Serenity had expected Willem to refuse, but her fiancé had surprised her instead by agreeing. And so here she was, Serenity thought glumly, being forced to spend more time than necessary with Shane. The two of them were in the kitchen, Serenity busy making sushi rolls while across her, Shane sat cross-legged on a stool as she gushed about the latest adventures she’d had with her fiancé.
“Have you enjoyed a camel ride in the desert with your fiancé yet?”
“Umm, no—”
“Oh, poor you,” Shane said, her tone oozing with sympathy.
Behind her, the cameramen rolled their eyes and Serenity, having caught sight of them, swallowed back a laugh. “It is, umm, unfortunate.” But if the news articles were to be believed, the camel ride Shane was talking about had been a rather embarrassing moment for her half-sister. Her sixty-year-old fiancé, having enjoyed a sumptuous lunch before it, had farted the entire time, in the presence of Shane and several other model friends she had invited to the trip.
Time seemed to pass slowly as Shane continued to regale Serenity and the crew about her latest exploits, most of which they had already heard before. When she was done with her sushi rolls, Serenity jumped off the stool and Eslee, a dog she and Willem were babysitting for Damen and Mairi Leventis while they toured the kingdom’s capital, immediately rushed to her.
Smiling, she bent down to scratch the dog’s head affectionately.
Shane’s lip curled. “That’s such a hideously—”
“Shane!” She covered the dog’s ears protectively. “That’s not nice.”
“But it’s true, and you know it.” As Shane spoke, Willem appeared at the doorway, and the billionaire’s lips curved at the way his fiancée’s blue eyes lit up at the sight of him. I love you, those beautiful eyes said even as she spoke in a perfectly polite tone. “Good afternoon, Mr. Konigh.”
He smiled even as he said, “Willem.”
“Sir.”
In her desire to see Willem, Shane turned around on her stool, so fast that she almost fell off it. As the crew unsuccessfully tried to keep their laughter back, Shane fumed and climbed off the stool, saying angrily, “Serenity, your kitchen furniture is atrocious! In my fiancé’s palace, everything’s new.” When her sister didn’t answer, she turned to Serenity, and that was when she saw the billionaire was keeping the younger girl’s mouth rather busy with his kiss.
She turned red, jealous and furious at the same time. It was the one thing she knew she could never compete with. There was only one Willem de Konigh in the world, and her fiancé, with his wrinkly sixty-year-old body and small, limp dick, only made the Dutch billionaire appear even more attractive in Shane’s eyes.
She was about to say something flirtatious when a guard appeared at the doorway and, after bowing to everyone, proceeded to give the billionaire an expensive-looking but unlabeled package.
Her curiosity piqued, she asked, “What’s that?”
“Just a special gourmet treat from France.” The billionaire’s tone was casual.
Shane watched Willem open the pack and, after taking out a porcelain bowl from one of the frosted glass cupboards, poured its contents in it. They appeared like heart-shaped cookies, and before she could stop herself, Shane bragged, “Oh, now I know what it is. I’ve definitely had them, too.”
Serenity’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
The billionaire’s skeptical tone irked Shane to no end, but she managed to keep her smile sexy and playful as she said, “Of course I have. My fiancé and I never fail to try the newest delicacies in every country we visit, and we’ve been around the world thrice, as you know.”
“Yesterday, it was just twice,” one of the cameramen muttered under his breath, but he snapped his mouth shut when Shane, having heard him, swung around to glare in his direction.
Shane took a deep breath before facing the billionaire again. “Now, where was I?” She sidled close, and the aroused tips of her breasts, prickling against the silk of her dress, brushed against his arm.
Serenity scowled, and she was about to tell her sister off when she heard Shane breathe huskily, “Oh, now I remember.” Shane pulled the bowl of treats towards her. “I’ve definitely had these, and I loved them.”
“Are you sure?”
“How about you feed me one and I’ll tell you if I’m right?”
The billionaire’s lips curved. “As you wish.” He picked one heart-shaped treat from the bowl.
Serenity’s jaw dropped. “Shane—”
Not wanting to let Serenity stop her from being fed, Shane bent her head to quickly take the cookie into her mouth, making sure to suck on the billionaire’s finger as she did. She chewed slowly, pretending to savor every bite and wanting the billionaire to remember the times she had eaten his cock.
The billionaire stared at her, fascinated, and Shane smiled in satisfaction. Finally. She had known the time would come that he would get tired of her sister. She turned to Serenity and just as expected, Serenity had a look of dismay on her face.
Serenity appeared at a loss on what to say. “Shane…”
“What is it, sister dear?” she asked sweetly.
She said weakly, “Those treats were for Eslee.”
Shane stopped chewing.
The cameramen and the guards who had heard everything that was going on burst into laughter.
The billionaire suddenly filled her vision, and Shane paled at the look of contempt in his eyes. “I know every goddamn thing you did to my future wife.” His voice was dangerously soft, fit only for Shane to hear. “Every goddamn thing.”
She started to choke in sheer terror, but when she was about to throw up everything, the billionaire said simply, “No.”
Shane froze.
“You know I have the power to ruin your life. You know I can tell your oil sheikh things about you that would scandalize his family, so much that he would not just dump you but probably sue you in his royal court and have you executed.”
“I can do that, and you know it. Nod like a good little dog if you understand me.”
And suddenly, she remembered the last time Serenity had been in Melanie’s home, the way she had laughingly taunted her sister and tried to treat her like a dog.
She looked into the billionaire’s eyes, and Shane knew that Willem knew about that moment, too. He knew and he wanted to kill her for it, was only waiting for her to give him a reason to pull the trigger.
Tears stinging her eyes, Shane forced herself to swallow everything back. Her stomach revolted, but she forced herself to swallow everything down.
“Perhaps another one?” The billionaire’s voice was pleasant. “Just to show that it’s all fun between us?” This time, he allowed himself to be heard.
Shane blindly took another treat from the bowl and popped it into her mouth.
The billionaire reached for her—
Shane flinched.
But he only touched the top of her head. “Good girl.” He ruffled her hair, like a good little dog.
****
They walked hand in hand towards the ballroom, where the cast and crew had already adjourned, together with the Queen and other members of the royal family. Serenity was reciting to him his schedule for tomorrow, her voice serene and calm, but he knew without her saying a word that something was wrong.
It wasn’t because she was acting like his PA still. She had done that from the very start, even when they had just gotten back together. Just because she was his fiancée, Serenity had told him primly, didn’t mean she no longer had to be professional at work.
So, no, Serenity acting like the blonde robot that her friend Willow occasionally teased her as did not bother him. It was, instead, the way she couldn’t seem to meet his gaze, and when she paused for breath, he asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”