SophiaInside Luke’s room, I wasn’t sure what to do while waiting for him. If he was having a private discussion with his mother over me, then I couldn’t go back out there and pretend I hadn’t heard anything.To keep my hands busy, I made the bed and straightened up the room. Our clothes were thrown on the floor, and at that moment, I was glad I came back. If the servants came into the room with it looking like this, they would know what happened between us last night.My cheeks burned with the memory. When the door opened, I jumped and clutched my chest.Luke walked into the room and smirked. “Did I startle you?”For some reason, I couldn’t meet his eye. “You did.”He strode over to me, and before I could say anything else, he kissed me. The strong minty taste of his toothpaste swirled in my mouth, and the scent tickled my nose. I lifted up on my toes to deepen the kiss. Even last night, my mind numbed every time Luke kissed me. He had a power over me, and I wasn’t sure if I would ev
LukeWith the long flight and the time change, Sophia and I arrived in England late in the afternoon. The flight home was much different than the last flight we had together. Previously, she’d been distant and cold with me. Presumably, it was because of the conversation she had with my mother at the banquet, but we were way over that. I hoped she knew Mother’s dislike of her existed only in Mother’s mind. Abir and Father liked Sophia just fine, and I loved her. My opinion was the only one that counted anyway.Even though we’d had plenty to eat on the plane, I was anxious to blot out the last date we had, when she picked up and left for America without another word.Since we slept on the plane, we were wide awake, and I had already called in a reservation for a place near my flat.“What is the dress code?” Sophia asked.“Don’t worry about that,” I said.“Of course, I’m going to worry. I want to look good for you.” She smirked.If we weren’t about to disembark from the plane, I would ha
LukeAfter Katherine packaged all the clothes and I paid for them, I instructed our driver to take us back to the flat to get ready. Dinner wasn’t for another hour, and I wanted to see Sophia in that red dress again.When we reached my flat, my pulse spiked. As much as the palace had been my home for the majority of my life, bringing Sophia to my home in England took our relationship to the next level.Sophia got out of the car, and I watched for her reaction. She looked up at the building then tore her eyes away to glance at me.“Nice place.”I grinned. “The inside is even better.”Her eyebrows lifted. “I can imagine.”I asked the driver to remain outside while we changed. While I wanted to take Sophia inside and strip her down, there wasn’t much time before dinner. I didn’t plan on getting up early in the morning to get back to work, so there was time for us to get intimately acquainted with my second home.I adjusted the hardness between my thighs and walked over to Sophia, taking
SophiaTrying on the little black dress again created a wave of tingling to move across my skin. Seeing my reflection in the full-length mirror in the bathroom showed a whole other Sophia. Surrounded by expensive fixtures, marble tiles, and the sparkling surfaces, I felt like a princess about to meet her prince for the ball.Smearing one of my more daring shades of lipstick and adding another pop of color with my shoes, I felt a little more like a Southern lass. Even in this unreal situation, I had to be myself as much as possible. I didn’t intend on shedding my roots, but the more time I spent with Luke, the more I wanted to be a part of his world.Stepping out of the guestroom, I wobbled on my heels a little. My best friend Matt’s voice popped into my head, along with his smiling face. If he saw me, he would call me out on being a bit of a tomboy. Though going out with Luke, I would have to get used to wearing fancy things. At least in the UK. In Qatar, it was perfectly acceptable t
Sophia“Is that why you came back?” he asked. His eyes were wide, as if he could see through into my soul. I glanced at the empty plate in front of me as if it held all the answers.“I wanted to see you,” I said. It was as honest as I could be at the moment. “It was stupid of me to run away in the first place.”“You’re here now,” Luke said, raising his glass of champagne. “That’s all that matters.”The bubbles popped over the rim of my glass as I lifted it to touch his. I had promised Mr. Fraser an article, and I was going to get him one. I would have to rely on inspiration, though, because at that moment, there was nothing about Luke that I wanted to expose. He’d done so much for me. It was only fair that I repaid the favor by not revealing his family’s secrets to the world. “Have you put any more thought into becoming king?” I asked. I hoped I didn’t sound too much like a reporter, but I was genuinely interested. The last time I left him, he was close to saying yes, but he hadn’t d
LukeI wasn’t sure if it was due to jet lag or how comfortable I felt sleeping next to Sophia, but after a repeat of the other night, we fucked twice before we both passed out, and then neither of us woke until early evening on Sunday.I awoke too late to get any real work done, but I called Maddox to figure out what needed to be done before I left again. Then I checked in with my father, who was still feeling good and energetic.While I took care of those responsibilities, Sophia insisted on preparing dinner for us. Having her in my house, flitting around the kitchen as if she belonged there all along was playing tricks with my mind. This was the life I wanted, but choosing this life was no longer an option for me.I tried to conceal my disappointment at that fact, while keeping it from Sophia. As much as I preached to her about being honest, she didn’t need to know about the worries going through my head. Forcing my insecurities upon her over and over might end this relationship bef
Luke“Out late last night?” I asked, stepping into his office. The food beckoned to me.He grabbed one of the cups, and I took the other. “Not really. You got me up so bloody early that I didn’t do my workout. That usually wakes me up.”“You might be missing a lot more workouts,” I muttered to myself as I took a swig of the coffee.“What’s going on with your dad?” Maddox asked, not hearing my remark.I opened the bag and grabbed a chocolate croissant. The very mention of my father made me lose my appetite, but if I was going to function at all, I needed fuel. “It’s not great.”“Fuck. Sorry, mate.”I nodded at him and forced myself to eat. The normally sweet chocolate tasted chalky in my mouth as I chewed. I had to take a swig of the coffee to force it down my throat.“Are you headed back there soon?” Maddox asked after grabbing a flaky pastry. As he bit into it, the flakes scattered all over his desk. He didn’t seem to notice as all his attention was on me.“Looking to go back this we
SophiaAfter Luke left his place, I fell back asleep for a little while longer. There was no rush for me to get out of bed when he was going to be at work for most of the day. I was no closer to writing a story about his family, especially when I was thousands of miles away from them. My initial research involved finding every article written about his family and him. I hadn’t left a stone unturned. Other than exposing this difficult time in Luke’s life with Erol’s illness, I had nothing that hadn’t already been reported on a hundred times.While that should have bothered me, the silk sheets and comfortable mattress aided in me falling back asleep and forgetting all my worries.When I woke again, it was an hour later. My stomach ached with hunger, and I reluctantly shoved the covers away and got out of bed. Wandering across the room to Luke’s walk-in closet, I stepped through the doorway, and the lights came on right away. Rows of suits hung on either side of me, along with a small co