His Mafia Princess
"Good morning, Stace," said Scott, briefly laying his hand on my shoulder in passing.
I reflexively shrugged my shoulder out of his grasp, then cringed. A little too late to run from his touch now. A little too late to pretend I don't love it.
"Good morning," I said, the words coming out as a squeak.
A pained look flashed in Scott's eyes as he withdrew his hand from me. I wished I could stop myself from acting stupidly around him. I wanted to drown myself in my coffee cup.
Things were such a mess. When he held me after we did it yesterday afternoon, I thought we were good. Then nightfall came and it suddenly hit me. We boned. After that, I couldn't look him in the eye, much less let him hold me all night. How naive was I? Of course we weren't good. We did it. Boning seemed like the wrong word for what happened. Did Scott Brady make love to me?
I don't know how much sleep he got. We had our backs to each other all night. I barely got any, and yet I felt wide awake.
"You okay, Stace?" Kenny asked, looking at me with concern. "You're not coming down with something, are you?"
Scott and I looked at each other. Again, I was the first to look away. Dammit.
"All good. Thanks Ken," I said, raising my coffee cup to my lips.
Flashes of Scott's lips lightly brushing up against mine danced before my eyes and I stopped drinking, setting the mug down with a thump.
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Chapter: Scott— I proposed pt 3That last part was such a her thing to say. Was that really what she thought? It would explain how I apparently caught her off guard. "Please, for the love of God, let me sleep and shower first. There are dark circles under my eyes. And my make up—" What the fuck was she talking about? She was fucking flawless. Perfect in all her imperfections. "Shut up. I won the bet about Kenny and Marlene," I said, laying the phone down on the ground and starting the five minute timer. "So now Scott says shut up. You've said more than enough in the last few hours. Now just listen." She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying back and forth nervously, her eyes dropping to the timer. Words failed me. I had a whole speech and everything. Even if I didn't, I was me. I always knew what to say, except right that second I was tongue tied. "That photo's taunting me," I said, spitting out the thought in my he
Last Updated: 2025-04-17
Chapter: Scott— I proposed pt 2By this point, she had me watching her from behind a lens. Flashes of the thousands of times she had me taking her photo went through my mind. Watching her was my favorite thing to do until she started letting me touch her. I loved every last one of them. Studied the thousands of photos frequently, especially this past week, like some junkie trying to get a fix. The sweet ones where she looked like an angel. The dirty ones where she looked like the perfect whore. The goofy ones that I made sure I was a part of. The everyday ones where she had a pencil in her hair while she read or picked something out at the grocery store. Every last photo I took of her and every memory attached to it flooded my brain. "Fucking stunning every time," I said, trying to calm my raging heart as the sun began to rise, the silhouette of her before it. Slightly trembling fingers took several photos, as the excitement of holding a camera surg
Last Updated: 2025-04-16
Chapter: Scott — I proposed pt 1"Can't we do this another time? Surises come along every day and it's been such a long night," Stacy moped. Not this sunrise. Not this moment I wanted to give her. It was all she could do to hold onto the tripod towards the end, so I let her get on my back and gave her a piggyback ride the rest of the way up my mountain. "You knew this was coming. I warned you I'd be making you miserable by bringing you out here before the crack of dawn while we were in Fiji. Sacrifices have to be made to please your future husband, Stace," I said, enjoying the feel of her body pressed up against my back. The morning was chilly, contrasting with her body heat. Or was I sweating? Maybe she was right and this just wasn't our moment. It would come once though. The sunrise of our one year anniversary. I had this picture of how it was going to go down in my head and I just wasn't ready to give it up. "On our anniversary? We just spent two ho
Last Updated: 2025-04-16
Chapter: Scott— It's her turn pt 5"Is the world's greatest commitment phobe still proposing today after this shit storm?" Kenny asked me as I watched Stacy sit across from Jeff to read through her immunity deal. "You just get the champagne ready. Be on standby, Ken. Call in sick. You'll get the call soon," I said, sharing an excited smile with him before I opened the door to Jeff's office to sit down next to Stacy. "You can have your lawyer look it over before you sign. Take your time," said Jeff, waiting patiently on her. "She's her own lawyer. She's like two classes away from being one?" I boasted as I watched her brilliant mind go to work while she read. "Three," she corrected me, eyes still darting over the words on the page. "Besides, we trust you. Don't we, Scott?" That's what she said, but she carried on combing the document. In about two minutes, she'd have tons of questions for him. "Yes, we do," I said to my fath
Last Updated: 2025-04-16
Chapter: Scott—It's her turn pt 4"I will never let anyone hurt him, Ken. On my life, I will always keep him safe," she professed one more time. "I know you will, Stace. For the record, you were always my favorite best friend," he said, cautiously wrapping his arms around her as he started sobbing. "Same Ken," she said, returning his embrace readily, rubbing his back. Eyes still on me, she stuck her tongue out at me, making me chuckle as I got up to join them. "Un-fucking-believable. What am I, chopped liver?" I said, watching Kenny pull back as I shot him a nasty look. "You're okay. Tolerable. Second best. I keep you around because of her," he said, wiping away his tears with the back of his sleeves. "I can't believe you fucking told her you were proposing. What the fuck is wrong with you? How will you survive marriage?" His stupid remark had us chuckling between the three of us. We all wrapped an arm around the other an
Last Updated: 2025-04-16
Chapter: Scott —It's her turn pt 3There was that promise of forever she said I couldn't have until I asked her to marry me. It was as good as a yes to my proposal. My heart was doing flip flops in my chest. I knew it was for their benefit, maybe even just because she was nervous about talking to them instead of me, but her words were aimed directly at me. Sweeping me right off my feet. Claiming every bit of me as hers. Allowing me to let go of the tiny part of me that wondered if she really could have killed me in those woods. It wasn't just luck or the words I said to her that made her want to save me. I was happy if I gave her the strength to do what she needed to do, but I firmly believed she would have gotten there anyway. She had been doing it for eight years. From the moment we met, she had been protecting me. Even when she pushed me away. She chose me for eight years. Came back again and again, no matter how many times Don Angelo called her home, to make me fall dee
Last Updated: 2025-04-15
Chapter: The whole falling on his sword thing pt 2When Aaron got to Elegantor Ludo, Emily had already made it up to her room. He walked through the doors like he owned the place, past The Purple Guard soldiers who didn't dare intercept the pissed off prince and banged on the room door. When she didn't open up, he shot the lock and kicked in the door. He walked straight up to Emily and grabbed her shoulders. "Talk!" "Trust me, you don't want to be involved in this," said Emily. "I'm sorry, did someone else just save your ass? Explain yourself!" Troy and his men showed up then. "Secure the room. Find the kid," he said, watching them fill the room. Emily whipped her head in Aaron's direction. "You called him?!" "What kid?" Aaron asked. Emily and Troy exchanged heated glances. "You know what? Forget this. What does all of this have to do with Adele?" He'd meant to say Aria, but Aaron was tired and confused out of his mind.
Last Updated: 2025-04-17
Chapter: Be still, my jealous heart 2019, December 22ndWhen CC got home that morning, the sun was already high up in the sky. Bart was waiting for her on the porch of the Arden Mansion. This was home now. They'd started living together because CC wanted to be with Bart so that she could hold him at night when the loss of Ethan overwhelmed him. How things had changed. They'd been at each other's throats for the last few days and it always ended the same way. It needed to stop. They had to actually talk. "I'm sorry Caroline. I don't know what else to say. Aria called and said-" CC sighed. "Can her name not be part of the first sentences that come out of your mouth right now? I'm super wasted and I just want to go to bed." Bart turned around and squatted in front of her, offering her a piggyback ride. She smiled. It was a start. She could be mad and still want to touch him. CC wouldn't look at him, but she'd gotten onto his back. Her hands had slipped up his shirt, onto h
Last Updated: 2025-04-16
Chapter: The whole falling on his sword thing pt 12019, December 19thAaron was burning the candle at both ends. He and Jesse had been following both Emily and Troy around for the last 10 days and it was starting to take its toll. He honestly didn't have the foggiest what the big fuss was about, but they were both on the move constantly. And they were both packing some serious heat. Emily had Hotel Elegantor Ludo's penthouse suite drowning in Purple Guard soldiers and Troy wasn't being shy about showing off his manpower either. This was it. Whatever or whomever the big hype was about, shit was going down today. He now knew the identity of the woman in the photograph. Once his head cleared after his drunken night in Maine, he had Jesse find someone to clean the photograph up and find out who she was. She turned out to be Troy's dead sister, Diane. Aaron had been stewing, turning this information round and round in his head. Was that it? Did she somehow survive the war after all? And what would become of Aria and h
Last Updated: 2025-04-16
Chapter: My girlfriend's boyfriends pt 3When at last he did quiet down, she got up and went to him. Troy got up too and walked away. He remembered what last night had been like. He could have really hurt her. And talking about this stuff that he really shouldn't have talked about, especially not with the woman who he could have choked to death last night, left him shaking with dark rage. All this time spent worrying about who was watching and he had been the one holding her life in his hands. She wanted to say the right thing, to say so many things, but when she finally laid her head against his back all she could say was, "You were right. Your dad was a dick and so is Dean." This earned her a little chuckle. He focused really hard on stilling himself, the anger. She'd seen it once and not flinched, but Troy didn't want her to see it again. Even her acceptance of it was dangerous. He kept going back and forth on what to do, whether they should be together. "I'm sorry I didn't ask before. I ju
Last Updated: 2025-04-15
Chapter: My girlfriend's boyfriends pt 2Troy entered the nursery first. He took baby Ethan out of his crib and sat down with him on the carpet."Hey kid. You've been waiting a long time for your Aunt Aria, haven't you? I know how you feel. I think I've been waiting a long time for her too."This earned him an eye roll and a smile."You're that guy now? You're going to use your mad baby skills to hit on me?"Troy shrugged, holding out his hand to her."Not much else he can do at this point other than get me into your pants."Her eyes widened and she chuckled. Taking his hand was as effortless as the night he'd offered it to her for the first time, even as she faced this difficult situation. He sat across from her, the baby in between them as they held hands. The moment didn't feel like Aria was afraid it would. It would always hurt that Ethan was gone, that they all were, but this was her family now. The little guy laying his hand into hers and the big goof behind him, watching her and the baby, alw
Last Updated: 2025-04-15
Chapter: My Girlfriend's boyfriends pt 12019, December 22nd"So which one was it? Boyfriend A or Boyfriend B?"Aria smiled, taking her place next to Troy by the piano."You know, A for Aaron, B for Bart," he said, handing Aria her violin."You're just full of surprises, aren't you? I suppose you really are the jealous type."Only when she held her violin up to her shoulder and started playing did Troy's fingers find the keys of the piano. Was it silly how she liked that he just assumed she would play with him now? Aria was so angry over the last two nights that she didn't see how intertwined they'd become, how he gave her little bits of himself everyday. They hadn't played together in two nights, which meant that neither of them had played at all because they almost never played alone anymore."Which one?" he persisted. "So I can know how jealous I should be.""If you must know, Barry came by to see the baby."She still couldn't say it, couldn't call him Ethan. Troy brushed off his concern.
Last Updated: 2025-04-14
The Girl Who Loved Two Princes
A tale as old as time…
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He ran a finger along her burning cheek, his eyes on her lips as he watched them part.
"If you're found like this with me, there'll be no discussion about it. You'll definitely be stuck with me then. Are you really, really sure, princess?"
***
Two brothers, vying for the attention of the same woman…
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"I do see you Zoey, whether you're at an art class or just wandering around taking in the sights. I see everything you do. That's the problem."
He rounded the corner and bent down on one knee, pulling the robe over her shoulders.
"Lately, all I see is you."
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Can one heart truly belong to two men?
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She's engaged. So is he. And according to the headlines, so are the mouths of their betrotheds. How far will James Beaumont go for revenge?
Lady Zoey is the daughter of Duke Arden, only she's never met the man. So what right does he have to marry her off to some pompous, playboy prince?
Prince Aaron Condor is in love with Lady Emily Maine. But when King Henry and Duke Arden decide to mend fences, Aaron ends up engaged to newcomer Zoey.
Duke James Beaumont returns to Caines to propose to his childhood sweetheart, Emily Maine.
3 months later, Aaron and Emily are caught in a compromising liplock. Zoey wants to be told to give her fiance a second chance. When the jilted lovers meet on the streets of Caines and he proposes to Zoey.
Reluctantly, she meets with James again and ends up married to him. It was all a drunken mistake, but that doesn't make The King's Guard hunting them any less real.
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Chapter: Epilogue: the her before you - pt 2(Sartis Est: Some time ago)It was over, at least in real time. In her head, it was still ongoing. She was still imagining the agony, the fear her brother and parents and thousands of her people had experienced when they were blown to bits. Even as she watched her country still alight, still burning while what was left of her people worked tirelessly to put it out, she was kneeling in the dirt and the ashes to receive the crown, her father’s crown. A crown that was never supposed to touch her red-haired head. She remembered her father’s strict words to her brother every time he showed that he was hurt or wanted to cry. “Tears are not for monarchs,” he’d say and Ethan, her brother, would immediately stop crying, like it was a switch he’d just flipped.She kept saying the words to herself like a mantra, softly so that only she could hear them. When the other side’s surrender came, she gave the order to annihilate them. What good was their surrender now? Her entire family was dead and s
Last Updated: 2023-02-09
Chapter: Epilogue: the her before you pt 1(8 Months Later)Their loved ones had, at last, convinced James that it was time to take Zoey on their honeymoon. King Henry had managed to detain the newlyweds for far too long, both he and James recognizing that he had a lot to learn about the ins and outs of what exactly being a prince entailed. Since James wanted to be with his wife and involve her as much as possible in his life, his world, even if that meant that they spent a lot of their time together working, Zoey was always with him, picking up the tricks of the trade along the way. They even managed to make it look romantic somehow, stealing little moments wherever they could, disappearing when they could. So their marriage wasn’t exactly on the rocks, but they had earned some time to just be with each other, like they’d always wanted. They had been gone for two weeks when the news that the palace would be having a new guest reached them. “Your worry lines are showing, Jamie,” said Zoey, wrapping her arms around his neck
Last Updated: 2023-02-09
Chapter: Anywhere, anything - pt 42019, March 31st & April 1stShe was like a woman on a mission, running her fingers all over his body, touching his face with her eyes closed, like she was mapping him out for future use. He just watched her, letting her words settle into his heart. Her touch comforted him, made him feel loved, like he had all her attention. Maybe he was just letting it all go to his head, but he didn't care. As far as he was concerned, they were forever now. They really were a bunch of besotted fools. She was absolutely out of her mind for him and he for her and nothing and no one was going to change that."I love you too, James Beaumont, Condor, whomever," she whispered, as she watched him fall asleep. She had seen the questions in his eyes, the concern. Maybe she had taken on more than she could handle. There was peace in his eyes too when he picked her up afterwards, though. That moment that he looked at her and seemed to believe, seemed to realize that she was never going anywhere again, she wou
Last Updated: 2023-02-09
Chapter: Anywhere, anything - pt 32019, March 31st & April 1st(Eleganter Ludo) When Zoey and James got to the penthouse around 3 AM, they were exhausted. But the goodbyes had been so emotional that they ended up just staring at the wall. “Having second thoughts?” he asked.“Nope. Are you?” she asked back.“Nope.”“Are you lying?”“Yes.”“Me too.” In a bid to make him and herself feel better, Zoey got up, put some music on, went into the bedroom and put the emerald dress he’d so lovingly saved on. “Dance with me?” she said, holding onto the skirt of the dress. He smiled at her. She had no idea what this gesture meant to him. “I never thought I’d see that dress again,” he said, pulling her into his arms, just holding on tight for a moment. “Do you know why I took it off of you that night?” he asked, as he began to gently sway to the music, moving with her. “You don't have to tell me,” she answered gently, looking down.There was hurt in his eyes, just like the moment he had taken it off of her that night. He
Last Updated: 2023-02-09
Chapter: Anywhere, anything - pt 22019, March 31st & April 1st(Caines - palace)By the time James and Zoey showed up in Caines, it was already midnight. Feeling like they were about to betray everyone, James and Zoey were squeezing each other’s hands tightly as they sat in front of King Henry and Cassandra. “So, you’ve decided then,” said King Henry. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning. I’m taking Zoey on our honeymoon,” James said, kissing her hand. “Where to?” Cassandra asked, her face a mixture of happiness and concern. “We don’t know yet. We’re just going to go,” Zoey answered. King Henry was furious, but he said nothing. Cassandra sighed. “Well, make sure to take lots of pictures and enjoy every moment and check in-”“Damn it, he’s only 19, James!” Henry exploded. “And your sister, she can’t take a crown, not after what happened with her mother. You know how she is; she’s absolutely set on that boy.” “Henry, they’ve made up their minds,” Cassandra said gently. Zoey and James exchanged looks. She did know,
Last Updated: 2023-02-09
Chapter: Anywhere, Anything - pt 12019, March 31st & April 1stJames had been driving Zoey around all day on his brand-new motorbike. He thought he would have to get her one too and then thought better of it. He liked the feel of her against his back as he drove it, her arms around his waist. They’d been all over Copia. He took her to markets and what he considered to be a better painting class than what she'd been taking. He took her to beautiful clearings and showed her breath-taking flower fields and secret coves he’d found while walking on the beach for hours. The bathing suit she had shown up in last time she wanted a beach day was of course forbidden, but then the wetsuit she had ended up in didn’t make men stop and stare any less. It drove him crazy. He showed her absolutely everything he could think of.Finally, as the sun was setting, he took her up to his favourite tower of Beaumont house and showed her his favourite spot in his city. The sunset, the view, the warmth and safety of his arms, all of it, made
Last Updated: 2023-02-09
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