Page 31 of Brazen King

Tatiana releases a harsh bark of a laugh. “Like have I ever been in love?” she clarifies, her tone incredulous.

“Yeah.”

“Honestly, no. I’ve found a few attractive. I’ve been curious about them. But I have neither the time nor the inclination to be interested in men. Sure, I’ve slept with a few, but I don’t intend to give up my crown to a man—which is all that would come of falling in love.”

Tatiana’s dose of reality hits home.

And I’m grateful to her for always being the logical one. The person who can see the big picture. Of course, falling in love or marrying would compromise her authority. Especially if she married before she took over Papa’s empire.

She needs to rule in her own right if she ever wants to earn the respect of our father’s men.

A challenging task to begin with.

If she married—even for love—the men, and likely her husband, would assume he should take control. Because that’s what our world is. It’s tradition. And it’ll take someone strong like Tatiana to break with that tradition and claim our father’s power for her own.

Papa’s doing his best to prepare her. But when the time comes, I’m confident it will be no small task for Tatiana to earn the respect of our men.

And she’s going to need me by her side.

Guilt plagues me as I think about my deal with Killian. Regardless of the fact that he’s decided, so far, to keep my secret, I’m still a liability to my family. If anyone were to find out, it could destroy our reputation. It would make us look weak.The daughter of Boris Sokolov spreading her legs for one of their most formidable rivals?

I bite my lip as thoughts of Killian release butterflies in my stomach.

Even now, when I’m facing the potential consequences of our pact, I can’t stop the emotions he brings out in me. Traitorous, filthy, mortifying feelings of attraction that I desperately want to squash.

I wish I were more like Tatiana. Able to logic my way into what’s best for the family.

“Why? Do you have feelings for someone?” she asks, rising from her chair to join me on the bed. And her blue eyes glint with curiosity.

“Definitely not,” I scoff, hugging the pillow closer.

Liar,a voice deep inside me says.

But Idon’thave feelings for Killian. Ican’t. He’s an arrogant jerk, a devious miscreant. And I need to kill him before he destroys the empire my family has worked so hard to build for generations.

Tatiana cocks an eyebrow, seeming less than convinced. And I can hardly blame her when my cheeks heat in response to the direct question and what might be a less-than-honest answer.

“Then, why ask?” she presses.

“I just needed a wakeup call. A reminder of why boys are so stupid,” I say cheekily, fluffing her pillow and placing it back on her bed. Then I slide off her mattress. “Are you coming up to the terrace for breakfast?”

Tatiana glances back at her book, then gives a shrug. “Sure. I can finish reading later.”

Climbing off her bed, she joins me as we make our way toward the rooftop garden where Papa insisted on having breakfast served today because it’s finally warm enough to eat outside.

But as we walk, I can feel Tatiana glancing sideways at me, her gaze assessing.

And I know she knows.

She might not know just what’s going on between me and Killian—or evenwhoI might be entangled with. But as my sister, she understands me better than anyone. I should have just kept my mouth shut. I don’t know what I was thinking, bringing up feelings for boys.

Because I don’t have feelings.

Definitely not for Killian.

He might be ungodly hot.

And the best sex I’ve ever had.

---