Vicious Prince (Royal Elite 5)

“Agnus, right?” I grin at him, showing my teeth.

He gives me a curt nod, pretending, like I am, that it’s the first time we’ve met.

“If you’ll excuse us, I’m going to drive my fiancée to school now.”

“Agnus can do it.” She tries to wriggle away, but I dig my fingers into the tender skin of her waist, making her wince under her breath.

“I’m sure he’s a busy man.” I smile. “Right?”

“Yes, indeed.” He ruffles her hair, and she blushes so furiously her pale skin turns rosy. “Call me if you need a ride home.”

I grind my molars, but I speak through my usual smile. “No need. I’ll do it.”

And with that, I drag her with me outside. In just a few seconds, my mood has gone from grey to black. No, not black — red, and fucking murderous.

“I told you not to pick me up,” she protests.

“And I told you that’s not how it works.”

“Let me go, Ronan. I can’t keep up.”

I stare back at her as we reach the entrance. I’m clutching her by the wrist, and she stumbles on her own feet in her attempt to catch up to me.

Instead of letting her go, I slam her against the wall. She gasps as her back is flattened against the blunt surface. “You don’t need me to pick you up because you have Agnus?”

“Well, yes.” She stares up at me despite the tremor in her voice.

“Well, yes?” I laugh, but there’s no humour behind it. I know she sees it too, because she swallows, her black eyes filling with what resembles fear.

Fear is good. Fear means she knows her fucking place.

“So does that mean I’m ruining your daddy kink, Teal?”

“Screw you, okay? I won’t allow you to talk about Agnus that way.”

“And in what way should I talk about him? Is he the reason behind your fantasies, ma belle? Is that it?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

I grip her by the chin and force her neck into a bent angle so I’m glaring down at her. “Forget about him, starting right fucking now.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll make you regret it.”

Something sparks in her features, a challenge, a ‘game on’ of sorts before she puffs out her chest. “No.”

“Oh, Teal.” I caress her skin, my voice calm and touch gentle though my insides are on fire. “You’re fucked.”

16

Teal

In the past, when I used to walk through RES’s halls and see couples whispering to each other or kissing in corners, I’d breeze straight past them.

I made a decision to be around Elsa as little as possible when she’s with Aiden. He cares about no one when he starts tonguing her as if they’re in private. I even avoided Kim when she started going out with Xander because they gave off this soulmates vibe that I’ve read about in books and makes me roll my eyes so hard.

There’s no such thing as soulmates. It’s all a chemical reaction, a rush of dopamine, a high, and like any high, it’ll eventually wither away.