Deviant King (Royal Elite 1)

“I don’t know if you’re trying to be adorable or if you’re that naïve.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You think you can hurt me, hmm?”

He clutches my chin with his thumb and forefinger, angling my head back so he can invade my face with his intrusive gaze.

My heart palpitates harder and faster.

No matter how many tactics I come up with, no matter how much I like to think I have control over this situation… I don’t.

And my heart recognises the danger.

The void.

The black hole.

My rigid spine also recognises the tingle of fear.

The need to run and hide.

The need to never be found.

A side of me I fought to keep buried is rising, crawling, and resurrecting to the surface.

You’re my masterpiece, Elsa.

I briefly close my eyes against that haunting voice from the past. When I open them again, the eerie voice disappears but Aiden’s steel expression remains.

Damn him and how easily he can poke open that part of me.

I kept it buried for more than ten years, but he’s slowly letting it lose in a matter of two days.

“Maybe I can.” My voice sounds a lot calmer than I feel. “What do you even know about me?”

“A lot more than you think.” He squeezes my jaw so hard, I wince.

“I swear to God, either let me go or —”

“Or what?” His features spark with the promise of a challenge. “You can’t do fuck to me. Let me put it this way, if I murder you, Coach will burn the corpse and the principal will scatter the remains. If I commit a crime, the school board will flip it around so it seems as if I’m the victim. You might have your head in the sand like little miss Ostrich, so here’s a quick reminder, I’m king here.”

His words sting because they’re true. As long as he has the King’s name, his father doesn’t even have to interfere for everything to blow over.

The injustice flares inside me and blurs my vision with unshed tears.

Nope.

I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry again.

“But if you feel entitled to.” The corner of his lips lifts in a smirk. “If you think you can take me, then, by all means, show me what you got, sweetheart. I’m curious to see who will believe that I touched you without your consent. I can have any pussy I want, what’s so special about yours?”

“That you can’t have it.”

I regret the words as soon as they’re out. I can’t believe I just dangled a freaking steak in front of a predator.

“Frozen.” He muses.

My lips thin in a trembling line and I nearly fidget in his hold, waiting for his next blow.