Matt"Where are mom and dad?" I set Bethany down and glanced around."They went away for a few days together." Bethany shrugged and slipped her arm into mine before dragging me to the kitchen. "Tell me all about the art show.""I already told you all about it." Damon glanced over his shoulder as we walked into the kitchen. "He lost his million-dollar virginity that night."I rolled my eyes and moved to sit down at the breakfast nook. "Dumb."Bethany laughed and turned to stand across the counter from me. "Did you enjoy it? Was it everything you thought it would be?""Yeah." I smiled. "Erica was brilliant, but she always is.""Hey. Speaking of Erica..." Damon turned and tilted his head to the side. "What the fuck was going on with you and that painting you did of her?"Anger swam in my stomach as I thought about the situation with Mitch. "I didn't want Mitch to have the painting.""What painting?" Bethany asked."The one of Erica naked." Damon moved over to stand beside Bethany. "Why d
EricaAfter dropping Matt off at the airport, I wanted to go home and face plant in my bed, but unfortunately, I'd set up a meeting with my staff to go over some new ad specs that morning.I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Matt stop by the stairs of the plane and glance back. My heart filled with a warmth I didn't know if I would ever have. Being raised by a loving father and hateful mother made for a less than steady experience.Tears burned my eyes as memories washed over me. The one that stuck in my mind's eye as I drove through the city was being at the opening night of Matt's showing.Fucking Mitch Roberson."Goddammit," I growled and turned to face the studio. What was Mitch doing? Why was he messing up the one thing Matt had going for him? This night meant everything to him. Everything. I pulled out my phone and texted Mitch, grateful that we exchanged numbers the week before. Me: What the fuck are you doing? You're messing up this night.Mitch: So ask me to stop. Off
Erica"Right. Sorry." I set my stuff down and let out a soft sigh. "Give me some advice. I need to shake him. He's becoming a little more than work friendly.""Why on earth would you want to shake him?" She tilted her head to the side, her eyes piercing me as if she could somehow see into my future."Because I'm dating Matthew Bryant, and I'm quite happy with him.""Erica. Can I speak freely?" She crossed her arms over her chest."Of course." I sat down in my chair, knowing that she wasn't going to have anything nice to say about Matt. The whole office saw him as a playboy child with a pipe dream of being a great artist. To the business types, it was laughable."I think you're much better matched with someone like Mitch. You're beautiful and so incredibly talented." Her expression grew almost sad. "You need a man who can provide for you and help you build a strong, solid future.""I understand how you could want that, but what if I didn't want security?" I leaned back in my chair and
Matt"Matthew?" My father's voice woke me from a dream I was having about Erica leaving me. I jerked up in the bed, my body covered in sweat, my heart racing."Yeah. I'm in here." I pulled the covers up to cover my lower body and glanced toward the door as my father stopped just inside the room and smiled at me."I thought you were coming later this week?" He was fully dressed and wide awake.I, on the other hand, was not. "What time is it?""Just after eleven. Karen is in the kitchen with Maria, so make sure you put some pants on before you go in there." He lifted his eyebrow at me."Yeah. Alright." I flopped back down on the bed. "What are your plans today? I need to chat with you about work.""I'm free for the next hour. Get your lazy butt up and come talk to me in the office. I'll be working on a few things in there until I head to downtown.""Is that bacon I smell?" I breathed in deeply. Something about being back in my dad's house had me feeling like a teenager. There was a freed
Matt"Shit. Alright." I got up and walked to the bathroom to clean up my mess. I should have forced Erica to come to Dallas with me on the trip. Being away from her sucked far too much.After I got myself together, I walked out of the bedroom and made a beeline for the kitchen. My father sat at the table with a paper and a cup of coffee. The sight of him sitting there brought back a million memories, not all of them good."Sorry. I was on the phone with Erica." I grabbed a plate and filled it with everything left over from breakfast. After finding a fork, I walked over and sat down across from the man I'd always seen as a hero. "You have a good time on your getaway with Karen.""I sure did." He folded the paper and leaned back in his chair. "Let me guess what you wanted to talk to me about. Leaving McKenzie and Bryant?"I stiffened. "It's that obvious?"He chuckled. "I never want you to be something you're not. I do want to know that you're growing up and becoming the kind of man who
EricaIt felt so good to hear from Matt earlier in the day. It was about the only thing getting me through the fucked up task of walking around the office like everything was fine. I'd left early the day before, faking a stomach ache just to get out of having to deal with Mitch a moment longer.The inevitable was coming closer and closer. I was going to have to leave M&B. For some strange reason, the thought of parting ways with my corporate job didn't scare me nearly as much as it should have."Erica. You got a minute?" Lewis walked into my office with a large poster board sketch of our latest ad project. "I know you're probably heading out soon, but I wanted to get your take on this.""Of course." I stood and walked toward him, leaning over and studying the artwork. "It's beautiful. You have very clean lines, and I love the blue and gold coloring at the eagle symbol that they use in their main logo near the top. We're good for presenting it to Kent and Damon.""Excellent." He rolled
Erica"That's not something you have to ask for, Erica. Just tell me if you need me to stop." He opened me up, sliding his thick middle finger into my heat as he rolled the meaty part of his palm against my clit. "You smell so fucking good, baby."I lifted one leg, resting my foot on a nearby chair before leaning back against him. He massaged my breasts one at a time as I rolled my hips slowly, fucking myself with his fingers."I want to hear my name on your lips," he whispered roughly into my ear as he ground against my ass."I want you everywhere. All over me. Inside of me." I bucked against his hand as a fire lit deep inside my womb, threatening to explode."My name," he grumbled and moved his other hand into my panties to play with the warm bundle of nerves at the top of my mound. "And come hard for me.""So bossy." I closed my eyes and let the feeling of him working me hard and fast throw me off the cliff. A scream built up behind my teeth as I jerked against his strong hold."Sa
MattSpending the night in Erica's arms almost had me convinced that nothing was wrong. I woke up next to her and turned on my side to watch her sleep for a little while. She jerked and cried out several times, something haunting her in her dreams."What's going on with you, baby?" I reached out and brushed her hair from her face.She shot up in the bed and yelped. "Matt?""Hey. I'm right here." I pulled her down and wrapped my arms around her as she snuggled against my chest. She was the toughest woman I knew and yet something had her spooked. "You okay?""Yeah. Just a bad dream." She wrapped her arm around my chest and nestled my neck. "I'm just glad you're here.""See? One more reason for us to move in together. I'd be beside you every night and in the morning." I kissed the side of her face. "I need to get moving right now, though. Jonathan is stopping by the house in about an hour, and I wanted to finish working on some highlights for a piece I'd like him to put in the studio.""
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