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“I don’t care what these people think.”
“Well maybe you should because you’re acting like a dick.”
His eyes narrow and he grabs me by the elbow, yanking me off the dance floor.
“Hey!” I try to pull out of his hold but he digs his fingers in harder while nodding politely at the other guests as we pass.
He drags me down one hall and then the other until he finds an alcove at the end and pulls me into it. Once he’s backed me to the wall, he places one hand on either side of my head and leans in.
“Now you listen to me,” he says through gritted teeth. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop acting like a spoiled brat and accept what is, Ellery.”
“What did you say to me?” I stare back at him in disbelief.
“It’s time for you to fall in line and act the way you were raised,” he seethes. “Stop being some grunge groupie and be a member of this fucking society.”
“This society?” I laugh. “Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not kidding. Do you know who half those people are?” He points. “They are some of the most powerful people in this country and they are here formyfather. This society…him…they’re more important than you know.”
“I don’t care who they are, or what this night is about.” I place both hands behind my back to steel my strength. “I don’t know what you thought was going to happen tonight, but it was nothing more than a friend accepting the invite of another because they promised to help them. Although, if I’m beinghonest, that friendship is on thin ice right now, considering what you just said to me.”
“You’re wearing my family’s pearls,” he sneers like a wolf eyeing its kill. “That means you’re mine, Ellery.”
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you but I’m not going to be the one you wed, then bed,Royce. Not happening. I don’t care how close our fathers were.”
His eyes flash and he leans in, whispering so hotly it burns my cheeks. “Now you listen to me you little bitch. You have belonged to me from the moment you were born. You are mine, whether you like it or not. And the sooner you realize it, the sooner you can drop this whole rebel act and get the fuck in line.”
“Rebel act?” I repeat in disbelief. “Get in line? Do you know who you’re talking to?”
“Yeah,” he practically spits. “The daughter of a disgraced US Senator who is this close,” he holds up his fingers, “to being blackballed from the very society that gave you the silver platter you fucking eat from.”
“Blackballed?” I laugh. “By whom…you? Just who do you think you are?”
“I am the heir of this society that you look your nose down on and you will not refuse me. Do you hear me? I am a Richardson, Ellery, and we always get what we want.”
“Is that so?” I can’t help but laugh. “Well guess what? I am a Butler and you can’t—”
“I can do what I want, Ellery. Don’t you get it? Your family is no longer in charge. Mine is. And I will get what I want, even if I have to take it by force.”
I snap my head back, his words inciting rage, but he grabs my upper arm and yanks me toward him, bringing our faces within an inch of one another.
“Face it, Ellery. You’re mine. And there’s nothing you can do about it. When I come for what’s mine, no one will stop me. Noteven your fucking stepbrother.”
“I’d stop right there if I were you,” Cruz’s unmistakable tenor cuts through the icy tension.
I look over Royce’s shoulder and see Cruz standing behind him. His eyes glower, brows pinched in rage, and his hands are curled into tight fists as if he’s about to knock Royce on his ass.
“Hey man,” Royce smirks, not bothering to look. “This is a private party. No invitation, no entry.Ex Multis Paucis.”
“Out of many, few?” Cruz shakes his head angrily. “The fuck does that mean?”
“You know Latin?” Royce laughs. “Well, wonders never cease.”
“I know a lot of things, including the length of my patience.”Cruz grabs Royce’s shoulder and yanks him back, a rush of air blowing an errant strand of hair that’s come free, across my face. “And I don’t need an invitation to tell you to get your fucking hands off her.”
I can tell it’s taking everything in him not to knock Royce out for refusing to let go of my arm. But knowing why he hasn’t makes my heart swell. Cruz is playing by the rules we agreed to because our parent’s happiness is as important to him as it is to me, and a punch would lead to a scene which would only hurt them.
A tidal wave of emotion slams into me and I draw in a breath, trying to steady my racing heart.
