Kade very quietly slapped his hand to his forehead. His brother thought he knew Piper because he’d talked to her over the internet? He was wrong. He might know the business side of Piper, but he had no idea how sweet and hot the woman was. And how stubborn she could be. Kade had thought about her all night. Piper wasn’t just going to let them walk all over her. She would fight for herself.
He wanted her. That was easy. Resisting was getting tougher every hour because he was learning to admire her. Even as she’d tossed him out of her bedroom last night, his dick had been hard, while his heart was getting soft. The last several days had been spent completely focused on Piper. He’d learned that she was quite smart and filled with resolve. She challenged him. Kade liked to be the playboy. His older brothers took care of the kingdom. They didn’t need him, but Piper made him think he needed to take charge of something.
“I like this woman. I don’t want her to be grateful,” Kade said, aware his voice was more somber than usual. “I am grateful to her. I’ll go along with this whole tradition thing, but I don’t want her hurt.”
Tal groaned a little, the sound coming over the speakers. “How will she be hurt? This is a woman married to her job. We will give her that and more. She will have a family and a high-powered career. She will like being prized for her amazing brain. That woman knows more about the economics of energy than anyone I have spoken to. She has ideas that could change the way the world works. Trust me, when she realizes the power she wields, she won’t care that we misrepresented ourselves a bit.”
Rafe’s eyes rolled. “I begin to doubt that. There is a quiet strength to her. I worry a deception could wound her pride.”
“If we play this in anything but a traditional fashion, we leave ourselves open to Khalil challenging us in court.” Tal’s words dropped like a lodestone. “I know this seems archaic and barbaric and we should just negotiate with her, but the taking of a captive bride is our tradition and our law. Someday, we may find a way to refine it and bring it into the present century, but I’ve been more worried about our economy than our legal processes.”
Kade couldn’t disagree, but…
“Had we settled on a wealthy bride, she would have been prepared. Our marriage practices have been debated for decades.” Rafe settled back in his chair. “Unfortunately, Piper knows nothing of our world. She could care less about pop culture. It will be up to us to wrap her in pleasure and affection so she does not wish to leave.”
A long sigh came over the line. “She won’t leave. I know what I’m doing. Just bring her here. I grow tired of waiting.”
The line died. Kade leaned forward, so much falling into place. “He’s never really seen her. He thinks she looks like that sad little photo on her driver’s license. He truly believes he can bring her in, marry her, and then work with her like she’s some sort of co-worker he won’t have any emotional connection to. And that she will be so grateful, she won’t care.”
Rafe sat back in his chair, a weary look on his face. “You had not yet figured that out? I knew it the minute I realized who she was. She is beautiful, but does not possess the sort of beauty that shows up in a photograph. It’s in her spirit, her smile, the way she moves. He has no idea what Piper is really like.”
“What if she runs?” Kade couldn’t stand the thought, but he would not bury his head in the sand. Anything was possible. Tal was right. They should have challenged the law long before now but many other pressing matters had taken precedence, and marriage had seemed a distant thing. And then Tal had been taken, upending their world. That week when the rebels held him had changed all their lives. Talib had left a happy, optimistic young royal, and he’d returned a cold, distant man. They’d all been merely existing since.
Now they had to deal with the real possibility that they could lose the crown—something their family had held for centuries.
They needed Piper for more reasons than simply holding on to their birthright. But perhaps Tal needed her most of all.
“It will be all right, Kadir.” Rafe stood, straightening his suit. “We will convince her. But you and I must do it. Talib is no longer capable of truly loving a woman.”
That so wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “He’s not dead inside. I know he isn’t.”
“I hope not. But we have to take care of her. I cannot allow Talib’s cold heart to scar her. I care about her. I think I can love her. What happened last night nearly ripped me apart. We will manage this fucking travesty of a handfasting. Then she will be ours. We will give her every reason to stay. Are you in or out?”