KendalWas she beating herself up over Mandy still? She had no control over when my sister died or how long she lived."No one knows the day and time of our deaths. That date on a folder doesn't mean shit. Let it go." I brushed my fingers down the side of her neck, her skin like silk. "And honestly, I've heard of people dying on the date the doctor prescribed as if they had no other choice. I wish they would do away with their fucked up estimates. People would do better with not knowing.""I couldn't agree more. I wanted to tell you that I'd seen the date the last time you and I shared dinner, but I couldn't force myself to do it. It felt too much like a death sentence.""Is that why you were so upset? It wasn't Mr. Jackson, then?" My lip lifted in a smirk. She wanted to condemn herself and there was no way I was letting that happen. The two of us had been hurting enough already. It was time to move past the darkness and take for ourselves what little bit of happiness we might find in
Kendal"Baby." I reached out and pulled at her wrist. "Come here."She moved into my lap and I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her down for a long kiss. I took my time exploring the soft wetness of her mouth, worshiping her tongue and running my fingers down every inch of her back before she finally pulled away."I'm going to New York this weekend. Come with me. We can be a couple there together without having to worry about anything, right?" She cupped my throat and leaned in for another long kiss, leaving me to my thoughts.Getting out of town for the weekend sounded like a plan. I needed to get outside and breathe the air a little. I'd been cooped up in the house every chance I got since Mandy died. Being with Dana and getting to hold her hand in public, or pull her close when I wanted to sounded blissful."Will you come?" She smiled, already so full of herself.I chuckled. "Yeah. I need to get a plane ticket, but I'll come with you.""Yes!" She jumped up and did a little jig
DanaTwo Days LaterOlivia still hadn't returned my call about coming to stay with her in New York for the weekend, which was starting to get on my nerves. I knew she was under a lot of pressure and had been traveling a lot with her job, but still.I put the broom up after running it across the kitchen floor in an effort to feel like I was doing something domestic. I hadn't seen Kendal in two days, which was good and bad. He was working to get himself back in the groove of being at the college, and we were playing lovers under cover. The only thing missing was the sex. Damn Jackie for losing her keys. There was no way we'd have ended the night with a few kisses and nothing else if she hadn't jacked everything up."It was for the better," I mumbled and picked up my phone to try Olivia again. My definition of “better” felt rather fucked up at the moment. The best thing would have been spending the night trapped beneath Kendal, letting him take out every torrid emotion he had on my willi
DanaI texted Jackie just so someone would know where I was in case I never showed back up from the date. At least the cops would know to come after Cameron and not Kendal. I smirked at the thought."Thank you for this." Cameron's voice was soft and friendly as I got into the passenger's side of his car."I'm just ready for this to be over." I buckled up. "You left me, not the other way around. It should be me who's begging you to come back, but when you left, I realized how good it felt not to have someone shitting down my throat all the time.""I know, baby, and I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He reached over to take my hand, but I slapped his away."Don't. Touch. Me.""Okay." He nodded and pulled out of the parking lot. "How's the hospital been? Work going okay?""It's an internship, but it's been going great. I'm starting my mini-mester now.""You know if you need any help with your business classes that I'd be happy to help you, right?""Thanks. I'll keep that in mind
Kendal"Thanks for meeting up with me. I know you have a lot going on." Mark lifted his coffee cup as if to somehow salute me with it. We weren't necessarily friends seeing that he was dean of the accounting department, but he was a brother from my fraternity back in his day. Kappa Alphas always worked to respect and help one another in life, no matter the situation or circumstance. I was more than grateful for the connection if nothing else."Of course." I took a quick sip of my coffee and set the mug down before leaning back in my chair and giving him my attention. It was early Thursday morning and where I'd gotten back in the routine of being back on campus the last few days, I was still a little unsure of myself. Getting over my sister's death wasn't going to be easy, but keeping busy seemed to help."How are you holding up?" Mark lifted his thick black eyebrow at me."I'm doing all right. As good as can be expected." I clasped my hands in my lap and let the excitement of going ou
Kendal"Great job today, class. We'll pick back up next Tuesday on page seventy-five. Have your point-of-sale diagrams completed and come ready to discuss." I glanced around the room and smiled as everyone mumbled their responses and walked to the door like a bunch of zombies. Teaching cost accounting was the fucking pits. I'd be picking up the master's level financial statement analysis class in a week or so, which would be far more interesting and intellectually stimulating because of the level of the student.I couldn't help but wonder if Dana was still planning on taking the class. The naughtiness of seeing her behind closed doors and yet having her right in front of me, watching me with the same eyes that held all of my secrets was terrifying - and exhilarating."I'm sorry for your loss, Dr. Tarrington." One of my students stopped by the stage and gave me a warm smile. Several others stopped beside her, echoing her thoughts."Thanks guys. Losing my sister was one of the hardest t
DanaI only had time to grab a muffin from the corner store before getting to the hospital on Friday morning. Between my nerves about going out of town with Kendal and the weariness that hung on me like a well-worn coat, I was fried. The date with Cameron ended better than I expected, but I needed to talk with Kendal about the guy. Not that I expected my handsome new beau to defend me against my ex, but I wanted to be on the up and up. Something told me that it wasn't the last time Cameron would end up on my doorstep.My stomach grumbled angrily as I parked in my usual spot and grabbed my stuff. I had half the muffin in my mouth by the time I walked into the bustling halls of the hospital. It was twenty-four seven, a place that never slept nor rested. I loved it."Morning, Dana." One of the nurses from the first floor waved and gave me a warm smile."Morning," I mumbled around my muffin and gave her an apologetic smile. I jogged toward the elevator as a large group of nurses and docto
Dana"Wait. Who is Larry again?" Jackie gave me an odd look as we hoofed it through the airport. Kendal was supposed to meet us at the gate and might be a little late, but he'd promised he would get himself there."No clue." I dropped my bag on the floor by a row of chairs in front of our gate and sat down. "She said that he was her best friend. I assume he's some skinny guy with no teeth."Jackie put her hand on her hip and shook her head. "Maybe he's a dog.""What? You think he's a pet?""Why would a woman like Mrs. Delmaz have a man living with her? That doesn't make any sense at all.""She didn't seem to know what the hell she was talking about. Poor thing." I waved my hand around. "Forget it. I don't want to dwell on this anymore. I need a break from everything. Whoever or whatever Larry is, I'll find him on Monday and bring him to the hospital to see her.""You're sure going out of your way for someone you don't really know. Especially considering that the woman isn't going to r
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