15 soon to be a king

Raige

"What do you want to eat first, love? Where do you want to go? I can take you anywhere," I offered, but Aliyah remained silent. I gently nudged her towards the exit, though she was still chattering with her best friend, her voice loud and clear. I'm not a vampire for nothing.

"Are you mad, love? I'm sorry if I did something wrong," I asked, genuinely confused. "What have I done to upset you?"

"I'm glad you know you did wrong," she snapped. "Why are you so impatient? And the way you pulled me away while I was clearly in the middle of chatting with my friend is so inappropriate. Do I look like a thing, something you can just grab? What if I did that to you? Would you like it?"

I grinned. So that's what she was upset about. Her cute indignation made me want to tease her.

"Well, I wouldn't mind being grabbed by you anywhere," I said, my voice smooth and deep. "Or even pulled like a lost doll in the basement. Whatever you did to me, I'd gladly and with open arms accept it. Why? Because I'm yours. All of me, every inch of me is yours, love."

Her cheeks instantly flushed red. I really loved seeing her blush so easily.

"Ugh, there's no point in arguing with you! You seem like a king who doesn't want to be lost in every battle," she shouted, then turned back to the window, her gaze lost in the cityscape. Her hair whipped around her face in the wind as she pushed the window open. The night was slowly swallowing the light, just as this woman was slowly invading my heart. But the sun would rise again tomorrow, while my heart? My heart would remain wherever my Sierra was.

"Stop staring at me like that," she said, her voice laced with irritation. "It's awkward. Focus on the road."

She was still upset, and I knew it wouldn't be easy to calm her down. This was typical Sierra. She got worked up over the smallest things. What would happen if she found out about my other secret? I decided to tell her one step at a time, starting with the most common secret known to most students at Valerian College. It wouldn't be a secret to them, but I knew Aliyah was completely oblivious.

"You know what? I'm literally about to be a king. My father will soon step down from his throne and hand over his title to me," I said, my voice calm and steady.

Aliyah narrowed her eyes at me, disbelief clear in her gaze. I sighed. She reacted exactly as I expected.

"I'm not surprised anymore that you played games before that huge responsibility happened," Aliyah said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "That's probably why you have a fiancée your family chose for you. Yet here you are, wasting time on a woman who has nothing to offer."

I smiled softly as I heard her sigh, her heartbeat steady as she tried to control it for a moment before taking a breath. As a vampire, I could hear every single breath she took, and I could tell what it meant. Right now, I could hear the disappointment in her breath. Or maybe hurt?

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice soft, a touch of concern coloring my tone.

"What do you think? Am I going to be okay after knowing that some highness is playing around with me?" Her voice held a brittle edge, a sharp sting of hurt that pierced through the silence. It was a reminder of how my actions had made her feel, a confirmation of her belief that I was only toying with her.

"I'm not telling you this to upset you," I said, my voice firm but gentle, hoping to soothe the pain I'd caused. "I'm telling you because I don't want you to find out from someone else, to have people accuse me of hiding something from you. I have a lot of secrets, but I assure you, I will tell you everything, in time. One step at a time. Trust me, please. Let's not argue now.”

I said, struggling to keep my eyes on the road. The urge to pull over and hold her, to wipe away the shimmering tears I saw forming in her eyes, was almost overwhelming.

"That's why Hilda calls them gold-diggers. You're not just a handsome rich guy; you're damn more than that. Actually, far from what I expected," she muttered, her voice laced with a hint of bitterness.

Aliyah sighed, her dramatic sigh making me both entertained and guilty. But wait... did she think I was handsome?

"Trust you? That's huge, you know? Trust needs to be earned, not just picked up off the ground. You know what? Raige, you can keep all your secrets as long as you want. Don't open that Pandora's box of yours to me. Who am I to you, by the way? A simple girl who just accidentally had sex with you that night. Nothing else, right? Actually, you make me feel like a toy, coming after me every day. Seems like you're still not sick of me, huh? I wonder when this craziness will stop?”

I remembered every detail of that night, the night she was talking about. Actually, I thought about it constantly. Sometimes, I wanted to force her, to use my power of compulsion, to bed her again. But I knew it would only add to the guilt festering inside me. So instead, I faced her anger head-on. Besides, her annoyance made me smile. But joking aside, I hoped she knew how precious that night was to me...

For now, I let myself enjoy the moment, savoring every second with her.

"Ouch, you think the worst of me, love," I said, my voice laced with amusement. "I know you still don't know much about me, but don't you think you're being a bit harsh? I'm trying my best to earn your trust, you know. I don't know how to handle all of this, but you see, I'm trying. When I'm with you, I try to forget my title, to forget I'm a prince. Actually, you're the only one on this earth who makes me feel free. So please, don't let me remember it when I'm with you."

I pulled over, the car coming to a gentle stop. I leaned over, my gaze meeting hers, searching for understanding in those fiery eyes.