Savage Queen: A Royalty Crew U of J Spin-Off Novel (The Royalty Crew Book 1) by Alley Ciz

Author:Alley Ciz [Ciz, Alley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: House of Crazy Publishing LLC
Published: 2021-04-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

I’m texting with the Royals, fingers flying across the screen of my phone to keep up with the trash talk currently happening in the group chat, laughing at a particularly witty clapback from Tessa when the elevator doors open and I step into the penthouse suite at the St. James and directly into a brick wall.

“Oh shit!” I stumble back, my phone clattering on the marble floor, my feet scrambling for purchase as I try my best not to end up next to it on the ground.

Strong hands wrap around my arms and tug until I’m flush against a hard chest, the clean scent of soap and menthol infusing my senses as I suck in a startled breath.

“If you wanted me, all you had to do was say something. No need to throw yourself at me, sweetheart.”

The cocky connotation grounds me back into reality, and I look up into the blue eyes of Duke Delacourte, palm itching to smack the smirk off his handsome face the same way it does when I’m around his best friend.

With a full-body jolt, I jerk myself out of his hold and jump back about five paces. The right side of his mouth only hitches up higher, and with a grace I wouldn’t have expected from a person of his size, he bends to scoop my phone off the floor. As his thumb glides over the thankfully not cracked screen, a stream of GIFs from The Princess Bride, Game of Thrones, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights scrolls past. I snatch it out of Duke’s hand before he can read anything incriminating.

“Do you and Noble compare notes? Because you share the same delusions.”

As if to prove my point, Duke takes one long stride closer, then another when I move away so we aren’t sharing oxygen, and finally one more until my back is pressed to the wall. I’m really starting to suspect that when BA hands out student handbooks at the start of the school year, they also distribute a guide on How to be a Douchebag. Their merry band of morons all seem to use the same cage-a-female-against-something intimidation tactic.

Newsflash! It doesn’t work on me.

Duke chuckles, our bodies now close enough for his to shake mine with the vibrations. “You know it drives him insane that you call him that, right?”

I shrug. That’s why I do it. It’s the little things in life.

Fingers curl under my chin, tilting my face up and holding it firmly in their grip. I swallow and caution myself to wait and see how this plays out before reacting. I don’t necessarily feel threatened, but this is the first time any of Jasper’s guys have gotten handsy with me.

Eyes that bring to mind the bright blue waters of the Caribbean bore into mine, studying me with a calculating intensity. It’s uncomfortable. Unlike when his friend does the same, my body doesn’t come alive under the attention. No, the way Duke studies me is more like I’m a bug underneath a microscope and not like he’s trying to strip the clothes from my body with just his eyes.

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