Page 42 of Defying the Crown
Alex steps directly into our path. "Oh no, don't leave on my account. I'm just catching up with my ex." He turns to me with mock concern. "Has he told you everything? About how he completely lost it when he found me with someone else? Drama queen couldn't handle that I needed more than just him."
The casual cruelty in his tone makes my blood boil. I've faced down hostile dignitaries and aggressive press, but never have I felt such immediate, visceral disgust for another human being.
"You know, Danny," Alex continues, "that guy I was with when you walked in? He wasn't even the first. Or the tenth." He laughs, a hollow sound. "I was hooking up with guys from Grindr our entire relationship. Even that weekend we went to the Hamptons—remember when I said I was going for a run? Yeah, I was actually—"
Something snaps inside me. Before I fully realize what I'm doing, my fist connects with Alex's jaw with a sickening crack. Boxing lessons paying off in a way my instructors never intended.
Alex crumples to the boardwalk, a look of shocked disbelief on his face as he clutches his jaw and spits blood.
"You had no right," I hiss, standing over him, my voice low and controlled despite the fury coursing through me. "No right to hurt him then, and certainly no right to hurt him now." White-hot rage fractures my self-control. My knuckles smash into Alex's cheekbone again with a wet crunch before my mind catches up—those princely sparring sessions honing reflexes meant for defence, not this.
He collapses onto weathered planks, hands scrambling to cradle his face. The whites of his eyes gleam with animal panic beneath smeared glasses.
I'm vaguely aware that I've just committed assault in public—something that would cause an international incident if anyone knew who I was—but in this moment, I couldn't care less. It doesn't matter that there are people watching us and laughing at Alex on the ground, or that there are camera flashes as people record us and our fight. All that matters is Daniel.
I stand over Alex, my chest heaving, a strange calm settling over me despite the chaos of the moment. This isn't the measured diplomacy I've been trained in since birth—this is something rawer, more primal. The protection of someone I care about.
"Listen carefully," I say, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper as I lean closer to where Alex sprawls on the boardwalk. "Daniel deserves better than the air you pollute by breathing it."
Alex's eyes widen. There's something in my tone—perhaps the absolute certainty that comes from generations of royal command—that makes him shrink back.
"If you ever so much as look in his direction again," I continue, each word precise and measured, "I will personally ensure you regret it for the rest of your miserable existence. "
I straighten up, smoothing my sweater with the practiced motion of someone accustomed to maintaining appearances. "I have resources you can't begin to imagine, connections that could make your life very difficult with a single phone call. Your job, your apartment, your future prospects—all of it could just...disappear overnight."
The threat rolls off my tongue with terrifying ease, as if the prince in me knows exactly how to wield power, even when the man in me is shaking with rage.
"Is that perfectly clear?" I ask, my voice eerily calm.
Alex nods rapidly, scrambling backward before staggering to his feet. He opens his mouth as if to say something, then thinks better of it and hurries away, casting one last fearful glance over his shoulder.
Only when he's gone do I turn to Daniel, suddenly uncertain. I've just revealed a side of myself I didn't know existed—the ruthlessness that perhaps comes with royal blood after all.
Daniel stands frozen, his lips slightly parted, eyes wide. There's shock there, certainly, but something else too—a heat, an intensity that makes my heart race faster. He stares at me as if seeing me for the first time, his breath coming quick and shallow.
"Are you okay?" I ask softly, reaching for his hand.
I step toward Daniel, my heart hammering. The adrenaline from confronting Alex still courses through my veins, but now it's mingled with dread. What have I done?
Chapter 17
Harald
"Daniel, I'm so sorry," I start, my voice unsteady. "I shouldn't have—"
I don't finish my sentence because suddenly Daniel launches himself at me, his arms wrapping around my neck as his body collides with mine. For a split second I think he's attacking me—until I feel his lips crash against mine with bruising intensity.
He kisses me with a desperate hunger, his hands gripping my hair, my shoulders, my back. I respond instinctively, my arms encircling his waist and pulling him closer. The taste of him—salt air and ice cream and something uniquely Daniel—floods my senses.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathing hard. Daniel's eyes are liquid fire, his pupils blown wide with desire.
"Thank you," he whispers against my mouth, his fingers tracing the line of my jaw. "Nobody's ever stood up for me like that."
"I was afraid I'd frightened you," I admit, searching his face. "I don't usually... I've never actually punched someone outside of training before."
Daniel laughs, a sound of pure delight. "Frightened me? Harald, that was the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life." He presses another kiss to my lips, gentler this time. "Youdefended me. You made him stop."
His hand slides down to rest against my chest, right over my thundering heart. "Nobody's ever cared enough to protect me before."
