it is. The fact that she’s Knox’s twin is even stranger.

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.

Dinner time with Dad, Agnus, Knox, and Teal feels familial, and I’m thankful to have them as a family.

I don’t know if I should soften or just hit him across the face. Can’t I do both? I peek at him through my eyelashes. God, he’s so broad and tall and beautiful. Oh, and a sociopath.

“Careful, sweetheart. You’re pushing me.” “You pushed me first. You started the war first. Don’t blame me for building my forts.”

“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.”

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.

He was beautiful even back then — with his boyish features and tousled hair. He grew up to be lethal.

I’m possessed by this need to check up on him. To just look at him. He’s a drug, Aiden. I’m just a loser on withdrawal. This is not healthy, but whatever.

“That’s a record, Astor.” Xander hits his shoulder, laughing. “Never thought there will be a day where a girl will leave because of you.” “Right? I think so, too.” Ronan scratches his jaw. “She must be an alien. No offence, Van Doren.” “Being an alien is cool, mate.” Knox grins, but something sinister lurks underneath. “But go near her and I’ll cut you, human style.” “Go near her?” Xander laughs. “She’ll hang his balls on a stick before you even interfere.” “That’s actually true.” Knox appears like he just thought about that. “Even my balls aren’t safe from her.”

“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.”

It’s cruel, but it’s true. Aiden doesn’t and won’t ever care about them. However, he cares about me.

Since we were children and even now, Aiden’s features only light up when I’m around.

You’re the only thing who breaks the endless vicious cycle.

I stare at Aiden’s hand surrounding mine. It brings back memories of the time when we were children. Back then, I was always the one who held his hand and clung to him. I also shamelessly snuggled to his side and laid my head on his shoulder. Who knew there would be a day when our roles would be reversed?

“You wiped my face with a wet cloth then covered me with a blanket just so you could slip underneath it with me. Oh, you also held my hand and kissed my cheek. Child Elsa was a stage five clinger.”

I can handle the intense, dirty side of Aiden — sometimes — but I’m completely helpless in front of his soft side.

He lowers my hand and keeps it on his thigh, tucked in his like it’s his most prized possession.

He chuckles, and the sound echoes around us like a melody. I want to reach for that sound, box it somewhere, and keep it for safekeeping.

Aiden often relaxed around me. Whether it’s his sexual intensity, his maddening possessiveness, or his rare smiles and laughter. He’s at ease with me. And if I’m honest with myself, I’m at ease with him, too.

“There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t thought about you. Every time I manage to sleep, I dream of you. You were my obsession since we were kids, but now it’s way fucking worse. I don’t know how I managed to spend eight years without you in my life when now I suffocate if I don’t see you for hours.” My eyes fill with tears. “Aiden…” “Choose me, Elsa. Choose us.”

“What are you being so mad about?” No answer. “So it’s the silent treatment now?” “Go inside before I kidnap and fuck you into oblivion.”

“My intentions towards your daughter are simple,” I say with the calmest, most determined voice I can manage. “She’s mine.”

The twitch in her nose when she’s stressed out is too cute for words. Now, I’m itching to touch that nose, kiss it, lick it.

“I couldn’t care less about families clashing. I’ve already taken a side and it’s Elsa’s.”

Beside being a traitor, my dick is an attention whore. Whenever Elsa’s in sight, he points at her as if saying, ‘Notice me. Suck me. Let me fuck you.’

I contemplate bending her over the desk and fucking her raw from behind. It’d be worth it even if her father walks in on us and murders me. After all, don’t they say to find something you love and let it kill you?

this is the first time he's thought anything about loving her

I love creeping under her skin. I love being the only one who gets to break the ice and slip inside her castle. She might close the door, she might build forts, but I’ll always conquer.

That look. That spark. That stubbornness. They’re the reason why Elsa is one of a kind.

Why haven’t I played chess with her before? This is nearly as erotic as fucking her. The power in her body, the boldness in her moves, and the melting of her defiance. Her mind clashing with mine is more euphoric than anything I’ve experienced before.

Am I too far gone for this girl? Yes, probably.

A sadistic spark ignites in Aiden’s eyes. It’s as if he summoned his demons and they’re now taking reign of the situation. Or maybe I summoned them. After all, he’s doing this for me. Aiden turns into an unstoppable force for me.

Aiden’s head tilts in my direction. His steel eyes immediately soften when they meet mine. I fall to my knees beside him, uncaring about the water soaking my skin, and grip his arm. The tight muscles ripple underneath my touch. “He’s not important, Aiden. You are.”

I’m sure that if I somehow fell into the pool, he’d bring me out. He’d protect me and be my hero once again. I should probably stop thinking about him as a hero.

Aiden’s lack of boundaries should scare me, but for some reason, a halo of calm submerges me.

I consume him as hard as he consumes me.

For the longest time, I tried to fight our connection, but it keeps winning. Losing never felt so good.

His solid body covers mine, his muscles and arms mould to my curves like we’re two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle coming together.

He’s everything I shouldn’t want, and also everything I need.

He stole my breath, my heart, and my freaking sanity.

Aiden isn’t only a monster, but he’s also a thief — the kind who never gets caught.

He stole my fucking heart and soul, and there’s no way I’ll be able to get them back.

Being with Aiden is like going through a roller coaster ride in a dark tunnel. There are ups and downs. There’s black and danger. But most of all, there’s excitement and the euphoric feeling of being alive. I’m alive. With Aiden, I never stopped feeling alive.

“Don’t cry.” “I can’t stop.” “I don’t like it when you cry.” He continues gathering my tears and making them go away. “Why?” “Because it hurts me when you’re hurt.” “M-me, too. That’s why I’m crying. I don’t want you hurt.”

Grey Eyes watches me closely but he says nothing as I grab his injured arm. Biting down my lip, I lay it on my lap and draw on the non-injured side. Once I’m done, he studies my drawing. “What is that?” “An arrow.” “Why an arrow?” “Daddy says when you feel bad, you should keep that energy inside.” “Why inside?” “So you can store it for later. Bad things happen for a reason.” “Bad things happen for a reason,” he repeats, staring between the arrow and my face before a small smile breaks on his lips. I love that smile. I want to kiss it, not to make it better, but because I love it. So I do just that. I lean over and press my lips to the corner of his mouth.

“Soon, sweetheart. I’m claiming all of you.” I release my fingers with a pop. “Promise?” A dark chuckle fills the other end. “Oh, I promise.”

I need to go back and fuck the three of them up for even thinking I’d leave Elsa. That will only happen after death. Even then, I might make a deal with the devil so I can haunt her from afar. What? I have to protect her.

“If I can’t keep you away from her; I’ll keep her away from you.” He motions ahead. “Ethan has just accepted to marry his daughter to Earl Edric Astor’s son. You can go back to England now. Congratulate Elsa on my behalf.”

Elsa is mine. Fucking mine. It’s time the world learns that fact.

I didn’t know how much I needed Aiden in my life until he was gone.