Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance) (9 page)

Chapter Eleven

-Royal

The beat of the music pounded throughout the mansion that Sasha called home. I watched the crowd sway with the tempo of the music from the top of the grand staircase. Everyone’s movements were jerky and liquor induced. Half of them wouldn’t even remember what they did tonight or tomorrow morning.

                     “If you come with me back to my bedroom, I can make your time here worth the while.” Sasha’s manicured hand landed against my chest. Her voice purred against my ear. I could practically see her digging her claws into me, laying claim when there was no claim to be laid.

                     “You know that’s not what I came here for.” I ignored her advancements. I could fuck whatever girl I wanted, when I wanted. Things with Sasha were out of pure boredom and nothing else. Tonight I wasn’t bored, instead I was ready for a fight, one that she promised to have here. Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout, and her nails raked across my chest. I could feel the tips of her razor-sharp nails through my t-shirt.

“I’ve kept my promise, Royal. Dom is already here, and he’s ready for a fight. The bets have been placed, and the place is packed….” There was a
but
part of this sentence that she hadn’t spoken yet, I could feel it, and that alone caused irritation to prick at the surface of my skin. I grabbed her hand, shoving it out of my space, and removing it from my chest.

                     “You knew what this was about long before I asked you to set this fight up.” I narrowed my eyes at her, gesturing between us. “This isn’t going to happen. I don’t do relationships… I just fuck…” I lowered my voice at her, hinting at a warning. I didn’t want to have to explain myself to her a million and one fucking times, and I knew she was smart enough to understand what was occurring between us. It wasn’t my fault she wanted it to be more than it was.

                     “I’ve done all of this for you,” she whined, her red high heel stomping against the marble floor. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her. How childish was it that she was making a huge deal out of nothing? It didn’t bother me, though, it wasn’t me who looked dumb in front of all of these people.

                     “And I’ve told you thank you more than once.” I gritted my teeth while speaking.

                     “Then prove it and make it official between us.” She pursed her lips. The challenge in her eyes made my cock hard. I loved the darkness in her, but the shit coming out of her mouth shattered the mood. She wanted what she couldn’t have and what I wasn’t willing to give to anyone.

              Except Noelle.

                     “Why don’t you get on your knees right here, right now, and suck my cock.” I tilted my head at her, meeting her eyes with the same challenge as I reached for the button on my jeans. I was serious as fuck, and I was sure she didn’t believe me.

I watched as she visibly sucked in a breath, her face puckering like she ate something sour. Clearly she wasn’t happy with that idea. I felt the same about her wanting to me make it official between the two of us. The only thing official about us was the fact that we fucked.

“Sasha?” One of her many friends, a chick that went by the name of Max, walked up behind her, saying her name as if she had a question.

“What!?” she snarled, her tone pissy and filled with anger. The girl seemed more frightened than anything as she bit at her bottom lip.

Since when did people treat their friends like garbage?

“You told us to be on the lookout for a girl….” Max looked between Sasha and I. She could feel the tension, just like I was sure everyone in the room could.

“What girl?” I asked before Sasha could answer her. If this had anything to do with Noelle, I would cut Sasha the fuck off so fast her head would spin. I might be engaging in sexual affairs with her, but Noelle wasn’t, which meant she didn’t have to deal with childish bullshit antics Sasha put out there. I had already warned Sasha that fucking with Noelle was like fucking with me. It wasn’t something you did without being prepared to take a fist to the face.

Max shifted from one leg to another as she stared at Sasha as if she was asking with her eyes if it was okay to tell me.

Think real hard before either of you answer me. What was left of my patience was quickly wearing thin.

I flexed my fists and asked again, my eyes scanning the floor before coming back to Sasha and Max. There was no one that matched Noelle’s description in the crowd, at least not within my sight.

“I’m not going to repeat myself again. What girl?” My anger was mounting with each second they waited to speak.

“Ummm…” Max stuttered again, and I could tell she was scared. She probably wasn’t even one of Sasha’s friends, but nothing more than a groupie, one of the people that Sasha appointed to do shit for her.

“Sasha!” I ordered her, raising my voice. I could feel eyes on me. They started to drift toward us. We were drawing attention and I didn’t like it, not in the least fucking bit.

“Jesus, Royal. It’s your little bitch of a stepsister, Noelle. Happy?” The way she spoke of Noelle antagonized me. I shoved from the railing, pissed that I had to pry the information out of Sasha, and even more pissed that Noelle had come even after I told her not to.

“Is this the part where you run off and rescue her?” I wanted to strangle the hell out of Sasha, but ignored her comment while I descended the stairs without hesitation. I stopped at the second to last step, scanning the crowd. My fists tightened in rage as my eyes clashed with Dom’s from across the room. A smirk marred his face as he wrapped his scuzzy arm around a sexy girl with sunshine colored hair.

Noelle. My Noelle.

“Oh, fuck no!” I bellowed out, jumping from the stairs and landing feet first on the floor. Pain radiated up my legs, but I kept moving as I shoved through the mass of bodies, sweat and the smell of alcohol filling my nostrils almost instantly.

Panic filled me as I pushed through the masses, losing sight of Noelle and Dom almost instantly. There were too many people here, making it harder to tell people apart. Air filtered into my lungs. I would kill him if he hurt her. The thought popped in my head, and I had no time to recognize what it meant. All I wanted to do was find her and leave. The fight didn’t matter anymore, nor did the money that was placed on it. All that mattered was protecting Noelle.

Mine.
The alpha in me told me what I needed to do. That I needed to find her, throw her over my shoulder, and take her back home ravishing her sweet ass the whole way, proving just how in charge I was.

“Noelle!” I called out her name, the panic in my voice rising as I shoved through the rest of the crowd, coming out on the other side where her and Dom were just standing minutes ago. Where the hell did she go, and why didn’t she listen to me?

God, why the fuck did she have to decide tonight would the night to be rebellious?

As I looked around the room, my eyes snagged on her best friend Jordan sitting in the kitchen on the granite countertop. Quickly making my way over to her, I stopped directly in front of where she was, grabbing firmly onto her shoulders and bringing her face up to mine.

“Where is Noelle?” I ordered, roughly shaking her, and forcing her to look at me and focus on what I was saying. She startled, sucking in a breath before speaking. She smelt like a bottle of
Jack Daniels.

“Mmmmm…. Fuckboy?” She squinted her eyes as if she couldn’t really tell who I was at first.

“What?” I was so fucking confused.  “
Fuckboy
? You have got to be kidding me,” I huffed out, getting more frustrated with each second that passed. I should’ve known she would be of no help to me, when she was already ten sheets to the wind.

“Noelle’s phone, your name is
Fuckboy
.” She giggled and hiccupped, excusing herself with another bout of laughter. I could barely understand her as her words slurred together all becoming one. I took a deep breath in through my nose and exhaled it out of my mouth trying to calm myself.

You’ll find her.

The thought of anything happening to her lit my body on fire.

I was seconds away from coming unhinged, my body temperature was rising, and the need to destroy something becoming stronger. Noelle was going to fucking kill me if she didn’t make an appearance here shortly.

“Jordan,” I growled her name, “I need you to think really hard, really fucking hard on where you think she could be.” I wasn’t above pleading to find her. Noelle was too good for a place like this, surrounded by a bunch of drunk idiots that could easily take advantage of her. We both knew there was no way I was going to let that happen to her.

She was mine, every last drop of pure innocence that radiated from her.

Jordan’s movements were wobbly as she lifted a finger placing it against her nose. “She likessss youuuuu, you knowwww?” Again her words were slurred. I wasn’t sure this was even worth it. It only seemed to be adding to the anger I was already feeling.

I exhaled. “That’s not what I asked you, Jordan! Please focus; just think. Please.” I released my hold on Jordan long ago, afraid that if I didn’t I would squeeze the life out of her. Now my fingers gripped the edge of the counter, looking out the French doors that opened up into the back yard. There was a large crowd that started to form outside.

This chick needed a glass of water. She was far too wasted to be of any use to me and was probably a danger to everyone here, including herself. Walking over to the stainless steel fridge, I yanked open the door and found a few bottles of cold water. I grabbed three of them and brought them back over to Jordan.

“Here, drink these. You’re plastered and need to sober up.” I done my one good deed of the day, and now I needed to find Noelle.

“No, and I know what you asked, Fuckboy.  I’m just telling you that she L.I.K.E.S…” she spelt the words out and poked me in the chest. “You.” I was frustrated, irritated, and annoyed beyond disbelief. I grabbed one of the water bottles that I had placed next to her, and twisted the cap off, shoving the water into one of her hands.

“Drink it,” I ordered.

“No. She like’s youuuuuu, Fuckboy.” A bubble of laughter hiccuped out of her mouth.

“I don’t care if she likes me, because she’s going to hate me once I find her ass. Now less talking and more drinking of the water,” I hissed out. I just finished speaking when Noelle’s squeals of laughter met my ears.

I knew for sure it was hers because of the softness and hiccup that resonated from deep in her throat. I shoved away from the counter with one final glance at Jordan saying, “Drink that water, I will be back for you as soon as I find Noelle.”  Walking down out onto the deck and into the back yard, I saw her standing right next to the fire pit. That asshole, Dom, with his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulder, snuggling her into his chest.

MINE. This motherfucker was going to pay for touching what’s mine.

You could say right then and there something snapped in me, or you could say I snapped long before that moment.

Who did he think he was, and why the fuck was she letting him touch her?  I couldn’t think anymore; all I could do was act. Nothing I would say would prove my point. Bone against bone. Blood pooling beneath a body. Those were all the things that would prove a point.

I ran the rest of the distance that separated us, lifting my fist with precision and the right angle to hit him straight in the back of the head. I didn’t care if it was a cheap shot, or if it made me look like an asshole. All I cared about was getting back what was mine.

The second my fist made contact with his skull, mayhem ensued. Dom fell to the ground with a groan, bringing Noelle down with him. They landed in a heap on the grass. She rolled away from him, fear forcing her to back away from the whole situation. When her eyes met mine, I lost it.

The look of horror on her face told me she knew better. It told me she understood that this was her fault. I was protecting and defending what was mine, even if I didn’t claim it. I didn’t have to claim Noelle for her to be mine. It was ingrained in me. When her heart was beating, mine was too. When she cried, I felt her pain. She was mine because I wanted her to be mine, and now this fucker had to pay for touching what was mine.

I rolled my shoulders, sending her a look of detest. I would deal with her later because right now all I wanted to do was kick the fuck out of this guy for touching something as precious as Noelle. I was the only disgraceful fuck that could touch her because I knew her worth, and I knew that she deserved better than someone like me. This guy didn’t, and he wouldn’t care that he ripped her to pieces. I bent down on my haunches waiting for the fucker to get up. I was ready, so fucking ready. I was defending what was mine, and showing everyone else here what happened when they fucked with Noelle.

“You wanted a fight. Well here I am, asshole, let’s go.” I shot up to my full stature, bouncing from foot to foot as I watched Dom continue to roll around in the grass.

What a pussy.

The crowd around us grew, the circle becoming wider as hushed whispers filled the air. I extended my hand out to Noelle for her to grab so that I could help her back to her feet. My hand hung there for a moment suspended in the air. The fear and shock that reflected back at me was astounding, and for a second I felt bad for being the cause of that single look. That was until I remembered this whole thing was on her. She made the choice to come here, to let him wrap his arm around her. I didn’t care if she was just being friendly, or if she was trying to get with him. Nothing mattered to me but her safety.