Benedict smiled and slid his arm across her shoulder. "Sharp tongue you have," he said with a grin. "But I promise you, it's going to be a day that you never will forget, either."Leslie leaned back in her chair and grinned. "Well, know this; just for all the planning alone, grand or cozy, it's going to be magic.Wendy added from the window seat where she sat clicking the knitting needles together. "Don't forget, though, I still have that heirloom veil to hand down. It's in our family for generations. It's yours if you want it, Sabrina."Sabrina listened to her grandmother's words, her eyes springing wide in excitement. "Grandma, I'd be honored to wear it," she said in a clear voice, her emotions pouring into every word.She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "It will fit perfectly, my dear. It fitted your mother perfectly too."From the floor, Saben piped up, busily stacking blocks into a precarious tower. "Can I wear a crown at the wedding?" he asked, a stoic mask on his freckled face.Eve
Meanwhile, in the dim recesses of the cell, Clara sat on the side of the chilly metal cot with her mind busy with thoughts of revenge and flight. Her torn arm, crudely slung by the medics, pounded with pain, but her fury eclipsed it. She eyed the small window barred across it, faint moonlight streaming in to send long, unnatural shadows across the walls of the cell.Dolores, her former cellmate, was sitting nearby, watching her every move with a smirk. "So," Dolores drawled, leaning casually against the wall, "how's the grand plan coming along? Still playing the mastermind, Clara?"Clara shot her a venomous glare. "Shut up, Dolores," she snapped. "You don't know anything."Oh, I know plenty," Dolores said, laughing. "Like how every time you think you're untouchable, you end up right back here. Face it, Clara, you're just a small-time player pretending to be the big boss."Clara clenched her fists, nails digging into palms. "You'll see," she hissed through narrow lips, voice low and ve
The soft lunar glow upon the window rained into the bedroom, illuminating the room with silvery rays. Sabrina found herself brushing her hair near the dresser, her thoughts replaying all the joyful events of the day. She saw Benedict enter the room, undoing his tie, unbuttoning his shirt to be some inches open around his neck, and his eyes intently placed on her, softening the lines of his face as they made her heart flump."You are beautiful," he murmured, his voice low and husky.Sabrina put down the brush, smiling. "I am tired," she said, turning to him, "but happy.Benedict drew closer, his hands going around her waist. "You're always beautiful to me," he whispered, sweeping a strand of hair back from her face.His eyes locked onto hers, and the room seemed to shrink. He reached out to cup her cheek, his thumb tracing her jawline. "I meant what I said earlier," he whispered. "You've given me everything—love, a family, hope. I don't know how I got so lucky.".Sabrina moved closer i
He raised his head to feel the cool air hit his cock, and that was when he saw Sabrina lift not only her head but also her chest. She reached up took her tits in her hand and placed them on either side of his cock, then pushed them together completely enveloping his cock. He groaned once more at the sudden softness and warmth of her tits.Pressing her tits firmly around his spit covered cock, Sabrina began to bounce on her legs, sliding her tits up and down his cock with ease. Feeling the warm flesh and movement caused Benedict's groans start to turn into moans, and within a minute or so, his eyes shot open, and he let out a moan of "Fuck I'm gonna cum!"Hearing his exclamation and seeing his body begin to buck, Sabrina let a stream of spit slip from her lips, landing on her chest, then settling into the valley between her tits and providing a bit more lubrication as she continued to tit fuck his hard cock. Just as he had promised a few moments earlier, Benedict started to cum with a
Benedict grinned as her body shuddered around his finger; he thrust it in and out of her a few times, making her moan louder. Much to her protest, he pulled his finger out and moved both his hands to her hips, steadying her before saying, "Ready to get out?"She gritted her teeth and nodded and turned to him, reaching down and grabbing his cock, saying, "Turn the water off and come on."He kissed her and nodded. As she left, he got out and reached over turning off the water the water then leaned over and snagged the towel and began drying himself off. After a few minutes and making sure he wasn't going to drip everywhere, he dropped the towel and started following her, but stopped and turned around in the shower, picking up the vibrator, then walked back into the bedroom where he found Sabrina laying on the bed. As he walked in, she looked up and smiled, "Bout time you got here."He grinned and tossed the vibrator on the bed, and she looked down at it, then back at him as he said, "I
The sunlight filtering through the curtains painted a golden glow in the room. Sabrina shifted, her cheek against Benedict's chest. The steady beat of his heart provided a soothing rhythm beneath her; she felt loved and safe with him.Benedict's fingers lazily etched patterns on her bare shoulder. "Good morning," he whispered softly, low and warm.She looked up at him, her lips curling into a sleepy smile. "Good morning."He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. His eyes had softened with love. "How was your sleep?""Like a baby," she replied, placing her hand on his heart. "You?"He shook his head. "I didn't want to shut my eyes," he said. "I wanted to look at you."Sabrina smiled, laughing softly. "That's sweet, but you need your rest too."He smiled, his words playful but sincerity laced within them as he looked at her. "I'll rest when I know you'll stay by my side forever."She rolled onto her elbow. Her hair tumbled around her face. "I'm not going anywhere, Benedict. Yo
Their sweet exchange was cut short by Saben's yell from inside the house. "Mommy! Daddy! Can we play outside now?" Benedict chuckled, his hand resting on the small of Sabrina's back as they turned to head toward the house. "Duty calls," he grinned.Sabrina laughed, drying her eyes rapidly before they turned back inside. "Coming, buddy!".The rest of the morning was filled with playful chaos as Saben ran circles around the garden, his parents chasing after him with mock-seriousness. Wendy and Leslie sat on the porch, sipping tea and sharing stories, while Teresa snapped pictures of the playful trio.At one point, Saben flopped down on the grass, breathless but giggling. “You’re too slow, Daddy!” he teased."Oh, is that so?" Benedict said with a mock scowl, crouching down beside him. "I'll show you slow!" And he plunged forward, scooping Saben into his arms and twirling him around while the little boy laughed in shrieking delight.Sabrina watched them, her heart full to bursting, her sm
Dolores merely smiled, seemingly unbothered by the flames burning within Clara's eyes. "You heard me, princess. This time, you are stuck. No plotting, no fleeing. You are no different than the others.Words that stabbed like daggers and made Clara lose her control. Snarling, she attacked Dolores, her fingers scrabbling to grip the prison uniform collar. Chaos erupted in the cell as the two women wrangled, pushing and clawing at each other with ferocity that made echoes all around the block."You know nothing about me!" Clara shouted, her voice racketing off the concrete. "I am not like you am-I better than all of you!"Dolores laughed cruelly, though she was still wrestling to pull Clara away. "Better? You look where you are, you bloody genius! Just another inmate, just another number!"The crunch of fists striking flesh and the shrill scrape of feet across the floor brought guards running. Alarms blared, red lights flashing as the fight escalated. Dolores shoved Clara against a wall
Her fingers stroked the material. "Okay," she breathed.The boutique manager came back once more, and Eliana smiled, her voice more even now. "We'll take this one.""Good choice, Miss Thompson." The manager clicked her fingers together, obviously delighted. "We'll have it steamed and wrapped up to deliver this evening, or would you like to take it with you?"He rested against the door of the fitting room, arms crossed, suit perfect, tie razor-sharp—but jaw clenched, eyes contained, tracking her each movement in the mirror."You're staring," she said without raising her gaze."You knew you would."Eliana swung around reluctantly, glancing at him.The way he regarded her—it wasn't admiration. It was possession, and something in his eyes that bordered on restraint."Well?" she breathed. "Too much?"His gaze dropped to the V of the neckline, black, and up to her face."It's perfect," he said softly. "Perilously perfect."A silence. The whir of the boutique died under weight of air between
There was silence. Alexa was always too professional ever to say anything that wasn't absolutely imperative, but Eliana could almost feel the twitch of interest in the static."Oh, of course, ma'am. I'll alert Mr. Wolfe right away."The intercom clicked off.Eliana slowly breathing out through her nose, her fingers running along the top of the desk as if signing the lines of her own doubt.Why does the ring of his name feel like pulling on wire that had twisted hard against her ribcage?Damian Wolfe. Her shadow. Her bodyguard. The man whose lips whispered softly, and whose eyes whispered too loudly, leaving her quivering.It was not right—the way he gazed at her. The way he avoided gazing at her when he should have.As Nathaniel had been comfortable with the old version of her… Damian was comfortable with the woman she wasn't yet. With the one with burning rage, fear, and smoldering lust all twisted up in one.She sat back from her computer screen, attempting to escape in work, but he
She did not scroll to the top of her phone contact list. She did not have to. Damian Wolfe was the first on everyone else's list—just like Nathaniel Carter was. Two names. Two men. One choice she'd never been able to make.Until today.Her thumb was still hovering, her breathing even.One telephone call changed the direction of her life.Before she could get cold feet, she heard footsteps—heavy, slow, familiar.She turned.Damian stood in the doorway to her office.And something about the way he was looking at her—as if she were his shelter and his tempest—stole her breath."Eliana," he said softly. "I'm not going to press you. I swear. I just. I needed to confirm that you were okay.""I am not," Eliana said softly. "But I will be."He bobbed his head. "Good. Because I've watched you shatter and remade myself. I understand how strong you can be once you finally begin not to attempt to flee from yourself."There was something primal in his gaze, something smothered yet deeply well-wrou
Vincent smiled at her. "Does your security detail have a habit of crashing high-level meetings?"Noelle smiled to himself as he put away the tray."Men, take a five."Reluctance was there, but Vincent finally relented. "As you desire, bella."The others flowed out of the room, and he was left alone with her.Eliana stood in front of Damian, arms crossed, but her voice was filled with softness. "You didn't need to defend me like that."He leaned in over her. "I wasn't sticking up for you. I was reminding them who the hell you are.""I know who I am.""Then why are you allowing this world to destroy you just so you won't hurt?" His words cut her like glass."I'm not avoiding—You haven't even cried," Damian breathed, pulling another closer to her. "Not for the disaster Harper created. Not for Nathaniel. Not even for you."She pulled her face away. "If I do, I would not be able to stop."She waited. Then:"I'd defend you if you did."Her eyes were burning. She raised her face, and there
She hauled herself up, carefully brushing her matted hair out of her face, her heart slowed a bit now. More confident. Less frantic.Her gaze returned to the phone.No new messages.And for once, that didn't sting like abandonment.It felt like freedom.She stood, walked barefoot into the kitchen, and poured the forgotten tea down the drain. It had cooled. Like the version of herself who sat around waiting for someone else to pick her.That version had fallen silent now, too.A vibration on the counter startled her.Damian.Just his name. No note. Just a missed call.She gazed at it forever, then she murdered the screen's power. She wasn't ready—not for him, not yet. Perhaps never.She moved to the living room, attracted by the hum of the television behind her. Her brother's form glowed under the blue light, stretched out on the couch with a pillow over his face as if he hadn't intended to sleep but the rest of the world had otherwise."Saben?" she whispered.He groaned. "Mmhmm?""Did
The door closed gently, but to Eliana it was a gunshot.Her spine against the wood, she was frozen, her breathing barely more than a stillness. Her voice was still stuck in her throat, her heart bruising under the words she had said to Nathaniel-the words she had only recently realized for herself. "What have I done?" Eliana whispered into the silence, her voice faltering slightly.The Thompson estates did hulk over her in oppressive silence. The sort that did not forgive-it judged.Stumbling, she fell to the couch with her knees buckling under her. Her hand brushed against the thick cushion next to her, which Nathaniel would lean against for drawing her into himself and whisper, "You feel like home.""Then why do I feel so far from it now?" she whispered.Her phone flashed when she answered it. No messages. No missed calls. No apologies. No begging. No promises. Just her. Alone. With the wreckage of something she couldn't fix.She stared at Damian's name burning on her screen. Her t
Eliana resolved to speak with Nathaniel.Nathaniel's presidential suite door was too intimate. It repelled her.She’d memorized the weight of her hand knocking on it. The scent of his cedarwood cologne that always lingered in the hallway. The way her heart used to leap—used to believe—that she belonged here.But now, everything felt quieter.Not empty. Just. still.He opened the door after two knocks, like he’d been waiting. Like he knew.“Eliana.” His voice cracked the silence like thunder rolling in slow motion. “You’re here.”She nodded, catching her breath.He hadn't slept. Rumpled shirt, rolled-up sleeves. Hair ever so slightly too messy. Eyes ever so slightly too shattered.As if he'd been injured by her very indecision."May I enter?" she asked, knowing the response in advance. Nathaniel stepped aside. "You don't need permission."She entered as if it would be her last time ever pushing the door open.He stood there with arms crossed over chest, shoulder blade against the wall
The sun filtered a reluctant angle over Eliana's headboard blinds, tinting the floor in pale golden stripes as if someone was trying to make amends for a bitter, long-fought battle. She was lying on her side, the crescent moon charm still amazing her palm, her fingers clenched around it as if it might prevent her heart from breaking into fragments.But there was reality—that her heart was already broken. In more than one place.Tap. Light. Soothing."Enter," she breathed, already suspecting who it was.Sabrina entered, loose linen thrown over her, bearing a tray full of hot tea. She put it down on the floor without a word at all, eyes drinking in the broken pieces of her daughter's mind.Eliana sat up, legs tucked under her, hair wet from last night's rain. "May I ask you something?" she asked."Always," Sabrina replied, sitting on the bed, facing her."How did you know?" Eliana's voice broke. "How did you know Dad was the one? Was it easy?"Sabrina's eyes softened. "No. God, no. It w
The storm was over, but the earthy scent of the rain remained. Fragile mist curled from the window panes of Eliana's room; now the sun had to struggle to break free from the clouds, while everything around looked bathed in soft golden light. The world looked washed clean—fresh, mysterious, like a blank page with wet ink smeared at the edges.Eliana sat on the edge of her bed, the silver crescent pendant sitting quietly in her palm. She smoothed its curve with her thumb repeatedly, as though it would somehow open up a hidden answer to her if she pressed hard enough.The sketch Saben left lay beside her, and she’d stared at it until the ink seemed to blur and reshape itself. Damian on one side. Nathaniel on the other. And her—right in the middle, like a bridge being pulled at both ends.She hadn’t slept. Not really. Just drifted in and out of thoughts so loud they echoed inside her skull."You’re the shadow that never departed.""You were the light when I was shattering."Two truths. Tw