Ethan Steel is a big man.
Where Jonathan is lean, he’s broad. Granted, he’s not as big as I remember him from when I was a kid, but that’s due to the fact that I grew up not him becoming smaller.
If anything, his strong bone structure is as tall and arrogant as in the past, as if he wasn’t in a coma at all.
He sits behind his mahogany desk, watching me with hawk eyes.
His home office is bland with black and brown sofas and bookshelves. He even has a glass chessboard on the coffee table between me and Elsa.
If he isn’t a replica of Jonathan, I don’t know who is.
Elsa’s legs are snapped closed together as she stares at her lap, her shoes, her jacket. Anything but me or her father. Concern radiates off her in waves and prickles my skin.
I meet Ethan’s stare with a neutral one. He’s trying to intimidate me with silence so when he speaks, I’ll have no choice but to fall at his feet.
Jonathan used to do that, too, until he realised the tactic doesn’t work on me.
Manipulation affects neurotypical people, not me.
“What are your intentions with my daughter?”
He goes straight to the bullseye. I can respect that about him. I like direct opponents.
“Intentions?” I repeat to get a rise out of him.
“You know exactly what I mean.” He plops both his elbows on the desk and leans forward like an emperor planning his attack. “Jonathan must’ve ordered you to ruin her life.”
“How…” Elsa clears her throat. “How do you know that, Dad?”
“I know everything about you, princess.” He smiles at her, but his expression hardens when he focuses back on me.
While Ethan and Jonathan are two facets of the same coin, there’s one difference. Ethan looks at Elsa like she’s his world. He’s doing everything to protect her and her legacy.
Jonathan doesn’t.
His world has turned bleak and sharp since Alicia’s death. Everything he cares about is revenge and power. I doubt he’d bat an eye if either Levi or I fall in the process.
As long as one King remains to carry on with his legacy, he’s all good.
“My intentions towards your daughter are simple,” I say with the calmest, most determined voice I can manage. “She’s mine.”
“Aiden!” she hisses.
I lift a shoulder. I won’t lie to Ethan. Not about this. He needs to know that I’ll fight for her. I’m ready to fight him, Jonathan, and the entire fucking world.
Hell. I’m ready to fight her if she doesn’t snap out of her stubbornness. It used to be adorable, now it’s pissing me off.
I expected Ethan to stand up and throw me out of his house. In all honesty, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sics his dogs on me.
However, he just watches me.
The contempt in his gaze would’ve made me angsty if I weren’t brought up to handle these types of situations.
Stressful, intimidating encounters do nothing to those with the King surname. We were taught to overcome them before we learnt to ride a bike.
Elsa shifts uncomfortably in her seat, smoothing her already perfectly pressed jacket.
The twitch in her nose when she’s stressed out is too cute for words. Now, I’m itching to touch that nose, kiss it, lick it.
“What does Jonathan think about that?” Ethan’s question brings me back from my fantasies about his daughter’s nose.
“What Jonathan thinks doesn’t matter.” I don’t miss a beat.
“Does he know that?”
“He knows everything.”
A slight smile crosses Ethan’s face before it disappears. “You’re more like him than you know and for that reason alone, I don’t trust you with my daughter.”
I’m about to tell him that his opinion doesn’t matter, but he cuts me off. “Besides, our families are clashing right now, and everyone has taken a side.”
“I couldn’t care less about families clashing. I’ve already taken a side and it’s Elsa’s.”
Her electric blue eyes bore into mine, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. Her plump lips fall open. Those soft, soft lips. I’m on the edge of my seat, contemplating walking there and kissing the living fuck out of her, devour those lips, rip them in my mouth against my tongue.
I’m so hard, I can feel the pulsing of my dick.
Ethan clears his throat, cutting off my cock’s fantasies. “Jonathan will do everything to stop you.”
I shift sideways to relieve pressure on my hard-on. Not that it works. See, my cock is a fucking traitor. He doesn’t listen to me when Elsa is around. Not to mention he’s been deprived of her warmth for a long time, so now it’s his time to shine and be a dick — literally.
Thankfully, Ethan’s table prevents him from seeing my junk. Otherwise, he would’ve thrown me out of here about yesterday.
Elsa, however, sees it in all erotic details. Those blues widen even more.
‘It’s your fault,’ I tell her with my gaze. ‘If I fucked you earlier, none of this would be happening.’
Who am I kidding?
Beside being a traitor, my dick is an attention whore. Whenever Elsa’s in sight, he points at her as if saying, ‘Notice me. Suck me. Let me fuck you.’
Yeah, he kind of has a limited vocabulary.
Now, where were we? Right. Ethan and Jonathan. Tale as old as time and as boring, too.
“Let me worry about Jonathan.” I pause. “Maybe if you didn’t kidnap me ten years ago, none of this would have happened.”
“Aiden…” Elsa starts to scold me then decides against it and shakes her head.
Ethan interlaces his fingers. “Maybe if Jonathan didn’t burn dozens of people, none of this wouldn’t have happened either.”
I thought he would fall for the guilt, but he’s not like Elsa. He’s the tenacious type who can bury the past because, for him, the future is more important.
His phone rings, and he checks it. Standing up, he motions at the device. “I have to take this.”
As soon as the door closes behind him, Elsa jumps up and starts pacing. “I should’ve thought of this. I shouldn’t have let you give me a ride. What if he’s mad at me? What if he won’t forgive me?”
My head tilts to the side, watching her flushed cheeks and how her uniform’s skirt rides up her pale thighs every time she moves.
All my attempts to keep my cock down fail.
I’m rock fucking hard imagining that skirt off as I plunge in and out of her warmth for weeks.
No. Not weeks.
Months.
I contemplate bending her over the desk and fucking her raw from behind.
It’d be worth it even if her father walks in on us and murders me. After all, don’t they say to find something you love and let it kill you?
“Aiden.”
“Hmm, sweetheart?”
Her cheeks are bright red as she hisses, “You’re hard!”
I’m sure she can see the lust in my eyes. Am I apologetic about it? Do I care? No and no.
I smirk. “And that’s a problem because?”
“You’re not supposed to be thinking about that in such a situation.”
“That?”
“You know.” She throws her hands in the air for good measure.
“You mean fucking you?”
She slaps a hand over my mouth and watches her surroundings like she’s a spy. “We’re in Dad’s office.”
I kiss her palm.
She removes it with a jerk and turns crimson, if possible.
I love creeping under her skin. I love being the only one who gets to break the ice and slip inside her castle. She might close the door, she might build forts, but I’ll always conquer.
“You’re incorrigible,” she scolds, still fighting off her blush.
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
She flops into the chair and fiddles with the knight chess piece. Only three moves have been made and the black side is at a disadvantage.
An idea springs to mind to calm her agitation.
If it were up to me, I would fuck her, but I doubt that’s the best way to occupy her head in such a situation.
So I move on to the next best thing.
Since the white pieces are in front of me, I push a pawn forward, blocking the knight she’s clutching between her fingers.
Elsa raises her head in questioning.
I lean my elbow on the armrest. “Didn’t you say you play? Show me what you got, sweetheart.”
A spark of challenge ignites in her blue eyes. My dick strains against the confines of my trousers.
That look. That spark. That stubbornness. They’re the reason why Elsa is one of a kind.
She moves her knight forward, leaving an opening for my pawn. I raise an eyebrow.
Bold.
I expected her to hold the fort and count her options. She surprised me by going straight to the attack.
Straightening in my seat, I do a quick overview of the board. I consider her options before I think of mine. Elsa isn’t the type to hold back, and that’ll be the reason for her loss.
While I move a few pawns, Elsa uses her entire battalion.
She’s an all-in type of player.
I like that. A lot.
My dick agrees, by the way.
I bring out my queen, and she smirks with sadism. Elsa just gave me a sadistic smirk. “Finally, dickhead.”
Her entire body language is sharp and concentrated. Fuck. She’s been slowly but surely transforming into a fighter. The challenge shines from her eyes in waves.
Why haven’t I played chess with her before?
This is nearly as erotic as fucking her. The power in her body, the boldness in her moves, and the melting of her defiance. Her mind clashing with mine is more euphoric than anything I’ve experienced before.
“You’re keeping your queen hidden, too, sweetheart. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”
She grins, all mischievous and fucking beautiful. “If you’re far from the enemy, make him believe you’re near.”
Sun Tzu. She’s quoting her favourite book, The Art of War, and yes, I re-read it after she mentioned it’s her favourite book, just so I could imagine reading it from her perspective.
Am I too far gone for this girl?
Yes, probably.
“You’re such a nerd,” I play with her.
“This nerd will bring you down, King.” She rolls up the sleeves of her jacket, eyes sparkling and glinting like Christmas lights — and I don’t even like Christmas.
The door opens, pulling us away from the vicious battle.
Ethan strides inside and stops beside our board. He watches the game with a critical eye. Elsa lost all her pawns and a knight. I kept most of my pawns, but I lost a rook and a bishop.
“Interesting game,” Ethan says. “Too bad someone has to lose.”
My jaw clenches, easily reading the hidden meaning behind the words.
Ethan and Jonathan are at war to snatch a partnership with the Rhodes. In the end, one of them will lose.
When that day comes, neither Elsa nor I will ever be the same.
As soon as I arrive home, I head to the shower.
Nash and I agreed to meet so we can put a stop to the fucker Adam Herran.
Once I’m done with him, he’ll wish he never looked in Elsa’s direction, let alone touch her.
He threatened her life, and for that, his existence will be a payment.
Tit for tat and all that.
He’ll wish he was never fucking born.
Out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my waist and another around my neck.
I stop at the threshold to the bathroom. Jonathan stands in the middle of my bedroom, his hands shoved in his trouser pockets.
He’s watching the walls as if it’s the first time he’s in here. It’s all squeaky clean. A bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. That’s all I need.
I barely spend time in this room anyway, so it doesn’t matter. The Meet Up, however, does. That’s where I would rather be.
“You went to Ethan’s house,” he says. It’s not a question which means he’s still watching me.
Shocker.
“I did,” I say, just to be a dick.
Using the towel around my neck, I dry my hair. The black strands fall in front of my eyes, partially obscuring my view of Jonathan.
“What did he say?” he asks.
“Nothing important.”
He narrows his eyes but doesn’t press the issue. “Keep your head in the game.”
Sure thing, Dad.
Only, well, he never earned the right to be called the ‘D’ word. Other than dick.
“Jonathan?”
He stops but doesn’t turn around. “Yes?”
“I’m breaking off my engagement to Queens.”
He slowly faces me, his body rigid. “That nonsense is off the table.”
“I’m not asking for your permission. I’m informing you that my engagement with Queens is off. Effective immediately.”
“Are you choosing to side with Ethan?”
“This has nothing to do with that.”
“It has everything to do with that. Sebastian is our ally and a member of the Rhodes’ vote committee. He won’t vote in our favour if you dump his daughter.”
“Then find other allies. Sebastian Queens isn’t the only member of the Rhodes’ voting committee.”
He squints one eye at me. “It’s because of that Steel girl. I knew she was rotting your mind.”
“She’s mine, Jonathan. Mine.” I throw the hair towel away and walk to stand toe to toe with him. “Once you accept that fact, I’ll accept to be your heir. Until then, you’re my enemy.”
He stares at me for a beat. It’s not intimidation, more like contemplation.
I don’t know what he fucking expects. Does he think he can reach me now when he’s never made an effort before?
That ship has sailed with Alicia.
“You’re an ungrateful fucking brat.” His jaw clenches.
“I can’t think of a reason why I should be grateful to you.”
“Not to me, but to your mother. You have no respect for her memory.”
“Stop using Alicia in your mind games.”
“Games? Was her death a game? Have you forgotten who caused her accident?” He tilts his head with a manic look in his black-grey eyes. “Have you forgotten how many hours she suffered before she eventually died?”
“Elsa isn’t the reason.”
“Her father is.”
“And so are you.”
He pauses for a second, his jaw ticking. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me,” I speak in my deepest, lowest tone. “You burnt that factory down, knowing Ethan would retaliate by harming your most precious things. But you know what? That’s not why Alicia died. She died because she was trapped in this world when her soul lived elsewhere. All she needed was you and me to root her here. You knew her needs, but you barely spared her your time. Your hunger for power and your ambition came first, and we were an afterthought.”
“I did all of that for you.” He grits out. “I built King Enterprises for our family.”
“Alicia never needed the power or the name, she needed you and you let her down. You killed her slowly, Jonathan. So excuse me if I don’t believe in your useless revenge plot. You should’ve protected her while she was alive.” I brush past him to grab my clothes. “I won’t repeat your mistake.”
Jonathan says nothing. He just turns around and leaves.
The door clicks loud behind him.
Hear that, Alicia? That’s Jonathan finally feeling pain. You should rest in peace now.
I know she won’t. Her sad expression comes to mind. Her pale cheeks and the constant tears in her eyes.
She hated it when Jonathan was stressed or in pain. She loved the loser more than he ever deserved, and he reciprocated too late.
I won’t be my father.
After dressing up, I dial Nash. He picks up after the first ring.
“Are you ready?” I ask.
“Always.”
“Are Knight and Astor there?”
“Knight, yes. Astor is too high to move.”
Of course. And then he bitches about how we always keep him out.
“King?”
“Yes?”
“Let’s leave Adam some hope.”
“Why?”
“I want him to think he’s safe before we destroy him all over again.”
I smirk. I like that idea. “Deal. And Nash?”
“Yes?”
“It’s over with Queens, you petty, little bitch.”
“Fuck you.”
I smile while hanging up.
Time to take care of some overdue business.
