BethanyBethany reached out and took his hand, pulling herself close to his side as the wind picked up. The smell of salt and sea washed over her. She pulled him to a stop for a minute so she could take in the beauty of Seattle. Small shops lined the streets, the decorations eclectic, the sound of music taking her attention."There you two are. I was beginning to worry."Bethany turned to see Kent moving toward them, a warm smile on his face. She released Damon's hand and moved in behind him as he greeted his father. Damon nodded to the counter, his face pale, lips wet and brilliantly pink."I'll get the rooms.""Was the flight good, Bethany?" Kent moved in front of her. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder softly, a fatherly smile on his face."It was great. No turbulence at all." Bethany moved into the hotel with him, her eyes averting to find Damon. Her heart had yet to slow down, the thumping pulse still racing down her nerve endings."That's great news. I'm going to steal Dam
BethanyShe pushed up, rubbing herself against him, her legs wrapping tightly around him. He leaned up and kissed her lips softly, his eyes dark and ominous.He stood, grabbing her thighs and pulling her to the end of the bed, her ass almost hanging off. Damon urged her legs around him, his palm flat on her lower stomach, his thumb reaching down to rub softly at her."So beautiful," he whispered, his eyes roaming all over her. "Rest now, ’cause when I get back, we fuck.""It's time ..." she whispered, the room growing hazy from the onslaught of emotion rolling through her."It's past time." He slid his thumb into her, pulling a little and leaving a sound of satisfaction. "I'm going to devour you over and over."Bethany pressed against his fingers, her sense of modesty long gone. He leaned over and kissed the top of her stomach, his lips feather light. Her breath caught in her chest as he looked up at her."I'm sorry for yesterday. I'll explain when I can. Rest so I can make love to yo
BethanyBethany woke to an empty room Monday morning. Damon's suitcase still sat by the door, nothing in the room having been touched or moved. She sat up and reached for her phone. The message from him was at two in the morning. Just a note that they wouldn't be back until breakfast. Worry tugged at her. What if it wasn't about business? What if he had someone here and went to stay with her?She growled at herself and climbed out of bed before stripping and heading to the shower. He would be who he was, and until they locked down their relationship, she didn't have much say over any of that. She stepped into the steamy hot water. The mesmerizing pressure of the liquid caused her to groan in relief. Sleep had been welcome after the long night before of worrying all night.The bathroom door opened and closed. Bethany stuck her head out, her hair partially wet, eyes wide. Damon looked over at her, pulling his shirt off."Sorry about last night. Such a fucking mess. I don't know what hap
BethanyShe moaned and rocked forward, giving him more traction to enjoy himself."Oh fuck, Beth. I need you, baby." His hands moved to her hips, the deep thrusting picking up the pace after they had enjoyed the slow sensual pattern for a while. The sound of panting caused her hormones to jolt again, her breath coming out in short spurts."It's been too long," he whispered as she moaned loudly, her body exploding into a fiery bliss as he worked her from behind. "Take it, baby. Take whatever you need from me."She moaned louder, his body pressing against the center of her and pulling her apart as if nothing more than a string held her together. She jerked her hips as his fingers tightened on her. He jerked her up, pressing his hand to her stomach and lifting her leg with the other hand. Driving into her over and over as his face slipped into the side of her hair, his teeth digging into the soft flesh of her neck.The sound of him losing himself, the feel of the wicked devil behind her
BethanyBethany looked up from the pile of papers in front of her as Kent spoke. Her soon-to-be stepfather stood at the head of a long cherrywood executive-length table, his brow contorted."I'm not sure how this happened. Why the hell aren't the numbers tying out? Zarpeth is one of our largest clients, and I know we sent a really strong senior associate to count their inventory." He sighed and pulled the chair back, slumping down in it.Something inside of her wanted to do anything to make things right. She simply didn't have the experience. Just being out of school and headed back for her master’s soon, she lacked on-the-job experience."What can I do?" Bethany leaned back in her chair and slipped her hands into her lap as her phone buzzed."Call your brother, and tell him to get here." Kent sighed again and ran his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair.His word stung without him knowing it. His reference to Damon being her brother left a mark on her. The reality that she had ju
Bethany"You're not trying to make me better. You're pinpointing my lack of common sense. That's not something you learn in accounting classes." She put her hands on her hips as heat rose up her chest and coated her throat. "And your tone is starting to get on my nerves. If you want to coach me to understand the details of shipment times at the client's warehouse, that's fine, but talking to me like I'm a dumbass because you know how things run at the Tampa plant and I don't isn't coaching."He let out a long breath. "I understand that you think we should be holding hands and smiling at each other after this morning, but I'm not interested in a relationship. If you're not willing to be a woman who’s worth my time, then you probably need to let me know that now. Save us some time."Bethany took another step back as a large ball of regret pressed into her throat, the room seeming hot all of a sudden. She wasn't even sure how to react, so she didn't. She dropped the paper she had picked
BethanyTuesday morning came fast, Bethany having ordered room service the night before and stayed in her pj's all evening. A few sappy chick flicks later, and she was a ball of tears, wishing that something besides her new plan would work. She knew a different Damon existed. He was the one that Matt worshiped. The one that was shocked to find out that maybe she loved him. The one that held her the first night they were together, not kicking her out but tucking her against him as they slept.Where was that guy? To what extreme would she have to go to dig through all of his protection to reach him? Was it worth it?"What the fuck am I going to do when I get there?"Because the truth of the matter was plain and simple. She was going to get there. It didn't matter what it took. Needing to know if anything could exist between them beyond the fiery physical attraction was paramount.Bethany finished packing up the room, throwing Damon's stuff in his suitcase as well. A soft knock on the do
She smiled as the flight attendant stopped beside her, the boy metro for sure but handsome. His smile widened a little as he looked down at her. Bethany smiled back, letting the gesture reach her eyes."Something to drink for you?""What do you suggest?" She leaned toward him a little, her tongue touching the edge of her mouth. "I'm not in the mood for liquor, but I am so thirsty."The boy's smile lifted a little until Damon cleared his throat. Bethany glanced over at him. His stare pinned her with accusation, but she ignored it, chuckling a little."It would seem my boss is thirsty as well.""Boss?" the boy asked."And my brother, actually." Bethany stared at Damon for a minute more, the light in his gaze dimming a little. Was he hurting from the way she was? She wanted to be glad of it, and yet it tore at her resolve. She couldn't do this for long. It wasn't who she was at all."Gin and Sprite," Damon responded before leaning back and closing his eyes."I'll just have the Sprite." B
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