“When the candlelight in the pleasure house hits your hair, it looks more red than brown,” he said defensively, reading her thoughts.
“It’s not just the letter,” Violet told him. “She knew things she shouldn’t and claimed you divulged them to her. She then informed me that my name wasn’t on you, and I had no claim.” Roman wasn’t a toy or a novelty, and it sickened Violet that so many people treated him as such. Violet, Marissa, random strangers who only wanted to be his friend because of who he was and what he could do for them.
Roman stalked to Ares who stood in the background, looking thoroughly amused, and murmured something low. The man nodded and took off running. “Let it be known,” Roman bellowed for those around them to hear, “I have only ever loved Violet Maekin, your future queen. Any woman who says differently will be considered a traitor to the crown. I’ll not have anyone disrespect my mate with falsehoods.” He looked Violet dead in the eyes when he added, “If anyone mentions what I said about my mate in that letter, I will mount your head above my mantle.”
* * *
Watching rebels almost hurt Violet was the scariest thing Roman had experienced. Seeing the fire in her eyes, not knowing why she looked fit to rip his head off for his naivety, was a close second.
An all-consuming fury raged within him, and it was all he could do to not shred his way through the capital until he found Marissa. He didn’t know how she’d done it, but somehow, she’d changed his letter.
A letter with his private thoughts. How many other letters did they steal? If he found out someone had kept a letter Violet wrote from him, they’d not survive to live another day. Her words were his and no one else’s.
The things he’d written had been for his mate and no one else. Knowing his warriors heard them, that they were likely picturing their queen being thoroughly fucked, caused Roman’s blood to boil. Had Violet kept reading, he would have ripped them all limb from limb to banish the vision from their minds.
His anger did not belong to Violet, it belonged to Marissa, but his emotions were impossible to tame. What if Violet had believed Marissa? He could have lost her.
As his inner turmoil settled, he could admit that seeing Violet pissed off and out for blood made him want to fuck her into oblivion. He’d seen her many ways, but angry beyond reason was not one of them. Witnessing her fire stoked his own.
“You’re not in the clear,” Violet informed him and dropped her voice to a whisper. “You told her about Titus and me. She was quick to remind me I’ve always been second best. Dominic. Titus. Every other man who showed interest then promptly ignored me.” He saw it then, the flicker of insecurity and hurt in her eyes as she tapped her chest. “There’s something about me that sends men running, and the fact that she knew about all of them because you told her. I amnothappy.”
Shit. Roman had not realized how herdating historymight have affected her. Unable to allow her to think something was wrong with her, he knew he had to confess what he’d done, but first he needed to correct her assumption that he’d ever betray her confidence. “I didn’t tell Marissa anything, princess, I swear it. And you didn’t send the other men running. I did.”
Her brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Licking his lips and praying she didn’t kill him in front of everyone, he confessed. “Boys started to notice you when we were fourteen.” Roman drank in her beautiful face. “How could they not? I couldn’t stand it. If they showed interest in you, Iencouragedthem not to.”
Violet gasped but recovered quickly. “And Dominic? Did you force him to want to fuck Vivian after taking my virginity?”
Roman’s mood darkened further. “Never remind me what he stole from me again, and no, I didn’t force him to say that. I didn’t even hear him say it, but if I had, I would have killed him in front of everyone instead of waiting for suggesting your sister held a candle to you.”
Violet assessed him like a puzzle that needed to be solved. “Instead of waiting? What does that mean?”
Double shit.“I don’t think you want to know.”
His curious little mate wouldn’t be deterred, like a dog with a bone. “Yes, I do.”
Roman looked at those who still watched their row. He could order them to leave, but if they heard what he’d done, they’d know not to fuck with what was his. “I killed him later.”
It was the first time Roman had killed anyone. He’d laid in wait for Dominic to recover from his injuries, let the man think he’d escaped death, then he’d cornered him.
“You humiliated Violet,” Roman said, deceptively calm.
“I didn’t mean what I said about Vivian,” Dominic insisted. To Roman’s surprise, he sounded genuine. “I don’t know why I said it.” The man raked a hand through his hair. “I’ll never forgive myself for embarrassing Violet, but I’m hoping she will. I really like her.”
That did it. If Dominic thought Roman would let him anywhere near Violet again, he was sorely mistaken. Roman stepped forward and wrapped his hand around Dominic’s neck. The man clawed at Roman’s grip as it cut off his lifeline. “Ask for her forgiveness from hell. Tell Orcus hello for me.”
Violet covered her mouth, and Roman wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled it away. “I couldn’t let him live after disrespecting something so sacred.”
She gaped at him. “You can’t kill people for being assholes, Roman.”
He snorted. “If I killed people for being assholes, Slayton would not be breathing, princess.”
She dropped her hands and stared at him incredulously. “Youkilleda man, and you’re making a joke?”
Roman frowned at her. “That wasn’t a joke.”
“And Titus?” she asked.
