Defiant Prince: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Black Rose University Book 1)

by A G Henderson

  20

  Ambrose

  “What the hell is wrong with you!?” My free hand crashed into the solid door beside her head, slapping against the wood with enough force to send a flare of pain up my arm. I barely noticed. Rage worked well to suppress everything but the heat surging through my chest.

  Screaming in the face of a crying girl was an all-new low for me.

  After the mistake I’d made in the past, I had strict rules for how the Tarots dealt with the fairer sex when they found themselves on the wrong side of fate.

  Chrom could handle things if need be, but Erik was the go-to for those situations. Erik barely had to try to get a girl to hand him her heart on a silver platter.

  I didn’t fucking get it to be honest. We all had reputations and he was no different. Yet when he started sniffing around, women couldn’t help but hold onto the idea that they had beaten the impossible odds. That the biggest player on campus had somehow decided they were the one.

  Fucking. Gag.

  All that to say I wasn’t used to dealing with emotional shit. Especially when the emotional girl in question had managed to hold her own against me—the second scariest person within the city limits, right after my deceptively charming mother.

  So, why the fuck did Emily Brennan turn into a spineless mute when her family was involved?

  And once again...

  Why. Did. I. Care?

  The fluorescent bulbs above my head blinked like God was telling me, figure it out your damn self.

  Another tear slid down Emily’s cheek.

  A better person would’ve let her go. Cleaned her face. Soothed and comforted her until the tears dried and her skin lost the ashen tone it had faded to after her mom’s first rude as fuck comment.

  My hand tightened around her neck instead, forcing her to look at me when her head dropped. Her lips parted on a soft breath, eyes rounding as the strength of my grip increased, cutting off her air.

  I tilted my head, watching, waiting, and finally, her hands came up to grip my forearm, nails digging into my skin.

  She didn’t try to push me away, but at least some of her fight had resurfaced.

  The violence of my thoughts eased by a fraction. Watching her wither away beneath snide remarks had been the most frustrating thing I’d ever had to sit through. Her parents could go fuck themselves for being a part of that.

  I wouldn’t let anyone break this girl. Not even myself.

  “Let go,” Emily whispered, drawing my focus.

  I lowered my face to hers, tracking the tears rolling down her cheeks and the remainder of them glittering along her lashes. They made her eyes look like blue diamonds caught in the sun, radiating her sadness far and wide. I wanted to go on a mission to wipe out every last trace of it.

  Anger tapped me on the shoulder, a reminder that it was there and ready to fucking go. Somehow, I kept it at bay.

  “Tell me why you let her speak to you like that,” I said softly, “and I’ll consider letting you go.”

  Reduced to bargaining. How the mighty have fallen.

  But I knew better than to think I could force it out of her. It was a testament to how rattled she’d been that I was able to drag her back here in the first place. Emily had perfected the art of digging her heels in. The harder I pushed, the more resistant she’d be.

  Her hands found their way to my waist, bunching the fabric of my shirt. She didn’t push or pull, but they lingered there. Touching me. My hips tilted towards her and I had to remind my dick that this was the worst possible time to crave fucking her against this door.

  Blue eyes flicked back and forth between my dark brown. Searching. Searching. Finally, her mouth twisted.

  “Why do you care, Ro? It’s just stupid family drama.” Her breath shuddered out of her. “Besides, I thought you hated me.”

  I arched a brow. “If I remember correctly, you’re the one who brought hate into this. I told you I didn’t care enough for that to be the case.”

  Slim fingers twitched at my waist before slipping through my belt loops. Jewel-blue eyes took me in carefully, searching my face again. I fought to remain still, and it wasn’t an easy task.

  Those eyes saw too much.

  For years, no one but my family and the other Tarots had managed to navigate the layers of indifference and cold command to find who I was beneath it all. But Emily?

  Every look brushed against my soul, the feeling as foreign as it was welcome.

  She wet her lips, and only the reminder that they were supposedly off-limits kept me from swooping in and claiming them. A strange turn of events if there ever was one since I wasn’t in the habit of obeying anyone.

  I wore my defiance like a suit of armor. And the way her attention dropped to my mouth said she would welcome my lips on hers, my tongue plunging for a taste.

  Yet I refused to take what hadn’t been given. The totally male half of my brain would have to be shoved into its cave for the moment.

  “Is that still true?” she asked on the barest whisper. “That you don’t care.”

  Lord knows I wish it was true.

  “I’m asking the questions right now, cupcake girl. You’ll have to take a rain check on yours.”

  She rolled her eyes and the knot in my shoulders loosened. “Does this usually work for you? Bullying people until you get what you want from them.”

  “No one’s being bullied.”

  “Tell that to the nice man you ran out of his office.”

  I brushed my lips across her cheek—smiling when she sucked in a sharp breath—so I could whisper in her ear. “Did you want him to watch? I didn’t know you were into that.” My hand left her throat to skim down her side and rest on her hip, squeezing soft curves. “You should’ve said something. I can make it happen.”

  She recovered on a throaty laugh that went straight to my dick. “How very generous of you,” she purred, pouty lips curving in a smirk. “Especially since the last time we had an audience, you went out of your way to preserve my modesty.”

  “Fuck.” A grin found its way onto my face. “You were supposed to be too drunk to remember that.”

  Her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink, but she didn’t break eye contact. “I remember lots about that night.”

  “Oh yeah?” I tilted my head, tensing again even if I tried to play it off. Letting her see that deal go down wasn’t part of the plan. But I’d been too absorbed with how she felt against me and her general proximity to deal with it the way I should have.

  Now it was going to bite me in the ass because she would ask questions I—

  “As if I could forget you not finishing what you started,” she said, tipping her chin up.

  She’s...letting it go?

  This girl watched me accept a fat envelope full of money and she wasn’t going to say anything about it?

  I squinted at her, waiting on the other shoe to drop.

  Emily cupped my jaw. “Aww, you’re cute when you’re thinking too hard. But you should probably give it a rest before smoke pours from your ears.”

  I caught her wrists in one hand and pinned them overhead, pressing her harder against the door. Her little yelp of surprise was the thing wet dreams were made of. She struggled against me briefly, just long enough for her breasts to brush all over my chest, pulling a deep groan from my throat.

  “Don’t be a brat,” I said against her mouth, feeling the slightest hint of softness before she pulled her lip between her teeth.

  “Don’t be self-absorbed,” she said back, smiling wider when my grip on her wrists tightened. “I don’t care about your shady deals. I’m not your keeper.”

  “Then what do you care about?”

  Her hips rolled against mine in a way that had to be intentional. She proved as much when she winked. “I like to have a good time. And right now, that’s all I want.”

  This girl made no sense to me, but now wasn’t the time to pick apart her brain.

  My other hand landed near the hem o
f her skirt and snuck beneath it, crawling up her thigh. I watched her face carefully for any sign of hesitation. Nothing but beautiful lust stared back at me, blue eyes dark with want.

  Her skirt rode up as my hand continued to wander, revealing milky skin just begging to be marked and bruised. Impatient with my own progress, I released her wrists so I could yank the offending fabric up to her waist. My breath hissed out of me when I did.

  “Fuck.” I groaned, eyes sweeping back and forth. I felt like a kid in a candy store that knew everything before his eyes was bad for him, but it all looked so damn good. “Do you wear anything but thongs?”

  It was bright red, see-through, and so fucking tiny that it barely hid her pussy from view. Knowing she walked around in those tiny skirts wearing shit like this was going to drive me to murder, I already knew it. As it stood, I was tempted to follow her around campus so I could rip the head from any asshole who ogled her too long.

  As if that wasn’t some grade A stalker level shit.

  As if I wasn’t ogling her right then, mouth watering at the bounty I was about to descend on.

  “For someone who claimed to hate me”—my hand cupped her pussy like I owned it, burning against the heat she was throwing off—”you don’t seem to waste any time getting fucked soaked when I’m touching you.”

  “Newsflash for you.” Her lashes fluttered when I pressed the heel of my palm against her clit, but she didn’t let that stop her. “You’re hot and I’m into it. If only you were more like a remote and came with fast forward and mute options.” Emily ignored my scowl, glancing up at the ceiling. “A vibration setting would be nice as well, in case you’re listening, God.”

  Pure ruin wrapped in a deceptive package.

  “Do you just say everything that comes to mind without thinking about it?” Why was I even asking? The first time we met, she gave me an impromptu lesson on how to eat a cupcake for fuck’s sake. I shook my head, darting in to scrape my teeth over her neck. “You’re going to get us struck by lightning.”

  She pushed her hips into my hand on a low moan. “Maybe you’re right. I’ve got all the lightning I need right here anyway.”

  Need pounded in time with my heart, pulsing to a beat that couldn’t be ignored. I wanted her. Bad. Worse than I could ever remember wanting anyone.

  I was positive I could unzip and be inside of her in five seconds flat, feeling the heaven of her silky heat wrap around me. The sensation was so real my dick jerked, eager to be freed of its confines.

  Like she knew exactly where my mind was headed, she reached for my belt buckle. A lesser man might’ve felt some kind of way about how easily she unbuckled me and snuck her hand inside my slacks. But I’d never been lesser. Not in any capacity.

  She knew what she was doing, and it made it that much hotter when she grasped me through the fabric, cupping my balls briefly before running her fingers along the underside of my shaft.

  A ragged groan filled the air as I dropped my forehead to hers, bucking against her hand like a desperate virgin ready to beg for more contact. More everything.

  “Handsome and hung,” she breathed, squeezing me again. “No wonder you have such a big ego.”

  “You forgot rich. Might as well complete the trifecta while you’re singing my praises.”

  “I don’t care about that.”

  For some reason, I believed her. Or I was distracted by her fingers dancing another sensual path over my erection. The truth was up for grabs.

  Emily freed my dick, letting it fall against her mound. Our breathing picked up at the same time and we both looked down. I was hard, long, and swollen, trapped against her softness. My precum glistened on her pale skin, marking her as surely as any bruise or bite.

  Mine, claimed something primal and reckless in my chest. It picked up all my logical reasons for staying away from this girl and broke them into so many pieces I couldn’t remember why I’d denied myself this long.

  “Ambrose,” she whined, and I realized I’d stopped touching her. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she pulled me closer. “Nobody likes a tease.”

  A string of curses left my lips. I wanted nothing more than to bury myself inside her. But my last shred of sense pointed out that I’d brought her back here for a reason and she’d somehow evaded that conversation, pulled my dick out, and all but guaranteed herself a round of meaningless sex.

  Manipulation ran in my blood, so I recognized that she was playing me. I had to give her credit though. She did it so effortlessly I almost hadn’t noticed.

  The no-kissing stipulation.

  The blatant provocation at the party.

  Her general lack of interest in all things me. And yes, I realized how fucking arrogant that sounded.

  Emily Brennan was keeping me at a distance. Meanwhile, she’d become the first thing on my mind every morning and the name on my lips every night. She’d already ruined me, and I didn’t even know when it happened.

  The least I could do was even the score.

  I couldn’t keep her. That wasn’t an option. But I wasn’t drowning in this quicksand alone, either. I’d make sure this addiction went both ways.

  When I was done with her, no other guy would ever be enough.

  Decision made, I shook out of her grip and stepped back. Blonde brows drew together. When she reached out for me, I sliced my chin through the air and watched her hand fall.

  Those pouty lips parted, wet and inviting. Fuck her for denying us both that pleasure.

  Not for long.

  “Did I do some—”

  “Turn around,” I whispered, steel in my voice despite its volume.

  Emily jolted, surprise making those blue eyes nice and wide. I wasn’t religious, but Good Lord in heaven there was no denying she was an impressive sight.

  Neck and chest flushed red. Tits heaving with every labored breath. Completely unashamed to be standing there with her skirt bunched at her waist and her entire lower half on display. Men had killed for a glimpse of such beauty.

  “Is that an order, Death?”

  I stopped memorizing the lines of her shape and flicked my gaze up to hers. There was a challenge there, open defiance. She dangled her bait over the water, expecting a minnow when she was dealing with a fucking shark.

  What she knew and how she knew it didn’t matter.

  Giving a release to the inferno consuming my being was all that did.

  My lips twisted into a taunting smirk. “Do what I say, or I’ll leave you like this.”

  “Yeah right.” She folded her arms. Her eyes dropped to my very hard dick and lifted. “No guy is going to willingly give himself blue balls.”

  I made a show of tucking myself back into my pants. It was uncomfortable as hell, but I kept my grimace contained. “Try me.”

  Emily chewed on her lip while I remained the picture of indifference. I knew her decision before she did. Her backward glance at the door gave her away.

  When she gave me another lingering look before slowly turning, I allowed myself to inwardly celebrate. In my head, I kicked back on a throne to the sound of thunderous applause and discovered the golden chalice at my side was filled with sweet tea that had just enough ice and would never run out.

  That was how good it felt to watch her surrender.

  The view of her ass from the back—a perfect peach worth sinking your teeth into—was the cherry on top.

  “Hands on the door,” I told her.

  Another moment of hesitation. She wasn’t used to ceding control. So when she glanced over her shoulder before doing what I’d said, presenting herself to me, I nearly roared my pleasure to the ceiling. I’d never seen a better offering.

  I stalked across the floor, a predator focused solely on its prize. My palms met her waist and a shiver stole through her. Excruciatingly slow, I rolled her tiny thong down her legs, fingers and knuckles gliding against her silky skin the entire way. I dropped into a crouch to pull them from her ankles. Without a conscious thought, I stuffed them
in my pocket.

  Mouth flooded with need, I worked my lips and tongue up her legs, kissing and sucking and biting, drawing low noises from her throat she either couldn’t stop or didn’t bother hiding.

  My money was on the latter. This girl knew what she wanted and she didn’t give a damn what I thought. It only made me want to give all of it and more.

  I reached the curve where her ass met her thigh and nipped at the sensitive flesh there. She yelped, hips darting forward, but I looped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to me.

  “Ro,” she breathed, freely using a nickname she’d never earned. I found I didn’t mind. “You’re gonna drive me crazy.”

  I kneaded her ass, watching my tanned fingers disappear into pale flesh. The slightest smack, barely enough to elicit the whimper she released, and red blossomed across the surface.

  Indecision warred within me. My chest expanded on heavy breaths. This wasn’t enough by a long shot. I wanted to mark every inch of her skin. I needed to own her. And the dangerous rush of that desire was greater than anything I’d ever achieved in a blunt or a bottle.

  My voice was nothing but a hoarse growl when I said, “You have no idea the things I want to do to you. Why didn’t you run when you had the chance?”

  “Because something about you terrifies me, Ambrose LaCroix.” Her voice was raw and honest, flaying me from the inside out. “But I don’t run from my fears, I face them. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.”

  I never stood a chance, did I?

  Acceptance washed through me, a tide that swept away doubt and inhibition before drowning them in the depths.

  Mine.

  This time, I didn’t argue.

  I grasped her hips mercilessly, turning her around and shoving her against the door hard enough for the frame to rattle. Distantly, it occurred to me that we weren’t in private. That servers and other staff would be going up and down this hallway while they worked in the bustling restaurant.

  Fuck it. They could think and hear what they wanted. They could make assumptions to their heart’s content. Nothing would stop this from happening.

  Blue eyes gazed down at me, heavy-lidded and needy. I watched her for a long moment before my heated stare skimmed down her body on a slow pilgrimage to the promised land.