Their Virgin Concubine(81)

Rafe chuckled. “That can wait. You need to keep the plug in for a while, though Talib will not reap its benefits. Tell me what happened.”

She’d tried. She’d failed. That was what had happened. “I told him I loved him. He made crazy passionate love to me and then he ran away like a chicken. Help me up. I need to get dressed. We have dinner with the US ambassador in two hours.” She gasped. “I can’t do it. I can’t sit with the ambassador while I have a pink piece of plastic up my backside.”

Tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn’t help it.

Kade looked helpless. “You don’t have to. I’ll cancel the dinner. Anything, Piper. Please don’t cry.”

She had to pull it together. No matter what Tal had done, she still had obligations to meet. She wasn’t going to put off a huge state dinner because Tal had been an ass. “No. I can do it. I just need to shower and change.”

Kade leaned over and pulled her into his arms. Without a pause, he stood, nestling her against his chest. “There’s a shower in the back of the dungeon. We’ll take care of you.”

A long look passed between Kade and his brother. Piper didn’t like that look. It was a secret look they shared when they were up to something. She’d grown accustomed to it, but she couldn’t let them have their way this time. It wasn’t a huge leap to figure out they were deciding which one of them would confront Talib. “Stop it. He needs time.”

Rafe shook his head. “He needs a serious ass kicking, Piper. He cannot treat you like this. He will ruin everything!”

Kade eased her toward the back of the room, cuddling her close. “No. He simply won’t be allowed in our bed. But Piper, we can’t marry you on our own.”

“We can if we abdicate the throne, brother.” Rafe’s pronouncement thudded through the dungeon, echoing off the walls.

Kade stopped and turned. “Would you really?”

She had to stop them. She couldn’t let that happen. “No. No, he wouldn’t.”

Rafe stood back, his shoulders set. “I will if we must. I refuse to allow my brother to mistreat our wife. I also don’t intend to separate from her because my brother cannot pull his head from his backside.”

Misery swamped her. She’d pushed Tal. She’d known he was on the edge, and she’d deliberately sought out a piece of him he’d wanted to hide. “I don’t want you to fight with Talib.”

Rafe turned. “Take care of our wife, brother.”

Kade led her back toward the shower. “Relax. Everything is going to be all right. I’ll take care of you. We’ll both get cleaned up, and I’ll make sure you’re ready for the ambassador. I’ll have one of the servants bring you a robe. You’ll look so beautiful.”

“I don’t want to look beautiful, Kadir. I want you to stop Rafe.” She struggled against his hold.

Kade kicked open the door, and sure enough, there was a ridiculously opulent bathroom, complete with a hot tub in the middle. Kade set her on her feet. He crowded her, staring down. “I have no intention of stopping him. This is between brothers, Piper.”

Stubborn. They were all so stubborn. “Am I not a member of this family?”

He didn’t move, simply brushed her forehead with his lips. “You are the very best part of this family, but there will always be things that Rafiq, Talib, and I must work out.”

“I shouldn’t be one of those things.”

His fingers sank into her hair, tugging back lightly. “I told you. You’re the most important person in my life, in Rafe’s life. If it’s not the same with Tal, then perhaps it’s time to move on. He still has a few months. He can find a cold bride to accept his bargain. He can have the kingdom. I want you.”

But a cold bride and a stale bargain wasn’t what Tal wanted. God, was she the only one who could see it? He could have had his bargain at any time, but he’d chosen her, a woman he’d spent months getting to know. Maybe he’d thought he could simply be friends with her at first, but it was so brutally obvious to her that he’d changed or he would still be the polite man she’d known online. Somewhere in that thick skull of his, he wanted more than a cool friendship.

Would time change Tal? Or was he too damaged for anyone to truly touch him? Could she remain married to a man who would only allow himself to view her as a state asset? How could she have children with him? Little babies who he would never allow himself to truly love.

“Hush.” He kissed her again, this time on the tip of her nose. “I told you, it’s going to be all right. I’m going to take care of you. But Piper, if Talib will not be swayed in this, you should know Rafe and I will leave the palace with nothing if we must.” His voice got quiet. “We will have no money, but, habibti, you have to believe that we will take care of you.”