Page 65 of Regal Queen

Seventeen

A calmness washed over me,so scarily similar to the way I felt before I knew I had to kill a man.

Except this time, death wasn’t mine to mete, but to take.

Giving Rose the choice to walk away from me was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life. It made my heart tremble, my breath shorten, my very bones ache.

I honestly didn’t know if she would come back to me, and I felt like I was facing the guillotine, waiting for the blade to come down. My stomach was churning with nervousness, it was like a billion tiny worms squirming around in there.

And now, she’d texted me about an hour ago, letting me know she wanted to talk. She would be here in exactly... one minute.

I'd instantly cleared the house, knowing that if she rejected me, if she even gave a hint that she was going to walk out of my life and never return, I wouldn't be able to control myself.

I wouldn’t be able to hide the raging emotions I'd been holding off for so long.

I needed this woman as much as I needed to breathe, and she would break me if she walked away from me.

I took in a deep breath, knowing that she might not be on time, preparing for the possibility that she'd show up a couple minutes late.

And then, I felt her.

I didn’t know how I knew she was here, but I could feel her through the door, even though it was closed and my back was to it.

Even though she hadn't knocked and even though no one had alerted me of her arrival.

She was fucking here, and my future was in her hands.

I turned, not wanting to wait any longer.

I would show her what she meant to me, get down on my knees and fucking beg if that's what it took.

I opened the door and the first person I saw was Knight, leaning against a car, his hands crossed over his chest defensively.

His eyes were sharp, his gaze shrewd and discerning as he took me in. I suddenly realized that he felt the need to protect her from me. The fucker.

And the car he was leaning against was the stereotypical piece of shit car that a lot of Cubans drove around here. It was completely unworthy for Rose's skin to grace. He probably used it to blend in but the sight of it still offended me.

Rose deserved wealth and opulence, diamonds and silk, and my fucking arms around her.

She may not want all that shit but she ws going to get it.

I met his gaze with a hard one of my own, promising retribution if he dared hurt her. Then I jerked my head to the side, telling him to fuck off.

He stood and, to my amazement, instead of leaving right away, he turned and leaned down, opening the door for her. She climbed out and they spoke for a few moments. Then she began to walk down the pathway and his gaze lingered protectively on her backside for a moment before digging his keys out of his pocket and walking around the car to get inside.

I instantly forgot about him to take in the beautiful sight emerging before me.

She was wearing a simple outfit: a white tank top, dark blue jeans, and matching white canvas shoes. It was modest in contrast to the heavily made up women who swarmed both Coulter and I everywhere we went, but I’d never seen a more beautiful woman in my life.

Except now, her clear jade eyes had a steely strength in them I’d never seen before, even if they were still open and unguarded. Beautiful and entrancing. I wanted to thread my fingers through the tresses of her dark chestnut brown hair and drown in her gaze.

Only now did I notice now how much she was a study in contrasts. Soft and strong, simple but complex, gorgeous but so sweet and simple that it took my breath away.

As our gazes caught, we didn't move for a moment, both frozen on opposite ends of the path. She stood across from me, only several yards away but it was like an eternity stretched out between us.

Was she changing her mind about coming here? Or maybe trying to figure out how to tell me the harsh truth? That I’d been an asshole and she wasn’t coming back to me. That I would never be good enough for her, something I already knew.

My stomach churned, my chest tight in dreaded anticipation of what she would do.

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