No Such King (Bloody Royals, #1)

by Coralee June

“If there will be my ring on anyone’s finger, it’ll be yours,” he said. I chewed on my lip, my heart stalling. “You never answered me last night. Do you remember the night I kissed you?”

Your father might have been vicious, but my husband was the devil.”

“Look how beautiful you are. Covered in blood. I can almost picture the crown on your head,”

“You’ve been running from me for as long as I can remember. Let me catch you, love.”

“Why do you have tears in your eyes, pretty girl? Who do I need to murder?”

“Because power allows me to be closer to you. To protect you. To take care of you. August is king, but I am not afraid to be a monster, Christine. A monster isn’t hesitant to fight or to get their hands bloody. I can accomplish things he wouldn’t get away with. I don’t have a moral compass, which means I don’t give a fuck who I have to hurt to get to you. Monsters aren’t afraid of the dark, baby.”

With August, I had to become what I feared. With Atticus, I got to accept the darkest parts of my soul. And somewhere between all of that, Leo was there too. We were trauma bonded, the rugged bodyguard and I.

“If you ever try to leave me again, I’ll tie you to my bed and make you scream my name until the whole castle hears. I’ll give you everything, Christine. Everything your beautiful heart desires. You want to go on a killing spree? I’ll line up men at your door. You want to share your heart with someone? I’ll rip mine from my fucking chest so you can see how it beats for you. I waited years for this. Watched you. Cared for you from afar. I’ve known since we were both teens that you were it for me. So don’t let something as fucking ridiculous as worrying what someone else will think get in my way. I’ll destroy them all if I have to.” I gaped at him for a moment, too stunned to speak. “Nod like a good girl so I know you understand.” I did what anyone would do at that moment. I nodded.

“I’m afraid I can’t ask you,” he replied. “You see, Christine, if I asked, that would imply you had any say in this. But it’s not my mother, this Crown, or your so-called crimes that draw us together. It’s…fate. As obscure and obsolete of a construct as that is, you’ve been mine since the day you were born. You’ve had my heart since that night you moved in. We have been meant to belong together for as long as I can remember. It’s too late to stop now. It’s too late to ask.”