Throne of Vengeance (Throne Duet #2) by Rina Kent

“I know you can, but he’s gotten so big, so I’ll do it.”

She tries to protest, but Asher places a kiss on her forehead, making her go speechless.

My twin sister joins us in the dining room. She went all out and even prepared a Russian soup.

“Since when do you know how to cook?” I ask.

“I took classes. Why?” She turns to Kyle, who’s sitting silently by my side. “Is she still a hopeless cook?”

“More or less.”

“Hey! I prepared you those pancakes and toast that time.”

“Burnt pancakes and toast.”

“You ate them.”

“I had no choice. The non-burnt parts weren’t so bad.” He takes a sip of the soup, still not meeting my gaze.

Reina stares between us and motions at him. I make a face at her, but that only widens her grin.

Asher joins us after he places Gareth in his room.

“Did he wake up?” Reina asks.

“He didn’t even stir. He played too much for his own good.” Asher places a hand around Reina’s shoulder and leans in to kiss the top of her forehead before he sits down.

I’ve always loved the way he looks at her like she’s the center of his world and everything else is an accessory. Like the world is gray and she’s the only one in color.

Lowering my head, I dig into my soup to avoid watching them like a creep. I startle when my eyes meet Kyle’s inquisitive ones. He’s been watching me. But why?

He pours himself a glass of wine and finishes half of it in one go.

“Where in the United Kingdom are you from?” Asher asks him. “London?”

“Yes. I lived there for most of my life, but I’m originally from Ireland.”

“You don’t sound Irish.” Reina removes the fish bones and places the clean ones on my plate as if I’m a kid.

“I was raised by an Englishman, thus the accent.”

“Asher lived in England for three years.” Reina’s voice drops with clear sadness. “He went to college there.”

Her husband grabs her hand over the table and strokes the back of it as he speaks. “Yeah, that’s why I asked. I have a few English friends and they’re famous assholes.”

“Really?” Kyle finishes his glass of wine and pours another. “Who?”

“Aiden King and Cole Nash.”

“The heirs to the King and Nash fortunes.”

“You know them?”

“Everyone in England does. Their companies are everywhere like cockroaches.” Kyle continues sipping from his wine, or more like gulping it down. “I have a personal acquaintance with Aiden’s father, Jonathan King.”

“What type of acquaintance?” Reina asks.

“It’s not the type to be brought up at family dinners.”

“I know what you do, Kyle.” She stares between the both of us. “This is a judgment-free zone. I accept my sister and her other half the way they are.”

Kyle scoffs at ‘the other half’ part, and I pinch his thigh under the table. He grabs my hand and gently pushes it away from his pants. My heart thuds as something hard and heavy clinks to the bottom of my stomach.

It’s the first time Kyle has rejected my touch. Usually, he would be the one all over me, teasing and making me squirm at Sergei’s dining table, and I’d be the one pushing him away.

What happened just now?

“Rai!”

“Huh?” I stare up at Reina, unable to focus. “Did you say something?”

“I was asking if you want a soda.”

“I’m good.” My gaze trails to Kyle, who’s downing his third glass. I lean in to whisper, “You’ll get drunk.”

“So?”

“You…don’t like being drunk.” He told me that once, said he rarely allows himself more than a glass because being drunk distorts his thought process.

“Maybe I do.” He barely spares me a glance as he pours himself another glass.

By the end of the evening, he’s well and truly drunk. Ruslan and Asher have to help me carry him to the back of the car.

I hug Reina, who came out to see us off. “I’m going to put guards on you for the next couple of days, so please don’t say no. It’ll make me feel at ease.”

“And you’ll visit more often?”

“I will.”

“Fine.” Then she whispers, “Remember, talk about it. I almost lost Ash because we didn’t sit down and talk, so don’t repeat my mistake, Rai.”

I rub her back once before I let her go, and get into the back seat. I wave at Reina, and she waves back as Asher spoons her from behind, removing his sweater and wrapping it around her shoulders.

Ruslan stays with them as guard, which reminds me to ask Sergei to send a few more to Reina’s side. He always wanted to put guards on her, but I respected her wishes of wanting to live a normal life.

As the car moves, I stare at Kyle, who’s passed out beside me. His head is slung back on the leather seat and his lips are slightly parted. The first two buttons of his shirt are open, revealing his taut skin and his lean, muscular build.

Was he always this attractive, or am I just too drunk on him as he is on wine?

I’m mad at him, I am, but I can’t resist it as I reach out a tentative hand and palm his cheek. My touch is soft, experimental. I’ve never actually touched him to my heart’s content before. It’s always felt as if he’s the one who does that and I needn’t do anything.