“What do you mean?”
“Word will get back to—”
“Misha!” Nikolay roared as he burst into the room.
Then he saw us, sitting at a respectable distance from each other, and stopped in his tracks.
“My king?” I stood up, casting a quick and pointed glance at Konstantin. “How may I serve?”
“I . . .” Niko looked from Konstantin to me. “What is he doing in your chambers?”
“I was in the shower when the Garin summoned me for my interview. The page who he'd sent slipped a note under my door that I didn't see. When I didn't show up for the interview, the Garin came looking for me. We ended up conducting it here.”
“I see.”
“Have I done something wrong, Your Majesty?”
“You know very well that you shouldn't be entertaining another man in your private chambers,” Niko said as he strode over to me.
My chest constricted, but I showed nothing, just inclined my head to him. “Yes, Sire. I didn't think of it as entertaining, but I apologize for any impropriety.”
“It's my fault.” Konstantin stood up. “I didn't see the problem in it, but now I realize that being alone with a royal consort in his bedroom is unacceptable. Please, forgive my ignorance.”
The Swan King lifted his chin as he considered the Garin. “Very well. You are forgiven.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Did you get what you needed from my Misha?”
Konstantin paused. “Ah, yes, he's answered all of my questions.”
“Good, then you may leave, Lord Konstantin.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Konstantin inclined his head to the King and strode out of the room without even a glance in my direction.
All the right words had been said and there was no evidence of indiscretion, but it didn't matter. I would pay for worrying the King—for what he had imagined I'd done. The door clicked shut, and I shivered.
Niko unbuckled his belt as he took the chair Konstantin had discarded. Then he very deliberately opened his pants and removed his limp cock. I went to kneel before him and twisted the long length of my hair into a rope that I offered him. He took it and used my hair to pull me down, into his lap. With the scent of Konstantin rising from the chair, I began to assuage my king's anger using the techniques he had taught me. As he used my hair to control even that, the manner in which I pleasured him, I made a decision.
I was going to warn Konstantin about Nikolay. And I was going to take him as my lover.
Chapter Nine
I was on my way to my rooms the next day when Lord Ilya stopped me in the corridor.
“Lord Mikhail,” he greeted me. “Have you spoken to the Garin today?”
“No, I was interviewed yesterday.”
“Ah. I'm on my way to see him.”
“He's only after the truth. Don't worry, you'll be fine.”
“Investigators are rarely after the truth,” Ilya looked around as he whispered it.
“Not all investigators are under the King's thumb. This one . . .” Oh, wow, that was it. Niko wanted something to dangle over Konstantin's head. It wasn't about vengeance; it was about control. He wanted to be sure that the Garin reported everything to him, and I was that insurance.
“Mikhail?”
