Vicious Prince (Royal Elite 5)

I don’t, and even if I did, that fucker wouldn’t get anything from me.

Dear old Dad has been acting a bit weird lately. I thought the time he spends with Mum is because he has a control freak diploma from the eighteenth century, but Lars has been saying annoying shit lately.

“Pay attention.”

“Young lord, you are being blinded by that girl and losing focus.”

“Did I mention that you should pay attention?”

When I told him to be more specific or to fuck off, he chose the latter, huffing like a damsel in distress.

Fucking Lars. I’m going to corner him one of these days or steal his little black book and have a look.

What does he want me to pay attention to? His lordship being a control freak or Mum calling him her love when he’s actually her tormentor?

And Lars is wrong — I’m not blinded by Teal. I stare at my phone after making Eduard’s message disappear. Why the fuck isn’t she texting me?

“Green is on her way.” Xan grins like an idiot.

“Elsa, too.” Aiden takes a drink of his soda. He never drinks, like ever. He and Cole say it diminishes their logic, and they’re the type of fuckers who need all their neurons to plot chaos.

“Teal?” Cole asks.

“No clue. I’m not the clingy type.” I grin. “I do know Silver is somewhere upstairs though.”

She’s not. I haven’t seen her tonight, but egging him on is my favourite pastime. People pay money for this type of entertainment.

Cole’s gaze slides from his book to me then back as if I don’t exist, but if I managed to draw his attention from his book, it means this shit is working.

“Not the clingy type? I beg to differ.” Xander scrolls through his phone then flashes one of the texts they weren’t supposed to see in a million years.

Ronan: Remember when I said you always have to answer my texts? Well, maybe I haven’t said those exact words, but they’re out there now so you might as well do it. Call me. I want to hear your voice.

I release a long sigh. “Okay, what do I have to do for you to erase those texts from your phones?”

“I can’t be bought, Astor.” Aiden takes another sip of his drink.

“You mean after the stunt of burning my book?” Cole appears to be contemplative. “How about…never?”

Vindictive fucker.

“Are you kidding?” Xan laughs. “I’m already making these into framed prints and keeping them for future reference.”

My best option, for now, is to steal their phones and flush them down the toilet. That is if they don’t keep shit in the cloud. Whoever invented that — I hate you.

Elsa and Kim come in, both wearing jeans and tank tops. I stop breathing, holding it in for long seconds before I let it go.

I feel her before even seeing her. She’s in the middle, wearing a long black T-shirt-like dress that stops under her knees. The writing for today is ‘If karma doesn’t hit you, I fucking will.’

She’s bloody crazy, and her crazy is becoming my kink. I shouldn’t care about kink — or think about it — but Teal is turning everything against me.

In a good way.

In the best way imaginable.

Her hair is loose as usual, making her face appear smaller and her frame tinier. Her white trainers stop at her ankles.

Her black eyes aren’t smothered with