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

“What else?”

“That’s all.”

Adrian grips me by the arm so hard I wince. “What. Else. Rai? Surely you saw something? Someone?”

Kyle grabs Adrian’s arm and twists it off mine, his expression closed. “Do not lay your fucking hands on my wife again. She already said that’s all, so that’s all.”

Adrian meets Kyle’s impenetrable glare with one of his own. A war of gazes erupts between them with their own weapons and battalions.

“That really was all,” I say in an attempt to dissipate the tension. It’s the first time I’ve witnessed Adrian like this.

“What happened after?” He breaks off eye contact with Kyle to focus on me.

“We just went into the meeting as planned.”

“And Lia didn’t do anything?”

“What was she supposed to do…?” I trail off. “Wait—is she having PTSD?”

He narrows his eyes on me. “Why would you say that?”

“No reason.” It seemed she didn’t want him to know, so I’m not going to sell her out to a frightening-looking Adrian right now. “Let’s join the others.”

We find Sergei and the four kings seated around the dining table. Vlad meets us at the threshold and follows us in.

As soon as we’re inside, Kyle pulls the chair out for me.

“I can do it myself,” I say.

“I’m just being careful so you don’t hurt the baby.”

Silence fills the room and my heart nearly knocks out of its place and spills out on the floor.

“The baby?” Sergei’s eyes widen with unmasked interest.

“It’s not—”

“I believe we’re expecting, Pakhan.” Kyle cuts me off by placing his hand on my stomach in front of everyone and smiles. “Be good to Mommy, little guy.”

Congratulations fly all over the table, and Kyle accepts them while grinning down at me. Then he whispers at my ear, “No morning-after pill. You don’t want to disappoint everyone, do you, Princess?”

That’s it. I’m going to kill him.





25





Rai





A few days later, Sergei holds a gathering to celebrate the good news.

No joke.

I don’t know why I’ve allowed it to go this far or how I let Kyle’s manipulations lead me to this point of no return, but that single moment of speechlessness during the meeting was enough to have everyone ganging up on me with well wishes and congratulations.

Then Ana came downstairs, and she kept herself as busy as a bee in the kitchen, preparing me nutritious food and making me sit down.

Sergei won’t stop smiling whenever he sees me. He may never meet his own grandchildren in this lifetime, so he’s apparently living that dream through me.

No matter how much I wanted to put my foot down and scream that it wasn’t true, I couldn’t just wipe the doting expression off Sergei’s face. He seems so happy lately, serene, almost like he’s finally fulfilling the last role in his life. He doesn’t even have bad coughs anymore.

I’m not cruel enough to hurt him, no matter how much I’ve been plotting to murder Kyle.

We’re currently sitting around the dining table for the grand dinner Sergei prepared. This time, everyone else is present, including each brigade’s highest-ranking guards and the ‘killers’, who are sitting at the far end of the table.

The Pakhan doesn’t always invite the entire brotherhood for supper, so this means it’s a very special occasion. The kitchen staff have prepared all sorts of traditional Russian dishes, ranging from sorrel soup to special types of dumplings and meaty main courses. Needless to say, the table is overflowing. However, no one touches their plates, waiting for Sergei to give permission.

He stands slowly, and I know it’s so he doesn’t trigger his cough. It’s been getting better lately, but when he does have a fit, it can get bad. Sergei holds a glass of premium vodka in his hand. “We’re gathered here to celebrate the new member that will join the Sokolov family. Our Rai and Kyle work fast.”

I try not to blush, bunching my fists into my dress, but I can feel my cheeks heating. Kyle grins as he holds my hand under the table. When I attempt to push him away, he intertwines our fingers together and lifts it to his face so he can kiss my knuckles.

If my face were heating earlier, it’s burning now.

Sergei exchanges a look with Igor, then laughs. “Please. Everyone, enjoy your meal.”

All people present at the table raise their glasses for the toast, then dig into the food with renewed energy. It’s not entirely gluttony, but rather a show of gratitude since it’s disrespectful not to eat when the boss offers.

I yank my hand away from Kyle, who smirks. God, why haven’t I killed this bastard in his sleep?

Well, it may have something to do with how he exhausts me every night. I pushed him away at first because of what he did, but I can’t resist his touch. I tell myself that I’m using his body as much as he’s using mine. It’s only sex.

Just meaningless sex.

Kyle, though, makes sure to come inside me every time, as if he’s really planning to impregnate me.

The joke’s on him, though. Not only did I take the morning-after pill, but I also got myself a birth control prescription. My body reacted badly to the shot in my teens, so I had to resort to taking the pills.