Page 36 of Vicious Kingdom (Dynasty of Queens #3)

I t was the wedding of the century. The billionaire businessman and the pretty little socialite. Standing at the end of the aisle, those epithets didn’t feel correct. I was just a man. A mere mortal, who’d fallen under a spell. And Annaliese?

The music began to play, and all eyes swiveled to the entrance.

That woman was from another world entirely.

The universe seemed to hold its breath as she appeared in a halo of light, standing poised at the threshold like a celestial visitor gracing our mortal realm. My lungs forgot their purpose as I beheld her.

Annaliese floated down the aisle, each step measured and graceful.

Her dress, a cascade of ivory silk that whispered against the floor, caught the light filtering through stained glass, transforming her into something ethereal.

The bodice hugged her form before giving way to layers that moved like water around her legs.

Delicate beadwork captured and scattered light with each step, as if she walked among stars.

Her face, partially veiled in gossamer lace, held an expression of serene determination.

Those blue eyes, visible even from where I stood, never wavered from mine.

She clutched a single crimson rose—blood-red and perfect.

It was a vision I would never forget, even if old age stole every other memory.

If I wasn’t careful, she would steal my very soul.

I avoided her this week, wanting time to adjust to the notion of her being a permanent fixture in my life. It wasn’t hard to stay away. There was a mess in the office. Something had gone terribly wrong, and we were being audited.

I shifted as the crescendo brought Annaliese closer. There was an inkling of the past stirring up a darkness that clashed with the surreal beauty of this moment. It was like a dark cloud loomed in the distance.

What were the odds that my business, which had never been in trouble, was now in a heap of hot water right as Annaliese was forced into my life?

She wasn’t the problem last time.

“No, but she wasn’t honest then,” I mouthed to myself. And likely isn’t being truthful now.

Liars didn’t change.

Her father stepped forward to greet her before she reached me. He lifted her veil and leaned in for a kiss. I snatched her wrist and tugged her away. The single rose I’d asked her to carry bent in our joined hands.

Alfred glared at me but wisely retreated to his seat.

“That was rude,” Annaliese hissed.

“He’s acting. Did you actually want him to hand you off?” There was a slight sneer to my whisper as the pastor began to officiate.

Annaliese pursed her lips. “Sometimes, it’s nice to pretend things are as they should be.”

I snorted. It was exactly the kind of answer a liar would give. Somewhere, probably in my imagination, thunder rumbled.

The ceremony was short. I tuned out the majority of the religious text, but when it came time for the vows, the words the pastor asked me to repeat didn’t fit.

I raised my hand, stopping the pastor mid-sentence. “I have my own vows.”

A murmur rippled through the congregation. Annaliese’s eyes widened, surprise flickering across her features. She hadn’t expected this. Good. I wanted her off-balance, wanted to see the truth beneath the mask she wore so perfectly.

“Annaliese,” I began, my voice carrying through the hushed cathedral. “From the moment you reappeared in my life, you’ve been an exquisite disruption. A temptation I neither wanted nor could resist.”

Her pulse quickened beneath my fingertips where I still held her wrist. I loosened my grip but didn’t release her.

“I stand here knowing full well that I am under your spell. You’ve bewitched me with those blue eyes that see too much, with that fierce mind that challenges everything I thought I knew.”

Sliding my touch down, I clasped both her hands, feeling the slight tremble of her fingers against my palms. The rose stem pressed between us, its thorn pricking my skin—a reminder of the beautiful danger I was embracing.

“From this day forward, you are mine—body and soul. Death will be the only force strong enough to tear us apart. But I will spend every single day keeping him at bay. I will protect you with my body. Serve you with my hands.” Cherish you from afar.

“You have nothing to fear. I’m bound to you, your constant companion as we walk the road called life. ”

The pastor’s brows shot up, but when I gave him a nod to continue, he turned to the bride.

“Have you also prepared something, Annaliese?” he murmured, rolling with the change in plans.

I watched her. This wasn’t rehearsed, but as always, she rose to the challenge.

Her lips parted, and for a moment, no sound emerged. Then Annaliese squeezed my hands, the rose stem pressing deeper between our palms.

“Leonard,” she began, her voice soft yet clear, carrying to every corner of the cathedral. “I’ve been yours since that first day, when I was just a girl with stars in her eyes and dreams too big for her heart.”

A hush fell over the crowd as she continued, her words flowing with an unexpected rawness. It was as if the very stones of the church waited to hear her next words.

“I’ve carried you with me through every city, every failure, every triumph. You were the ghost that haunted my dreams, the shadow that fell across my days. I tried to forget you—lord, how I tried—but you were always there, etched into the very fabric of my being.”

Her eyes glistened with emotion, but her voice remained steady. “I’ve heard a thousand love stories, but none compare to what we’ve been through. And I stand here today, swearing before heaven and earth, that I will be yours.”

A raw mixture of emotions pounded in my chest. Fear crackled down my spine, but it was weak compared to the surge of something electric in my veins.

I took a deep breath. “Hurry up and get to the part where we kiss,” I growled to the officiant.

The pastor cleared his throat, caught off guard by my impatience.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He barely finished before I pulled Annaliese toward me, one hand cupping the back of her neck.

“You may kiss—” he stammered, but his words were lost as my mouth claimed hers.

I didn’t need the prelate’s permission to take what was now mine—mine in every sense of the word.

The kiss was possessive, desperate—a declaration and a warning all at once.

My fingers tangled in her hair, careful not to disturb the delicate arrangement but unable to resist anchoring her to me.

The congregation erupted into applause, but it sounded distant, as if we were underwater, in our own world separate from reality.

Her lips were soft and warm against mine, a contrast to the fierce way her fingers gripped my body.

She clung to me as if her life depended on it, as if she were drowning and I was the only thing keeping her afloat.

That small detail—the desperation of her touch—turned me savage.

It awakened something feral within me and erased everything else from my mind.

The world fell away, the crowd vanished, and there was only Annaliese and the terrible, beautiful need that flashed between us.

I deepened the kiss, claiming her with an intensity that bordered on brutal, bruising her lips as hunger consumed me.

I pulled her tighter, pressing her to me with a force that was almost punishing in its ardor.

Time seemed to stop, each second stretching into eternity as I lost myself in the promise of her.

I tasted the future on her lips, a mingling of sweetness and danger that stole my breath away and overwhelmed everything but the raw impulse of desire.

When we broke apart, Annaliese’s eyes were dazed, her lips slightly swollen. A single tear escaped, tracking down her cheek. I caught it with my thumb, wiping it away.

“Why are you crying, Anna?” I murmured, instantly hating myself for hurting her.

“I’m just so…happy.”

No lies, no manipulation. Just a raw confession. I bent over her, bringing our foreheads together. So am I, little one. Damn me, so am I.

***

Standing on the flagstone patio of the Providence Club, guests mingled around us. The great white tent pitched on the lawn was set with finger food, and guests grazed below, picnicking with their plates and drinks.

“Well, this is…something,” Mrs. Hertz grumbled, swooping into our space.

Annaliese sighed softly, quiet enough for my ears alone. “It’s a simple wedding, Mom. Exactly what I wanted.”

“The Grand Ballroom was available next month. I don’t see why you couldn’t wait,” she insisted. “You could at least serve a proper meal in the Lodge. A picnic screams cheap.”

“Cheap?” I’d heard enough. I took a calculated step toward my mother-in-law. “You think I’m cheap, ma’am?”

The woman faltered as if realizing for the first time that I was there.

“That’s not what I meant—”

“That’s what you said.” The bite in my words made her wince.

“There’s Margot Preston, I must see how she’s doing,” Anna’s mother deflected. In a cloud of silk and toxic perfume, she whirled around and fled.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t nice.”

Annaliese snorted. “It was fucking perfect.”

Looking down at my bride, a ghost of a smile played on my lips. “You’re happy.”

She murmured in agreement. “And you? I know you didn’t…volunteer for this.”

My hand, which had firmly been planted on her waist, tightened. “I’m here. We’ll forget how it happened, because that doesn’t matter.”

It did matter, but seeing the way she looked at me, I was confident the little white lie was the right thing to say.

Her cheeks flushed with color, eyes dazed with wonder.

She was perfect. I considered kissing her again, just to show the crowd of jackals that I was a man consumed by desire for his bride.

And let no one suspect the war raging beneath my skin, the doubt gnawing at my certainty.

“Such a beautiful afternoon,” a jolly voice rumbled, breaking the spell.

Annaliese tore her gaze away and gave the bastard a smile. “Thank you, Uncle! It is, isn’t it?”

“I’m so happy for you, Anna.” Her uncle stepped forward, ready to embrace his niece.

I angled her away.

No one was stealing her from me. Not even a relative offering sincere displays.

“And congratulations to you, Mr. Baldwin!” the uncle boomed, unfazed by my rudeness.

I gave him a clipped nod.

“Jonatan! Come here, welcome our newest member of the family.” The uncle snapped his fingers.

Crawling out of the crowd, the cousin ambled over, arm linked with a redhead in a skintight dress. The suit was custom made, of the finest material. It fit his personality about as well as the wrinkled skin of a possum.

“Congratulations.” The single word came out as a sneer.

I did not like this man.

Annaliese pressed into my side. Grinding my molars, I heeded her warning and didn’t start a feud. It was hard—but for her, I managed.

“We should have a toast!” the uncle insisted, looking around for a full flute of champagne.

The vibration in my chest told me a call was coming in. Since the majority of my office, including my secretary was here, I decided to take the call.

“Excuse me,” I said, disentangling myself from my bride and reaching for my phone.

“Ah, business calls. You’ve got a hard worker, Anna,” the uncle laughed.

“Leonard, I—”

“I’ll just be a minute.” I squeezed her hand and left her with her family.

The flash of panic in her eye gutted me.

A good groom would have his phone on silent.

While I might be the one wearing a new wedding band, I wasn’t that.

My bride should know by now I wasn’t that.

Hating myself for putting her in an awkward position, I strode away, unable to resist the temptation of escape.

“What is it?” I snapped.

“Good, you picked up,” the deep bass countered with an equally brusque tone. “You need to get your ass downtown.”

I frowned. “What happened, Mier?”

The special agent growled. “We’re enroute to raid your office. White Collar and Organized Crimes are in a joint task force with the IRS. I only managed to sneak away long enough to warn you.”

The call ended.

The special agent’s words rang in my ears.

I flicked a glance back where Annaliese stood uncomfortably next to her cousin. The wimp had his hand on her arm as the uncle gabbed and laughed about something.

Did she know? Was this whole day a setup?

Uncontrolled rage simmered hot. Grabbing a nearby waiter, I barked, “Tell the bride I’ve left for an emergency. I’ll see her at home.”

It was a low blow. An honorable man would at least have the courtesy to tell her in person.

But I didn’t trust myself not to shake her, to demand to know if somehow her family was behind this.

She looked frightened standing there, and that was enough to have me marching away, convinced of her guilt.