by Rina Kent
I join Astrid behind the counter while she retrieves eggs and packs of bacon from the fridge.
My hands brush along her hips from behind and she sucks in a breath. There’s nothing I want to do more than to kidnap her upstairs and fuck her until she can’t walk anymore.
But she said she needs to know everything. I’m not ready for that. I’m not ready to put an end to this peace.
The three wankers come out after they shower and change into dry clothes. Astrid already has breakfast ready for them. Aiden and I helped. Correction. I made the little shit Aiden help.
It’s surreal when we all sit down for breakfast. I’m at the head of the table. Astrid is on my right and Aiden is at my left.
“Your parents are never here?” Astrid asks Ronan.
“They work a lot for the European Union and shit.” He finishes chewing on his bacon. “C’est merveilleux, my queen.”
“Stop calling her that,” I warn.
He rolls his eyes at the same time as Astrid.
“Are they okay with all the parties you throw?” She helps Xander to another serving of eggs.
Fortunately, she made extra because we eat like pigs in the morning.
“They have to be here to care.” Ronan scowls at me. “But I’m totally telling them what you did when I get bloody Ebola, Captain.”
Xan stops mid-chewing. “Isn’t that shit deadly?”
“Ebola isn’t from the cold,” Cole corrects them, but Ronan and Xander aren’t hearing him. They continue their overdramatic bitching, painting imaginary scenarios about dying of Ebola.
Astrid laughs and jests with them and although I hate seeing her laugh with anyone but me, I can’t help being mesmerised by her spontaneous energy.
She knows I won’t be her prince charming, but she still wants me anyway.
If anything, she wants me because I’m not.
I kick Ronan or Xander whenever they attempt to talk to her and grab her thigh under the table.
My hand snakes up her thigh under the shorts. She sucks in a breath, trying so hard to focus on the coffee.
When she meets my gaze with those huge fucking eyes, my breath catches somewhere out of reach.
Will she still look at me that way when she learns the truth?
Chapter Forty-Six
Astrid
No matter how much you hide it, the darkest truths will always come out.
* * *
After breakfast with the guys, Levi shooed them away.
When that didn’t work, he kidnapped me to the room upstairs and showed me that I should be only looking at him, not his teammates.
I might get close to them just so he’ll show me all over again.
This part of Levi will always get me in a twist.
I try to move from my position splayed out on top of him. I must be heavy. He wraps his strong hands at the small of my back, forbidding me from moving.
He rolls us over so we’re lying facing each other. I want to let him sleep since I doubt he got any last night, but his lips find mine and I’m a goner.
We kiss for what seems like hours. We devour each other in a slow passionate pace like we’re re-learning one another again. We don’t even pull back for air, we just breathe each other in.
I love kissing him. Not only do I feel his taste in my mouth, but I also feel him all over me and inside me.
Levi and I were made for kissing. We should never stop kissing.
It should be a blasphemy that we weren’t kissing since that party.
After what seems like an eternity, he pulls back, but he threads his fingers in my hair, playing with the falling strands.
I love all the little ways he touches me like he can’t get enough of me.
My own fingers get lost in his Viking hair.
“What do you want to do today?” he asks.
“Why?”
“I’m being nice here, princess.” He slides his hand from my hair to wrap it around my throat, squeezing the slightest bit.
I grip his arm, not sure if I want to stop or encourage him. Judging from the shaking of my thighs, it’s the last.
It’s crazy how much his intensity wakes something entirely feral in me.
It’s like a high that’s spreading through my bloodstream.
“Is this your version of playing nice?” I bite my lower lip.
“Oh, I’m playing fucking nice.” He brushes his lips over my nose. “If it were up to me, you’d be naked all day in my bed.”
The familiar need surges through me. Maybe I want that, too. Maybe I don’t want to leave his arms until I get enough.
But then again, will I ever get enough of him?
Besides, he’s offering me a way to get to know him better and Levi doesn’t offer chances.
“I can ask for anything?” I poke.
He narrows his eyes. “Ask and I’ll decide.”
“No. You have to agree to anything first.”
“Try again, princess. I don’t agree to something without knowing the consequences. That’s a terrible negotiating method and a sure way to lose before even starting.”
“Make an exception for me.”
“Are you going to ask for other people? Because that’s a resounding fucking no.”
“Aw, man. There goes my chance to have an orgy with Xander, Ronan, and Cole.”
His eyes darken as he grips my hip tighter until it’s almost painful. “You want to have an orgy with those three fuckers?”
When I remain silent, his demeanour stiffens. The anger radiating off him seeps under my skin even though it’s not directed at me. I think.
“What did they do to you last night?”
“Nothing.”
He continues glaring at me.
“I’m kidding, Levi. Jeez.”
“You’re kidding, huh?”
“Totally. As if I would ever want anyone other than you.”
That draws a mischievous smile from him. “Good save.”
I’m really starting to learn the devil’s ways.
“So what do you want to do?” he asks. “One last chance. Otherwise, we go with my naked all-day plan.”
I’m tempted to follow his plan and to hell with it, but something I always wanted to do with him prickles my mind.
“I want a normal date. Maybe a film and the amusement park?”
“That’s it?”
I nod, lowering my head. “I didn’t really date before and I want to experience that.”
“Wait. Go back. Didn’t really? As in you sort of dated?”
“I had some awkward dates in middle school when I was with Mum.”
“Any sorry fucks I should know about?”
“No, you freak,” I laugh. “Are you always this possessive?”
“Only with you, princess.”
I can’t help the heat creeping up my neck and into my cheeks. He has this maddening way of making me blush over the smallest words.
“Don’t even try to compare me to your previous dates.” A shot of possessiveness and jealousy grips me.
“I don’t date.”
“Oh.”
“You’ll be my first.”
I can’t help the stupid grin spreading on my face. “Is that a yes?”
“Not so fast.” He lowers his head until his lips hover a breath from mine. “What do I get in return?”
“What do you want?”
“You in my bed after the date.”
“Does that mean I’m paying for the date with sex?”
He lifts a shoulder, amusement glinting in his eyes. “If you want to look at it that way.”
“That sounds awfully like you’re my sugar daddy.”
“I’ll be your anything as long as you’re mine.”
“What if I change my mind?”
He nibbles on the corner of my lip, drawing a shudder from deep within me. “Too bad. The deal with the devil is a one-way ticket.”
When I told Levi I wanted to go on a normal date, I certai
nly didn’t mean for him to terrify me in the amusement park.
I’m sweating and breathing harshly by the time we come down from the rollercoaster ride.
Levi laughs, wrapping his bigger hand around mine.
“That’s not funny!” I nudge him.
“For someone who won a drinking game against our ace drinker, you’re rubbish with thrill rides.”
“Whatever.”
“You should’ve seen your face.” His voice drips with amusement.
I throw him a glare, scowling.
He clutches my cheeks and pulls them so his face is mere inches away from mine. “You’re so fucking adorable when you’re angry.”
“Is that why you ghosted me for two weeks?” The question comes out of nowhere, but that’s probably because it’s been at the back of my mind since I woke up this morning.
I won’t pretend everything is okay after he spent two weeks pretending I wasn’t there.
His expression closes and he lets go of my face. Just when I think he’ll retreat and I’ll have to chase him all over the park, he entwines his hand with mine.
I run in front of him but with his hand holding me hostage, it’s kind of impossible to get far ahead from him.
“Tell me why.” My voice catches. “I have the right to know why you treated me like I didn’t exist.”
He says nothing, continuing to stride ahead.
“Are you going to do it again? Do I have to sit and wait until your switch is on and you turn against me?”
Levi tugs on my hand, bringing me to a screeching halt. “Believe me, princess. That won’t happen again.”
“Why not? If you did it once, what’s going to stop you from doing it again?”
He releases a frustrated sound and continues dragging me along. At first, I think we’re leaving, but he stops in front of the Ferris wheel and gives the man our tickets before he flings me inside.
I fold my arms and sit at the far end from him.
He slides to my side. When I attempt to stand up, he yanks down on my thigh with a strong hand.
A groan of frustration rips from me. “I’m angry at you right now.”
“You can be angry all you want without leaving my side.”
I release an annoyed breath and stare outside as the Ferris starts moving. The more we go up, the smaller the world becomes. People are so minuscule, they’re barely decipherable.
Levi’s hand snakes up the leg of my shorts. I grab and throw it away. “Unless you’re ready to talk, don’t touch me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, princess.” His hand surrounds my throat. “I touch what’s mine whenever I damn well please.”
“Stop,” I hiss, feeling my walls crumble. “Just stop playing these mind games with me and tell me, Levi.”
His head tilts to the side like it does every time when he’s plotting something — usually trouble.
“Are you still searching into what happened that night?” he asks.
My brows furrow. “How did the conversation go to that?”
“Answer me.”
“I told you I’m not giving up on my justice.” My lips part as I search his face. “Is this what is it about? Did you have something to do with the accident?”
A muscle ticks in his jaw and he focuses on the outside world.
I clutch his face with both my palms, forcing him to look at me. “You… did?”
Oh. God. Please tell me this isn’t true.
I search his pale eyes for any tell, but they’re glassed over. He’s sealing himself inside.
“I was there,” he says calmly. Too calmly.
A sob tears from my throat.
He was there.
Levi watched me being hit.
“But I wasn’t part of the accident.”
“Then you were a part of the ones who chased me like I was an animal?” I ask with stupor.
“No.”
“How the hell am I able to believe anything you say, Levi?” Everything clicks into place and I stare at him as if he’s not real. “This is why you approached me, isn’t it? You didn’t want me to reveal what you and your little band of friends did… wait… were Ronan, Xan, and Cole a part of it? Oh, my God. Of course, they were. Aiden told them to leave me to die, didn’t he?”
“Astrid!” He clutches my shoulders and I realise tears are streaming down my cheeks.
I promised myself that I’d never cry for him, but here I am.
Only, these tears are for myself. For the pathetic fool in me who considered trusting him again.
“For the last time, I’m repeating that I had nothing to do with the accident.”
“How did you feel when you saw me covered in my own blood, King?” I cry. “Did you get off on it?”
“No!” His grip tightens on my shoulder.
“Then why were you so insistent that I drop the case? Why did you make my life hell for it? And don’t lie to me. If you do, I’m erasing you completely. I swear.”
“You’re erasing me, huh?” He fists a handful of my hair in his fist, eyes menacing. “Do you think you can forget me?”
“Maybe not at first.” My voice is filled with emotions. “But I promise that I’ll eventually do it. I’m not your plaything, Levi and I never will be.”
He drops his hands from my hair and sighs. “Fuck it.”
Fuck it?
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
“Do you remember what happened the night of your accident?”
My brows furrow. “The accidental fire?”
“Only it wasn’t accidental.”
My eyes widen. “You…”
He nods. “I set my uncle’s mansion on fire.”
“But… why?”
“Arson leads to prison, princess. Uncle could’ve gotten me out of it, but that would’ve been at the expense of my freedom. That’s why I needed you to drop the case.”
“No. Why did you burn your uncle’s mansion?”
He laughs without humour. “Because I wanted to rebel against him? Because he threatened to take my inheritance and keep me on a leash? Because I wanted to be a dick and take his favourite holiday home right before the summer? Take your pick.”
Wow. I didn’t realise his relationship with his uncle was that strained.
“Can your uncle take your inheritance?”
“My father listed him as my guardian until I’m twenty-five. If I don’t play into his hands, he won’t let me touch a dime from the family’s money.”
“Can he really do that when you’re over eighteen?”
“Yeah. Even if he can’t, I can’t challenge him in court. No lawyer will beat Uncle’s harem of hotshot lawyers.”
“Why is he doing this to you?”
He releases a long breath. “He doesn’t want me to become my father. You see, my father wasn’t the perfect King that Jonathan is. James King loved life more and he never engaged in the family business. He played rugby in his early years and had a horrible injury that forced him into early retirement. He became depressed then manic. While Uncle built the empire, my father either gambled the King’s money or spent it on drugs.”
Humming energy pulses off Levi the more he talks about his father.
I inch towards him, slowly as if I’m afraid of setting him off. My heart aches for him and I can taste his pain on the tip of my tongue.
No king is born as a king. They’re made into one from their childhood. Levi never had a silver spoon. His mother abandoned him without a look back, his father had mental issues, and his uncle is obviously a control freak.
Oh, and his cousin is a psychopath.
“But you told me you had a good relationship with your father.”
“I did when he wasn’t manic or high, which leaves very little room for father and son bonding.” He pauses. “He taught me to be myself. I didn’t realise how much he really meant to me until I lost him.”
I lean my head against his tense shoulder, squeezing his hand in mine.
“Jonathan doesn’t want me to be a failure like my father and Jonathan stops at nothing to get what he wants.”
I can see where Levi and Aiden got their ruthless side.
Levi wouldn’t admit to it openly, but he takes after his uncle in more ways than one.
“And what do you want?” I ask in a whisper.
His eyes find mine and they soften. “You.”
If my heart could escape its confinement, it would be spilling at our feet about now.
“What else?” The words come out on a breath.
“Just you would do.” His lips find mine in the slowest, most toe-curling kiss he’s ever given me.
I push him away with a hand on his chest. “There must be something else you want.”
He’s silent for a beat. “Football.”
“You want to play pro?”
He nods once. “I had some calls and interest from Liverpool and Manchester City.”
“Wow. Those are big ones.”
He narrows his eyes. “How do you know that, Miss-I-don’t-care-about-Football?”
“I had Dan educate me.” I smile. “But wow, I’m happy for you.”
I try to camouflage the breaking of my heart at the thought that he’ll be on the other half of the country.
“Doesn’t matter. If Uncle forbids it. No good team will accept me.” He stares down at our entwined hands. “What about you? Where do you plan to go?”
“Dad is thinking about Imperial College.”
“And let me guess, that’s not where you want to go.”
“I’m an artist. I want to continue being an artist.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“Have you seen my dad?” I laugh awkwardly.
“He seemed a lot more reasonable than my uncle.”
“Do you really think that?”
“Not really.” He lifts a shoulder. “But Uncle’s enemy is my friend.”
I laugh, leaning my head against his shoulder. For a moment, we get lost in the lights in the distance as the Ferris wheel continues its ascendance to the top.
Then, a crazy thought comes to mind. “Levi… did you see who hit me that night?”
“If I did, I would’ve told you.”