Carrying the King's Pride(33)

She and Nik circulated. They sought out her mother and Benetio first, who had arrived that afternoon. Sofía had never seen her mother so radiant and happy. It was bittersweet to watch with the turmoil going on inside of her. With how far apart they were emotionally. Her mother had never been able to give, only take. And yet, watching her with Benetio, their relationship looked reciprocal. Her fiancé had managed to draw her mother out of herself, something she had never been able to do.

But maybe someday that would change, she told herself, kissing Benetio on the cheek and hugging her mother. Maybe Nik was right. Maybe this was a time for renewal.

“It’s all so exciting,” her mother exclaimed, looking up at Sofía’s fiancé. “A real king. How lucky is my daughter?”

A smile tugged at Nik’s mouth. “She says that all the time. She just said it to me earlier actually. How fortunate she was to have met me.”

“So true,” Sofía drawled. “I could spend all day detailing your attributes. They are so...compelling.”

Nik looked only more amused. Her mother rattled on about her own wedding plans until they were forced to move on, promising to find them later.

“Perhaps you’ll catch some of your mother’s enthusiasm for the wedding planning,” Nik murmured as he guided her toward the next group, which he’d informed her included the devil himself, Aristos Nicolades.

“Perhaps I would,” she conceded, “if I didn’t have a million and one protocols to follow.”

“Which are what the wedding planner is for.” He pressed a palm to her back as the loosely arranged grouping that was their target parted to admit them. A tall, extremely well-built male who looked to be in his early thirties stepped forward. “Your Highness.”

His designer dark stubble and piercing, black-as-sin eyes were a bit breathtaking. The dangerous, edgy vibe the stranger exuded suggested this might be Aristos Nicolades.

Nik stepped forward to shake his hand. “Aristos Nicolades, meet my fiancée, Sofía Ramirez.”

Aristos’s eyes moved over her in an appreciative slide that somehow managed to be proper and not so proper all at the same time. Instead of shaking the hand she offered, he brought it to his mouth, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. Nik stiffened beside her at the lapse in propriety.

“The king is a lucky man,” Aristos murmured. “Congratulations.”

As beautiful as he was, as fascinating as his predatory vibe undoubtedly manifested itself for just about any woman on the planet, Aristos’s touch generated none of the electricity she felt when Nik put his hands on her. The magnetic realization that she had been wired for him and him alone.

The thought was more than a little disconcerting.

She retrieved her hand. “So lovely to meet you, Mr. Nicolades, after hearing so much about you.”

Aristos’s mouth curved. “I can imagine the king’s opinion of me could prove quite fascinating. You must enlighten me.”

Nik’s fingers tightened around her elbow. “I am looking forward to us being on the same side, Nicolades. It should prove refreshing.”

“Undoubtedly.”

Nik flicked a glance over the group. “You came with someone?”

Aristos nodded toward a tall blonde immersed in conversation with another woman. “No need to introduce. It’s dying a slow death.”

Nik’s mouth twisted. Sofía absorbed the nonchalant look on Aristos’s face, then glanced over at the vivacious-looking, stunningly beautiful blonde, a response tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop it. “Does she know that yet?”

Aristos lifted a shoulder. “Considering the blowout we had before we came, I am fairly sure she does.”

Sofía blinked. Regarded Nik’s lethal rival as the two men embarked on a conversation about meeting the next week. “He’s outrageous,” she murmured to Nik when he wrapped the conversation and propelled her forward into the crowd. “Poor woman.”

He guided her through a traffic jam. “His women are well aware of the score. I’m sure she’s cognizant of the fact her expiration date is almost up.”

“As was mine until the unexpected happened.”

Nik leaned down and brought his mouth to her ear. “You know you and I were more complex than Aristos’s careless liaisons. I hardly think they can be put in the same category.”

Complex? What did that even mean? That the desire they’d had for each other had simply been more consuming than most? That it had been harder to walk away? What would happen when Nik’s lust for her died? Would his attitude be just as apathetic and cynical as Aristos’s? After all, they seemed to be two birds of a feather when it came to women despite what Nik said.