Max Dread
S he was mine.
For six days and six nights, I got the Princess all to myself. And I planned to use my time well.
If the angst practically bleeding from the White Knight was to be believed, she might be open to coming to the dark side, and the poor sap’s loss would just have to be my gain.
What a shame.
Quinn Everly with an axe to grind against Landon Scott made my dick hard, and I’d gladly help her sharpen the blade to cut off his head. Seemed fitting for a snake like him.
What exactly Landon had done, other than putting those fucking marks on her neck and attempting to screw her over at the Knights’ Quorum, I still had no idea. Those bruises alone had been enough to make me want to kill the bastard.
But, unfortunately, my father had intervened before I realized Landon had caused them.
I made a mental note to talk to Quinn about who she fucking trusted. Although, she seemed to be learning.
She wasn’t as starry-eyed over Kingston anymore.
I tried not to let that please me immensely.
The pleasure I did get from it was short lived, anyway, and I needed to work on my scowl. Figure out what kind of energy I was giving off while I stood alone. Something.
Because, once again, my solitude was cut short.
Vivian stomped her foot like an entitled brat, crossing her arms over her chest. “You better get rid of her, Max.”
I arched a brow but didn’t spare her a response.
Where she’d picked up the delusional assumption that I took orders from her, I had no idea.
I’d told my father she’d get out of hand if he didn’t shorten her leash. Not to imply she should be treated like a dog...
Couldn’t deny she was a bitch, though.
But did my dear old dad listen?
No.
And look at the mess that error in judgment created.
Vivian stomped her foot again, huffing out her frustration past her over-glossed red lips. “Did you hear me, Max?”
I took a sip of my drink, then set the glass down so I wouldn’t follow in Landon’s footsteps and crush it to shards in my grip.
Vivian’s presence naturally heightened the risk.
Especially when she came at me with fucking attitude.
“Don’t you have another Knight to bother for six days?” With a bored glance in her direction, I moved to walk away.
She had the motherfucking gall to grab my arm.
“Don’t turn your back on me.” She dug her pointed black nails into my skin, ice-blue eyes flashing with ire. “I thought your father got through to you before The Quest and you understood what’s at stake. But Maxie , now I’m starting to think my father needs to get involved.”
Peeling her hand off my arm, I squeezed.
Not enough to hurt her. Even though I wanted to.
I wanted to smack that goddamn nickname off her tongue. And repay every mark she’d put on Quinn’s face.
But I didn’t.
I squeezed hard enough to have an effect, though.
Her eyes widened, mouth popping open in surprise.
“Careful, V. When you play your trump card, you want to be sure you have the winning hand first. And since I’m spending the next six days with her while you try not to get fucked by Ben Devereaux, I don’t think you do.”
She scoffed, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder. “I’m not scared of her. Or you, Max.”
“No? What if I decide she’s a safer bet in the end? The surest way to get what I want. Would you be scared then?”
“You wouldn’t?—”
“Oh, I would,” I sneered. “And your father would drop you faster than a guillotine blade over your neck if it got him what he wanted sooner.”
Her lower lip quivered before she shut it down. “He wants our families tied to each other and Camelot Court, Max. Siding with her over me doesn’t even make sense.”
“And if I pledge him my loyalty in exchange for what I want?”
Her face fell, the fear in her ice-blue eyes as satisfying as the frost around my cold, dead heart. At least, where sympathy for Vivian, love for my father, and giving a single fuck about everyone in this hellhole were concerned, that organ was a useless lump of coal in my chest.
For everyone, but her.
An inconvenient truth I’d been denying since the minute I read her file. An unavoidable fact I accepted days ago.
All thanks to Landon Scott and his weak-ass throwing arm.
“Unless I’m mistaken, Quinn could’ve changed the game today, V.”
“That’s why you have to take care of her!”
I cocked my head. “Do I?”
Her pale face turned an enjoyable shade of red. “If you won’t handle it, I fucking will.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I growled.
“It means I’m telling my father and putting a stop to this.”
Vivian spun on her heel and stalked off. I narrowed my gaze on her back as she approached her Knight—the poor fucking soul—and then glared at Quinn on the other side of the room.
I watched as Vivian’s wheels turned.
Vivian had no qualms about stooping to the lowest level to get what she wanted. She learned that from her father, the asshole who beat it into her and her brother daily. Except, where Peter had been cursed with a conscience, Vivian didn’t share the same affliction.
Her father wouldn’t agree to my offer, and I had no intention of making it. It had just been enjoyable to get a rise out of Vivian.
Now, I cursed myself for not keeping my damn mouth shut.
Because something was coming Quinn’s way. The gleam in Vivian’s eyes guaranteed it.
Did I have to get involved when it did?
No.
But would I?
Bet on it.