The Rival’s Temptation

Chapter Five

“Tell me, my king… when another woman spreads her legs for you, will you still remember the way I moan your name?”

Liana’s words were poison and silk both, spilling into the quiet of Kael’s chambers that night. She lay sprawled across the golden sheets, her red gown undone halfway down her body, her hair a dark river against the pillows.

Kael stood at the edge of the bed, still dressed from the council banquet, his black silk shirt open to reveal the ridges of his chest. His golden eyes burned with hunger and fury. “You dare ask me such a thing?”

Her lips curled. “I do more than dare. I demand to know.”

His jaw clenched, his hands flexing at his sides. For a moment she thought he might storm to her, rip the gown the rest of the way off, and bury her in the kind of possession that left no room for words. But he did not move. His stillness was sharper than violence.

And then, as if summoned by her accusation, the door opened without a knock.

Lady Serenya swept inside, the same noblewoman who had dared interrupt them in the council chamber. Tonight her gown was emerald silk cut scandalously low, the jewels at her throat catching the torchlight. She carried herself with the ease of a woman who knew her beauty was a weapon.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” she purred, though her gaze clung to Kael with shameless hunger. “I could not sleep. I thought perhaps my king might enjoy company before the night grows long.”

Liana sat upright, her blood boiling. The gall of this woman. The arrogance.

Kael’s head turned slowly toward Serenya, his expression unreadable. “You trespass in my chambers without permission.”

Serenya lowered herself into a curtsy, but her smile never wavered. “Forgive me. My loyalty to the crown is such that I would give anything—my counsel, my body, my devotion—to ease your burdens.”

Her words dripped like honey, but Liana tasted venom in every syllable.

She rose from the bed, pulling her gown around her body though it still bared more than it concealed. She stepped between Kael and Serenya, her chin high. “The king’s burdens are not for you to ease. Leave before your tongue damns you.”

Serenya’s gaze slid over her with open disdain. “And who are you to command me, village girl? You are new here. A plaything draped in silk. Do not mistake the king’s temporary obsession for true power.”

The insult stung, sharp and cruel. Liana’s nails dug into her palms, but she forced herself to smile. “Obsession, you say? Then why is it your body aches for what is mine?”

Kael’s eyes glittered with amusement, though he said nothing. He was watching. Waiting. Testing.

Serenya straightened, her shoulders squared. “A king is not owned by one woman. He may take as many as he pleases. If he desires me, you will watch as he does.”

The air thickened, electric with challenge.

Liana turned her head, meeting Kael’s gaze. “Is that true, Kael? Will you take her? Will you let another woman claw at your skin while your bride watches?”

His lips curved into a slow, dangerous smirk. He stepped closer, circling them both like a predator choosing which prey to devour first. “Perhaps I should. Perhaps it would teach you both your places.”

Serenya’s breath quickened, her chest rising and falling. She wanted him. She would gladly bare herself before them both if it meant even one taste of his lips.

Liana’s heart thundered, but she forced her voice steady. “If you take her, you will prove she was right. That I am only a plaything. But if you send her away, you will prove I am your queen.”

Kael stopped between them, his golden gaze shifting from one woman to the other. He let the silence stretch, cruel and heavy.

Then, without warning, he seized Liana’s chin, forcing her lips up to his. He kissed her with brutal hunger, his tongue claiming her mouth so savagely that Serenya gasped aloud. His hand tangled in Liana’s hair, pulling until she moaned, the sound echoing against the chamber walls.

When he finally pulled back, his lips glistened, his voice low and merciless. “Do you see, Serenya? This is mine. Not yours. Not ever.”

Serenya’s face blanched, her body trembling with a mix of fury and longing. She dropped into a stiff curtsy, her voice brittle. “As you command, my king.”

She fled the chamber, the door slamming shut behind her.

Liana collapsed back against the bed, her chest heaving. “You used me to humiliate her.”

Kael loomed over her, his smirk dark. “I used her to remind you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Remind me of what?”

His hand slid down her body, possessive and unyielding. “That you belong to me, no matter who tries to take my attention.”

She shivered, torn between fury and need. She hated him for making her a weapon in his games. And yet the way he touched her, the way he claimed her—it lit a fire in her veins she could not extinguish.

Her lips parted, her voice a whisper against his mouth. “Then prove it. Prove I am the only one you desire.”

And he did.

The night stretched long and brutal, filled with his relentless hunger and her desperate defiance, each kiss a battle, each touch a war. When dawn broke, Liana lay tangled in the sheets, her body aching, her spirit burning with both shame and power.

For she knew this truth now—Lady Serenya would not be the last rival. Others would come. Others would try to take what was hers.

But she would not yield.

She would make Kael desire her more.