Page 49 of The Broken Queen

I was so close to blowing everything for Raven, and I couldn’t do that. I needed to ruin Lars like he ruined me. I needed Raven to do that. While the old man acted like he didn’t give a flying fuck about her, his fatherly love and instincts were around. Just buried deep, deep inside, to where no one would be able to see a crack in his armor.

“Dude, what’d you do to piss off Sienna? She’s over there steaming.” Elijah joked, always trying to lighten the mood when I was pissed off.

How could having sex with one woman make me so angry?The scene was on replay in my mind, and I wanted more. No, I craved more. Raven was so goddamn perfect, but I couldn’t have her yet. I had to wait, be patient, and make all the right moves. Lars needed to be gone. This fiancé character of hers needed to be eliminated.

“I wouldn’t fuck her. You’d think she’d have plenty of dick around with you fuckers.”

Elijah and the other guys were big time players. They wanted nothing more than to stick their dicks in as many women as theypossibly could. Fuck, Elijah straight up told me he was in an orgy once. He even asked me if I would partake in one, but that was too much. I was a one woman type of guy. I didn’t need the stress of making sure each partner was pleased. Fuck all that.

I took a seat and Elijah gave me a shot glass with some clear liquid in it. I took it in my hand and tipped it back. The liquid went down smooth and made me want more. Vodka could be disgusting, but when the mood was right, it could be the most satisfying drink in the world.

“Alright, what’s our next move, boss? Do we go to them or get her to come to us?” He asked. He’s been particularly greedy about getting into the estate and taking it over. I couldn’t really figure out what his endgame was. Yeah, he was my best friend and loyal as fuck, but how far did that go? Would he try to take what was mine after I fought so hard to get it all back? Lars and Zeke were gone for a few days, so I figured we had some time to figure shit out.

Someone snorted. “Looks like your question has already been answered.” Noah tipped his head in the direction of the garage doors. The hair on the back of my neck stood up when the woman who was fucking with my sanity came bursting through the doors with Sienna of all people.

Her dark blue jeans hugged her ass, and the gray hoodie didn’t do a good job of making her invisible. It only made her more desirable because she wasn’t trying to get my attention. She was just naturally breathtaking.

“Shit. Never thought I’d see the day she stepped in these doors of her own free will. What do you think that’s about?”

I shrugged. Her frantic violet eyes found mine. Something was wrong. I stood up waiting for her to reach me.

"We need to talk.” Her lips demanded attention with her words. She transferred me back to last night when her lips weredoing wicked things to my body. My dick stood on attention, but I shut it down. She was worried. Hell, she even looked scared.

“Let’s go to my office.” I headed towards the office, feeling the heat of everyone’s stares on the back of my head, including the one who wanted nothing more than to be my Queen. Sienna had made it clear several times over that she should be standing next to me. That Raven was weak, and that she had no place as Queen of a Country.

What she didn’t know was that Raven was far from weak. While on the outside she was breaking apart, on the inside, she was a feisty little scorpion, waiting to come out and sting. She wouldn’t stand down without a fight, but I also know how heavily this shit was weighing on her. It was breaking her and if I don’t intervene soon, she may cease to exist. I couldn’t let that happen. I closed the door behind her and she began to pace. There was a war raging inside of her.

“What’s wrong with you?” Wrong question.

She stopped, and her body rose and fell with anger fuming through her veins. “What’s wrong with me? I need you to make a fucking move, Slade.”

My hands curled at my sides, “I’m trying.”

Her eyes began to water and her shoulders shook. She was breaking down right in front of me.Did something happen since I left?I took a step towards her, “What’s wrong?”

She turned away from me and wiped her face. “I can’t keep doing this.” Her voice shook, and that was so unlike her. She was normally empowered in everything she did.

“Doing what?” I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn’t know how this woman became my whole world, but the thought of losing her, fucked me up.

“Waiting. If you don’t do something, I will. I can’t live in this constant state of...”

I took a few more steps until my chest was against her back. I wanted to reach out and touch her, she was close enough for me to do so, but she was still out of my reach. We could never fully be happy until the threat was eliminated. “Of what?”

Her shoulders rose and fell as she took a deep breath, “Fear.”

“Rav,” I spoke, but she cut me off when she turned and her violet eyes showed something lingering in their depths. There were very few times in life when I saw her scared. Even after all of the abuse she suffered from the King, she still never showed signs of fear. Signs of weakness yes, but fear was an emotion that was far out of reach for her.

This Raven was something I had never witnessed, and I wanted nothing more than to make it all better for her. To protect her and my daughter, but it was hard when we were under two different roofs, and hers was a heavily guarded prison.

She wiped a stray tear from her face and walked past me. “Nevermind, I have to go.”

I blocked her exit. “No, you don’t. Stay here.” Something was nagging at me. I couldn’t let her go right now.

“If you won’t stop him, then I will. I don’t give a fuck anymore about what happens to me. At least Julianna will be free and you can, well, you can do whatever the fuck you want.”

She brushed past me, and I didn’t stop her. I just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights.

RAVEN

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