by Rina Kent
Jonathan and I might not have started as a fairy tale, considering his tyrant behaviour, but I wouldn’t have wished for a different beginning. If he hadn’t cornered me the way he did, if he hadn’t chased me after I ran, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
During the past few weeks, he’s been treating me like his queen — bathing me, feeding me, and even driving me to work because he doesn’t trust any other ‘fucker’. At night — and in the mornings — he owns my body in every sense of the word. He dominates and pleases me. He sets my skin on fire with every touch until I’ve turned into a complete addict.
He lifts his head when I round the table and stand in front of him. He stares at his watch. “You’re here.”
“Is that a problem?”
“You were supposed to return in an hour and I was going to drive you.”
“I can drive on my own.”
“No.”
“Stop being a tyrant.”
He raises a brow. “You like that about me.”
“No, I don’t.” Okay, maybe I do, but he’ll never know that. “Give me your hand.”
He doesn’t protest as I remove his watch, open the box, and retrieve the dark grey one I’ve been working on for months. I’ve probably had the idea for it since the first day I stepped into this house.
Its masculine design and size fits Jonathan’s wrist perfectly as I strap it in place. I stare with admiration at my work, but then I realise I didn’t ask for his opinion.
“It’s one of a kind, so you better like it. Or pretend to,” I blurt. “No, don’t pretend. You have to like it.”
He smiles, his features easing with the motion. “Are you going to mass-produce it for others?”
“No, it’s specifically made for you. I mean, I only had you in mind when I was working on it.”
“Then I’m not removing it for life.”
I bite my lower lip. “Does that mean you like it?”
“I like everything you make, but since this is specifically for me, let’s say it’s your best work yet.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, fingers getting lost in his hair as I brush a kiss on his forehead.
“I have a present for you, too.”
I pull back at his words. “What type of present?”
“I fully transferred H&H’s stocks back to you and Layla.”
A huge grin pulls at my lips. “You did?”
He nods.
The overwhelming joy is crushed by a dooming realisation. My smile drops as fast as it appeared.
Our agreement said that he’d only transfer the stocks back at the end of the six-month period.
Those six months are almost over.
No idea why I thought that didn’t matter anymore. I swear it’s because that dick Layla has been ramping up my hopes. Two weeks ago, when I went back to my flat to get some of my things, we discovered that Jonathan now owns the building. Actually, he bought the thing soon after the start of our agreement.
The fact that he was able to waltz into my flat that day I fainted made more sense. Then Layla told me that if he bought the fucking building I live in, Jonathan has long-term plans for me.
Apparently, that’s not the case.
“So what now?” My lips tremble as I drop my hands from around his neck. “Is this my ticket to leave?”
“Your ticket?”
“Well, aren’t you giving me back the stocks so I’ll go?”
“Is that what you think?”
“Isn’t that why you did it?” My voice is broken and hurt, even to my own ears.
He grabs me by the waist and tugs so that I end up sitting on his hard thighs. The position has become too familiar. The thought of never having it again is more painful than being stabbed.
Jonathan’s fingers dig into my hipbone, tender but firm. “It’s the other way around.”
“The other way around?”
“I gave you back the stocks so you wouldn’t stay just because I’m holding them over your head.”
A deep breath heaves out of my lungs as his grey eyes hold mine hostage. “Does that mean you’re giving me the opportunity to choose whether I leave or stay?”
He gives a sharp nod. “But if you do choose to leave, I might not play fair.”
“When have you ever?”
“You already know my methods, so choose wisely. I’ll give you some time to think about it.”
“I don’t need time.”
He narrows his eyes, fingers tightening into my hip. “If you’re in the mood to be chased, I’m happy to oblige.”
I lean over and whisper in his ear, “I’m not going anywhere.”
“No?”
“I’ve kind of gotten used to you. It’d be weird to get a different roommate.”
“Is that so?”
“I think so. I love you, Jonathan.”
He smiles, a genuine one that lights his grey eyes and threatens to stop my heart. “You do, huh?”
“I do. I thought I was incapable of love after losing Dad and Alicia, but you wrenched it out of me so easily. In the beginning, it was frightening, but it soon became exciting. I’m so glad I met you — or more like, re-met you.”
His hand wraps around my throat, and my breathing hitches like every time he does it. “And I’m glad I kept you, wild one. You flipped my world upside down and I enjoy every second of it. I don’t only love you, I’m obsessed with everything about you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving how much your presence means to me.”
“Jonathan…” My voice shatters with adoration and utter passion for this man. My tyrant. My love. My life.
“You’re staying. It’s final.”
“I’m staying. After all, I have Alicia’s permission.”
“Alicia?”
I lift my chin. “It’s a secret between me and my sister.”
“Fascinating.” He shakes his head. “I’ve known you were a wild one since you were five.”
“Since I was five? I first met you when I was seven.”
“Mmm. Maybe.”
“Jonathan. What do you mean?”
A sadistic gleam covers his eyes. “A secret.”
“You’re awful.”
“You still love me.”
“I do.”
“Say it.”
“I love you, Jonathan.” I sigh. “I love you so much.”
Still grabbing me by the throat, his lips find mine in a kiss that seals my fate.
Epilogue 1 - Aurora
Six months later
You know when you think you have it all, and there’s a nagging feeling at the back of your head that maybe something wrong will happen and take all the good away?
I’ve never stopped thinking about that possibility since the attack. Not even after Dad went into a coma, taking most of my childhood memories with him.
But in another way, I learnt to move on.
My nightmares have slowly started to disappear, and it’s all thanks to the man who sleeps beside me every night.
Jonathan holds me to him or above him, and the moment I get lost in his warmth, the world ceases to exist — nightmares included.
We go out on long walks, and I’ve gone back to hiking. I love the thrill of climbing and knowing I’ll reach the top at the end of the journey. The fact that Jonathan is there every step of the way gives me a sense of empowerment I wouldn’t have found any other way.
That’s why I’m here today. A year ago, if anyone had told me I would be wearing a huge white dress and walking towards the man I once thought was a god, I would’ve pegged it as another hallucination.
Now, it’s far from it.
All eyes turn to me as the music changes. We’re on Jonathan’s private island for our wedding. The island he named Aurora right after he told me I was staying with him and that was final.
He can be so swoony, despite his tyrant nature.
For him, the proposal was simple. He slid the ring on my finger and said, “You agreed to stay, what did
you think it would be?”
Not that I would’ve said no. From the beginning, Jonathan was never a fling. He was a beautiful disaster waiting to happen and I just fell into it. Then I changed him as much as he changed me.
I put my mark in him as deep as he put his mark in me.
Ethan walks me down the aisle, as per my suggestion. He and Jonathan are slowly building back their relationship, so if my tyrant sees that I consider Ethan a father figure — a friend — he’ll lower his guard. It won’t be easy, but it’s worth the shot.
Everyone I love and care about have been brought here by Jonathan’s private jet. Layla sits amongst her parents and brothers, tears in her eyes. Aiden and Elsa are intertwining their fingers while sitting in the front row.
Jonathan and I took them to Alicia’s grave as soon as we got engaged to get his permission, in a way. Aiden said Alicia wouldn’t have an objection, so he didn’t either.
Levi and Astrid are beside them, grinning, and Levi keeps winking at me. He can be such a charmer, which is a King thing I guess.
Harris, Moses, Agnus, and Jessica are all here. There are also some of Jonathan’s closest associates like the Duke, Tristan Rhodes, the Earl, Edric Astor, and the Prime Minister, Sebastian Queens.
I don’t focus much on the guests, though. My attention is stolen by the man standing at the end of the aisle. He’s wearing a sharp black tux that matches the colour of his styled hair and reflects the heat in his grey eyes. He’s watching me with so much love, obsession, and adoration, it makes my toes curl.
It’s like the world has disappeared and we’re the only people left in it. Jonathan always has that effect on me. But this time, it’s different, almost as if our lives will become one.
The moment I stop in front of him, he glares at Ethan, who smiles when putting my hand in Jonathan’s. “Take care of her or you’ll have me to deal with.”
I can tell Jonathan wants to cut him, but he lets it go when my fingers are interlaced with his. The huge engagement ring glints under the afternoon sun.
We say our ‘I do’s’ in the midst of our family and friends, and I feel like I made the best decision of my life by choosing this man.
My love.
My tyrant.
My everything.
He lifts the veil, eyes darkening with heat. “You’re officially mine now, Mrs King.”
“And you’re mine, Mr King.”
Epilogue 2 - Jonathan
Three years later
“What did you say about stamina, wild one?” I grab Aurora by the throat as she holds on to my hand. “How about a redo?”
“I take it back,” Aurora pants, pulling herself to crawl onto my lap.
Her lips fall open as I let her snuggle into me while we sit on the warm sand. We’re both naked after I fucked her on all fours, then with her legs over my shoulders and my hand around her throat until she begged me to stop.
That got her a few more spankings before she came for the third time.
Her long legs tuck into my lap as she kisses along the line of my collarbone, inching up to brush her lips over my jaw.
She now has this habit of kissing me anywhere possible. No idea why she developed it, but I’m not complaining.
“Do you have to always prove me wrong?” she whispers against my skin, her voice breathy and the smell of sex lingering in the air.
I love marking her as mine and having her smell like me. This will be her scent until the end of our lives.
“If you call me an old man again, I’m tempted to retaliate, and yes, Mrs King, proving you wrong is a pleasure.”
“Aiden and Levi call you an old man, too.”
“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.
Time to prove my words.
THE END
Curious about Kyle, the mysterious assassin who made an appearance in Rise of a Queen? You can pre-order his book, Throne of Power, an arranged marriage romance that’s set in the thrilling mafia world.
You can read about Aiden, Levi and some of Jonathan and Aurora’s happily ever after in Royal Elite Epilogue.
What’s Next?
Thank you so much for reading Rise of a Queen! If you liked it, please leave a review.
Your support means the world to me.
If you’re thirsty for more discussions with other readers of the series, you can join the Facebook group, Rina’s Spoilers Room.
Next up is an epic arranged marriage duet set in the world of the Russian Mafia. Throne of Power features the assassin Kyle who made an appearance in Rise of a Queen.
If you’re looking to what to read next, jump into Royal
Elite Series to read Aiden & Levi’s books.
Also By Rina Kent
ROYAL ELITE SERIES
Cruel King
Deviant King
Steel Princess
Twisted Kingdom
Black Knight
Vicious Prince
Ruthless Empire
Royal Elite Epilogue
LIES & TRUTHS DUET
All The Lies
All The Truths
KINGDOM DUET
Rule of a Kingdom (Free Prequel)
Reign of a King
Rise of a Queen
THRONE DUET
Throne of Power
Throne of Vengeance
TEAM ZERO SERIES
Lured
Crowed
Ghosted
Shadowed
Misted
Team Zero Boxset 1-3
THE RHODES SERIES
Remorse (FREE)
HATE & LOVE DUET
He Hates Me
He Hates Me Not
About the Author
Rina Kent is an international bestselling author of everything enemies to lovers romance.
Darkness is her playground, suspense is her best friend, and twists are her brain’s food. However, she likes to think she’s a romantic at heart in some way, so don’t kill her hopes just yet.
Her heroes are anti-heroes and villains because she was always the weirdo who fell in love with the guys no one roots for. Her books are sprinkled with a touch of mystery, a healthy dose of angst, a pinch of violence, and lots of intense passion.
Rina spends her private days in a peaceful town in North Africa daydreaming about the next plot idea or laughing like an evil mastermind when those ideas come together.
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