Page 109 of Wicked Princess (Knight's Ridge Empire 2)

CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE

Sebastian

“Don’t fall asleep,” I say when I look down and notice that Stella’s eyes are closed where she’s resting on my chest. “We need to get back on London time.”

“I’m awake. Just thinking.”

“Sounds dangerous,” I laugh. “How are you going to try to kill me next?”

“Uh… machete?” she asks lightly.

“I can’t believe you nearly shot me,” I murmur. Really, I can. It’s a total Stella thing to do.

“Oh, don’t be a baby. I missed by a mile,” she says, pushing up onto her elbow so she can look down at me. Amusement glitters in her blue eyes.

“I felt it fly past my ear. That was not a mile away.”

She shrugs. “Guess it was just a good thing you didn’t move, huh?”

I shake my head. “It’s a damn good job that I—” She sucks in a sharp breath and I catch the words before they fall from my lips. “T-trust you.”

Relief floods her face. I might almost be at the point of fully accepting how I feel about her, but she’s not quite there yet. I get it. It’s not like I deserve any of this, not after all those stunts I pulled before she was stabbed. I don’t even want to like me, let alone anything else.

“Can I ask you something?” she asks, her voice suddenly serious.

“Anything. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

She nods, accepting my words for what they are. The truth.

“When you wrote that message on my mirror. Was it the only one you did?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, concern racing through me. My hand on her hip flexes with my need to move, but I force myself to stay put.

“Before you wrote all over it with lipstick, did you… write anything else?”

My brows pinch. “No. Why?”

All the blood drains from Stella’s face, and my heart rate immediately picks up.

“I… um… found something earlier.”

“Stella,” I growl. “If you don’t—”

“It was a threat that it wasn’t over. I had a shower, and when I came out it was there, in the steam.”

“What did it say?” I grit out, fighting like hell not to freak out.

“Something about him being more successful next time.”

“Motherfucker,” I bark, slipping out from beneath her and planting my fist into the wall. “Fuck. FUCK.”

Footsteps thunder in the hallway before the door flies open.

“What the—”

“Fuck, bro. Get the fuck out,” I bark as Stella flies under the sheets, covering her naked body up.

“S-sorry. We’re waiting for you to kill each other.”