Reign of a King (Kingdom Duet #1) - Rina Kent Page 0,34
might to avoid him. That’s what she did at his wedding. She didn’t dare mention that she was his aunt.
Her grip tightens around her fork as if accumulating strength before she completely releases it. “Do you enjoy it?”
“Enjoy what?”
“Making people feel small.”
“People tend to commit mistakes when they feel small.”
But it’s not like that with her.
Aurora is closed off in a way that makes it almost impossible to get to the centre of her. In order to do that, I have to exploit her weaknesses, one by each bloody one.
“You’re a sociopath.”
“And you’re not eating.”
“I’m not hungry. A certain presence has made me lose my appetite.”
“Watch that attitude, Aurora.”
She lifts her chin, even though I can see the fear in her gaze. “I’m just saying, food tastes better when I’m with many people.”
“False. You spend most of the time talking, so you don’t eat then either, but since many people are there, it goes unnoticed.”
She glares at me, and this time, she doesn’t attempt to hide her contempt. The fact that I can read her is throwing her off, and she has no way to express it but through glares.
“You will eat.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Do you prefer I make you?”
“I prefer you leave me alone.”
“Either you eat or you bear the consequences. Be smart and choose your battles, wild one.”
Aurora stares at me, her gaze calculating my words before her brain chooses to take the intelligent route. She’s well aware that she can’t win against me on this, so she might as well cut her losses now.
“Fine.” She picks up her fork again.
“Not there.”
Aurora lifts her head, brows creasing.
I tap my lap. “Over here.”
18
Aurora
“Over there?” I mean to snap, but my voice comes out low.
Why the hell do I sound turned on?
I’m not.
It doesn’t matter that his suit jacket moulds to his body with the sitting position or that the slow way he eats with those veiny hands is like watching a food porn show or that –
“Do you have a problem following simple instructions, Aurora?”
“Don’t you dare question my worth, Jonathan.”
“Then come here. Now.” The edge in his authoritative tone leaves no room for negotiation.
Now I know why people fall at his feet — willingly or unwillingly. He’s the type of person you can’t say no to.
Especially in my case when he has a metaphorical gun pointed at my chest.
Or that’s what I tell myself as I throw the napkin on the table and walk to him with angry steps.
I ignore how my legs slightly shake or how, with every movement, friction builds at my core. The idea that he’ll repeat yesterday wraps around my neck like a tight noose, only it’s not strangling me. Or maybe it is, but it’s not the hurtful type.
Far from it.
Goosebumps break on my skin as a sudden thought assaults me out of the blue. Will my arse be so sore that I’ll feel it for the rest of the night? Or when I sit the next day?
My nipples tighten against my bra. I’m so glad it’s padded enough that the evidence of my arousal isn’t visible through my thin white shirt.
Snap out of it, Aurora.
Stopping a small distance away from him, I try to ignore his sensual scent and cross my arms over my chest. “I can’t eat if I’m face down, genius.”
“If you don’t lose the attitude, you’ll get that arse spanked so hard, you’ll be able to feel my touch on your skin for fucking days.”
My spine jerks at the dark promise in his words. Instead of repulsion, a rush of heat invades me from head to toe. My scalp tingles and my feet wobble as if the world is about to drop me off. My hand wraps around my watch on my wrist to root myself in place.
His lips twitch as he tilts his head to the side. “You want that.”
“I do not.”
“Do you crave that sting of pain, wild one? Did your first taste turn you into an addict?”
“I said I don’t.”
“The reddening of your cheeks, the parting of your lips, and the way you keep touching your watch say otherwise. If you don’t want to be so readable, school your reactions. Your tells are a sure way to have your weaknesses exploited.”
Damn him. How come no one’s attempted to kill this man before? It’s been less than a week since I’ve been caught in his orbit and I already have the urge to strangle the life out of him.