Page 140 of Tall, Royal Hater
“Oh,” Pierre said, a mischievous grin growing on his face. “He’s going to the ladies first.” He looked right at me. “Says it’s for the dresses, but we all know who he really wants to see.”
Mariyah was what he didn’t say. But everyone knew. I knew.
Silence fell around the room as the weight of every stare landed on me.
If Pierre incited a viper, then the thought of Candy flirting with Mariyah morphed me into a raging, spitting, red-eyed ogre ready to go on a rampage. I was entirely sure they could see the rattling chains in my eyes as it roared and shook and fought to unleash itself within me. But instead of concern, a range of grins slowly spread across the men’s faces.
“Do you see that, Kai?” Prince Fay said, pointing at me with a smirk. “That’s how you look when another man breathes around Esmeralda.”
Prince Kai’s brows knitted in disagreement as he looked from his younger brother to me, but there was a pinkish tinge to his golden skin. “I do not,” he grumbled, tugging at his left earlobe.
“Yes, you do,” nearly everyone in the room said.
His embarrassed frown deepened as his friends and brothers chuckled. But then King Rami cleared his throat, and all the attention returned to me.
“Well,” the king said, brows lifted in question. “What are you waiting for then? Unless, of course, you’re happy to let Candy steal her from right under your nose.”
“Because he will,” Trevor added. “Without remorse. And he’ll rub it in your face too.”
Fuck no.
Mariyah was a menace who drove me mad, but no fucking way was Candy stealing her from me.
Wow…stealing her from me?
A week ago—shit, even four days ago, keeping seas and oceans between us would’ve been far more preferable than keeping her close. But things had…changed. I was pretty sure I still wanted to strangle her most of the time. ButIwanted to be theonlyone allowed to strangle her.
I grabbed the back of my chair and scooted away from the table. “Excuse me.”
Someone cheered and someone else clapped, but I was on a one-way route to the door.
“Don’t be too possessive,” Pierre called out. “It’s about balance. Make sure she knows she has a choice, but be firm when you tell her you’re sticking around.” I opened the door as he kept yelling instructions from the table. “And if it comes down to it, grovel on your knees! Women love a man on his knees.”
“You read way too much romance,” Trevor said.
“Yeah, I buddy-read them with your sister. We’re currently reading—”
I closed the door on the rest of their conversation, took one step, and stuttered to a stop.
Fucking Neves, I didn’t know where the women even were.
I debated what to do for a dozen or so seconds, then whipped my mobile out and dialled Esmeralda’s number. If she didn’t answer, I’d head back into the room and—
“Hello,” she yelled down the phone, music and cheering blasting out behind her.
The attack of noise on my eardrum had me wincing and pulling the phone away. Fuck, had they left the palace? Were they at a club? No, but Candy was with them, so—
“Where are you?” I said, rubbing at the frown line between my brows that was becoming a permanent fixture on my face.
Esmeralda whooped loudly, laughed, then belatedly said, “What?”
I gritted my teeth. “Can you tell me where in the palace are you?”
“Go Mar—oh, sorry, Sher, I can’t really hear you—shake that gorgeous ass! Shake it on his lap!”
I froze. Who…Mariyah was shaking her arse onwho? Whathe? Was it Candy?Fuck!
Growling aloud, I started charging down the corridor. The sexual music they were blasting out was loud enough that if I passed the correct corridor, I’d hear it.
