Wicked Chase

❖ Chapter Ten

His hands seemed to want to push me away but when I pushed myself up against him, feeling the hard planes of his chest against mine as our hearts both picked up their paces and yet flowed into an upbeat rhythmic beat, his hands gripped my hips tighter, his eyes dark as they burned with a fiery heat as he gritted out through clenched teeth, "Gen, stop."

I knew that he was serious. He had never called me Gen before since he had insisted on calling me Genevieve even when I told him it was a mouthful and Gen was much easier to say. So when he growled out my name, anger and longing mixed within the swirl of grey I knew that he was serious, that he didn't want anything that involved me because he couldn't and that was why he was angry. 

I was tempting him.

"You don't want me to," I slurred, lifting my lips and tilting my head backwards in a seductive manner that made his dark eyes trail over the skin on my neck that was now exposed as my ginger hair fell away from my shoulder.

I pulled his face closer to mine so that our lips were separated by a few inches of air and we both inhaled our mingled breaths. His breath felt hot and somewhat exciting on my face, leaving tingles everywhere and a buzzing sensation upon my lips. I so badly wanted to close the few inches that separated us but the next thing I knew I was flipped over and it was I that was pressed against the car instead of him, his hands abandoning my waist and now on either side of my head as he leaned in close, his gaze heated.

"I do want you to stop," he said, his grey eyes so close to my face that I could see the battling emotions in them and before I could respond in the flirty manner I had in mind, he moved back and instantly I was embraced by the cold wind of the starry night. "Now before you throw up or pass out, let's get you back to the hotel. You're very drunk."  

●════════●

Earlier today Alastair had told me everything there was to know about my true identity and the life I was supposed to lead. We had a brief breakfast before we were on the road again where Alastair was the one who was mostly talking as he told me about this whole new other world I never knew existed.

Ronan's father, my grandfather, had passed away from old age and a few months before his demise he declared that Ronan was the true heir to the throne. Thorin, Ronan's brother and apparently my uncle, was furious with their father. Thorin was supposed to be the rightful heir since he was the oldest son but Ronan was much smarter, much braver, much stronger and he had outwitted Thorin in almost every area and it had become abundantly clear that Thorin was enraged about not having the upper hand in the situation. The crown was rightfully his. It was what it was promised to him.

I hadn't known Ronan or Thorin but I felt like Thorin had every right to feel angry that his title was given to his younger brother. It was like promising someone wholeheartedly something very big and important and not fulfilling that promise in the end. When Alastair had told me this piece of information in the car ride that continued its journey to Deidrif, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for Thorin. I understood where he was coming from and when I told Alastair that Thorin had all the right to be furious about being stripped from his promised title, Alastair had merely shook his head in disapproval, his stormy grey eyes dark as the swirl of grey whirled with anger.

"Thorin didn't stop at being angry," Alastair said, venom lacing his voice as he spoke. I had tried not to flinch at the tone of his voice that had sounded so very infuriated. "Everybody understood what he was going through and a lot of people said that even though Ronan would be a much better King than Thorin would be, they stilled liked him. That was until he was so fuelled with anger and hatred to his own blood brother that he started kidnapping children and since he was part of royalty he had all the riches he needed. This started happening a month after Ronan was crowned King. Ronan offered as much protection as he could but he failed. Ronan's soldiers were bribed by Thorin and some of Ronan's soldiers helped Thorin kidnap these children. They were just innocent little children and their families were left torn and hopeless after Thorin's harsh attacks. He had nothing to do with the children. It was all part of his bloody, fucking revenge plan."