Rise of a Queen (Kingdom Duet 2)

“Behind my back because they’re cowards.” I lift her chin. “Besides, I don’t have to prove anything to them.”

“And you do to me?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely. All the time.”

A small chuckle falls from her lips as the blue in her eyes brightens to a thousand megawatts. “You will never change.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?”

“Both.” She sighs, hiding her head in the crook of my neck. “I love it here.”

It’s our downtime after working for long months, and we always come to the island for a detox. I had to kick Aiden out because he was planning on bringing Elsa here.

Aurora said we could have a family holiday, but I hardly tolerate the lot of them during weekly dinners. I don’t like sharing Aurora with them, and since Aiden and Levi figured that out, they’ve become dicks about it on purpose.

Ethan does that, too, and I’m still secretly planning his murder. Doesn’t matter that we picked up our strange friendship-turned-rivalry again.

I don’t like anyone in Aurora’s vicinity. Full stop. Even Layla plays with fire when she steals her time from me.

I waited so long for this woman, and now that I’ve found her, there’s no letting her go.

Not now.

Not ever.

Since Aiden graduated from university, he’s been getting more involved in the company. Harris likes the level of challenge he brings to his workload, and they get along more now than when Aiden used to consider him my minion.

I loosened my grip a little in Aiden’s favour. He still has a long way to go, but he’s like me when I was younger, and I have no doubt that King Enterprises will prosper under his rule.

Besides, I need more free time to spend with my wife. Whether it’s getaways like this one or the hiking that she picked back up or even dinners at the Hussaini restaurant.

Aurora runs her fingers over my chest, releasing a soft sigh that creeps straight under my skin and into that place she’s carved out for herself in my heart. “We should’ve let Aiden and Elsa join us.”

“And have them ruin our time? No.”

“They wouldn’t have ruined our time. Besides, I miss Eli.”

Aurora is so obsessed with Aiden’s boy, and he uses her love for his son to his advantage by throwing him in our direction whenever he wants alone time with his wife. Whenever he decides to bring Elsa here, he calls me or Aurora and says, “Hey, how about grandchild time?”

Not that I mind. Being a grandfather has brought new meaning to my life, and although Aurora can’t have children — and won’t, as per her decision — she’s content to raising Aiden’s and Levi’s.

The night Eli was born, Aurora led me to a closet in the hospital and told me the fact that I’d become a grandfather was a ‘turn-on’, fumbled with my belt, and didn’t stop until I was inside her. I had to place a hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.

“We can bring Eli, but not his parents.”

She laughs. “I have the perfect gift for him.”

“How about me?”

“Are you jealous of a toddler, Jonathan?”

“I don’t like being left out.”

“You’re my world.” She plants a kiss on my mouth. “How can you be left out of it?”

“And you are mine.”

I pick her up and she squeals, holding on to me with all her might as I carry her to the ocean.