Tarnished Crown (Gravestone Elite #2) by Caitlyn Dare (books like beach read TXT) 📕

Sasha murmurs and we both freeze, our eyes wide, our chests heaving between us. The covers shift and rustle, but then she settles back into her drug-induced sleep.

“Maybe we should—”

“Not a fucking chance.” Bexley rocks into me, slow and deep, grinding his pelvis against mine. He isn’t fucking me out of anger anymore, he’s loving me out of desperation and fear. Every kiss, every touch and sigh, is recognition of the nightmare we’ve found ourselves in.

And although I don’t want to believe it, I can’t help but feel like it’s a goodbye.

Panic floods me. I slip one of my hands free from his grip and cup his face. “Promise me you won’t leave me.” My voice cracks.

“Mia, I—”

“No, Bex. Say it. Promise me. No matter what happens… it’s us.”

He stares down at me, the lust and hunger in his eyes giving way to something else. Something darker. Something dangerous.

“I promise.” He touches his head to mine, circling his hips faster, building the waves inside me again.

We kiss and kiss. We don’t stop kissing until my pussy contracts around him and he jerks inside me.

“I love you,” he whispers against my lips. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you too,” I breathe.

“I need to go.” Regret glitters in his eyes.

“I know.”

He climbs off me and straightens his clothes before helping me clean up. Crouching down beside the bed, he trails his finger down my cheek. “I meant what I said, Mia. He can have you in name, but you’re mine in all the ways that matter.”

Pressing my lips together, swallowing the emotion building inside me, I nod.

Bexley drops a kiss on my head and leaves…

Taking the final pieces of my broken, battered heart with him.

Friday passes in a blur. I skip classes to spend the afternoon with Mom and Sasha. We get pedicures and manicures. Annabel was supposed to come with us, but after her betrayal, I uninvited her. Tonight is going to be stressful enough without best friend drama.

It’s tradition for prosapia to get ready at home and leave for their Coglio with their parents. In many ways, it’s like your wedding day. The Coglio represents an Electi and prosapia’s union. It binds them together in ritual and in body. There’s a formal dinner at Gravestone Hall for the Electi, Quinctus, the prosapia and their families, followed by the Coglio ceremony. Then Cade and I will return to the Electi House to consummate our union.

My stomach recoils at the thought.

“Mia, sweetheart, are you almost done?” Mom appears around the door. “Oh my gosh, baby, you look… my little girl is all grown up.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I inhale a sharp breath and she frowns.

“Mia, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” She comes inside and perches on the edge of the bed, making sure to smooth out the skirt of her royal blue gown. She looks stunning—regal, even.

“Do you want this for me? I mean, really want this for me?”

“W-what?” Her brows pinch. “I don’t understand…”

Disappointment wells inside me. “Don’t you want me to be with someone I love? Someone who treats me right and cherishes me?”

“Oh sweetheart.” She leans forward, brushing a curl out of my face. “Those feelings will come with time. Relationships take work and patience. You’re young, Mia. You and Cade have your whole lives to grow together.”

“I don’t love him, Mom. I will never love him.”

She rears back. “What are you saying, sweetheart?”

“I don’t want this, Mom.” My lip wobbles, pain lashing my insides. “I never wanted it.”

With a soft sigh, Mom gathers my hands in hers. “To be a prosapia is a gift, Mia. You will have such a good life with Cade, baby. You’ll never want for anything again.”

“He isn’t… good, Mom. He’s cruel and conceited. He treats people like toys.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t know where all this is coming from…” She hesitates, and for a second, I think she might be losing her rose-tinted glasses. But then her frown deepens. “Cade and the Electi are young, powerful men, Mia. And it’s college, baby. Time to make mistakes and discover who you are. But after tonight, once the ceremony is complete, everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

I stare at her dumbfounded.

She doesn’t get it.

She’ll never get it.

I realize that now. I think deep down, I’ve always known it. But I needed to hear the words. I needed to know, once and for all, that she isn’t on my side.

And it kills something inside me.

Something I’ll never get back.

“I should finish getting ready,” I say, steeling my spine.

“Mia, sweetheart…”

“I’m fine, Mom,” I say, coolly. “I’ll be down soon.”

She gives me a small nod and leaves. A shuddering breath leaves my lips.

I go through the motions, applying a thin layer of makeup and finishing my hair with gold-tipped pins. The Electi crest pendant sits heavy around my neck. But tonight, it will be replaced with something more permanent. A brand I will never be able to remove.

Most women wear their Coglio brands with pride, for that brand denotes power and wealth. It denotes belonging to the dark, corrupt world of Quinctus and the Electi.

A world I never asked to be a part of.

A world I want no part of.

Sliding open the small jewelry box Mom gave me earlier, I flip the lid and stare at the diamond encrusted hair brooch. It has been passed down our family for generations. A wedding gift from mother to daughter.

This isn’t my official wedding, but the sentiment is the same.

I slide it into my hair, clipping it in on my crown. The diamonds glint in the light but do little to lift my mood.

It shouldn’t be like this.

Grabbing my lace clutch purse, I reluctantly leave my room and head downstairs. Every step in my overly expensive shoes is like another step toward my doom. The pit in my stomach churns deeper and deeper until I’m sure I’ll pass out. But somehow, I make it into the living room in one piece.

“Oh my… Mia… you look… doesn’t