Page 40 of A Queen and HER Bad Boy
It had never been Charisse’s way to be completely upfront, which was why he was still left with burning questions about his father’s death. “We won’t carry on a love affair if that’s what you’re asking.”
Bris sucked in her breath, the sound sharp in the perfumed night air. “Oh… that’s… whatever, just as long as she’s not feeding information to you from the Myrdons.”
His entire body went rigid, shock and fury warring in his chest. “Excuse me?”
She shrugged with forced nonchalance, but he could see the tension in her shoulders. “I had an interesting talk with the Earl of Alexopoulos earlier.”
Achilles stiffened, every protective instinct screaming. After all his warnings, Bris should know to keep her distance from that predator.
“Of course, the Earl is a complete snake who likes to exaggerate so he can win me over on his energy policy,” she said, her voice taking on a bitter edge, “but I just thought you should know about the rumors going on behind your back. He thinks Charisse is the heiress who will fund your revolution against us.”
“And you were talking about those rumors in the middle of the ballroom?” His voice rose with incredulous anger. “The whole party will be gossiping about revolution by the time we get back.”
“I’m not stupid,” she snapped. “We were alone… in the library, anyway, no one could’ve possibly overheard.”
He was stunned. She acted like that was better than a dig at his reputation. “What are you doing? You’re playing with fire!”
Her brows drew together in a scowl that would have been intimidating if she weren’t so much smaller than him. He noticed her golden eyes were alive like molten lava—had the Earl sparked that dangerous light? Jealousy scraped against his insides. “I could say the same thing about you,” she said.
He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound—it felt harsh and bitter. He owed Charisse an explanation for his sudden marriage, but she wasn’t about to sprout wings like a harpy and carry him away to Hades, not like the Earl might do to Bris. “So, that’s it, huh?” He could just imagine her wounded pride driving her to the first man at the party that would invite his wrath, like a teenager acting out at a school dance. “You were out for revenge?” Typical Bris—all fire and fury when her feelings got hurt.
She bristled, her whole body going taut. “Revenge? I can’t see why you’d care if I was alone with another man! You said so yourself that you—you don’t see me that way. And anyway, the conversation was… enlightening if anything.”
“Really?” He didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He could just imagine Dimitri’s smarmy false charm, those predatory blue eyes roaming over his wife’s body, and the thought sent a storm of rage through him that surprised him with its intensity. “Well, rest easy. I’m not working with the Myrdons, just trying to dry my ex-girlfriend’s tears. Happy?”
Something shuttered in her expression, those expressive walls slamming down to shut him out completely, and it was drivinghim crazy that he couldn’t read her anymore—not like before, when every emotion was his for the taking. “I’m sorry that this is happening to you.” Her voice turned softer, contrite, and somehow that was worse than her anger. “If you want to see her… discreetly…”
“No!” The word exploded from him with more force than he’d intended. He’d never been surer of anything in his life. He’d entertained fleeting thoughts of how miserable life would be stuck in this loveless marriage; but feeling Bris’s fingers trembling against his arm and seeing the flush in her cheeks after meeting with that earl, his mind was crystal clear. This woman needed his full attention. “You’re not trying to start something… discreet, are you?”
“Never!” A flood of relief filled him at the way she recoiled from the very suggestion. “But he’s not entirely convinced that I have what it takes to be queen, possibly because I won’t support his business… practices. But I have a feeling that he will block my ascension if I don’t… convince him that I can still be useful.”
The thought of Dimitri talking to Bris again, touching her, sent a shiver of revulsion and rage through him. His hands clenched into fists. “I’ll convince him.” He’d start by rearranging that pretty-boy face of his.
“No… let’s not do anything drastic!”
“Drastic? You mean like getting married?” His voice cracked with a bitter chuckle. “I think we’re already past drastic.”
“I don’t like this either, okay!” Those beautiful Tyndarian eyes were bright with unshed tears, the same ones that should’ve told him exactly what he was getting into from the beginning of all this. She always got her way with him with those eyes, and he was helpless against them, even now. “Being tied to you isn’t a picnic for me either, Killiefish!” she raged at him, surprising him with the raw emotion in her voice. “I’ll always be surrounded by rumors of who you love and who you’re seeing and—and Iwant to trust that you’ll do the right thing when it comes to the Myrdons, but how? How can I after what happened on Scheria Island?”
How long was she going to hold his past mistakes against him? The guilt was a constant weight on his shoulders.
“The Earl of Alexopoulos is just as nasty as you said,” she continued, her voice breaking slightly, “but he’s right that people will always view you with distrust, and you don’t have the sense to leave the women alone, even on the first day we’re seen together at a formal function! You go off with Charisse! I don’t know what my father was thinking making you my husband!”
He glared down at her, his own anger rising to match hers. “Oh, there you are! I was beginning to wonder where the old Bris had gone. You sound just like a queen now. Your father would be proud!”
She recoiled as if he’d slapped her, her jaw tightening as she fought for control. “We have to be careful, or we’ll plunge this country back into civil war again.” Her voice was barely audible.
“Starting with us?” he asked.
She turned silent, her chest rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths. “Nothing would’ve convinced me to talk to Dimitri alone… it just kind of happened. Phoenix threw me in his company and disappeared.”
That traitor! Raw anger burned through him like acid, and he found himself storming back toward the golden lights of the palace. “That’s it—we’re letting him go.”
“Don’t you dare!” She grabbed at his arm with both hands, her nails digging into the expensive fabric of his jacket. “I was fine!” He glanced back at her, and she lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug as if unaffected by whatever had happened in that library—she wasn’t fooling him. He could feel her shaking through her grip. “My father was behind it. I guess he wanted me to knowwhat I was dealing with, or maybe he thought I could handle the negotiations—baptism by fire, right?”
Achilles froze at the implications of such a dangerous game. Chises Mnon didn’t care about his daughter’s safety, only that she proved her loyalty and value. What else would he sacrifice for power? His best friend from long ago? Achilles was sure of it. There was only one way to stop him from doing more damage. “If you don’t fire Phoenix, then I will.”
“No!” Bris planted her heels in the gravel, her white dress gleaming under the moonlight. “That’s not your call. We just play it cool and don’t rock the boat. I’ve got it handled.”
