“This coming from the man who married his ex-girlfriend to be eligible to ascend to the throne. I don’t think you have any room to throw stones.”
Jasiri set his plate down, drawing himself up so that his back was to the room as he spoke so no one else could hear.
“I adore my wife, and by extension, my sister-in-love.”
“Sister-in-love?”
Jasiri’s exasperated sigh made Aléx want to smile. Good. He wasn’t the only one annoyed with this conversation, then.
“It’s how Reigna refers to in-laws. She says it’s not the law that makes them family, but love. I love her sister,” Jasiri continued. “I’m as protective of her as I am of my wife. Don’t screw her over, Aléxandros, or you’ll have to deal with me. Everyone knows you’re not over—”
Aléx held up his hand, silencing Jasiri immediately. “Finish that sentence and you might not make it back to your throne in one piece…cousin.”
The two men stared at each other. Both large with broad bodies, capable of matching each other’s strength and rage.
“What happened to you, Aléx, was unthinkable. Nevertheless, I don’t want Regina to live in someone else’s shadow. Does she even know what happened?”
Aléx dipped his head, feeling the weight of his shame hit him. “No, she doesn’t.”
Jasiri clapped a hand on Aléx’s shoulder. It was firm…yet it was supportive, as if he were really concerned for his cousin four or five times removed.
“Take it from someone whose secrets nearly cost him the love of an incredible woman. Don’t hide your past from her. Let her help you with it. Because if you hurt her, Reigna will cut your balls off. And after she’s done, you’ll have to deal with me.”
Jasiri’s threat about Reigna made him shiver. He’d seen what a cutthroat businesswoman she was. After their tense conversation about her treatment of Regina, he’d had no doubt she’d slice him into tiny pieces if he hurt her sister. Neither of them had anything to worry about. Love might not be the basis of their marriage, but care and concern were.
“I’d rather cut off my own arm before I hurt her. She’s special to me, Jasiri.”
“Because she bears the same face as her sister?”
Anger simmered beneath Aléx’s cool facade. The insinuation pissed him off, quite frankly. However, considering how their connection began, he couldn’t rightly blame Jasiri either.
“I might not have known her real name when I met her, but trust me, she’s the only sister I wanted then or now. Let’s leave it at that before either of us says something we regret.”
“Good,” Jasiri said as a pleased smile set across his lips.
He was just about to step away when Aléx called after him.
“Jasiri, let that be the last time you insinuate my wife plays second to your wife, or any other woman, for that matter. If you do it again, I’ll consider that an act of war and govern myself accordingly.”
Jasiri’s smile widened even further, showing every one of his perfect teeth. “That’s exactly what a king and husband should do when someone insults his wife. You scorch the goddamn earth toprotect her and her dignity at all costs. As long as you do that for Regina, you’ll never hear a word from me.”
The twins caught sight of the two of them and made their way to each of them respectively. Regina slid into Aléx’s embrace instinctively as he pulled her into his side. This was where she belonged. It didn’t matter that they weren’t in love or hadn’t come together in the traditional sense. She was his wife, and as he’d told Jasiri, he’d never let anyone hurt her.
Are you including yourself in that?
He closed his eyes and breathed in her sweet scent, trying to ignore the voice in his head. He could do this. He could protect and care for someone again. He would do it, no matter how much his fear tried to tell him otherwise.
“Are you ready to retire, Treasure?”
She looked up at him with queries in her eyes, questions she wanted to ask. But the soft kiss he placed on her lips prevented her from verbalizing them.
Tonight would be about them and not the ghosts of his past. If only for tonight, he would be free of his pain and give everything he had to Queen Regina. The woman who had quite literally turned his world upside down.
Chapter Ten
Regina stood onthe balcony of the cottage they’d be spending their wedding night in. According to Aléx, this was the place where every Obsidian monarch spent their first night with their spouse. She’d tried to tell him they didn’t have to bother, but he’d insisted. She was his queen, and she would be treated as such.
Regina tried to settle the dull ache in her chest as she thought about the situation she’d willingly put herself in. She had no right to be sad. This marriage was a business deal, not a love affair. Of course she would spend her wedding night alone. It wasn’t a real wedding, and this wasn’t a real marriage.
