Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite 6)

“You knew?” Ronan hits his shoulder.

“I suspected they were making babies at your house the other night.”

My face heats. “We weren’t!”

“Yes, you were.” Xander waggles his brows. “Aiden had to help drive you home after one of Cole’s sessions.”

“Under my damn roof and yet I’m the last to know? Again?” Ronan speaks in a dramatic voice. “I feel left out again. Now I have to see my therapist. Are you going to pay for his bill or take responsibility for the emotional damage? Are you? That’s what I thought. Why am I always left out of the cool stuff, merde?”

“It’s not what it seems.” I try to keep my calm façade, but I’m trapped with no way out.

Cole holds his paperbacks nonchalantly to his side. “It is.”

“Cole!” I glare at him.

“I knew it.” Xan extends his hand to Ronan. “Hand me my hundred.”

“Wait.” Ronan stares between us. “Are you fucking? Because that’s the only thing I bet on.”

“No!” I shriek.

“Yes. Every night,” Cole says in a cool tone.

“Fuck me.” Xan shows his dimples. “Make that two hundred, Ron.”

“You get five, mon ami. This shit is interesting.” Ronan grins. “So you, like, do it under your parents’ roof at night? Or in the shower? Are you open to threesomes?”

A scream fights to be set free, but I bottle it inside and storm past them. Ronan calls behind me that he’s only here to get his mother a new book and won’t bother us, but I’m not hearing him.

It isn’t until I’m in front of Cole’s Jeep that I realise I don’t have my freaking car because the arsehole sent it away.

He comes right after me and as soon as he opens the door, I climb inside, arms folded and nostrils flaring.

“What’s gotten your knickers in a twist?” he asks casually after getting behind the steering wheel.

“Are you acting as if you don’t know? Why the hell would you tell Xander and Ronan about…about… You know!”

“Us. It’s called us.” His voice turns edgy. “And they at least need to know you belong to me. It’s not like they’ll tell anyone.”

“There is no us, Cole. Stop fooling yourself.”

He angles his body in my direction and I push back against the seat, expecting him to do something — not sure what, but he can’t kiss me here where everyone can see us.

Instead of touching me, he pulls the seatbelt and straps me in. “There is an us. In fact, that’s the only thing that exists. The sooner you stop fighting that, the better for you.”

He tugs on my hair — hard — before he settles back in place. I pretend he’s not there on the ride home. Or I try to anyway. I’ve never managed to succeed at that.

As soon as we’re inside, Papa and Helen greet us for dinner.

“I’m glad you’re getting along,” Helen says.

“Your meal was well received,” Papa adds.

“Meal?” I ask, staring between them.

Helen shows me an article.

‘Sebastian’s Family: The Future’