Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite #6)(51)

I come again and again.

By the fourth orgasm, I think I’m dehydrating and will faint.

Cole’s knees are on either side of me as he crawls atop me again and removes the gag. “Now say it.”

“N-no.”

“Fuck your stubbornness, Silver. Do you think I’ll let you go?”

It takes all my energy, but I manage to get out, “Show me your worst, Cole.”

He chuckles without humour. “You asked for it.”

As he straps the gag back in place, I brace myself for more. So what if I faint? I’ll never let him break me.

Then the door opens and I freeze, my heart nearly leaping out of my throat.

Oh, no. No, no, no…

If someone sees us and —

“Looks like fun. I should’ve been invited, considering I’m the fiancé and all.”

I release a long breath at Aiden’s voice. My body sags and I fight to keep my eyes open behind the blindfold. My breathing starts buzzing in my ears and I can barely register my blurry surroundings.

“Fuck off,” Cole says calmly as he smooths my dress and I feel him pulling my underwear up my legs.

The fact he’s hiding my nakedness from Aiden should make me grateful, but I hate him too much to feel any sort of thanks right now.

“What was that, brother-in-law?”

“Say that again and I’ll murder you.” It’s the first time I’ve heard Cole issue such a direct threat.

It’s like he’s ready to act on his threat right here, right now.

“Can’t you see what you’re doing?” Aiden’s voice. “She’s fainting.”

“That’s none of your business,” Cole says.

Hands pull the blindfold away and I squint at the light before I make out Aiden’s expression. He’s smiling down at me with contempt. “You owe me one.”

“Yo,” Ronan’s stoned voice comes from the door. “The fuck? You have a threesome and I’m not invited?”

Cole shoos him out, and by the time he returns, Aiden is already unbinding me.

My lids flutter closed despite my attempts to keep them wide open.

I don’t feel so good.

“Silver.” Cole slaps my cheek. “Fuck, Silver?”

“Told you she was fainting,” Aiden says. “I know you’re giddy, but did you lose the Stop button?”

“You shut the fuck up.” Cole focuses on me. “Silver, can you hear me?”

“I hate you,” I murmur and then surrender to the darkness.





20





Silver





I don’t know how I got home. There were voices, Aiden’s and Cole’s, and they were arguing about who got to drive and who got to hold me in the back of the car. I recall wanting to open my eyes so I could see them fight.

“I’m the fiancé. It goes without saying that I should hold her. You’ll only be the doting brother after all, no?”

“If you don’t shut the fuck up and drive, I’ll call Elsa to see you acting as a doting fiancé.”

“Fuck you, Nash.”

One of them must’ve won, because strong arms carried me and then I was submerged in that cinnamon scent and warmth.

I’m half-dazed, floating, and I still smell him, feel him, secretly crave him.

What is wrong with me?

His fingers stroke my hair back, then his lips are on my nose, my temple. He’s soothing me, whispering words I can’t for the life of me make out.

And that’s probably how I surrender to the darkness all over again. I’m coming in and out of it as if I can’t stay in one place for too long.

When I come to again, there are different voices — Papa and Helen. I’m on my bed; I recognise it from the flowery scent and the texture.

Cole says something about me fainting because I didn’t eat much.

Dick.

He manages to slip out of everything whichever way he pleases. Not that I want anyone to know what happened. It’s bad enough that we were discovered by Aiden and Ronan.

“This is all because of Cynthia’s influence and all the diets.” Papa sounds enraged as if he’s about to barge into her flat and start a fight out of nowhere.

“Take it easy, Sebastian.” Helen’s quiet tone sooths him — and me — a little. She says she’ll get me something to drink and it’ll all be fine. That they should all calm down.

I don’t open my eyes, even when some of my energy pushes back in. Facing Papa and what I’ve done is the last thing I want to do.

Besides, I don’t want to see Cole’s face. Hearing that low tenor of his voice as he tells Papa I didn’t mean to starve myself and that I could be stressed is already too much to handle.

This time, I pray for unconsciousness. I want to disappear from this world and somehow wake up in one where I don’t feel as if I killed a few puppies.

Helen wipes my hands with a wet cloth that smells like jasmine. The lulling sensation makes me feel serene, at peace almost. She somehow ushers Papa and Cole out, and that’s when I surrender to the black behind my lids.

I dream of voices. At first it’s my mum’s voice telling me I’m a disappointment and that this isn’t how she raised me to become.