Reign: A Royal Military Romance by Roxie Noir Read Free Book Online Page A

inside me, sudden and hot. That’s what he says when he doesn’t want me questioning him. When he’s being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn.
    But he’s the king. He can be as stubborn as he wants.
    I step forward and lower my own voice. I want to shout, but I can’t shout what I’m about to say.
    “The USF burned a dozen houses to the ground yesterday,” I say. “And today, you forced me to accompany you to the train station to meet that unmannered American girl instead of doing something about the threat.”
    “Meeting her at the train station was a formality,” he says. “Ignoring a good, well-born Svelorian woman to chase after a strumpet who can’t hold her liquor is pure folly, Kostya.”
    “You can’t ignore the USF forever,” I say.
    He looks me hard in the eyes, not backing down. I’m probably making this worse by pushing him on the matter, but I can’t help it.
    I spent years of my life fighting against them. I crawled through dirt and slept in mud to defend my country. I watched men who were like my brothers die at their hands.
    And now, when I could really be doing something about it, my own father is more concerned with my love life than the fate of his country.
    “I’m not ignoring them,” he says. “They’re a small threat, and small threats burn themselves out. But you need a wife and an heir, Kostya. A Svelorian wife and a Svelorian heir. And don’t think I’ll give permission for anything else while I’m still drawing breath.”
    Then he turns on his heel and walks out, leaving me alone and furious in the drawing room. Maksim the second glares down at me from the wall, and I glare back at his portrait, my hands clenched in fists.

    * * *
    A few days pass . My father doesn’t budge, even though the reports keep coming, and they keep getting worse. Houses and farms burned. People killed. Good, hardworking people whose only crime was living in the wrong place.
    It’s small-scale, yes. But this is like a few drops of rain before a storm. I was on the ground there for a long time. I can feel it.
    He refuses to let the news channel or the newspapers report on the deaths and destruction, saying it’s only a few people , or we’ll take care of it . I meet endlessly with generals and people who’ve come from the north. I try to send a battalion, organize some kind of protection for the people under threat.
    My father says he’ll consider my suggestions.
    I hardly see Hazel. She and her parents are being whisked around Velinsk, a picture-perfect coastal town, full of charming stone houses that line the cliffs, cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, and beautiful white beaches. There’s no wonder the summer palace is here, and no wonder that other wealthy Svelorians come here to get away.
    I avoid her. Not because of what my father said. A bride and an heir are the last things on my mind right now. For either to matter, there needs to be a Sveloria.
    No, I avoid Hazel because I can’t stop thinking of her ass in those ugly spandex pants. Because I can’t stop thinking about what she might look like naked. I can’t stop wondering whether she’s got freckles everywhere or just her face.
    I can’t stop wondering what she tastes like, or what she sounds like when she comes.
    Two nights in a row, I jerk off thinking about her body underneath mine, her breath coming in short, soft gasps.
    I’ve had women before. I’ve been in relationships. I’m a prince, not a monk.
    I just have things besides pussy to worry about, and I’ve never met a woman incredible enough to be worth the distraction.
    There’s never been a woman I had to be with.
    Still, it’s been a long time since I jerked off thinking about anything besides porn. Worse, jerking off isn’t helping at all. Usually it releases some pressure, gets my mind off sex for a while, but not now.
    I’m still watching her for too long across a room. Still watching the shapes her lips make as she talks, listening for her loud