Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance #2)(40)

“This is absolutely ludicrous!” Mark threw his hands up in the air as if he was giving up. I couldn’t blame him. Sometimes we all needed a day off, or a minute in time out.

“I’m going with her. Whatever you want to tell me you can tell me at the house, but I am not letting her go into that house and face her crazy mother alone.” Royal came to my defense, even when he didn’t have to. I smiled on the inside even though my belly was filled to the brim with anxiety. Misbehaving wasn’t something I ever did. It felt great telling Sasha how I really felt about her, and landing a punch or two against that perfectly shaped nose of hers.

“Whatever. Get in the car and drive back to the house. No lollygagging,” Mark ordered obviously still annoyed with us, before heading back toward his BMW. We watched him get in the car and drive out of the parking lot.

“Come on, I’ll drive.” Royal’s voice was soft, and it soothed the achiness that washed over me. I gave him my car keys and we got into my Jeep without another word said. I was certain the drive home would be a quiet one, but Royal felt otherwise.

“Don’t be scared of her,” Royal interrupted the silence between us. I blinked, trying to digest what he said. How could he tell me not to be scared of her? It wasn’t as if I was truly afraid of her, I just knew she would try something sketchy without them there. I mean the things that she did when they were there were bad enough. My mother was conniving like that. If she could do something to break another person down and build herself up, she would; even it was her own daughter she was hurting.

“I’m not scared of her, not in the fearful sense. I just know the type of person she is, and what she could do if she really wanted to. Being her daughter doesn’t change the darkness inside of her. She’s out to better one person’s life only, and that’s her own.” I hated the wobbliness of my voice and how it almost made me seem weak. I wasn’t weak. I was just learning to deal with the pain.

“Please don’t cry, Noelle. Please… I…” It was strange to see Royal struggle with his words. One of his hands gripped the wheel while the other one raked through his hair a million times over.

“I’m fine, Royal.” I tried to make myself sound big, happy— anything but sad— still he could see right through it. He slowed the car down right before we got to our subdivision and then he pulled over on the side of the road slamming the car into park. I didn’t know what he was doing, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“Goddamnit, Noelle, please don’t lie to me.” His words were rushed as he slammed his hands down on steering wheel. I understood where his rage was coming from. I hated that our parents were so dysfunctional, and that we were blamed today for something that wasn’t our fault. It just seemed like that was a part of life. You lived with the hand you were dealt until you could change it.

“I’m not lying.” I fidgeted in my seat. He took a deep breath and then he was in my face, almost bending over the center console.

“I can’t handle seeing you hurt, nor can I handle watching you have to stick up for yourself. I wanted so badly to put Sasha in her place today, but I knew it was what you needed to do, not me. I struggled with watching you kick her ass because I didn’t want you to get hurt.” He paused, pushing a couple strands of hair behind my ear, his fingers softly caressing the side of my cheek. Every touch lit my body on fire, and it was like a firework display going off in my belly as I waited to see what his next move would be.

“There’s something going on deep inside of here.” He pointed to the center of his chest. “I don’t know what the hell it is or how it happened, but I know it has everything to do with you. And to be honest, I know that me being here has changed things. It’s made things harder and maybe even changed things for you.” Royal was all over the place. I didn’t understand what he was trying to say, or maybe I did and I just didn’t want to admit it.

“Royal, if you’re trying to say that it’s your fault things turned out this way, you’re so wrong. My mother was this way long before you came along, and your father; well he’s been as he is as long as I can remember. Nothing that has happened here has been your fault.” My eyes were frantically trying to meet his as he stared down at my hands.

“I just think that maybe they’re all right. Me being around has changed things. Maybe if I wasn’t such an *, you wouldn’t be rebelling like you are. Or maybe you would be…” He sounded so lost in his own mind.

“Royal,” I sighed his name and did the one thing I thought I would never have the balls to do. I pushed up off my seat and slammed my lips into his, making sure he could feel every single inch of me in that one single piece of flesh, and he gave it back to me. His fingers wove deep into my hair as he pulled me as close as he could get me.

This kiss was harsh, and it was as if he was breathing life back into me. Taking the bad away and leaving nothing but the good. I opened my mouth, allowing him inside and then I grew even braver, taking my teeth and sinking them into his bottom lip, then I sucked on it to nurse the pain away.

A deep, rumbling moan sounded from inside his chest. He was turning me on and all he did was kiss me. We were a tangled mess of lips. As he pulled away from me, his eyes sparkled down at me.

“Do you know hot f*cking hot it was to watch you beat Sasha’s ass? I wanted to pull you off of her and f*ck you right there.” His words came out breathy. My body hummed with excitement and my lips tingled as I lifted a hand up to touch him. I had never been kissed before aside from the last time Royal kissed me, let alone kissed like this.