Breicher leaned over, tugging her chin toward him, pressing a slow kiss to her swollen pink lips. It didn’t matter who saw them and this building volcano between them. Ivanslohe men were known for being generous with the objects of their affection in both public and private. He may only be judged for the object itself, but it didn’t make him blink like it might have once had. They’d been wrong about her, and he basked in the warmth resonating between them.
“Care for a drink?” Hollis asked, holding out a glass of wine. He’d tried with winter’s sin earlier.
“No, thanks. You take it. I want to be fully present tonight,” he said, stealing a glance at his wife who was making small talk with two Veetula nobles. The line of her jaw, the poised way she sat and carried herself, stole his breath.
“Nah,” Hollis said, passing the glass off to the nearest guest who took it, unsure of what else to do but take it from the former king. “I’ve already had enough.”
That was strange. Hollis didn’t believe in enough. “Not wanting to make a fool of yourself in front of the entire kingdom?”
“Something like that,” his brother said.
Breicher raised an eyebrow. “What did my wife threaten you with that has you so spooked?”
“House arrest,” Hollis confessed. “I don’t know if I can handle being stuck in those apartments with Agnes for however long the queen decides to keep us there.”
Breicher chuckled, clapping his brother on the shoulder. “Thanks for being here today. It means a lot. I know you and Caroline have your differences,” he hesitated, assessing Hollis’s mood, and continued, “and she stole your crown.”
“There’s that,” Hollis said, eyeing the drink he’d handed off.
“But it means a lot, brother.”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Breicher.” Hollis scratched his head. “Hey, do you think I could steal you away for a minute to sneak a drink with the men where she won’t see us? We missed our family tradition.”
Breicher considered his wife. He was loath to leave her for even a minute, but it was his brother and he’d been so cooperative the entire evening. He nodded. “Yeah, but let’s make it quick, okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Let me get the other Ivanslohe’s and I’ll wave to you when we’re ready.” His brother leaned into Jaden’s ear and said something he couldn’t read. They separated, Jaden heading for the bar, and Hollis found each of the other cousins. When they’d all slipped out a side door, Hollis waved.
Breicher’s pulse picked up as he leaned over to Caroline. “I’ll be right back, okay?” She wrinkled her brow, but he placed a quick kiss on her lips. “Guys want to have a toast. Five minutes, okay? Hollis has been particularly good. Just one drink.”
Her face softened, and she wouldn’t deny him.
Another longer kiss. “Thank you, my queen.”
The pink lighting up her cheeks when he’d said it made him want to scratch the drink and the rest of the evening and go bury himself in her heat.
Breicher slipped out the door he’d seen Hollis exit. “Down here, Breicher,” his cousin Jamison called.
“Did you guys have to pick such a dank corridor?” he asked but took the glass Jaden proffered to him.
He surveyed the Gods’ blessed men of his family, pride welling in his chest, and raised his glass. “Thank you all for being here. I know the last month has been confusing, but I believe we can end the strife and centuries long conflict together. Your presence means the Ivanslohe line will endure.”
A unified “Cheers!” rang through the hallway, and all nine men tossed the drink back.
Hollis grabbed the empty bottle from Jaden. “Go fetch another,” Hollis demanded, and an uneasy, warning sensation had his heart skipping in his throat.
“Actually, I told Caroline I’d just be a few minutes. And one was plenty,” he said, but Jaden had already skated out of the corridor. Breicher took a step backward to follow his nephew back into the Great Hall. This had been a mistake. The last thing he wanted was to get rounded up into a wild night of partying with the raucous men of his family. He wanted to spend the evening, and the rest of his life, bedding his wife.
“Come ’on, Breicher,” Jamison wrapped a large arm around his shoulder, preventing his retreat. “You used to be so much more fun before that bitch wife of yours.”
That made his hackles rise. He jerked his shoulder backward, violently throwing Jamison’s arm off. “What did you say about my wife?” he hissed, as he charged forward, grabbing Jamison’s collar, pinning him against the wall.
Scuffling in his periphery drew his attention. Four of his cousins surrounded them, and latched on his arms, pulling them off Jamison and pinning them to his sides. He gasped as a hand fisted in his hair and his head whipped backward. Hollis’s face appeared inches from his own.
“I told you I would do whatever it took. You’re my brother, and it’s time someone did what’s best for you and show you what kind of monster you’re so smitten with.”
A blinding crack and stars replaced Hollis as his vision swirled. Was that his skull? Then it was dark.
Chapter 10
