GRIFFIN STORMED OUT of Mariselle’s chamber angry, more with himself than anything. He’d known that touching her was going to be a bad idea. Now she was already becoming an obsession with him and he knew that handing her over to Aiden was going to drive him nuts.
“Hey, Brother. Bad night?”
Speak of the devil…
He turned around and saw Aiden approaching.
“A sleepless one,” he admitted, relaxing. There was no point on taking his anger out on his brother.
“Me, too,” Aiden replied.
Griffin could see the bags under his eyes and wondered what had kept him up all night. He decided it was probably women and spirits, which Aiden indulged in more than anyone he knew.
“It looked like you just came out of Mariselle’s chamber,” Aiden said with a funny smile. “How is our young maiden doing this morning?”
“Fine,” he said a little sharply.
Aiden tilted his head. “You sure about that?”
Griffin sighed. “Don’t mind me. I’m just ornery from lack of sleep. Anyway, we need to discuss what we’re going to do with her.”
“I thought we already agreed – you’re going to try and get her pregnant.”
“She wants a husband.”
Aiden shrugged. “So? I’ll marry her. If it saves our kingdom, why not?”
“Then you should sire the child.”
Once again, Aiden tried arguing with him about Griffin being the eldest and monarch.
He raised his hand. “Stop. Mariselle will not agree to me siring the child unless I marry her. Obviously, I can’t.”
Aiden put his hand on his shoulder. “No worries. I spoke to her last night. She’s fine with it.”
“Not anymore,” he replied looking away.
Aiden’s eyes searching his. “Hold up. You tried already, didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer.
Aiden sighed. “Talk to me, brother. What’s going on?”
Griffin told him about Mariselle visiting his chamber after being spooked. “One thing led to another and…”
“You plucked her flower?” Aiden replied with a smirk.
“Plucked the hell out of it I guess you could say,” he said dryly.
AIDEN COULDN’T HELP it. He was damn jealous. Especially after what had happened in the courtyard. He could still remember the taste of her lips and the way she’d stared up at him while his cock had been in her mouth.
“So, you might have already gotten her pregnant,” he said, feeling himself get hard just thinking about Mariselle with her legs spread open. What he wouldn’t do to see her naked or get a taste of the soft, juicy peach between her thighs.
“Yes.”
Aiden was silent for a few seconds. “What if she does bare your child?”
“Then I’ll tell the queen.”
He grunted. “That’s a conversation I’d love to listen in on.”
Griffin smiled grimly. “It won’t be a pleasant one, that’s for sure.”
“Rightly not. So, now what?”
“We wait and see what happens. In the meantime, I’m going back to East Haven,” he replied.
That surprised Aiden. “Why?”
“Because I don’t trust myself around her.”
Although he loved his older brother and was always happy to see him, the idea of Mariselle being left in Aiden’s care was enough to make his cock lurch.
“What do you want me to do about her?” Aiden asked.
“If she bleeds next month,” he paused, “do what must be done.”
In other words, he was free to take Mariselle into his bed and do exactly what he was fantasizing about at the moment. “And if she can’t get pregnant?” he asked, suddenly remembering the apparition in his room.
“We’ll worry about it later,” he replied. “In the meantime, take care of her for me, will you?”
“She’ll be in good hands. I promise.”
He nodded. “Just keep them off until we know whether or not she’s with my child.”
“Of course. I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
Griffin rolled his eyes.
Aiden smiled and raised his hands up. “Hey, I have a harem of women at my disposal. Fine, buxom beauties who know how to please a man. I don’t need a girl who’s practically a virgin.”
“She’s definitely not a virgin. The blood on my linen reflects the evidence of that.”
“Believe me,” Aiden said, grabbing his crotch. “Every woman feels like one with me. You might have the tallest crown in the family, but I yield the largest staff.”
Griffin grunted. “Just keep it sheathed, Brother. Keep it sheathed.”