Page 124 of Tall, Royal Hater
He stared at me like I’d spat on him. “Do you have anything to say that is a realistic option or opinion rather than being inspired by the endless number of books you and Esmeralda read?”
“You wanted my honest opinion,” I said, glaring back, “and I gave it to you the first time. Take the money—”
“And I said—”
“Well, then what do you want from him, Shehryar?” I snapped. “Because by the sounds of it, your father admitted to being young and stupid and in over his head. And what he did was fucked up, but can you blame him? Honestly? For thinking he was in love but realising it wasn’t going to last? For growing up in wealth and struggling with the idea of giving it up? He was twenty with no prospects or shit of his own. He thought he could make it work with your mum, but clearly, that crumbled the instant there was a problem. Not to mention they would’ve been fucking miserable together by the sounds of it.
“Yeah, he shouldn’t have abandoned his own son or kicked you to the streets when you went to see him, but can you blame him for wanting to keep you away from his toxic-ass family? It might have felt shit to you at the time, but now you know he was trying to protect you, and hindsight should make that count for something, because I’d say it damn well worked. You ended up having a bloody good upbringing in a freaking palace with the best education and prospects without ever needing him.”
Twin flames roared and spat in Shehryar’s gaze, but I wasn’t deterred. “Fucking hate his guts, Shehryar, but accept that things actually worked out for the better. And now that he’s ruling his family, maybe you actually have a chance to have a decent relationship with him without your parents arguing or his family trying to hurt you.”
Silence.
I felt like a boxer, the crowd roaring in my ears, full of adrenaline and bouncing on the balls of my feet, as I taunted my opponent over.
At me. I fucking dare you. Come at me right now.
But Shehryar didn’t launch a series of answering punches or taunts. He turned his glare up to the ceiling and stared and stared, lost in thought as if I wasn’t there.
“What do you actually want, Shehryar?” I asked again once the pumped-up feeling faded. “Do you want to forgive him and give him another chance, or do you want to say,‘thanks but no thanks’?”
He scratched a set of fingers through his trimmed beard as he sighed, then set his hand back on his stomach. “I don’t think I can forgive him…”
“Then—”
“Yet.”
I pressed my lips together as the rest of my sentence evaporated. “Well…that’s something,” I settled on saying. “Start slow then. Make the asshole grovel on his bloody knees.”
Shehryar grunted, and he didn’t smile, but a lightness eased over his expression. He shook his head. “You and Esmeralda read too many romance books.”
I arched a brow. “Can you blame us? Men suck in real life.” I paused over that. “Well…Kai doesn’t suck.” From the corner of my mouth, I added, “Can’t say the same thing about you though…”
He rolled his eyes with the faintest little curl on his lips but didn’t retort, and we fell into a silent, smiling staring competition. The increasing depth of his intense stare had my skin prickling in a way that made me itch and twitch from the inside out.
“What?” I muttered, easing away from him on instinct.
His tongue slipped out between his lips, dragging my focus down. In my distracted state, I didn’t see his hand come out from under his head or reach for my throat.
I gasped as he clamped his palm around my nape and drew my upper body down. Under the threat of toppling forward, my hand flew out and clamped on his opposite shoulder. I was ready to stretch my arm and snap at him, but he sealed his wide mouth over mine and kissed me hard. But slow. Somehow lazily and yet still demanding as he pushed his tongue between my lips.
I let my weight sink over him and kissed him back, though it wasn’t the most comfortable position in all honesty. Not that I cared enough to complain when he eased into the pillow and let me take over. I nipped and licked and mapped the entirety of his mouth, swallowing his little breaths in between.
And it was sexual. Fuck, it was. Enough to make me ache as if I hadn’t been touched in several months. But there was no urgency, no rush. No need to progress what we were doing.
We just kissed. And kissed. And kissed.
When my lungs complained for air like a bitchy customer, I released his mouth from my clutches. Just enough to suck in big gulping breaths as the dizzy sway of my body kept our kiss-stung lips brushing against each other. Neither of us made any attempt to ease further apart.
His fingers kneaded into my neck, and I felt the touch right between my legs. Without any underwear on, I was hyperaware of how wet I was getting, how badly I wanted him again so soon after he’d railed me already. But I didn’t make a move to mountto him. I stayed where I was, gently scratching my nails through his beard with idle drags of my fingers.
All until Shehryar tightened his grip on my nape and urged me slightly away, his dilated eyes meeting mine. “Thank you,” he rasped so damn quietly.
A sharp jolt of blood rushed like a river of lava under my skin as my heart erupted from the mouth of a volcano and collapsed, sizzling and thrumming, right back into place.
I couldn’t hear my own thoughts over the echoing ring in my scorched ears. The only thing audible was thethud, thud, thudslamming behind my rib cage.
Why had he said it like that?So deep and warm and raw and…
