“Oh?”
I shrugged, playing it casual. “The woman bothers me. It’s nothing more personal than that.”
“So she’s not attractive?”
I frowned. “I didn’t say that.” Tessa was downright gorgeous. “My point is there’s nothing between us but work.” Except the way my blood rushes every time I see her. And that mouthwatering foreplay last night…
“Right.”
Apparently, my blasé attitude wasn’t convincing my brother either.
“Look, the woman is earthbound. She couldn’t possibly handle the power within me.”
My foul mood, which hadn’t really left, returned with a vengeance. I wanted a bride as much as I wanted to rule one of the kingdoms—not at all. And neither bride nor kingdom would make me prince enough to fill my father’s shoes.
“You know, that’s just what Darius thought about Samantha.”
I gritted my teeth, doing my best not to throw my brother out the door. “I am done having this conversation.”
Cadmus leaped from the bed and made a regal bow, his mouth curled with amusement. “As you command, my liege.” He laughed. “Man, you do the royalty bit better than any of us. Of course, you were born with the royal stick up your ass, so it makes sense.”
At the end of my tether and feeling more like my hot-headed brother, Darius, than ever, I released the dam on my powers and tossed my brother out my bedroom door. Then I added insult to injury by smirking before I slammed the door shut in his face.
The door muffled his foul curses, and I drank the rest of my coffee in a decent mood. My belly pleasantly warmed, I leaned back and closed my eyes, restful now that I’d unburdened my frustration on my more-than-deserving sibling.
I wondered how long I could delay leaving my bed before worries about work caught up with me.
I couldn’t help it. Normally, focusing on work held my anxiety for Tanselm at bay. Yet work, right now, bothered me almost as much as my homeworld’s uncertain future. Every time I thought about the office, I envisioned Tessa and her mouth-watering sensuality.
I forced my fists to unclench and concentrated on relaxing the rest of my body. I needed a respite from the stresses in my life. If I couldn’t find a break in my own bedroom, I was surely doomed.
Closing my eyes and deliberately slowing my breathing, I repeated the lessons of inner peace taught to me by my father so many years ago and gave way to the dreamlessness of sleep.
At first.
Chapter 5
Marcus
“You’re doing well, Son,” King Faustus said as he slapped me on the back with a blow strong enough to fell a tree. I refused to flinch.
My father laughed, likely pleased to see his son standing tall after so many years of conditioning.
I stared in confusion at us, both clad in our royal finery as we stood in a hazy hallway reminiscent of the princes’ wing in the palace of the Western Kingdom.
“Father?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t keep you long. I know you’ve got company coming.” My father winked and nodded knowingly to the royal bathing suite concealed behind a large blue door.
“Where did Seattle go? Am I really home? What are you doing here?”
“Tsk, tsk. Always the worrier. Enjoy the moment, boy. Live a little.”
“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” Sadly, I had to be. My father had died over a year ago, under Sin Garu’s treacherous hands.
“If you say so.” My father stopped and looked at the door. The muffled sound of feminine laughter and water splashing teased the silence. “But it’s not a bad dream, is it?”
“No.” I stood uncomfortably, aware I wasn’t saying the right things, behaving as befitted a prince. I hated that I sounded so unsure.
