The Heir Apparent - a historical why choose, rh, poly, MMF, spicy romance ✅

Chapter Twenty

Riven

"Lady, this is not the time," I insisted as her hand teased over the front of my trousers when she was sure no one was looking.

We were on our way back from a meeting with her subjects, once again showing both a firm hand but a warm heart as ruling on issues of the common men and women.

It had been a long meeting, spanning from before breakfast, through lunch, and threatening to overtake dinner as well.

I had watched her start to fade over the past hour, and had been concerned enough to send Laef to have Casimir in her room to examine her after.

It had not been long since her poisoning. She needed to be careful.

"You keep saying that," Anevay grumbled as she kept moving toward her room.

To say she had been... forward since the encounter with Casimir and myself would be an understatement.

I did not know about Casimir, but I had not given in to her sweet, inexperienced advances.

It was not that I personally had regrets about the encounter.

But I worried that, perhaps, she might given some time to think about it.

She was a well-bred lady.

She was raised to treat intimacy as an something to be endured during marriage. Not as something she could enjoy. And certainly not something she could enjoy with a man she was not married to, let alone two men.

I figured she would realize it was a mistake, and would never want to even speak of it again.

Time was showing, though, that this may not be the case.

It was not that all sovereigns were known to abide by the rules set forth by the kingdom or even the church.

The former king was known for his affairs with the beautiful women in the kingdom.

There was a queen in a land somewhere near where Penn had been from who was known to take a different lover each night of the week. She had seven children, none of whom knew who their fathers were.

Being the queen, she was free to do as she pleased. Especially if she managed to keep her intimacies private.

And since two of the four closest people to her were involved with those intimacies, I imagined there was little chance of it getting out.

"I am not rejecting you," I informed her as we got to her door.

"Then why does it feel as though you are rejecting me?" she asked as we moved inside, finding Casimir already there.

His brows rose at the words he overheard.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, looking between the two of us.

"The lady was looking worn out during her meeting today," I informed him.

"Because it went on for many hours, and I did not get a chance to eat," Anevay insisted. "I am quite well."

"Do you not believe your physician should be the judge of that?" I asked.

"It would not hurt to check," Casimir reasoned, and I knew his softer, more coaxing way always worked with Anevay.

Sure, she sighed, but she gave in.

"You can stay," she said, looking back at me as her hands went to lift her gown up and over her head, then went toward the front laces of her corset.