Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance)

by J. L. Beck

  This was always my choice. I just failed to realize I had a say in anything until a prick named Royal came barreling into my life.

  I decided right then and there as we were pulling into the parking lot of the Industrial park that I was going to own Royal tonight. There would be no walking away from Noelle anymore. We were done fighting against each other.

  I was ready to be fucked by him, owned by the beast inside of him. I wanted Royal at his rawest, and I would get him even if I killed myself trying.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  -Royal

  “Do you need your hands wrapped, bro?” Echo questioned me from the small locker room located at the back of the warehouse. The place was a shit-fucking hole. The kind of place that people came to with the intent of getting high on crack, or doing something else that was highly illegal. It was the worst place I’ve ever decided to fight in.

  “No. I’ll just go like I am.” There was no point in wrapping my hands. I didn’t give a fuck if my knuckles got broken. The pain would be a welcoming feeling in comparison to the overwhelming emotions I was feeling right now.

  I hated Vivanna with a burning passion. I had no other choice but to rid myself of what I was feeling at this very second. If I didn’t I would end her, and wind up putting myself in prison. She was a disgusting human being— one that I wanted to fucking squish.

  Obliterate. Ruin.

  “He’s a big mother fucker, are you sure you want to do this?” Echo interrupted my thoughts to ask for the fifth time.

  “Yeah, dude, I’m sure. I need this fight, and I’m not scared of fighting a big guy. I’ll still lay his ass out,” I grunted out, cracking my knuckles and flexing my muscles to get them ready to endure a pounding. I haven’t fought much here, not like I did back home, but when Echo found out that I liked to take to the mats every once in awhile, he saw dollar signs.

  “Alright then.” There was a sorry look in his eyes.

  “You’re on in less than five minutes.” Echo slowly left the room, slamming the entrance door to the locker room closed. I needed the next four minutes to myself, to get my mind focused and ready to fight. I took in as many deep breaths as I could, bouncing from foot to foot, each breath allowing me to focus on what it was that was about to take place. The fight. That’s all I needed to be thinking about.

  God, how I wanted to fucking hate Noelle. I wanted to look at her and see her mother, not a beauty with sunshine colored hair, soulful hazel eyes, and ruby red lips. I didn’t want to feel a fucking thing for her but anger and disgust, because feeling anything but that for Noelle made me feel like I was betraying my mother.

  Wanting Noelle was against everything that I came here for. I wanted answers from my father, but I had never expected said answers to be so heartbreaking. I thought what happened between my mother and him was simple, but I thought wrong. All of it was a complicated web of lies. A tangled web that Noelle and I were caught in.

  “Get the fuck out here,” Echo yelled into the locker room. I shifted from foot to foot, my bare feet slapping against the concrete floor. My black shorts hung low on my hips, and as the blood in my veins started to pump at an accelerated rate, a cold sweat began to covered my body.

  The roar of the crowd pounded in my ears as I exited the locker room. Holy fuck, the place was packed to the brim. People standing up in the bleachers, as well as on the floor along the ring boundaries. There were a lot of familiar faces but there were also some that I’ve never seen before.

  Trying to block all of them out, I stepped into the ring-like structure. It was nothing but a mat on the floor with people as the boundaries. The crowd parted allowing me to step onto the mat. The man they called the Warrior was on the opposite side of the ring eyeing me up like he could actually fucking take me. I shook my head; he was about to be knocked into next week.

  Warrior had a couple inches on me, but my body was bigger, and I knew I could go longer than he could. I was an endurance fighter, but I also knew to end it when it was time for it to end. I wasn’t about dragging the fight out, just about knocking the fuckers out.

  “Welcome, Ladies and Gents, to the Warehouse fight of the year,” Echo spoke into a microphone, his voice booming out of the speakers.

  I stared Warrior down, feeding off the rage that showed in his eyes. The crowd screamed as Echo continued on.

  “In the right corner we have the man of darkness, the prince of knockouts, and pussy pounder of the year, Royal Motherfuckin’ Black.” The crowd roared to life again, the voices of hundreds of women muttering in my ears. Men wanted to be me at this very moment, and women wanted to be with me.

  “In the left corner we have the Warrior, best known for being a warrior on the mat and off the mat. I give you Jackson fucking Wes the Warrior.” The building seemed to shake with the noise the crowd made. My eyes scanned the crowd for some reason, I didn’t really know why? It wasn’t like Noelle could be here. I made certain she was with Jordan. Still something felt off about the whole night.

  “You fuckers ready to knock each other out?” Echo asked. I nodded my head, forcing my focus on the asshole in front of me. With both of us nodding in agreement, Echo cued the fight to life. Warrior bounced back and forth, assessing me for some type of weakness. I didn’t have a weakness, at least not on the mat.

  “Let’s get this done with, asshole” I muttered under my breath, stepping into his space. I swung my fist, catching nothing but air. Okay, he could fucking duck. Cool. He snarled his lip in rage, slamming himself into my chest. I took the moment to slam my knee into his gut, a breath of air leaving his lungs. He hunched over in pain, and I stepped back to land another blow— not noticing the fist that was coming right at my face.

  Warrior’s knuckles scraped across my brow, bone hitting bone. Fuck! Pain sliced through my face, but I pushed it to the back of my mind. I have more rage and pain than he has. I have a fire that refused to be extinguished. I was a mess, and I was about to show him just how big of one I was.

  My face shot back, and I steadied my feet, raising my fist and hitting him right in the side of the head. For some reason, my eyes caught on something in the crowd. A short girl was pushing herself to the front of the crowd, her hair the color of sunshine and I bet her eyes were hazel.

  Oh fuck no! Rage roared within me, and I took that rage out on Warrior slamming one of my fists into the side of his head. I could see nothing but Noelle as she stared at me in awe as each blow landed with precision against this asshole’s skull. I wouldn’t stop until blood pooled beneath him. Seeing Noelle here was just what I needed to end this fight quickly. I didn’t have time to make it slow and draw out the pain. I needed to get this over with so I could go and punish Noelle for showing up where she didn’t belong.

  His feet gave out and he landed on the mat with a loud thump. I jumped on him, surging forward with my fists. I was a beast, a monster of a man. I had nothing to lose. Warrior’s eyes drifted closed, and blood started to drip from his wounds, bruises forming with each punch. My hands throbbed as I clenched them tighter, blood covering them with a slick coating. I could feel Echo’s hands on me as he pried me off of Warrior’s lifeless body.

  “Chill the fuck out. It’s a fight, you’re not out here to kill him. He’s out, man, you won. It’s over,” Echo whispered in my ear trying to get me to chill the fuck out. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I refused. The fact that Noelle was here didn’t help matters. She set me off without even knowing it. The warmth of the Warrior’s blood on my hands brought me back to the present. I didn’t give a fuck if people looked at me like I was a monster. Not when I fucking was. Their opinion didn’t mean a damn thing to me.

  I shrugged off Echo’s hold on my shoulder and walked over to Noelle. The crowd parted for me, and hoots and hollers surrounded me. Hands slapped against my shoulder as a number of people congratulated me.

  I shrugged them off, their words, their hands, my mind clinging to one thing, and one thing only. Noelle. I could see two men standin
g next to her. They were far too close to her, too close to what was mine. Each step I took was deafening, and as soon as I saw the fucker standing next to her reach out and pull her in for a kiss, I fucking lost it. Any rational thought or behavior I might have had was gone now. I didn’t know what this piece of shit was thinking, but nobody but me touched Noelle. Nobody but me sure as hell better be put their fucking lips on her. She was mine. Did I have to spell it out for these fuckers?

  You could say my entire existence was centered on and around Noelle. She brought out the best, the worst, and most protective instincts in me, yet she made me darker and meaner. I was overcome with pure rage; the high from the adrenaline still pounding through my veins. My whole body shook with rage.

  No one fucking touched what was mine. Noelle pushed him away, the look of horror in her eyes speaking volumes to me. I didn’t want to hear her excuses, I couldn’t. Her ass was mine the second we were alone. She would pay for disobeying me, and for letting this scum bag even lay a finger on her let alone kiss her.

  “He didn’t mean it, Royal…” Noelle’s voice was meek, ringing loudly in my ears. I could see nothing and feel nothing but the need to destroy. I lifted my arm extending my fist into his face, the hit knocking him out cold. I didn’t even give his friend a second thought.

  I ignored him, grabbing Noelle by the hand, and forcing her to walk with me to the locker room. We were done playing this cat and mouse game.

  Our feelings needed sorted out and the easiest way to do that was to fuck each other into submission. Noelle’s pussy was mine.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  -Noelle

  His grip was tight against my hand, so tight I almost worried that I was losing blood circulation and would end up with a bruise from where his hand gripped mine. Acid burned up my throat as equal amounts of fear and excitement rolled through me. I wanted Royal since the moment I met him, and more and more the longer I spent time with him. Now I was finally going to get him and best of all I was getting him for who he was, not the person he wanted me to see him as.

  Not a tame version of him. All of him.

  “Do you want me to kill you quick or fuck you to death?” he quipped. I couldn’t resist the comment that was sitting on the tip of my tongue.

  “The second one please!” I must have answered him with far more excitement than he wanted because in the blink of an eye I was slammed against the brick wall of the warehouse, the jagged pieces of the brick digging into my skin as his beautifully dark face showed right in front of me. Barely contained rage burned in his eyes.

  “Is this some type of fucking game too you, Noelle?” he growled the words out, sniffing the air around me. I laughed, shaking my head no, a small hiccup escaping from my lips.

  “Of course not, my dark prince,” I giggled making fun of his fighting name.

  “Are you drunk? You smell like you have been swimming around in a fucking pool of alcohol!” I could see the anger mounting. The happiness I felt just moments ago was fleeting. In its place was my own trembling anger. I told him more than once that judging me wasn’t going to be something that I would allow. I wasn’t going to be told what I could and couldn’t do anymore. I don’t know why he thought he was my fucking keeper or that he had any say in my life.

  All he did was play games.

  “No shit, of course I’ve been drinking. You would have to drink too, to get through my life, asshole. I have a bitch for a mother and then there is you, and your back and forth bullshit!” I yelled at him, my eyes lingering over his lips. I wanted to lean in and kiss him. I wanted to place my soft lips against his hard ones and see where the action would take us.

  His pale blue eyes darkened, as he looked me up and down. I was wearing a mini-skirt and a shirt that showed more cleavage than was acceptable. I knew the disapproving gleam in his eyes was geared toward that.

  “Please tell me you didn’t willingly let that fucker kiss you. Please tell me you didn’t go out with Jordan wearing this, and please for the ever loving fuck of God tell me that nothing happened between the two of you?” Fear laced his words. The anger he had for me went out the window and for some reason that didn’t sit well with me.

  I wanted the angry Royal, the man that wanted to rip my clothes to shreds. The one that pulled me in here wanting to fuck me against this wall without a care in the world.

  “Who cares about any of that? I want you,” I purred against his chest, reaching out for him. I just needed to feel his touch against my skin, to feel his body close to mine, and to feel him deep inside of me.

  “I do, Noelle.” He grabbed my wrists stopping me from touching him. “I care, baby.” Leaning into my face he placed a soft kiss on my forehead, dragging his lips down my face to land against my cheek. There were smear marks of blood on my hands from touching Royal, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care how bloody or sweaty he was, I just wanted him to continue touching me.

  “It doesn’t matter what happened with him. It’s in the past, and I’m here with you. Only ever you.” I breathed him in— his scent, his touch calming me. My belly was churning, a lightheaded feeling coming over me.

  “I didn’t want you to see me like that. I’m not the same person when I’m fighting as I am right this second. I’m different when you’re around. This is the guy I want you to see not the one that was in the ring beating the shit out of some guy,” Royal spoke as he ran his hands through my hair caressing my scalp.

  “Dammit, Noelle, when I looked up from the fight and saw you standing next to that guy, I was torn between wanting to fuck the hell out of you and strangling him with his own fucking organs. And then when he kissed you…” His confession was so raw, so consuming. He didn’t speak with rage or anger, he spoke with pure honesty.

  “I didn’t kiss him. He kissed me. I’m so drunk I just wasn’t fast enough to stop him in time.” My words started to slur, and no matter how many times I blinked my eyes open I couldn’t see any better. It was like a permanent fog was casted over my eyes. I could feel my eyes rolling back in my head and a dizziness clouding my mind.

  “Noelle.” I could hear Royal, but I could no longer see him. It was like my eyes wouldn’t obey my command to open. My legs began to feel heavy and tired. I just needed to lean against the cold wall behind me for a while just to get my bearings back; to get my mind and body to focus. It had to be the alcohol, right?

  “Noelle!” It sounded like Royal was screaming at me, but I couldn’t really tell if he was or not because he seemed so far away. I tried to respond to him, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get my mouth to move, and my brain wouldn’t connect with the words.

  I could feel the bile start to rise in my throat, the acid burning from deep within my stomach and then it was coming out, my body collapsing onto something hot. I whimpered loudly from the temperature difference. The heat felt excruciating like I was lying in a pit of fire.

  “Mmmm,” was the only sound I could I could get past my dry lips.

  “We need an ambulance. Now! Someone call 911,” Royal yelled, the panic in his voice obvious. I knew the sound of Royal’s panic should have caused fear to spike through me. But it didn’t.

  Instead I felt a sense of calm wash over me. I tried to focus on the hands that were cupping my face trying to get me to look at them. Except I couldn’t. My eyes wouldn’t open, and my body was just so tired. What the hell did I drink?

  “What did you take, Noelle?” Royal pleaded with me to answer him.

  Take? What the hell is he talking about? I didn’t take anything.

  “Please tell me, I just need to know. I won’t be mad, I promise. I need to make sure you’re not having an allergic reaction, or make sure you’re not overdosing on something.” I could feel a crowd surrounding us, a swarm of whispers meeting my ears, but I couldn’t say anything or do anything to let them know I was in here.

  “Noelle, please, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you took.” The sound of Royal begging me caused
sadness to bloom inside of me. I wished I could answer him; reassure him in some way that I was okay and that I didn’t take anything.

  My mind was starting to fill with fuzzy images, everything was blurring into one image until there was nothing but darkness.

  Everything went black.

  The last voice I heard before everything went quiet was Royal’s. He was trying to soothe me. Telling me that everything was going to be alright, he was here for me, and that paramedics were on their way.

  He was right. I had him. It was always going to be okay with him here.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  -Royal

  Panic seized my heart as the beat of it pounded loudly in my ears. It was all I could hear even though the room was filled with voices. I never knew this kind of fear in my life. I didn’t know what I would do if I lost Noelle, or if something happened to her. I could feel the distinct thump, thump of Noelle’s pulse under my finger, but it was weak and that more than anything was making the worry intensify.

  I wouldn’t believe that she was okay until the paramedics got her to the hospital and a doctor looked her over and told me she would be fine. I sat there on that cold concrete floor holding her lifeless body in my arms until they pulled up and even then I still wouldn’t let her go. They had to forcefully pry her body from mine, and as soon as they had her loaded up on the stretcher I lost my shit. Someone was going to pay for what they did to my princess.

  “Which one of you fuck heads did this to my girl?” I growled getting in the fuckers faces. Jordan was trying as hard as she could to hold me back, but she was nothing but a small bump in the road. I pushed her away with more force than I meant to as I headed straight toward the Gabriel guy’s friend. Jordan briefly filled me in on what happened while I was cradling Noelle, waiting for the ambulance to get here.