He yanked me closer; it was so sudden I had no time to brace myself. I landed hard against his chest.
“I know exactly what you need,” he said, the smallest of smiles playing across his lips.
Fuck.
Yes. Please may he be saying what I thought he was saying, because I needed that sort of distraction more than I needed air.
“Follow me,” he said, and then he let me go and disappeared into his walk-in wardrobe.
I blinked at that, because… the closet…?
Okay.
I was a few steps behind, and when I got in there, I slowed, swallowing hard at the bare back in front of me. Rafe had just shucked off his shirt, and as I watched the play of muscles, those curling tattoos that marked his body, I nearly bit off my own tongue so I didn’t moan.
He pulled on a tight black tank, leaving those arms bare.
Uh, wait a minute. Was he getting dressed again?
This wasn’t exactly what I’d thought we were doing.
Spinning around, he threw another shirt my way.
“Come on, Violence. It’s time for you to train.”
Well, fuck.
He led me onto the soccer field, but we continued on through that, ending up in a large gym crossed with a dojo. I paused at the door, breathing in that familiar scent—sweat, chalk, and deep heat. Some of the panic that had been thrumming through my body faded. A hundred memories hit me, and I wondered if a portion of my unease over the past few months had been because I’d stepped away from this life.
The indoor running track, mats, weights, and a bunch of other shit that I’d used every day for the last ten years were scattered about, and I was so here for it.
“I had no idea this room existed,” I said breathlessly, looking around with a gleam of excitement. “I’ve missed training.”
Rafe let out a low laugh. “I figured.”
I wasn’t exactly dressed for it, clad in Rafe’s shirt that was miles too large. I’d tied it in a knot just under my breasts, exposing my stomach, and I wore my skirt with boy short underwear beneath, so I wasn’t in danger of flashing anyone. But still.
Whatever. He’d seen me naked.
“Wanna run?” he said, and I could have orgasmed right then from how fucking sexy this dude was. In some ways, I needed him to be an asshole to me because I couldn’t fall for Rafe. Not really.
He was unattainable to me, and the longer I spent time in this world, the less I wanted it. The royal life. Fucking no.
I had to remember that.
Rafe started out slow, but I needed to forget. So as soon as I was remotely warmed up, I let loose. Pushing myself hard, I flew around the track. My bare feet were not the best for this surface, but I didn’t care.
Rafe kept pace with me, not even breathing heavily. He was super fit from soccer, and there was no way I’d outpace him. Not ever. Especially while I was out of practice.
I didn’t embarrass myself though; we ran for an hour. When I was done, my lungs aching as I sucked in air, I felt a sense of achievement.
“Can I use this whenever I want?”
Rafe’s smile was slow, a smirk that continued on to a full-blown grin. “Yeah, I think I can arrange that.”
I snorted. “What? No return of favor required?” I hadn’t forgotten his message when I’d asked to be in for the next fight.
He crowded into me, his huge body drowning out the fucking light and oxygen, shooting me off center. “What are you offering?”
My pussy clenched. Bitch was literally trying to jump out of my skirt and fuck him. But I’d never traded sex for favors before, and I wasn’t about to start now. If Rafe and I fucked again, it would be because neither of us could help ourselves.
I pressed my hand to his chest, trying not to dwell on the hard planes that caressed my skin. “I’m not one for favors, Rafael. If you want something from me, just fucking ask.”
This was whispered through gritted teeth, and the only reaction I got was a predatory grin in return. And a second to suck in a breath before his lips slammed into mine. A groan escaped, and then my hands were tangled in his shirt as I yanked him closer to me, my body needing five fucking seconds of this.
This erased Alex.
Jordan and Rafe erased Alex, and I hated how badly I craved their touch.
Our tongues tangled, and I opened wider, pressing against him to feel every hard line. His hands wrapped around my waist, and he lifted me higher, pulling me flush to his body. Needing something to do with my legs, I wrapped them around him and ground against him, my clit aching. Tingles shot across my skin and down my spine.
My entire body was burning up, and I couldn’t think straight.
How in the fuck did he do this to me?
“Is this what you want, Cinderella?” Rafe drawled against my skin, his mouth moving down to my neck. “To forget?”
Fuck! Fuck!
I wrenched myself back, deep, lung-filling breaths choking out of me. “Fuck, you’re an asshole.”
He didn’t smile. Or reply.
“You want to fuck or fight?”
Oh man. Decisions…
I wasn’t sure I could make that choice, but I knew the safer option.
“Let’s fight.”
Chapter 14
“You walking funny?” Mattie asked, eyeing me as I hobbled out of my room the next morning. “Please don’t tell me Rafe visited.”
I groaned, his name evoking the ass-kicking he’d handed me yesterday. I’d been distracted. He’d been ruthless. And yes, I was walking funny.
“Don’t want to talk about it,” I grumbled. “And trust me, it was nothing fun.”
“I hope he looks as bad as you,” Mattie said with a grin.
I snorted. “Yeah, he’ll be hurting too.”
I’d gotten him more than once, and for that, I was patting myself on the back. Rafe was a formidable opponent, and sparring with him had pushed me to new places I hadn’t gone in my fights. I couldn't wait to try it with weapons.
That was where I really shone.
“Ready for classes today?” Mattie asked, thankfully forgetting my pained expression.
I shrugged. “They’re sure to be a breeze.”
She looked closer. “What aren’t you telling me?”
I returned that stare. “What aren’t you telling me? What really happened with your family yesterday? What was the incident?”
Rafe wouldn’t give me more details outside of the “international incident” thing, and Mattie had done the same, refusing to tell me anything specific, just saying that it was handled and that next time Alex wouldn’t find it so easy to get rid of her.
She wrinkled her nose at me. “I told you it’s nothing to worry about. Let’s get some food.”
When we entered the dining room, she led the way to our table, and I tried to be blasé, even though Jordan and Rafe were both there sitting side by side and distracting me about a million percent.
There was no one else at the table for once, and I was surprised at how comfortable I felt with the three royals.
Noles sprinted in a minute later, rounding out our five.
“Hey, love,” he said, slapping a kiss on my cheek. “And sister.” He did the same with Mattie.
I almost saw my spine with how hard I rolled my eyes. “Love?”
He shrugged. “You’re family now, girl. And I love my family.”
Jordan and Rafe were suddenly very interested in Nolan, and I blinked at the rumble that came from the New American prince. “Family better be all you’re feeling when it comes to Violet,” he said.
Nolan’s smile was wicked as fuck, and I waited with bated breath for whatever was about to come out of his mouth.
“I knew you fuckers were gonna lay your claims.” his eyes flicked between Jordan and Rafe. “And what do you know? You haven’t killed each other in a bloody fight for her puss—uh—attention. Oh, very interesting indeed. Maybe you two aren’t too alpha male to share.” He crossed his arms, super satisfied. “This is exactly what I prayed for.”
Mattie jerked her head at that. “You pray?”
Nolan’s broad shoulders shook with laughter. “Yeah, not so much, but to get a little threesome action between our besties, I’d make an exception.”
So, like, wow. This was exceptionally awkward, and I wanted to punch Nolan but also not make a big deal about it. Because in this moment, all I could think about was being between those two princes. I might be the one praying to God tonight.
Subject change.
“Next fight,” I said, lowering my voice so I wasn't projecting this to anyone outside of our table. “You guys worked it so I can participate, right?”
Both Nolan and Jordan shot a look at Rafe, who just gave me a smug, slightly wicked grin.
“Did you agree to the terms, Cinderella?”
My teeth ground together so hard it was audible, and Mattie shuddered. “I told you,” I growled at the prickish Swiss heir, “I don’t deal in favors.”
Those messages I hadn’t read on my palm reader during the study session had been from Rafe. His proposed trade for getting me into the next fight? An undisclosed favor to be used any time in the future. Yeah, it was that open-ended and vague. Hell no.
Rafe just shrugged, kicking back in his seat and folding his arms over his broad chest. Damn him straight to hell, he’d rolled his shirtsleeves up again. The tattoos on his forearms only seemed to highlight how strong his muscles were and made me want to—