Page 15 of Vows to a King
He didn’t look remotely mollified by her obvious and pathetic attempt to make up for her words. Neither did he shove the ring onto her finger with tasteless hurry or distasteful apathy. Even in his anger, Adonis Vasilikos remained in utter control.
He slid the ring onto her finger with extreme care, as if the moment was precious and…real.
And suddenly, Jemima realized that for him, it was real. That it was his greatest duty and commitment to Thalassos, and therefore automatically extended to her.
Because while she had made arrogant claims about it, he truly saw this as an equal partnership between them, if nothing else.
* * *
Adonis wasn’t sure why he was fuming with anger and some darker emotion that he couldn’t even pin down as he stormed back into the summit room.
His betrothed was apparently both practical and cynical, which only increased her value as a perfect candidate for the role of his wife. She demanded nothing from him, even as she gazed at him with a hunger he recognized within himself. And more than just a carnal one too.
Knowing her father’s reputation for cruelty and his exacting demands of her over the years—the extent of which Mama had revealed to him only last night—meant this morning, he could see the same shadows of self-doubt and distrust mirrored in her wide amber eyes. Even in that, she was a perfect match for him, for he had lived with the same for years. Neither did she want the performative pretensions to love.
Mistakenly, he had assumed that it would make them grounded partners who could have a real marriage with trust and respect and fidelity, who could focus on the well-being of their children and that of Thalassos.
Instead, her utter lack of belief in him before they had even gotten started, grated like a thorn stuck under his skin. Like the wound that had continued to fester for years.
It was the same casual distrust that his father had shown him for nearly three decades, eroding his self-confidence from within like some great disease. Until he had realized that he was his father’s shame, a weapon used by Mama in her own rebellion against him. The harm had been done by the time she had realized that.
Now, the last thing he wanted was another relationship where he constantly had to prove himself or was measured against Adamos. But for all his threats to her, it was too late to find another candidate, as much as he itched to do so.
And the fact was that no other woman would do as well as Jemima Nasar. His talk with Mama last night had confirmed his own instincts.
Jemima’s refusal to committing to making their marriage a half-decent thing was one thing. That he had made her the offer was in itself a shock.
Not once in his life had he considered marriage before last night. But, apparently now that he’d agreed to enter the institution, a part of him wanted stability he hadn’t known as a child for his own children, a solid foundation from which to rule Thalassos.
Her blatant honesty had appealed to him so much that he had realized he wanted something as close to a true partner as he could achieve.
Then there was the attraction between them. Something about Jemima Nasar had always provoked fiery desire in him.
Contrary to how the media painted him and that he allowed—to build his reputation as a daredevil—he didn’t go around sleeping with every available woman.
At least not in the last decade, when he had stepped away from the toxic cloud of his father’s presence. If it wasn’t the imaginary crown on his head that drew women—especially of the shallow, superficial variety—it was the genetic lottery he had won.
The fact that women were drawn to the specific arrangement of his features—the very same his father had passed on but hated looking upon—had nothing to do with who he was beneath.
It worked fine when he had mistaken lust and covetousness for approval and affection and nearly drowned himself in it. But now, he knew better. And he had to admit, he wanted better for himself. He wanted a fulfilling life that challenged him to be a better man and a good king, and he wanted it with a family.
For months, he had been aware of his growing restlessness, of falling into a rut, that even chasing the most dangerous high couldn’t cure him of. For the first few moments when he’d heard of Adamos’s accident, he’d felt an overwhelming relief, because it meant he could return home under the pretext of caring for his brother.
He had missed his brother and mother, and even though it galled him to admit it, Thalassos itself. Without his family around him, he had felt…alone.
As hollow as the halls felt without the commanding presence of his brother, the challenge of ruling Thalassos with a capable, strong woman like Jemima by his side…last night, it had felt like destiny. Like the very fate he had been trying to outrun for so long. Like, finally, he could spin some kind of meaning out of his life.
Maybe he was a fool to think that it could be a real marriage based on trust and respect. Maybe she was right to question him about his commitment to her, because, when had he truly devoted himself to anything before? Maybe he was what his father had always called him…
A crow in the cuckoo’s nest, a man who would never be his brother’s equal, or good enough—smart enough or strong enough—to take on the mantle of Thalassos in any way.
And yet, the duty had come to him. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at fate for giving him what he’d always wished for, but in the worst way possible.
“As pleased as I am to serve the royal family and Thalassos in every capacity, I am disturbed by this…inappropriate conduct in public, Your Highness.” A deep voice disturbed the fraught silence. “Am I to assume that you’ve decided to take pity on my daughter after the grievous loss of your brother?”
Adonis looked up to find Aziz Nasar staring up at him with that oily smile on his lips. All the members of the crown council watched him and Jemima with the same expressions, following the top dog. He sensed Jemima’s presence behind him and moved a step back so that she stood by him. Whatever their personal differences and his anger with her at her supposition of his character, he knew that she was his one true ally. And neither did he forget that he had made her the target of her father’s ire by declaring their…association so publicly.
Adonis clasped Jemima’s hand in his and felt her stiffen. Donning a completely besotted smile, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. She trembled from head to toe, and this, he knew, was her honest reaction to him. The hungry beast in him calmed.
