“Good morning, my queen. Are you going to sleep all day, or should we go out and explore the grounds? I’m afraid I’ve been a terrible husband by keeping you naked and in bed almost every moment of the day.”
“Trust me,” she murmured through the haze of sleep and building lust. “A sistah ain’t mad at you.”
“I guess I should take that as a compliment, then.” He pulled her into him, dropping her leg around his and notching himself between her thighs.
“Oh, it definitely was meant as one.”
“You tempt me beyond reason, my queen. We do need to get up, however. I’m afraid we must hold court next week. That means this week, we have to get ourselves and the house in order. The world will not stop just because we’ve found undeniable pleasure in each other’s arms.”
She groaned loudly as she buried her face in his chest. “Boo to the world. It sucks.”
“It does indeed, Your Majesty.”
She peered up at him, finding the easy humor in his eyes. This was the man she’d met that night nearly five months ago. She’d never thought she’d see him again. That was especially true aftershe’d admitted the truth of her identity to him. But somehow, fate had managed to bring him back into her life, and Regina was enjoying every bit of it and him.
“It feels so weird every time you address me by that title.”
With his elbow bent, he held his head up as his penetrating gaze seemed to look through her.
“Weird? Those titles are rightfully yours. You are the queen of Obsidian Island.”
That was certainly true. The moment she’d said “I do” and signed the marriage license, all rights hereunto were bestowed upon her. Now if she walked into a room, everyone stopped and bowed or curtsied.
The first time this had happened, she’d stood quietly in awe watching for nearly a full two minutes. Aléx had to whisper in her ear that they would remain in that position until she gave them leave. She’d felt so bad. She couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable it was to hold that position for so long simply because she hadn’t a clue about her role.
“Aléx, I don’t know how to be a queen. And the truth is, I don’t want to be one in name only. If I’m going to be here, I’d like to learn your customs and your history, learn about your people and your land. I’ll be teaching our children everything I can about Black American history. I want to be able to teach them Obsidian history, and why what their father does matters, too. I want to be the partner you need and the queen that they need. Show me how to be that.”
His eyes widened, and his mouth was slightly slack as he stared at her. “I hadn’t really thought you’d be interested in any of that.”
“My lab won’t be ready for another week. Am I supposed to sit around eating bonbons while you do all the decreeing and knighting that I’m sure will take up your whole day?”
The rumble of his laughter sent tremors throughout the bed. Seeing Aléx this way, with his dark hair mussed and his skin flushed from all they’d done in this very bed throughout the night, this unguarded version of him, tugged at her heart.
“You Americans.” He shook his head. “Where do you get all these wild notions about what being a monarch actually entails?”
She poked him in the chest with a playful finger. “I told you before, we’ve got Disney princess movies andThe Crown. Oh.” She snapped her finger and continued. “We’ve gotGame of Thronestoo. With those poor examples, what do you expect?”
That earned her another laugh, and she took joy in her reward. Aléxandros the king made for a striking picture. Aléx the man, however, was breathtaking in his exuberance.
“All right.” He sat up, jumping out of the bed and pulling her by the legs until she was at the edge of the bed. “If my queen wants to be a queen, then I’m going to send you to someone who was trained by the best queen of all.”
“Who was the best queen?”
“My mother. And she taught my sister, Eliana, everything she knew.”
Regina closed her eyes, trying to remedy the slight fatigue she felt behind them. This always happened whenever she studied something too long. Whether it was looking through microscopes, reading chemical formulas, or—as she was doing now—reading all the materials Eliana had given her to bone up on Obsidian civics, her eyes were the first part of her body to give up the fight when she concentrated too hard.
“You look like you need a break.”
Regina looked up to see a smiling Eliana sitting down next to her on the plush chaise in what she’d come to learn was thedrawing room. To her, it looked like a big and fancy living room. She figured being royal was so fancy that even her billionaire status meant she was so out of her depth she couldn’t tell the difference between the two.
Eliana, princess of Obsidian Island and current heir to the throne should anything happen to Aléx. She was tall, slender, with a full face of flawless makeup and long, dark hair falling in waves down her shoulders. The woman’s beauty and poise were indisputable facts. She looked like she’d stepped right out ofMs. Royaltymagazine to grace the peasants with her presence.
In a smart two-piece double-breasted suit, she more closely resembled someone who was running a Fortune 500 company and less like someone who could quite possibly end up inheriting a country if Regina didn’t produce the heir her husband so desperately wanted.
“Do you think you’ve prepared enough for your introduction to court tonight?”
Regina had tried to forget all about that. It wasn’t that she was afraid of being around people. She just couldn’t put on airs to save her life. It’s why her sister was the face of Gemini Queens, and she worked behind the scenes doing her part to make the company a success in her own way.
