Throne of Power (Throne Duet #1) by Rina Kent

But then, he places me on something soft. My eyes flutter open and I find myself in a cozy room. The bed on which I’m lying is in the middle. Soft light comes from the two lamps on the nightstands. There’s a large window in the front with transparent curtains pulled.

This place is hot, or maybe I am. A few clips are missing from my hair so I yank at the others, letting my hair loose then kick my heels away. Sigh. Much better. I sit up and reach a hand to the zipper of my dress, pulling it down, but it gets stuck at the middle. I groan as I release my grip.

I stare ahead in search of a solution. Kyle removes his jacket and bowtie and places them on a chair opposite the bed, then rolls the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. I’m momentarily transfixed by the scene, not only the meticulous way he does it, but also the ring on his finger—the one I put there, even though he had blood on his hand. We did start with blood, and there’s no way to change that now.

“Kyyyyyle.”

“Yes, Princess?”

“Open it.”

“Open what?”

“My dress. It’s hoooot.”

“Are you going to take a shower?”

“Not now.”

He stalks toward me with slow steps and sits beside me, then grabs me by the shoulder and turns me around. I giggle and squirm at the feel of his skin on mine.

“Stay still,” he reprimands.

“Okaaay, okaaay.”

“If I’d known you’d be this adorable, I would’ve gotten you drunk before.”

“No one gets me drunk but me, and don’t call me adorable.”

“I’ll call you whatever I wish, wife.” His voice drops in range as he drags the zipper down my back, but instead of letting me go, his finger traces my spine.

A full-body shiver takes hold of me as his digits continue stroking my skin, up and down, up and down, like he can’t get enough.

“A snake tattoo,” he whispers. “Interesting.”

“It’s a viper.”

“A viper—even more interesting choice. When did you get it?”

“When you weren’t around.” I push away from him and shove my dress down my shoulders, then kick it down to my feet, remaining in my black cotton bra and panties.

I motion at myself. “Black means staaay the fuck away.”

He wets his lower lip with his tongue, and I follow the motion with my eyes as if I’m starved and it’s the most delicious meal on earth. “Says who?”

“Says me. Black is like a funeral.”

“The joke’s on you. I love black.” He grabs me by the wrist and I squeal as I end up on my back on the bed. He crawls atop me and imprisons both my wrists above my head. “And so do you.”





12





Kyle





I expect Rai to kick me in the balls like she promised she would. I’m already prepared to catch her knee.

But that’s sober Rai.

Drunk Rai stares at me with sadness so deep its sharp edge points at my chest.

I have no idea why I allowed her to get drunk in the first place, knowing full well she becomes even more unpredictable—and free—when on the liquor. She lost some of her shackles on the way here, and I’m seeing a glimpse of the carefree girl she was when Nikolai was alive, the girl who couldn’t care less about the traditional binds or what the world thinks of her.

“Why do you know I like black?” she murmurs, not attempting to release her wrists from underneath my hold.

“You think I forgot just because I left?”

“You should. That’s how it’s supposed to be,” she pants, slamming her eyes shut hard before she opens them again. This time, moisture coats her lower lids.

I wipe a finger under her eyes, taking her tears for my own. Everything that’s hers will be mine now, whether it’s her tears or her anger, or even her hotheaded stubbornness.

The moment I saw Kai’s henchman hold a gun to her forehead, I nearly killed them both then and there. For a second, I forgot about my mission and the fact that, for my plan to work, Kai and Lazlo need to be only injured, not gone. It wouldn’t do me any good to eliminate the two strongest heads whose organizations wouldn’t hesitate to seek revenge as a result.

However, at that moment, I wanted Kai’s vacant eyes, and I wanted them even more when he tried to touch her. It took godlike patience to hold on to my end goal and only threaten the bastard.

“I never forgot anything about you, Princess.” And it wasn’t by fucking choice. Rai has always been something I can never erase from my head, no matter how much I try to.

It’s like having an unreachable itch and not knowing where exactly it is located.

She closes her hands into fists, and she would probably hit me if they were free. “Liar. Asshole.”

“I’m fine with that, but do you know what I’m not fine with?” My voice gains an edge as I wrap my free hand around her throat. “You putting yourself in danger or running straight to it like you did today. Repeat that again and I’ll punish you.”

“You…you can’t punish me.” I don’t miss the way her drunken voice lowers at the word punish.

“Oh, I very much can and I will if you keep having such little regard for your fucking safety. Also…” I tighten my hold around her neck, not hard enough to cut off her oxygen, but firm enough to keep her attention on me. “You don’t let other men near you. You don’t touch them, act friendly around them, or talk to them more than necessary.”