Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance #2)(43)

“You’re ready, and believe me I know you’re nothing like Sasha.” I sat down on the bed next to her, forcing her body into my own, my hands gliding up her body, stopping at her cheeks so that I could cup them in my hands. The warmth of her skin against my palm told me just how real all of this was between us.

“Fear is something expected when you’re walking blindly in the dark,” I continued.

“I’m not scared of you, Royal. I’m scared of this. I’m scared of what I feel for you and for the pleasure you’ve showed me.” She gestured to us, her eyes casting down in the direction of my chest as if she was ashamed to have admitted her feelings out loud.

“Only because you’ve never felt something like this before. Don’t push me away. Don’t stop this before it even has a chance to start. I’m consumed by you Noelle… Completely f*cking owned by you. Something about you makes my heartbeat speed up, my palms sweat, and my cock swell.”

You would think my confessions wouldn’t be seen so much as a shock anymore, but the look on her face said she was still very much shocked. Clearly she wasn’t getting the picture, and I needed to reassure her of those feelings.

I grabbed her hand placing it against my still hard cock. She tried to pull away but I gripped her hand harder pushing it down against my throbbing cock.

“This is for you, baby— all of it— every single inch. You might not be ready today, tomorrow, or even next week, but I will get a taste of that sweet * of yours and I will f*ck you, because I’ve never felt this way about anyone, not like how I feel about you.”

“Royal…” Realization hit her straight in the chest. She knew there was no running away from this. I wouldn’t let her; couldn’t let her. There was no way I would be able to handle the pain of losing her.

Once upon a time, I might have blamed her for what happened between my mother and father, but I was starting to realize she had nothing to do with it. She was merely a speck in the giant picture.

“I want you so f*cking bad, so badly that it hurts to be away from you. I feel whole when I’m with you, like the missing piece to my puzzle is you; like you won’t ever judge me for being who I am. You understand the dark pieces of me, and you get the brokenness that swirls around inside of me. You get me when no one else does or ever has.”

“I…” She licked her lips. “I feel the same things. All of it, word for word. I just know there isn’t any real way this can work between us. I know when something is too good to be true. I know when to give up on the happily ever after, Royal.” It pained me to hear her say those words. She was ready to give up on her happily ever after, having just discovered everything I felt for her.

I placed a soft kiss against her forehead. I would do whatever I could to make sure this was okay for her. Even if we couldn’t have forever, we could have now, and that would just have to be enough for right now.

It would have to be.

“I’ll make sure it’s all okay…” I soothed her with a hand down her back. She buried her face in the crook of my neck, taking in deep breaths. She shuddered against me as she released the breath she had just taken in. We both jumped at the slamming of the front door, and it sounded as if the whole house shook with the force of it. I think we both knew right then and there that things were about change.

“NOELLE!!!” Her mother’s voice boomed up the stairs. You could hear the furious rage that lingered behind her words.

Yeah, shit was about to hit the f*cking fan.





Chapter Eighteen


-Noelle


I cringed the moment her furious voice met my ears. I pulled away from Royal’s warm body, our eyes colliding and our bodies sagging against one another. We both knew what was coming. It was inevitable, like a twister barreling down the countryside. You couldn’t escape the mayhem it would cause.

“Don’t let her break you down, Noelle. Promise me you will give it right back to her, the same way you did to Sasha today. Promise me!” His voice was deeper, angrier, and darker than it had been previously.

I stood from the bed, straightening my shoulders. I could do this. I could face her down. There was nothing else left that she could say that would or could break me. She may be my mother, but that didn’t mean I had to let her scream at me or try and bring me down every chance that she got.

“If I have to come up there and get you, it won’t be good for you.” I could see the fire shooting from her mouth as she yelled up the stairway. I slipped an emotionless mask onto my face. I couldn’t let her beat me down to nothing, not again.

Not ever.

“I’m coming,” I shouted down the stairs making sure she could hear me. “However, I refuse to talk to you if you’re going to do nothing but scream at me or talk down to me,” I spoke trying to mask the slight twinge of fear that filled my belly as I descended the stairs, rounding the corner and taking notice of her displeased expression.

I could feel Royal right behind me, his front almost brushing against my back. His presence calmed me, saved me from the wicked witch below.

“Good, you brought the trouble maker with you as well.” Her eyes penetrated through him. The look of disgust for Royal was clear on her face.

“If by trouble maker you mean me, then yeah.” I could hear the humor in Royal’s words, my eyes not missing the wolfish grin he gave her. I needed to remind her just of who this conversation was about. She was always putting blame on others, blame where it didn’t deserve to be put.