“Christ, Bones.” Grave sighs, looking down at my hands.
I drop my eyes to look at them as well and see blood. “I’m fine,” I say, wiping them on my jeans, ready to get the fuck out of here.
“Go.” Titan nods to the door, reading my mind. “We’ll take care of him.”
Normally, I wouldn’t leave the Kings to clean up my mess, but for once, I have a reason to want to go home. I mumble my thanks and rush out the door.
I make it home in less than fifteen minutes. I enter the house and go straight to the shower. Turning on the water, I get undressed and step inside. Just as I turn to let the water wash off the blood, I spot Mia entering the bathroom, rubbing her sleepy eyes. I woke her up.
“Dillan?” She yanks the door open and steps inside, not even bothering to remove her Kingdom T-shirt. “Are you okay?” Her wide, silvery-blue eyes drop to my bloody hands before meeting mine. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,” I say, reaching out to her, and she doesn’t flinch when I grip her hips with my bleeding hands and pull her body flush with mine.
“But—”
I lower my lips to hers, and she doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back. I spin her around, pressing her back into the wall. My cut and bloodied hands gripping the hem of her T-shirt, needing her naked and my cock inside her. Needing to remind myself she belongs to me. Tonight, tomorrow, and the rest of my life.
Twelve years old
“No self-respecting man marries for love, Dillan,” he states while sitting across from me at the table.
“Then why get married?” I wonder.
“For power. Wealth.” Leaning back in his chair, his eyes meet mine. “You will one day marry, but it will be who I choose for you. Think of it as a business transaction.”
“And if I don’t want to?” I ask.
His eyes harden on mine before he answers. “The Reeds aren’t weak, son. You’re not a motherfucking sheep. You’re a goddamn King. And a King does whatever it takes in order to run his Kingdom, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Pulling away, I watch her open her heavy eyes, and for once since my father died, I wish he was still alive. He never brought up marriage again. It was as if we had never had that conversation, and I now realize why. Somewhere along the line, he found the woman he would force me to marry. Too bad the fucking bastard isn’t here to see how much I love her.
He was right about one thing. I’m a fucking King, and I will rule my Kingdom with my Queen. But she will come first, even if that means destroying everything I have for her.
“I love you,” I tell her.
Her eyes search mine, the concern in them evident. “I love you,” she whispers, her eyes dropping to my bare chest, and I lower my lips to hers again, ready to prove to her just how much.
THE END