Fit for the Throne

Fit for the Throne The Trial of Ten S. McPherson Fit for the Throne: The Trial of Ten Book 1 in the Fit for the Throne series Published by S. McPherson ISBN: 978-1-9163026-5-5 Copyright © 2022 (Kindle Vella) Copyright © 2023 (Paperback) All rights reserved. Fit for the Throne is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval system without written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. To learn more about the author visit: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smcphersonbooks/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@s_mcpherson_books Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/s-mcpherson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Smcphersonbooks Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 More from S. Mcpherson: About the Author The Soul Catcher 1 The Stranger WHOEVER SAID DIAMONDS were a girl’s best friend, had never tried tequila. Specifically, Tequila Sunrise. Saluting the bartender, I knocked back my sixth sugary cocktail and cackled at the club ceiling. Tonight, was going to be a good night. My hips pumped in time with the music and, just for a moment, I could pretend. Pretend that the girls I giggled with in the bathroom were my best friends and that the men I grinded with on the dance floor were my lovers. I could pretend that when we rolled our eyes at the stumbling waitress, it was an inside joke we’d shared for years. I could pretend that when I left the club tonight, I’d be going home—a place to call my own—not some rickety cot in a bar’s back office. “Girl, you look thirsty!” Marcus hollered over the music. I smirked. “For a drink or for a man?” “I was talking about a drink but you know I’d never say no to a man, honey.” I laughed and planted a kiss on his glittery cheek. I’d known Marcus for approximately three hours, and he was quickly becoming my favorite person of the night. He’d instantly fallen in love with my deep hazel eyes, the reddish brown of my russet skin, my thick, dark Afro puffs and my ability to drop it low with the best of them. I’d immediately swooned over his hard pecs streaked with a rainbow flag and his You Only Live Once attitude. Now we were inseparable. He pushed another cocktail into my hand and I lifted the glass in a toast. “To new friends.” “May we never end.” He thunked his glass against mine. I smiled through a twinge of sadness. It always ended once the beer goggles came off and the truth came out. But that was a later problem. Now, I wanted to get shitfaced and forget about my troubles. Not that I’d ever gotten tits-up drunk. A healthy buzz was as much as I could hope for, no matter how much I drank. I took another hefty gulp of my drink and almost choked when I noticed him. A raven-haired god-of-a-man with eyes that seemed to glow. They were unusual; a strange blend of deep lilac and dark pink, and were pinned on me. “Holy hotness,” I breathed. “Who is that?” “I wish I knew.” Although, by the looks of it, I was about to find out. The stranger prowled towards me with intent in every stride. Heads swiveled in his direction, drawn by his mere presence. Eyes widened and mouths dropped open. If he noticed, he didn’t show it. He only had eyes for me, which was as flattering as it was ridiculous. I practically swooned when he reached me. Almost pressed a hand to my forehead and fanned my bloody cheeks. “Hello, little bud.” His gravelly voice was a thing of sin—low, seductive and entirely disarming. “I’ve found you, at last.” I blinked; reeled in by his closeness and heady scent. Was this my lucky night or what? I downed the rest of my drink and ran my tongue across my upper lip, tasting tequila, orange and my strawberry lip balm. “And what are you going to do about it?” My hips swished as I moved closer, setting my glass down on one of the standing tables. It was possible I was suffering from a severe case of tequila goggles but if they made the guy look like him, I didn’t care. He’d be gone in the morning anyway, like everyone else. I pushed up onto my tiptoes and draped my arms around his shoulders. Even in my heels, he was almost a foot taller; a towering wall of hard muscle sheathed beneath sun-bronzed skin. Yum. I drank him in; the height of his angular cheekbones, the cut of his square jaw, the slight point to his ears, and the deep set of his pale pink eyes that were pulled into a frown. “What are you doing?” I snickered. “Dancing?” The stranger’s frown deepened and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “I didn’t come here to dance.” “No?” I asked with a sly grin. I was barely listening to him; mostly admiring the movement of his mouth and imagining how it would feel against mine. “What did you come for?” “You.” Heat flushed my skin. I barely suppressed a shiver of desire. “Is that so?” I angled my head towards him; lips parted in invitation. The stranger scoffed. “I