Page 66 of Regal Queen

Would she choose me?

Then her face softened, and she took a step towards me, and suddenly I could breathe again.

She was coming to me.

To. Me.

She kept her promise. Returning to stay by my side.

The sight of it made my heart fucking growl, possessive and territorial.

This woman was fucking mine.

I rushed forward, ready to be eat up the space between us, and within seconds, we were standing before each other.

I ached to reach out and touch her. To pull her into my arms, to feel her pressed against me, to listen to her precious heart pound in her chest.

But, she didn’t reach out to touch me and her reservation made me hesitate.

She needed to be the one to initiate contact, as the connection between the two of us needed to be her choice.

I slid my hands into my pockets to keep from touching her, but when I spoke, my voice betrayed the agonizing emotion I was feeling inside. "Rose.”

“You trusted Knight more than me,” she blurted out. I rocked back on my heels, surprised. “When we attacked Dimitri’s ship, you weren’t going to let me come, until Knight vouched for me. Why do you trust him more than me?”

I shook my head, staring at the ground. “It’s not about trust, Rose.”

“What is it then?”

I looked into her eyes. “It’s about fear.”

Her throat bobbed, and her lips parted, but she didn’t say a word.

“It may seem easy to you to do what we do. To go in and kill a man. But it’s not. The first time I did it, I had nightmares for days.” I reached for her, catching myself before my fingers touched her face, then I shoved my hand back in my pocket. “I was afraid, Rose. Afraid that you would become like me, a hardened shell. Afraid that I—that I wouldn’t be able to protect you.”

She took another step forward and, closing the distance between us, she reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear, a glimmer of a smile in her eyes. Then she ran her hand down my neck, resting it on my chest, and a shiver raced down my spine at the contact.

“The great King was afraid.”

I clutched her side, holding her to me. “Yes, Rose. You make me weak. And that scares the shit out of me.”

She cupped my cheeks, her beautiful jade eyes dancing as they stared into mine. “I never thought I’d live to see the day. The Great and Mighty King of Nevada is afraid of his own shadow.”

I scowled, though a part of me was pleased to see the teasing side of her come out. “Sometimes our own shadows are the scariest thing out there.”

“And sometimes they only reveal our weaknesses so that we can turn them into strengths.” She rubbed her thumb over my cheek. “Let me become your greatest strength, Bourbon. Let me show you how to turn love into power.”

“And how would I do that?”

“Because you face your greatest fears when you are willing to do anything to save someone else.”

“Am I your greatest fear, Rose?”

She hesitated, her throat bobbing, then she tilted it upwards. “Yes. Because I’m afraid to let you in. I’m afraid that you’ll stomp all over my heart at the first sight of trouble.”

I shook my head. “I swear to you that I won’t.”

“Then prove it to me.”

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