Empire of Lust (Empire, #4)

by Rina Kent

That’s all I pray for and I’m not even th...

She offers me a small, demure smile before Nate whisks her away to the reception area that’s set up around the back pool. Because, of course, this place has two pools.

A sudden chill grabs hold of me as my legs fail me and I drop back to my chair. After I make sure no one is looking, I retrieve the flask I keep in my handbag and take a sip.

There’s no point in staying longer if I’m going to make her uncomfortable.

A shadow falls over me like doom from an apocalyptic movie. I smell him before I see him.

His cologne has strong notes of cedarwood, pepper, and musk. As loud as h...

“You’re done here. Get off my property.”

However, Kingsley is on the small list of those who drain me whenever I think of or, worse, deal with them.

We’ve always clashed. Fucking always. I’m the angel on Nate’s shoulder—the one who’s as diplomatic as he is when it comes to dealing with the firm’s delicate matters and futuristic vision. A fact that pisses this bastard off because he’s the offensive type.

“I was invited. I have the invitation to prove it.”

that word and you met in an alley, they’d shoot themselves and splash your precious Italian shoes with blood.”

“That’s two minutes since I rescinded my invitation, which should’ve been used to walk off my property.”

“I’m not leaving until I congratulate my daughter on her wedding.”

“You mean my da...

“I’m the one who gave birth to her.” “I’m the one who raised her during the twenty years yo...

“For the thousandth time, I thought s...

“For the thousandth time, I have zero f...

Or how far I’ll go to gain my daughter’s trust.

To be part of her life and make up for the twenty years I lost.

He retrieves an old gold Zippo and flicks it op...

“Either you used your witch blood to summon a clone of yourself o...

“I’ll only leave after I congratulate Gwen and Nate. Not a minute before.”

“Allow me to decline the offer. Get the fuck out before I have you arrested.” “Then I’ll vandalize something on my way out.”

It’s no secret that Kingsley and I never got along before, but ever since he found out I’m Gwen’s mother, he’s been sprinkling my path with mines, trip wires, and an unhealthy dose of sabotage.

He hates me with a passion that resembles the way he loathes his stepmother. And I don’t understand it.

The truth remains. Kingsley and I are the personifications of water and fire. Coexisting is impossible. A healthy relationship is mythical.

Nate told me Kingsley is acting this way because he’s overprotective of Gwen and doesn’t want me to take her away from him. But if the asshole had any logical brain cells, he’d know I would never attempt that.

“What’s that?” I cup my ear, pretending to strain. “I can’t hear bullshit.”

I smile again, so sweetly that his eye twitches. It’s a cringe reaction, or an anger reaction—I don’t know and I don’t care as I turn around and leave.

I’m going to kill someone. Preferably my ex-best friend, who’s currently living on borrowed time. With a sledgehammer.

and nearly throwing a coup d’état to get into my infamous wine cellar. Try again in a century, cunts.

Nate, but only when he had the privilege of being my friend. Now, he’s just a fucker who stole my daughter.

Said daughter when she celebrated her twentieth birthday. And me. Now, the whole list is just down to me.

haven’t smoked in twenty years, since a tiny infant with rainbow eyes showed up at my door, smoking still feels like a part of me.

A large body falls on the chair opposite me, looking as silly as a clown with a vanilla orchid in his breast pocket that Gwen most definitely stuck there.

Nate is a tall man and an inch taller than me, as he likes to remind me, but he’s leaner. What he lacks in muscle, he makes up...

This motherfucker has never lost a case in his life, holds the unbreakable record of a one hundred percen...

also holds my daughter’s heart when he had ...

He watches me with that blank stare of his that could compete with that of an eighty-year-old monk. Nate smells of spice, woods,...

And no, I don’t like sniffing people for fun, but I’ve had an overly sensitive nose since I was thirteen ...

It’s how I would know if this bastard needs a new one ripped the moment he starts smelling o...

“Bad mood?” “Bad timing. Don’t speak to me unless you want to suffer enough body harm ...

“Charming as usual, King. Better tone down the psychosis a notch or else Gwyneth will suspect something is wrong. You can be crazy anytime you like, except on her big day.”

“I am toning it down, considering the fact that you’re still breathing…for now.”

“I thought you’d already accepted me as ...

Because my angel was getting depressed and proved with actions more than words that she can’t live ...

And fine, I know he loves her, too, which would’ve been blasphemy in his life...

Still doesn’t change the fact that he’s a thief who’s snatchin...

“You’re in a trial period, so you should start counting your days and revising your will—which better have everything in your name left to Gwen.”

“Ever thought she doesn’t want me for my money? Maybe it’s something else she’s after⁠—”