Bethany"Bethany? That you?" Martha's voice was comforting in ways that didn't make sense, but Bethany was willing to take anything she could get."Yeah," she called out to the Bryants’ cook and maid. "I just came by to talk with Kent for a little while.""He's out back, working on his golf swing. Take the stairs beside the pool down to the grass, and you'll see him." The older woman laughed as she stuck her head out of the kitchen. "Or just follow the sound of cursing. His swing is off today, and he's not too happy about it.""Thanks." Bethany glanced over toward Martha and paused as she stepped out of the kitchen."What's the matter? You look like someone died." She ran her hands over Bethany's shoulders, squeezing softly. "You okay?""No." Bethany glanced down. "I quit today.""Quit what?" The look of shock on Martha's face didn't help the sickness playing around in the pit of Bethany's stomach."The firm. I can't do it anymore." She shrugged. "Let me go talk to Kent, and we'll cat
DamonThe meeting had been short, which was good, but fuck if he didn't have a million things to say to the beautiful brunette that stole his heart. His pride kept his tongue tied up as he walked out of the room and took a sharp right to walk back to his office.Delilah was upset about Bethany's report she'd turned in, but he'd yet to see it. After he checked his messages, he would ask his new senior manager to produce Beth's report so that he could check it out himself. It was a coaching moment that he could have with Beth if nothing else."Damon." Delilah stuck her head in the room, her blue eyes a little wide as if she were scared."What? Make it quick," he barked, glancing up from a pile of papers on his desk. She was beautiful and reminded him of a better version of Krista, but she was the past. He couldn't even force the feeling that something might happen between them. It wouldn't happen now like it didn't when they were younger. He was unfortunately lost to everyone thanks to
DamonDamon closed the door behind him and dropped down into his chair. He reached over and pressed the speaker phone button."James. Tell me you have some good news. This fucking day is making me want to break open the oldest bottle of brandy I have and drink myself into oblivion." He closed his eyes, praying like hell that James wasn't about to deliver more bad news.Beth walking out of the firm on the pretense of quitting was not only a horrid situation for him personally, but he would be facing one fucked up shit-storm when he got to his father's that evening. Beth was family and no one treated family like it would appear that he treated Beth."Hey man. I read over the audit reports and the recommendations. We're going to rebuild the inventory system using the programs you've noted here. I hired a new general manager for the Florida plant earlier this week. He's on the ball and will give you a call later this week. Thank you for all of your hard work. You’re an invaluable member o
BethanyShe had to get over her depression. It covered everything in a dark gray tint and left her wanting to sit on the couch and stare at the wall. She could cling to a tight facade of indifference when she was out in front of other people, but when she was at home alone, there was no reason to put forth so much effort.The date with Philip the night before should have been fun. He was a great guy and so incredibly safe for her from a relationship perspective. Sadly enough, all she'd done the whole time was talk about Damon, think about him, cry over him... it was disturbing."Stop it," Bethany grumbled angrily as she sat up and tossed her pillow across the room. She'd cried her way through another long night. How long would the pain and sorrow over losing him last? "Forever."She pulled herself out of bed, using her anger as fuel to push herself through a quick shower. She got dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before pulling a sweater over the top of her head. A quick brush
Bethany"I wasn't asking you to." She paused by the door and glanced over her shoulder. "What would you do for love? Would you give up your rights and become whatever your lover wanted you to?""Is he asking that of you or are you forcing yourself to believe a lie to stay protected from possibly the greatest thing you might experience in this life." His gaze darkened. He was pushing at her, and she knew it."Would you change everything, Kendal? That was the question."He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced down as his expression changed."Yes. I would change everything for the kind of love that promised to sustain me through loss and death, through fear and loneliness. There isn't anything I wouldn't give up for that.""Not even your rules?" Her eyebrow lifted. She had him."Perhaps that's the only thing." He smirked and shook his head. "Get out of here and go mend what you've almost let get broken. It's not worth all that, and if I stand correct, neither you nor Damon have r
Damon“Unbelievable." Damon tossed his cell phone into the seat beside him. Never in a million years had he seen Kendal Tarrington look at a woman so tenderly. The way he held Beth's hands in his teaching auditorium left no doubt in Damon's mind. They were sleeping together. If nothing else, Kendal had feelings for the girl.The agony of thinking that Beth would turn to someone else for affection was enough to cripple him, but it being his closest friend? Kendal was like a fucking brother.Sweat gathered at the edge of his brow as memories crowded into his mind, one after one, each more fucked up than the last."Stop," he whispered and closed his eyes tightly as the sound of his mother's infidelities filled up his mind. How long would he have to carry the burden of knowing what she did? She was gone, and he still carried it around. The dark circle it created on the center of his heart was only growing.Pressing his hand to his chest, he reached up angrily and pulled down the rearview
Damon"All right." Damon squeezed his father's shoulder before walking to the door. It was the perfect time to explain to his dad why love didn't work. Love was great, but without fantastic sex and loads of money to boot, most women would go looking elsewhere. Why would his mother cheat on his dad? He was a great guy. The house was beautiful; they had everything anyone could want, and yet she slept around like a whore. Why?Because the sex was bad, or maybe there wasn't enough of it.Either way, he had promised himself years before that love, wealth, and sex would be the center of his relationship with a woman. There would be an abundance of all three, and then, and only then, she wouldn't cheat on him, or leave him stranded.And yet something was missing with Beth. The money was there. The sex was in extreme abundance, but maybe James was right. Maybe he wasn't showing his love in the right way.He almost felt too tired to figure it out, as if it were worth too much effort."Son."Da
BethanyBethany got to the coffee shop a good forty minutes before she was supposed to meet Philip, but it gave her time to think through how she was going to let him down. The guy was perfect for her, but she wasn't open to thinking about truly dating anyone yet, nor would she be for a long time.Worry continued to swirl in the pit of her stomach over Kendal. Something was wrong. She'd tried calling Matt several times to see if he figured out what was going on yet, but he wasn't answering."Hey, you." Philip's voice caused her to glance up.His dark blond hair was cut short like he assumed Damon wanted it at M&B. He looked good no matter the length of his hair though. Being from Australia, he not only had his sexy accent going for him but the beautiful golden color of his skin, his great smile, hot body, and sweet personality. He was the full package, but it didn't matter. Someone else would grab him up by the time she healed enough to even consider anything more than a friendship.S
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