My heart is still warm as we leave my mother’s suite. The moment the doors close behind us, I grab Justine and pull her into my arms, dropping my face to hers. She returns my kiss, her arms wrapping around my waist.

The taste of her is pure bliss. I hear a growl build in my throat, and before I know it, I’ve pushed her up against the wall, wanting to inhale the very essence of her. Her body is soft and warm against me, and her hands cling to me as if she never wants to let me go. I don’t intend to let her go, either.

After a moment, though, she pushes gently against me.

“I need to go speak to my father,” she says breathlessly. “And find out what my brother is doing here. If I recall, you also have a date with your brother and his fiancée.”

“I do,” I say, brushing my nose against hers. “But I’d much rather spend all day with you.”

Her smiles widens. “Me too. But the sooner we get all of this settled, the sooner we can work on being a proper husband and wife.”

Hearing those words on her lips makes my chest swell. Husband and wife. For real, this time.

“Go on, then,” I say. “Before I lose all control and have you right up against this wall.”

She laughs and playfully bats my hand away. “Keep that hunger, Your Highness. I plan on taking full advantage of it later.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Princess. It will only grow while we’re apart.”

The smile she gives me lights up my entire being. I watch her walk away from me, and when she reaches the corner, she glances over her shoulder with a look that makes my cock throb in my pants.

That woman is going to be the death of me. And I’m going to relish every single moment of it.

Grinning, I make my way to the courtyard to meet Andrew and Victoria. They wish to show me some of the projects they have planned for the capital city—and to take me to my favorite restaurant in town for lunch. They’re already there waiting for me when I arrive. Victoria smiles when she sees me, but Andrew gives me one of his usual stern, worried looks.

“Hello,” I say cheerfully. “How are you both this beautiful morning?”

Andrew blinks in surprise, but Victoria’s face only brightens.

“Someone’s in a good mood today,” she says. “I take it you and Justine made up?”

“Something like that,” I reply. I turn to my brother. “Why so glum, Andrew?”

He straightens. “I’m happy to hear that you and your wife have reconciled,” he says. “That might keep things civil around here. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Reginald arrived this morning.”

My grin drops only a little. “I heard. But I’d like to forget about the bastard for a few hours, at least.”

“Good luck with that,” comes a voice from behind us.

I turn, my stomach dropping. Reginald is coming down the stairs, the usual smirk on his face. Just the sight of him makes my hands curl into fists, but I resist the automatic—and perfectly natural—urge to punch that look right off his face.

“Having fun without me?” he says when he reaches the bottom of the stairs. “Where are your manners? Isn’t it your job to make sure your guest is entertained?”

“We assumed you were recovering from your journey,” I say without missing a beat. “I know how taxing it must be, mooching off your richer neighbors.”

Rage flashes across Reginald’s face, but he quickly suppresses it. “You’re one to talk—when was the last time you did any real work, William? At least Andrew participates in his country’s governing—”

“I spent two weeks helping rebuild the bridge in your capital city,” I remind him. “I don’t recall seeing you out there, helping your people. Hell, I’d be surprised if you could even lift one of those beams—you’d probably be too afraid of getting a blister to even try.”

Reginald’s expression twists in anger again, but before I can throw another barb, I feel a hand on my arm—Andrew. I know my brother hates Reginald as much as I do, but he gives me another stern look before turning back to our archenemy.

“We welcome you to Montovia, Reginald,” Andrew says, his voice emotionless and even. “I hope your stay here is pleasant. If you need anything, please ask a member of the palace staff—they’re happy to assist any of our guests. In the meantime, we have some work to do in the city. If you’ll excuse us.”

We turn to go, but Reginald calls after us. “William, be sure to tell that whore of a sister of mine that she’s thrown her last tantrum. I told Father that marrying her to one of you Montovian beasts would only make her more of an embarrassment, but he didn’t listen.”

I could hold back my temper when Reginald was only insulting me. Even when he was insulting Montovia or my family—the bad blood between our families is nothing new, and we’ve certainly thrown our fair share of jabs at Rosvalia. But insulting Justine, his sister…my wife…

I tear myself out of Andrew’s grip. Dimly, as if from far away, I’m aware of him calling my name—and Victoria, too—but I ignore it. Rage has completely taken over.

How dare he say such things? How dare he continue to abuse and insult his own sister, who’s done nothing to deserve such vile words?

Reginald must see the intention in my face, because his eyes widen. He turns, starts to run, but I’m already on him, grabbing him by the collar and throwing my fist at his face.

The next few minutes feel like a moment frozen in time—and at the same time, like they go by in a flash. Reginald punches me in the stomach, and I return a jab to his ribs. We’re on the ground, throwing fists and elbows, grabbing and kicking. My body hardly registers the pain of his hits.

“How dare you talk about Justine that way!” I hear myself shout. “Your own sister!”

“That whore will get what she deserves!” Reginald growls back. “Just like the last time!”

There are hands pulling at me—probably Andrew’s, but I ignore them as Reginald’s fist hits me in the side.

“We’re onto you, you bastard,” I say to Reginald, taking another swing at him. “You and your father! We’re not going to let you get away with it!”

There are more hands on me now, pulling me away. The Royal Guard has appeared, and it takes six of them to get me off of Reginald.

“You’re not going to get away with this!” I shout again as they drag me away.

There are just as many members of the Royal Guard on Reginald as there are on me. Reginald’s lip is split, and the side of his face is swelling up. I’m sure I look no better.

“Calm yourself, Brother,” Andrew tells me. “Don’t make this worse than it already is.”

“How can you stand by and do nothing?” I demand. “If you knew what he has planned—”

“Enough,” my brother says. His eyes are hard as he stares me down. “Don’t make me drag you before father.”

Reluctantly, I stop struggling against the guards holding me. After a moment, they release me. Looking over Andrew’s shoulder, I see that Reginald is being led inside.

Andrew says a few quiet words to the Royal Guards next to us, and they nod and retreat. When they’re a fair distance away, Andrew turns back to me.

“You should have let me kill him,” I grumble, still fuming. “It would’ve saved both our countries a lot of pain.”

Andrew’s gaze bores into me, and for a moment, he looks just like our father. It startles the fight right out of me.

“I understand why you responded the way you did to what he said about Justine,” he says in a measured voice. “Trust me, I know all too well.” His eyes flick to Victoria, then back to me. “But I think this is about something more than that. You said you weren’t going to let Reginald and his father ‘get away with it’. What exactly were you referring to?”

With a start, I realize that in my anger I revealed a lot more than I intended to. Glancing between my brother and Victoria—who looks as worried as I’ve ever seen her—I shake my head. I honestly don’t know much of anything about what King Maximilian and Reginald have planned.

“I was just upset,” I say.

“No, I think you know something,” Andrew says, his eyes hard. “And you’re going to tell us exactly what.”