CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SIX
Reigna leaned her head back against the headrest of the seat. Jasiri sat next to her in the limo, and as always, his faithful adjutant sat to their side reading off an itinerary to Jasiri.
Reigna was mad.
She was beyond mad.
She was stewing in a boiling pot of pisstivity that she wanted to pour over one Crown Prince Jasiri. But she figured threatening death to the almost sovereign of a nation was probably bad form, so she sat back with her eyes closed trying to remember the words to “Children Go Where I Send Thee.”
It was an African American spiritual whose upbeat cadence and group participation meant fun times for noisy kids. Ace used to get her and her cousins to sing it when they were getting too rowdy around the house. It also required you paid attention to keep all the lyrics in the correct order, so it kept their sugar-fueled brains focused for a short time.
Of all her cousins, she was a pro at this. Could sing all the lyrics in the correct order from one to twelve. But she was so damn mad with Jasiri’s I’m-secret-royalty BS and how he’d lied to get her here that she couldn’t remember who was born in Bethlehem: Paul, Silas, or the little bitty baby.
“Your Highness,” she heard Sherard’s voice break through her mental notation of mixed-up Negro Spiritual lyrics in her head. “Is the princess, okay?”
She didn’t respond even though a sour What do you think? was springboarding off the tip of her tongue.
“It’s a lot to take in, Sherard. But she’ll be fine.”
She’ll be fine as soon as she gets you behind closed doors and can wring your royal neck.
The car stopped, and she heard the door open and Sherard shuffle outside of the car before the door closed again.
“Are you going to stay in here and sulk?”
“Sulking is the least destructive thing I could do right now. You might want to leave me to it. Wouldn’t want your new wife to cause a royal scandal.”
She kept her eyes closed, but she could hear the small chuckle Jasiri let slide into the air. A memory of the full robust laughter he’d gifted her with when they were curled up inside her apartment or in one of the many hotel rooms around the world they’d shared made her rigid muscles want to relax and melt into the supple car cushions.
“Reigna, I’ve already told you what’s at stake here. I need you to play the role of a woman in love with her prince. We have to sell this if I’m to get the backing of my father’s ministry council.”
“How long are you gonna use that fate-of-the-country spiel as an excuse for being an asshole?”
He chuckled again before letting his thick thigh gently touch hers.
“Reigna, I think we both know I was an asshole long before this accession thing became an issue.”
He was not wrong.
Jasiri walked into a room knowing who he was. He knew it now as he sat next to her sucking up all the air with his polished sexiness that made you admire and hate him all at the same time. He’d known it then when he’d burrowed himself under her skin in less time than it took to drink a hot cup of a Brooklyn bodega’s coffee.
Reigna’s mind traveled back to the first time she’d laid eyes on him. He was sitting in Ace’s office at Devereaux Inc., laughing with her great-uncle about something too innocuous to remember now. But what she recalled with perfect clarity was the moment he’d stood and greeted her. He was tall, broadly built, with rich dark skin that made her fingers twitch as she fought the urge to reach out and stroke it.
Jasiri had taken one look at her, given her his assured, cocky smile, and they’d both known he had her soul and he’d have her body shortly thereafter.
He’d asked her to walk him to the exit when he was finished meeting with Ace, and before he’d stepped onto the street he’d said, “You and I are going to enjoy our time together.”
“Our time together?” She’d looked back toward the way they’d come. “As far as I know, our time together began and ended in the five minutes it took to walk from Ace’s office to the front door of this building.”
He’d pushed his hands in his pockets, hitching the corner of his mouth into a wry smile.
“Fierce and unafraid to speak your mind. I like it.”
She’d shrugged, placing her hands on her hips to give him her I-am-not-to-be-played-with glare.
“Not really concerned with whether you like my attitude or not. I don’t know you, and after five minutes in your presence, I don’t really see a reason to get to know you.”
He’d stroked his chin and glanced up into the sky, as if he’d needed to draw his answers from it. But they both knew it was a ruse. Everything about Jasiri, even then, had spoken of the certainty he had in himself.
“Here’s the only reason you need.”
He had stepped closer to her, taking her hand into his and holding it as if she was delicate and fragile, something to be treasured.
“A self-possessed woman like you needs a man with a purpose. A man who understands his place and power in the world. Anyone else you’ll walk like a dog on a leash, and that kind of subservience will never satisfy someone like you who’s always seeking to conquer new things, new people, and the world.”
His arrogance had rolled off him in waves. That should’ve been the clue she’d needed to run far, far away. But instead of running, her natural competitiveness and her uncontrollable need to check anyone who crossed her had got the better of her, and even though his asshole-ish ways shone through, she’d found herself in his company and in his bed only a handful of days later.
The worst of it was the pretty jackass knew the power he wielded, and he made no bones about using it to his advantage. That’s exactly what was happening now.
She knew exactly what he was doing. It was obvious. He was trying to get on her good side to get her to do what he wanted. He wasn’t even trying to hide how obvious he was being. Except somehow, she could feel the armor of her anger chink just a little, and her laughter tried to squeeze through the weakness in the wall she was trying to build between them.
“Yes,” she finally agreed, opening one eyelid to peer up at him. “You are an asshole.”
“See?” He shifted in his seat, turning his big body so he fully faced her and that bright and dazzling smile of his beamed down on her like a celestial glow. “We’re getting along so much better already.”
Nope. She was not letting him charm his way out of this. Not with how he’d played her.
“I don’t like being jerked around, Jasiri. Manipulating me into agreeing to marry you when you knew what was waiting for me here was a foul move. I don’t know anything about being a royal, let alone the spouse of a monarch. If us pulling this off is as important as you say, how could you think this was a good idea?”
He was quiet long enough that she opened her other eye to get the full view of him. He was still there, still wearing the dark, tailored suit that he’d worn that morning at their wedding. The arresting way it hugged his muscles made him a captivating figure then. Seated here in the dark cabin of a limousine, he was no less commanding, no less…desirable.
“Reigna, you may not be royal by blood, but you’re the most regal woman I know. My mother will teach you how to be a queen. Nevertheless, the style and grace you possess can’t be taught. It’s something you’re born with. I’ve always known that about you.”
She swallowed. Her throat dry and tight, making the forming of simple words impossible as she stared back at this man whose body and personality took up so much space next to her that she was beginning to feel claustrophobic.
This was the real Jasiri, crown prince of a nation.
How had she missed it?
Looking at him now, it made so much sense. His natural assurance, the way he always knew he was in control of a room and his surroundings, she’d thought it was just his success as a diplomat that made him so confident. Now, she realized it wasn’t everyday confidence. No, he was majestic. He’d been raised since birth to wield his power. Now it was innate, just as natural to him as breathing.
Get a grip, woman. He’s the enemy now, remember?
“You really think your mother can teach me to be a queen?”
She expected his smile to broaden, for him to toss some offhanded joke about her lack of preparedness for this wild journey he was about to take her on. His eyes pinned her against the cushions and kept her total focus on him.
“She taught my father to be a king,” he answered. His voice was filled with reverence for both his parents, and it warmed her to think of what kind of parents they must’ve been to engender this type of loyalty and adoration from their son. In just the way he spoke of them, she knew they’d had to be in another league of parenting than her own. “From the way I’ve watched you run Gemini Queens, you’re ten times the leader he was when he first sat on the throne. I think she’ll have a much better time with you as her student.”
The silence that filled the car was thick and heavy with anticipation as he waited to see if she’d bolt, and she waited to see if he was going to push her past her breaking point. This was part of who they were, who they always had been when they were together. This edging thing where they pushed until the other grew beyond their own expectations, their own capabilities had been both bliss and heartache. Now, here they were again, doing the same.
Before, he’d pushed her until she felt backed into a corner like a wild animal and her only recourse was to come out swinging. She pulled her gaze away from him and looked out at the sprawling castle that sat atop a hill providing the perfect view of the rest of the nation. She closed her eyes, taking a slow deep breath. What would happen now if they pushed each other beyond their breaking point again? There was so much more at stake today than their broken hearts. If they couldn’t figure this out, a man’s health and a nation’s sovereignty hung in the balance.
“Is your faith in your mother’s king-making abilities just the overblown adoration of a son, or do you really think she can get me up to speed so we can fool whoever we need to fool?”
His eyes sparked with the same mirth she’d seen when they’d traded barb for barb in one of their teasing sessions of old.
“Oh, I adore my mother. As the former general of the King’s Guard, I have a healthy dose of fear where she’s concerned too. I’ve seen that woman cut a hardened military man down with the slant of her eye. Respect her power and be open to listening, and I have no doubt she’ll make you the greatest queen Nyeusi has ever seen.”
His hard and sharp gaze narrowed on her. It should’ve made her uncomfortable the way he was looking at her. He wasn’t just seeing her, he was seeing through to her, to the possibility of her greatness. And damn if that wasn’t just about the sexiest thing she’d ever seen in a man’s eye, his absolute belief that she could be and do anything she set her mind to.
It was intoxicating the amount of belief he had in her. It was also terrifying. His firm and unwavering confidence that she could accomplish anything had been one of the most alluring things about Jasiri. It had assured her falling for him more than his charm and good looks had. That thought made a quiver of concern spread through her.
Never again, Reigna. Don’t let him lure you down a path you know can only lead to heartache. You know what love gone bad looks like between your parents and between you and Jasiri.
“Ultimately,” he continued, drawing her out of her thoughts. “There’s one other reason she’ll do her best to make sure you can handle your role.”
She narrowed her gaze, giving him the unspoken What’s that? he was waiting for to continue.
“From a mother’s perspective, you’re the woman who adores her only son. For that, Aziza, daughter of Nuru, would trade her weight in gold to make sure you had all that you needed to fulfill your duties as consort to the new king.”
She understood what he was saying. His parents or, at the very least, his mother didn’t know this marriage was fake. She also read the underlying subtext that she could never enlighten them about the truth of their nuptials either.
“Trust me, Reigna.” His easy smile returned, breaking up the tension in the small space and making it easier for her to relax for a bit. “You are far beyond any expectation that my mother could have for a daughter-in-law. You are your own woman separate from me, and from everything I know about you, you won’t give a damn about life at court. To my mother, a hard-nosed military person, that personality quirk will go a long way in gaining her favor.”
Reigna quelled the doubt gathering behind her closed lips. If Jasiri’s mother was as astute and perceptive as he said, the woman would no doubt pick up on Reigna’s distrust of Aziza’s son. Because no matter how nice Jasiri appeared in this moment, he was still the man who had walked away from her without a word, never giving her a chance to explain why she’d turned down his proposal. He was also the man who had said and done anything he had to in order to get Reigna exactly where she was. Reigna wasn’t sure if she was a good enough actress to make it seem like none of those things mattered.
They mattered a lot.
Grasping at the idea, she grabbed her purse sitting beside her to signal she was ready to step into her new role, no matter how ill-prepared she felt for it. It wouldn’t be the first time she owned a role that hadn’t been created for her. Gemini Queens Cosmetics thrived because of her leadership and the ingenuity of her brilliant sister. Like Jasiri had said, this was just a different arena.
“You can do this, Reigna,” he promised as he tapped on the door alerting the driver standing at the ready to open it.
“I’ll hold you to that, Your Highness.”