LukeI had agreed to go on a date with Saanvi, but if I was going to attempt to find someone to replace Sophia, I was going to do it in my own way. Which meant I dismissed the outfit that Mother approved for my date and went with a slick suit and tie.Holding onto my independence was vital for my future at the palace. I didn’t need it to get around that at thirty-three years old, my mother dressed me up for dates. It was bad enough that she had set me up in the first place. I wasn’t going a step further to add to my humiliation.Even though most of it was in my head, I felt a little more like myself before heading off on my first blind date in some time. Years before meeting Sophia and taking over the family business, Mother had set me up with some women. Those were forgettable, and I hoped Saanvi was interesting to talk to at the very least.I also chose the venue. My mother intended for me and Saanvi to eat dinner together at the palace, but if I was going on a date against my will,
LukeSince we were both single, it was inappropriate for me to pick Saanvi up. So, we met at the restaurant. It was nice to be alone in the back of the car, mentally preparing for an evening with a stranger. Even though Mother and Father had a successful arranged marriage, the idea was archaic to me. If I was going to spend the rest of my life with someone, they needed to be someone I could tolerate on my own without anyone else interfering.I arrived early enough to secure our table and gather myself before meeting her.The restaurant was exclusive enough that no one approached me, but I noticed heads did turn when I sat down. I ignored their stares, already feeling the weight of Mother’s persistence in the back of my head. I had a sense that she would wait up for me and want every minute detailed to her when I arrived home.Deep inside, I hoped that I had something to tell her. Distracting myself with another woman would surely help me get over Sophia. It was all I wanted, even thou
SophiaThe hot feeling of embarrassment over the encounter with Thomas faded over the next few days. While I knew Matt wanted me to get a one-night stand out of my system, he’d been supportive when I told him what happened. It wasn’t as if I would ever see Thomas again, but talking to him all night and feeling that rush of excitement at a new love interest was what I needed at the time.Sex would come later. It would be with someone I knew well, as I had known Luke well before taking that step with him. I wasn’t about to jump in the sack for the sake of it. I was worth more than that.Funnily enough, thinking of Luke didn’t hurt as much since returning from Seattle. I imagined Gia had set him up on plenty of dates already and he had probably chosen a bride by now. The relationship we had was a whirlwind, but it wasn’t practical. I would hold it in my heart forever, but the sting of heartache I had felt began to fade away.I went into Monday morning with a new outlook on life. While ge
SophiaI narrowed my eyes. Carrie was nice, but she was, at the very least, a reporter. I wanted to believe she was genuinely interested in me, but I couldn’t reveal too much too quickly. Falling in love with a subject of a story wasn’t something that reporters did while expecting to keep their jobs.“What was the story?” she asked.“The king of Qatar was stepping down from the throne,” I said, trying to keep emotion from my voice. Even though I hadn’t known Erol that long, his loss still affected me. In the end, he was a kind man to Luke and me, accepting us as a couple. “I was sent to England to interview the prince.”“And what happened?” she asked. I stared at my hands. The buried feelings about Luke resurfaced, filling me with guilt and dread for the rash decisions I had made throughout our relationship. Pushing through them, I said, “We came to an arrangement.”“You and the prince?”“Yes,” I said. “I traveled to Qatar with him so that I could secure the interview.”Carrie leaned
LukeTaking the trip to America to see Sophia was the most spontaneous thing I’d ever done. Growing up in a palace with a daily schedule and then working at a company with complete focus and structure didn’t prepare me for what was to come.Each leg of the journey brought moments of doubt. What if she was completely over me and I was about to make a fool out of myself? Going to her apartment to see another man hand in hand with her would have broken my heart. But thinking of that possibility made it all seem very real.It would be better for everyone if she moved on, but I had to see her one more time. Putting it all out there for her one last time would give me a chance to either make something of our relationship or leave it in the past for good.It was the only way I would be able to stomach any other dates with Mother’s picks for my wife. Getting Sophia out of my head and heart was the solution.With enough money to travel privately, I reached Dallas far quicker than anyone flying
Luke“Sure,” she said. “Let’s sit over here.”We sat on the oversized brown suede couch nestled in the corner of the room, facing a small flat-screen television. Before I met her, she worked a lot. I imagined a big screen wasn’t at the top of her list of priorities. I vowed that whatever she wanted for the rest of her life, I would give it to her. She had an opportunity to have it all, but she needed to be the one to make that choice.“Do you want something to drink?” she asked.I shook my head. Water wasn’t going to quench my thirst for her.I wasn’t sure where to start with everything. There was no segue into what I needed to say.“How is being the king?” she asked, saving me from starting the conversation.“It’s different,” I said, settling into the couch. After my long journey and Sophia not throwing me out of her apartment, my body started to relax.She flipped her hair over her shoulder and pulled her legs under her. “I can imagine.”“How about you?” I asked.“Everything is stat
SophiaThe weight of all the emotions of my downward spiral from the last month lifted as Luke bared his soul to me. He hadn’t come to Dallas to just apologize. He had professed his love for me, just as he had in Qatar. Sure, we had a little bump in the road, but I was certain I wouldn’t allow that to happen again. Not without a fight.The moment he reentered my life, I wanted him more than ever. Whoever said absence made the heart grow fonder had been right. My heart, head, and body wanted him, and I couldn’t stop until I had him.He seemed to have the same idea as he reached for my shirt. His fingers moved down the row of buttons, and they flicked open within seconds, exposing me to him. I couldn’t remember which bra I wore to the interview, but I didn’t care. It would be tossed onto the floor in no time, either by him or me.I hoped it was him.His hands cupped my breasts and squeezed ever so lightly. One of his hands plunged into my bra and brought out my taut nipple. His mouth su
SophiaScrambling off the couch, I sprinted into my bedroom and kicked off my pants. Now only in my underwear, I locked eyes on my target. My suitcase was still on the floor next to my closet, and I pulled out the three condoms I had left. Having them didn’t feel awkward, now that I had someone to use them with.Luke entered my bedroom wearing only his boxer briefs. They fit him so well that they didn’t leave much to the imagination when it came to his arousal. He was hard and ready for me.He strode over to me, every inch the man that I needed and loved. He took the condom from my hands, and the rest fell to the floor.“I want you to do it,” he said.“Me?”“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I want to make sure you want this.”“I do,” I said.“Show me.”He pulled down his underwear, and he sprang free.Wrapping my hand around him, I stroked his length. He was so hard for me that my panties got even wetter than they already were.He ripped the wrapper open with his teeth and held it o
LukeWhen a knock sounded on my door a little while later, I glanced at the clock, and my jaw dropped. An hour had already flown by, and I’d checked off several items from my list.“Come in!” I called. Everyone knew that when the door to the study was closed, they were to knock and wait for my approval before entering. It was my sacred space in the palace, and it wasn’t a hard rule to follow. Though, I imagined bending the rules for our child—whenever we got around to having one—since Father had always done so for me.Sophia stood in the doorway for a moment before entering the room.“Hi,” I said to her. “What’s up?”“Do you have a minute?” she asked. Her hands clasped in front of her, as Mother’s normally were. The both of them were turning into clones of each other. I wondered if I should limit their time together or not. The thought made me smile. Neither of them would agree to that. They were two peas in a pod now.“For you? Always.” I stood up and stretched. For the last hour, I
LukeAs I perused the newspaper in front of me, Sophia and Mother discussed some upcoming banquet. Glancing over the top of the paper, I watched my wife of six months calmly eating her breakfast. Tilting my head to the side, I noticed something different about her. I couldn’t quite pinpoint it. I wasn’t sure if it was her outfit; today she wore one of the more traditional outfits of our country. Over the last months, Mother had been an excellent tutor to Sophia, teaching her about our customs, traditions, and the language.Even though Sophia hated when we went full immersion with the language, she loved it at the same time. It worked her brain like her reporting career did. I still felt a little twinge of guilt now and then for taking her away from her passion, but she had a full schedule since we had returned from our honeymoon. We both liked to keep busy, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.It didn’t take long for Mother to get on board with the new way of life around the
SophiaHe drove a finger inside of me, and I bucked my hips up to meet him. Falling back against the fluffy pillows, we moved as one, intensifying the pleasure within me. Adding more fingers and that circling thumb, my eyes fluttered closed and moans escaped my lips. If this was what it was going to be like for the rest of my life, I looked forward to every moment spent in this bed with Luke.After the drama that we had to deal with in such a short amount of time, I never felt so relaxed in my life. That part of our struggle was over, and even though there would inevitably be issues with the kingdom and Luke’s reign, there would never be a problem that we couldn’t overcome, especially if we came together like this as much as possible.The idea that I might have missed out on this life with him made me hold him close to me. I sat up, deepening his reach inside of me, and I grabbed his hardness again, thrusting all of my love and appreciation into the movements.His chin lifted, and his
SophiaEvery single point where our bodies touched lit me up inside until searing heat scorched every fiber of my being. Touching Luke’s face, feeling the stubble of his chin under my fingertips, added licks of heat to burn through me. I fell into the pools of his eyes, my love for him wanting to burst out of me. My panties were soaked through as his hand moved up the side of my body. His fingers brushed over the side of my breast. After getting out of my dress last night, I changed into a ratty old T-shirt. The fabric was thin and worn, which didn’t offer any protection from his touches. Not that I wanted any.His fingers lightly touched my neck. He put some pressure on my jaw, and I moved my head to the side. I loved when Luke kissed the sensitive part of my neck. It was one of his favorite moves. At least, from what I could tell.His soft lips touched my skin. With each movement of my body, he left a wake of warm invisible kisses along the way. He trapped my earlobe between his lip
LukeJoining her, the two of us brushed our teeth together. It was nice to get the stale taste of food and champagne out of my mouth. I watched Sophia through the mirror as she watched me. Energy crackled between us, and I could have dragged her into the shower to expend that energy. Knowing we were to be joined by several servants as they brought breakfast in the room for us made me kill the urge. For now.Even though it was the simplest of acts, the idea that I would brush my teeth at least once a day with this woman filled me with the most joy I’d ever felt. I wondered if only the birth of our children would rival that feeling.I finished before her and held her against me while she finished. With a shimmy of her ass against my crotch, I glanced at her. She leaned back against me, lifting her perky breasts higher. Slowly guiding my hand along her middle, I caressed the outside of her breasts.That was when I heard the door open from the other room. My hand froze before I removed it
LukeI never wanted my wedding day to end. Even though it was an intimate affair with under a hundred guests, the party went much longer than most banquets that I’d attended. Sophia and I stumbled into my bedroom in the wee hours of the morning.Even though I celebrated, neither of us drank heavily. I supposed we were almost drunk from the music and dancing, so when we arrived in a quiet and sacred space, the both of us passed out from exhaustion.The one thing I remembered as my eyes closed was the way she looked slipping out of her wedding dress. God, I was a lucky-ass man.***When my eyes finally peeled open, Sophia was already up and facing me. She had a big smile on her face, and her left hand propped on the pillow between us. The sparkling engagement ring glittered in the morning light that streamed through the windows. The night before, I’d barely gotten out of my clothes, so there was no chance I had been able to reach the blackout curtains before falling onto the bed.“Good
SophiaGia smiled and reached up to grab my veil. She pulled it down over my face, and the world turned a hazy shade of white. All but two of the servants dispersed, and Gia walked into the room, closing the door behind her.“You ready to get married?” Matt asked me.“Yes,” I said, lifting my chin. For a moment, I felt like Gia. Since I was to take her place as queen one day, it seemed fitting.A swell of music filtered out from under the doorway and the doors opened. It was a good thing the veil covered the surprised expression on my face. We’d planned for the wedding to be small and intimate, but I didn’t know that there would be more than immediate family at the event. Gia had mentioned some close family and friends that she’d wanted there, and I brushed it off, thinking there would be one or two extra people.All in all, there were only about fifty people, but when their gazes turned toward me, there might as well have been two hundred people there.Matt gripped my hand harder. “J
SophiaSince Gia put together the wedding in such a short amount of time, there was nothing Luke or I could say when it came to the night before the wedding. She’d let go of most of her traditional views but chose to hold on to the one that didn’t allow us to sleep together that night.While I wanted to show Luke how appreciative I was about what he’d done for me, we respected her wishes.After a wonderful rehearsal dinner with the people we loved, I took Matt around the palace while Luke and Maddox went off together. Maddox had mentioned something about the bachelor party, and Gia’s face had paled to the color of the tablecloth. I knew Luke didn’t plan on going out to a strip club—I didn’t think they had those here—but he went off with Maddox anyway, probably to defeat his best friend’s urge to flirt.Matt eventually dropped me off in the same bedroom that I’d slept in when I first came to the palace. We said goodnight, and I thought I saw excitement flash in his eyes when he asked w
LukeThe council members shifted in their seats. I couldn’t be prouder of my mother for standing up for me. It was something I always wanted but never knew that I needed. I didn’t care that she commanded the meeting space where I was supposed to reign. We were a family, and treating the kingdom like that would be my legacy.“When Erol and I chose to adopt a son, it was not something we took lightly. We knew we would change a child’s life and possibly be able to choose the successor to the throne.” She looked over at me and smiled, the way she used to when I was a child. When things seemed much simpler. When had I lost touch with that?“We picked a boy that we felt, in our hearts, needed us as much as we needed him. You all worked with my husband and the previous king. You saw how big of a heart he had for this country. You trusted his choices. Why are you turning your backs on him now? He wanted Luke to become king in his stead. What would you say to him right now, face to face, if yo