Page 52 of Ruthless Royalty

“You’re fucking insane,” she hisses, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths.

“Maybe,” I grin and slip my hand around her throat again, holding her there. “But you’re the one who let me catch you, Kitten.”

She doesn’t respond, but I can see the conflict in her eyes, the way she’s fighting against whatever she’s feeling. She hates that I’m right, but she can’t deny it.

I loosen my hold on her just enough for her to breathe, but I don’t let go completely. She’s still trapped, still mine, and the realization of that seems to hit her all at once. She opens her mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. Instead, she just glares at me, her jaw clenched in defiance.

I reach up, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face, my fingers lingering on her skin. “Tell me I’m wrong,” I challenge, my voice soft but commanding. “Tell me you don’t feel it too.”

She hesitates, her eyes searching mine for something—an escape, maybe, or a way to deny what’s between us. But she finds nothing, because there’s no denying it. Not anymore.

“Fuckyou,” she finally says, but there’s no heat behind the words, no real conviction.

I smirk, leaning in closer until our faces are just inches apart.

“Anytime, Kitten.” I bring my knee up between her legs, feeling her warmth right through my jeans. “Tell me, if I slip my fingers in between your thighs, will I find you wet for me?”

“You’re crazy?—”

“And you’re in fucking denial,” I say as I move my other hand in between her legs to cup her pussy.

She gasps, but when I look up into her eyes, I see her pupils are blown black. I can’t help but grin because now I know she’s turned on as well.

I nudge her legs open more and slip my fingers inside of her silk sleep shorts … only to find her soaked for me.

“I fucking knew it, you little slut,” I groan, running her wetness through her folds. She arches her back and whimpers. “You act like you’re this innocent little angel when, in fact, youwantto be chased by me. You want this as badly as I do.”

I run my fingers over her clit and she throws her head back. “Giovanni, please … Leo?—”

“Fuck Leo,” I growl and push two fingers inside of her. “You’re going to be a good girl and come on my fingers, then you need to fucking choose.”

She opens her legs more and I can’t help but grin as I run my thumb over her clit while the other two curve inside of her. She’s becoming breathless, lifting her ass from the ground as she chases what I know she wants.

“Choose? Wh … what do you mean?” she whimpers, shuddering in my arms as I feel her pussy start to clench.

I lean toward her ear and pick up my pace, already knowing what to do to bring her close to the edge. Her walls clamp my fingers, and I run my tongue up the length of her neck before I whisper, “Become an outsider’s pet … or be my Queen.”

Her pussy grips me and she cries out, her head falling forward onto my shoulder as she shudders around my fingers. She digs her nails into my shoulders and I let her ride out her orgasm, while I brace myself for how she’ll react when she comes down.

Will it be fire or resignation?

With a final sigh, I pull my fingers out of her soaked slit and sit back from her. She watches when I draw my fingers to my mouth to taste her, her chest rising with every inhale, catching her breath.

“You taste like sin, baby,” I say, grinning as I tilt my head to the side. “Well, what will it be?”

I watch as she bites her bottom lip and looks anywhere but where I am; but it doesn’t take her long to look back up at me. Then she says something I didn’t fucking expect.

“Please take me home.”

CHIARA

Ican’t shake his voice out of my head. His words, that fucking question—it’s all like a poison spreading through me, tainting everything I touch, everything I think.

I should be at class, pretending that everything’s normal, but I’m not. I’m holed up in my room, the curtains drawn tight against the world, as if that could keep the chaos at bay.

The idea of sitting in class, pretending like everything is normal, like I’m not drowning in this fucked-up situation, feels impossible. So I stayed home, curled up under the covers, trying to sort out the chaos in my head.

His words keep replaying in my mind:Become an outsider’s pet … or be my Queen.

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