Page 100 of A Crown Without Mercy

Feeling too nervous to strike up a casual conversation, she looked down at their feet and then at Riordan. “I believe we forgot to take our shoes off.”

“I think we’ll live.” He winked.

“Can I be honest with you?” she asked.

“I expect nothing less,” he replied.

“I’m afraid I’m making a rash decision,” she admitted.

“What can I do to put your mind at ease?”

“I’m not sure?” she replied.

“You have brought up our reputations frequently and I can assure you there will never be another and we would do nothing to dishonor you.” He waited momentarily and when she didn’t reply, he pulled her thoughts. “You are worried about those we have bedded?”

She looked up at him and furrowed her brow. “I will stop you from listening.”

“Never.” He smiled.

“How many?” she asked.

“What does it matter?”

“It matters to me, Riordan. How many of the ladies of court will I have to contend with, knowing they have been with you and your brothers intimately? I should at least have a heads up after what happened earlier.”

“If it would make you feel at ease, I have no problem dismissing them from court.”

“How many, Riordan?”

“We would lose half the court,” he joked.

Sylvana’s eyes widened, her face froze, and she didn’t know how to reply.

He chuckled and squeezed her thigh. “I’m joking, Sylvana. We have never bedded the ladies of our own court, for many reasons. The altercation that took place earlier is a prime example of why we don’t.”

Sylvana let out a sigh of relief. “Good to know. I’d hate to run into a bunch of scorned lovers.”

Riordan chuckled, placed his hand on her neck, and stroked it with his fingers. “May I ask you a question?”

“Yes.”

“Nicolai and Kieran said you have only been with one other. Is it true?”

Instead of reciprocating his gaze, she looked down at her glass. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Who was it?”

She looked up at him, not expecting his bluntness. Although, if she were being honest with herself, she was not the least bit surprised. “What does it matter?” She asked, doing her best to not let his name cross her mind.

“It matters to us,” he replied as he pulled his boots off.

“I—I mean, I don’t want to betray him.”

He picked up one of her legs at a time and removed her shoes. “Sylvana, we are about to be mated. There has to be trust amongst us.”

“What are you going to do if I reveal his name?”

“Nothing, unless he gives us a reason.”

---