Page 58 of Silent Secrets

His jaw clenches so hard that there’s no way he isn’t ruining his teeth as he looks over my head, refusing to meet my eyes—which, as usual, only pisses me off more. Who the hell does he think he is? He can’t treat me like this. I won’t stand for it. What kind of queen would I be if I allowed him to walk all over me? To cause me to feel ashamed of my body or my actions.

Yeah, fuck that.

I know that I’m reacting more angrily, more violently, than I usually would, but I can’t find it in myself to care. When Hunter doesn’t respond and continues to refuse to look at me, I jab my finger into his chest as my ire grows.

“I asked you a fucking question. You don’t get to just ignore me, asshole.”

Hunter’s eyes are hard when they finally drop to me. “I do whatever the hell I want, princess.”

“Fuck that and fuck you. I’m so tired of your shit. If I were anyone else, you wouldn’t treat me like this. I’m going to be your gods damned queen and I will not stand for you treating me like I’m less than you, like I disgust you. I’ve got news for you, Hunter. You don’t scare me, no matter how big and bad you are. You will start showing me the respect I deserve.”

“Respect?” he scoffs, shaking his head.

“Yes, fucking respect—as your future queen.”

Instead of answering, the asshole just smirks down at me before turning his back on me and stalking towards the door.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Without stopping to think about what the hell I’m doing, I run after the asshole and jump onto his back. I’m honestly surprised that I don’t fall on my ass considering how tall he is, but adrenaline is pumping through my body. I sink one hand into his hair, yanking back as the other lands on his chest, nails biting into the skin while my legs snake around his hips.

“You do not walk away from me.”

Hunter freezes before letting out a growl that brings the other two men running into the room moments before he tries to buck me off. I tighten my grip and jerk his head back farther. I’m so over his shit and I’m done putting up with it.

And if this is an overreaction, I don’t give a damn.

I have someone threatening my life. I don’t have time for whatever his petty drama is. He will learn to show me some respect. I’ll make damn sure of it.

“I get that you’re a badass, powerful Winter Fae, but I’m the fucking Fae Queen, and you will bow before me—even if I have to make you.”

The door to the sitting room flies open, slamming into the wall as Marcos steps inside with wide eyes. His mouth drops open in shock when he finds me hanging off of Hunter’s back. Kai and Caiden move around us to stand with Marcos, their shock written all over their faces, but none of them move up to stop us.

“I will never submit to you. I don’t give a shit if you’re the fucking goddess herself.” Hunter tries to pull his head from my grip, but he can’t seem to do so.

I don’t know where the hell I’m getting this strength from, but I can’t say that I hate it. Hunter needs to be knocked down a peg or two and I’ve decided that I’m just the girl to do it.

Lifting the arm not wrapped in his hair, I wrap it around his neck and squeeze. I know that at this angle, I won’t hurt him and even with this sudden burst of strength, I’m not strong enough to choke him out, but I don’t know what else to do at this point. I might talk a big game, but I’ve never tried to dominate someone in my life—let alone someone who’s like twice my size.

Hunter struggles to break my hold on him, but can’t seem to get the leverage to throw me off. I struggle to keep my hold on him while he’s trying to buck me, and if I’m honest, I know that neither of us is going to win this one. The only real outcome is that one of us gets too tired to continue—probably me—or one of us gives up.

“Okay, I think we’ve let this go on long enough,” Marcos says, eyes darting between us and the other two men. “Does someone want to tell me why Hadley is trying to take down Hunter?”

“She thinks she can dominate me,” Hunter laughs.

“Because he’s a fucking asshole,” I say at the same time, growling when I hear his answer. I really hate this fucking asshole sometimes.

But even as I have the thought, I can taste the lie in it. I don’t hate Hunter, he just frustrates the hell out of me. Especially since he seems to hate me for no reason. I can already feel the anger slipping, allowing embarrassment to replace it.

“Asshole is one of his personality traits. I’d say don’t take it personally, but you seem to make it so much worse.”

I glare at Caiden because he so isn’t helping.

“I’m not sure that this is accomplishing anything, so why don’t we stop trying to dominate the man that’s twice your size?” Marcos holds his hands in surrender when I turn my glare on him. “And Hunter? Maybe stop antagonizing the woman who is our future queen? We all get that you’re an alpha male. You don’t have to prove you have a big dick—we believe you.”

I bite my tongue as I try to not imagine Hunter’s dick—which is either teeny tiny or massive based on his behavior. I can’t stop myself when I lean forward to see if I can figure it out from here.

“You’re not seriously checking out my dick right now, are you?”

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