Reign of a King (Kingdom Duet, #1)

by Rina Kent

Desperation leads you to radical decisions you would’ve never considered before.

Today is the union of two powerful families in the United Kingdom. Ethan Steel’s daughter is marrying Jonathan King’s son. In other words, the long, ruthless rivalry between the two ex-friends, Ethan and Jonathan, is coming to an end.

He is one of the reasons I never will. Jonathan King. A ruler in this world. An actual king who holds more power than the queen herself. My worst enemy.

I might not want to provoke Jonathan on purpose, but I will not get on my knees in front of him. Not now. Not ever. I’m done with kneeling for a lifetime.

This is the look of a man who’s preparing for a battle. A man who’s so used to war that peace bores him. And I’m another battlefield in his path of conquering.

I poked the lion and now, he’s come to devour me.

Jonathan is the type of man who showcases his battalion before a war to shoot fear into his enemies’ hearts. That way, he can win with minimum effort.

“What do you mean exactly by taking me for payment?” My voice regains some of its edge. “It’s as simple as it sounds. In exchange for transferring full ownership of the stocks, I want you to pay for them by becoming mine.”

Jonathan doesn’t seek to own me because he wants me. Far from it. He has a hidden agenda and he won’t stop until he achieves it. Whether I survive or perish at the end is the least of his concerns.

I stand up and stop by my glass chessboard on the coffee table. It has an unfinished game from when I played alone this morning. Now that both Aiden and Levi are gone, I have no one to play with but myself.

:(

Well played, Aurora. She’s taken me by surprise for the second time since her reappearance. There will not be a third.

She’s telling me this means nothing and she’ll wake up in the morning and completely erase me. Doesn’t she know there’s no erasing a king? At least, not when you reside in his kingdom.

“Anything else, your majesty?” “Yes. Lose the attitude. I don’t appreciate it.”

That no matter what he does, he won’t be able to break me. He can’t break what’s already broken.

“Pain.” His strong voice echoes around my dizzy head like a sinister, dark promise. “That’s what you need, Aurora. Lucky for you, I have plenty to give.”

That’s what Jonathan is — smoke. You can’t grasp him or escape him. The moment you think you’re safe, he comes out of nowhere and thickens with the intent of suffocating you.

“I’m not a girl.” His lips twitch, almost as if he’s about to smile, but Jonathan doesn’t do those. Not really. “Yes, you are.” “I’m twenty-seven.” I don’t know why I need that information out there. Maybe it’s my brain’s way to remind me that he’s seventeen years older than me. Or that my sister, the only person I still consider family, had him first.

After rebirth, people tend to never look back. To pretend like they’re newly born. Not Aurora. Her past has grown roots so deep, she couldn’t get rid of them even if she tried. And for that reason, I’ll dig them up one by one.

She might share Alicia’s physical appearance, but she’s nothing like her sister. Aurora is a fire where Alicia was earth. Deep and silent and everyone could step on her. Aurora would burn anyone before they even attempted to.

In no time, I’ve grown attached to his emails and the orders in them. The way he demands my attention and confiscates it as if it’s always been his for the taking.

“Okay, fine. So my question is…” I trail off, wetting my lips. “Any day now.” “What does it mean if a man only likes oral?” “He needs Viagra. Wait a second, Johnny needs Viagra? Way to ruin my daddy fantasy. Hey, what do you think his reaction will be if I mail him a pack?” I burst out laughing.

A whimper tears out of her as she nuzzles her nose into my jacket. “Alicia…” “She’s not here, but I am. I’ll always be here, wild one.”

We sit opposite each other, completely naked. Or more like I’m sitting while he hovers over me like a dark promise in the middle of a moonless night. “You’re now the property of Jonathan King, wild one.”

“The only reason you haven’t been owned before is because I hadn’t come along yet.”

I probably need to call in sick or something. Jonathan broke me with his cock. I knew that thing wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near me.

People normally say good morning, but Jonathan reminds you of how you breached his rules. The man is such a charmer. And I mean that in the most sarcastic way possible.

“I’m sore, okay?” He pauses, but his expression remains blank, non-existent even. “Huh.” Huh? I don't know what I expected, but ‘huh’ wasn’t it. “How sore are you?” “Enough that I can’t move.” “Should you see a doctor?” “No. It’s not as bad as that.” “Then what do you need?” “Rest, Jonathan. Ever heard of the word, or was that erased from your workaholic dictionary?” “Very funny.”

Not only do I not want to be caught in the middle of a father-son quarrel, but I also don’t want to be the cause behind it. I don’t want to witness the two people Alicia loved more than the world itself go at each other’s throats. It’s almost like a fight between a king and the rebel crown prince.

Ethan and I both know there’ll never be a truce between us. We’ll be ninety years old and in wheelchairs, and we’ll still fight to see who gets to own the world.

The problem with Aurora is that I can’t tell what she’ll do next, and because of that, I can’t exactly plot something for her. And if I do, she thwarts it. Which is both fascinating yet infuriating.

Aurora or Clarissa or whatever name she goes with is now fucking mine. Literally. Figuratively. In every sense of the word.

“Aiden.” His attention falls on his son. “When I told you to stay away from Elsa, what did you do?” “That’s different —” “Answer my question,” he cuts him off. “What. Did. You. Do?” “I married her.”

“And you. Did you hear a word I said about staying away from Lord Clifford’s daughter?” “Nope.” Levi takes Astrid’s hand in his and kisses her knuckles. “I made her my world.”

“Fine,” I whisper. “Open your mouth,” he orders. “I want a deal.” “When I said open your mouth, I didn’t mean to talk.”

“And how do I know you won’t regret this deal two months from now?” “I won’t. I promise.” “And you expect me to take your word for it?” “Just do it, Jonathan. I’m giving you the control here.” “While taking some of it away.” My lips part. “What? You think I haven’t figured out your angle, wild one?” He smiles in that proud way he showed me at the dinner table yesterday. “Well played, though.”

“Black Belt,” Jonathan greets blankly. “Johnny,” she mimics his tone. “A business owner, a karate belt, and now a waitress. Is there anything you can’t do?” “Strangling billionaires. But I’m thinking about adding that to my resume.”

“You’ll stop doing that. Effective immediately.” “Doing what?” “The red lipstick. Coming here the entire time. Noticing that he grew muscles. All of it. Be a stranger.” He’s jealous. Ha. Jonathan King is jealous. That’s not something I thought I would ever witness in this lifetime.

Is it considered manipulation if I already knew her plan and still went along with it?

Aurora is always thinking about ways to outsmart me and get what she wants. I indulge her and even let her win sometimes. I know. I, Jonathan King, who makes sure to crush anyone who goes against him, is letting someone win.

My feet come to a slow halt in front of Alicia’s room and my smile vanishes. I place a hand on the door as I often do. Alicia is a reminder of when I also lost control. I have to make sure that doesn’t happen with Aurora. She already shares her looks; she won’t share her fate.