Page 106 of What Fury Brings
Olerra rose and grabbed her clothing off the floor. She needed to get away from him and calm down. He was too much of a delicious sight, naked and hard before her.
“Good night, Prince. I will see you tomorrow. There is nothing bad between us. Not on my end.”
He still wouldn’t look at her. Even as he nodded.
She let herself into her room and replayed every magical moment until she fell asleep.
22
Sanos felt like an idiot.
No, scratch that. Hewasan idiot.
Keeping his identity hidden had been crucial to his survival, but he didn’t have an excuse now. He should tell her.
Sanos, he would say.My name is Sanos.
How did he think this would work? That he would simply continue to pretend as their romance progressed. It was him she wanted, not his damned brother. She just had the wrong name.
And when she’d called out his brother’s name right before he was about to take her, it’d been more effective than a bucket of ice water. He could not,would not, bed her as she called out another man’s name. He wanted her to sayhisname. He wanted to hear it fall from her lips more than he wanted anything else.
But what would happen once he revealed the truth?
She couldn’t have him, a crown prince. He was too politically important to Brutus. And she couldn’t come with him to Brutus. He wouldneverlet her live in the same castle as his father. Not that it mattered. Olerra needed to remain in Amarra to become queen.
And to do that, she needed a husband. Would she ransom him for his brother? His father would make the trade. Of course he would. Atalius wanted his heir, the one he’d groomed since childhood to be just like him. He would hand Andrastus over in a heartbeat.
What kind of brother would Sanos be if he allowed that to happen?
Who the fuck was he kidding? It had nothing to do with letting his brother take his place and everything to do with the thought of Olerra bedding his brother.
She can’t. She’s mine.
But she wasn’t, and she could never be unless she knew who he was.
It was a problem with no solution. No matter what he did, he lost.
The only thing he could do, the only thing he would do, was help her win her throne. He’d tell her once she was named crown princess. Hopefully his father didn’t find out where he was before then.
So he would wait. He would tell her before anything drastic happened. But the best thing for her right now would be to get that vote from the nobility. He wouldn’t let anything stop her from getting what she wanted most.
When Olerra entered Andrastus’s room the next morning, she was beaming. Her guards outside the harem rooms reported seeing nothing in the night.
“You didn’t try to escape,” she said.
“As if I would have made it farther than I had last time.”
“You like it here, admit it.”
“I likeyou,” he corrected. “I tolerate everything else.”
“We’ll make changes,” she promised him. “The moment I’m named heir, I will speak to my aunt about making things better for you. For the other men who wish it. Whatever you want, we can discuss it. Together, we can make this place good for everyone.”
He looked at her so fondly. His hair was mussed from sleep, and she could smell the delicious scent that was just him coming from the bed.
“May I kiss you good morning?” she asked.
His face visibly relaxed, as though he might have been worried what the state of things between them would be. “Always.”
