Chapter One
“Aléx, I’m notquite sure what you hope to gain by dragging this out. You’re a king. You have a responsibility to marry and produce an heir. We both know I’m the best choice for a consort. I’ve always been the best choice for a consort. Why are you dragging your feet?”
King Aléxandros of Obsidian Island internally cringed as he listened to the words coming out of Lady Katia’s mouth. It wasn’t as though Aléx hadn’t heard these things from his late parents and his royal advisors seemingly since birth. He’d been reared in the expectation that he would fulfill this particular duty since he drew his first breath.
Aléx had also been taught the skill of keeping one’s feelings from public view. Yet when Lady Katia slid an unwanted hand on his thigh, his outrage at being touched so intimately without his permission seeped out through the taut muscles of his face. His quick hand pried her claws from his person and placed them atop the elaborate gold-and-black marble bar they were seated at.
“Lady Katia, you forget your place. As a member of the Obsidian Court, the privilege of speaking to me with such familiarity hasn’t been given to you. Please address me as is proper, King Aléxandros, Your Majesty, or Sire.”
Aléx watched as Lady Katia’s thin, classic features pulled tightly into sharp lines at his reprisal. She was part of the Obsidian aristocracy. A woman who had been bred to believe she and her ilk were better than people who didn’t havearistocratic blood in their veins. The only people who were better were royals, which was why she’d been campaigning through various methods to situate herself as the perfect consort for the unmarried king. She and every other single woman at court made no secret of their desire to be his queen. As a result, Aléx never dated or slept with anyone at court, not since the first and only time ended so horribly.
Not since he’d lost everything.
Never again.
Lesson learned, Aléx was extremely selective of the women he chose to bed. They could have nothing to do with royal or aristocratic life, and most importantly, they couldn’t expect more than physical release.
Yes, he had a duty to marry and procreate, and he would eventually fulfill that duty. But until he was sure he’d found someone he could trust, someone who would stand by him and choose him and the family they created over everything and everyone else, including the crown, he would remain single. His past demanded that he accept nothing less. And since Katia’s only goal was the clout and wealth associated with being the king’s consort, there was no way in hell he’d ever choose her as his wife.
He knew she’d never want to hear that. This standoff they were currently engaged in was proof of that. Being turned away so blatantly wouldn’t sit well with a woman like her. The stiff shoulders and pointed stare she leveled at him after his reprisal confirmed every instinct he had about Katia. At all costs, he needed to keep her away from him.
“Your Majesty?”
A sultry voice that he barely recognized filled his senses, pulling his gaze from the cold ice of Katia’s blue gaze to a rich warmth the color of dark cognac drawing him in.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but you told me to find you here for our meeting. Are you still available?”
Aléx took in the beauty before him. Reigna Devereaux, the CEO of Gemini Queens Cosmetics. She was a regular attendee at Obsidian Island’s annual Commerce Gala. But never in all their interactions had she ever caught his notice so completely.
Her dark hair was braided into an intricate pattern that spoke to her heritage as an African American woman, putting her cultural pride on display for all to see. Her lips were covered in a matte red lipstick that artfully highlighted a mouth that made him wonder how it compared to the sweet berries that grew in the wild forested soil of his land.
He stood to his full height of six feet two inches, noticing that even in her impossibly high heels, she barely reached the middle of his chest. Tiny though she might have been, there was confidence in the way she stood in those slinky, strappy heels and the one-shouldered bodycon red cocktail dress that caressed her ample, plus-sized curves.
That self-assurance called to him, and he had to fight his natural urge to get closer to her, to lean into her and take in every glorious inch she possessed.
“Absolutely,” he replied, noting the spark of mischief that flashed in the woman’s eyes. “I’ve been looking forward to speaking to you all evening.”
With his eyes still locked on to Reigna’s, Aléx said, “Please excuse me, Lady Katia. I must attend to a most urgent matter.”
Before Katia could reply, he extended his arm to Reigna, waiting for her to wrap her hand around his bicep. When she did, his body tensed, but not in revulsion as it had with Katia. This was excitement mixed with a healthy dose of satisfaction of knowing what her touch felt like, even through the fine threads of his tailor-made tuxedo jacket.
“Shall we, Ms. Devereaux?”
He lifted a brow, waiting for her response, delighting at the devious curl of her lips and the devilish grin that resulted.
“Certainly, Your Majesty.”
Katia completely forgotten, Aléx moved away from the bar and through the grand ballroom of the largest luxury hotel in his country.
“Would you mind following me to my suite? I’m afraid if we remain in any of the public areas of the hotel, all eyes will remain on us. I promise you will be perfectly safe.”
She conceded with a nod to Aléx as two large men converged and fell in step at a comfortable distance behind them. She smiled up at him with that same mischievous grin.
“Oh, dear King Aléxandros, I know I’ll be perfectly safe in your suite. You know just as well as I that starting an international incident with a Devereaux wouldn’t be good for you or your country.”
He couldn’t help the genuine chuckle that rumbled in his chest and out of his throat. There was that poise he’d seen in her stance when she’d interrupted his tense exchange with Katia. Up close, with no distractions between them, it was even more brilliant than before.
His guards were positioned all throughout the building, so Aléx had no fear of her apparent bodyguards pulling up their rear.
