Damon"Hey, you!" Damon walked toward his brother, Matt, as the big oaf jogged off the plane and used the rope as a hurdle."I'm home!" Matt wrapped Damon in a tight hug and lifted him off the ground as Damon grunted. Matt might have been the little brother, but he wasn't little at all. Not by a long stretch."Hi, son." Damon's father moved up and wrapped Matt in a hug as soon as Damon released him. Matt's smile was so big, it had to have hurt his face, but he didn't seem to notice."Sick of Seattle already?" Damon asked as they walked toward baggage claim. He could only imagine that Matt would have one to two bags. He was a groomsman in the wedding and Karen might kill him if he didn't have his shoes and accessories that she and Bethany had picked out and shipped up to Seattle. Why in the fuck they expected Matt to keep up with anything was beyond Damon."No, it's beautiful up there, but there's no place like Texas. It's early spring, and it feels like heaven." Matt gave a goofy grin
BethanyThe week had been far too much fun with Matt back home. Shopping and movie watching, eating out and going through old photos had been the go-to activities. Damon had been there for the majority of the time but had to slip off to the office every once in a while. With Matt home, it was hard to be upset about Damon needing to work. The only problem was that the week went by far too fast.Bethany woke up on Thursday morning and lay in the darkness beside Damon, her mind racing with the fact that they were going to be married on Saturday. She was thrilled and yet terrified. She was just learning how to be a good girlfriend to the wayward alpha male. But being his wife?"Is there any difference?" She rolled onto her side and reached out to run her fingers down his arm. His muscles flexed, and he groaned softly as she traced his bicep."You talking to yourself, sweetheart?" He was still half-asleep from what she could tell."Maybe." She moved up behind him, pressed her chest to his
Bethany"Hi, baby!" Bethany's mom stood up from a chair in the lobby of the spa. "Erica got in this morning. She'll be here any minute.""Hi, Mom." Beth smiled at the attendant to her left. "We're here for the Bethany Bryant spa day?" Why her mother had forced her to put it in her soon-to-be name was beyond her, but there was something right about it.""Of course. We have everything ready for the three of you. Did you want to wait for the other member of your party?"Bethany pulled her mom into a quick hug before turning her attention on the attendant. "Yeah, I guess we should. Do we all go into a room together?""No. The first part of the spa day is for each of you to get an hour and a half massage of choice. Then we'll put you in a private room in the back for lunch and send in our nail and hair specialists one at a time. Are you the bride?""I am." Bethany felt odd even saying it."Good. So it's up to you what you'd like to do." The lady smiled and glanced over toward Bethany's mot
DamonDamon waited until Bethany left to meet up with her mom and Erica to take a long hot shower. He'd been honest about her locking the door. Something about wanting more of her rode him the hardest after just having her. It was like an addiction. One he didn't mind at all. As long as his need to feel her against him didn't get out of control, he'd be good. She'd accused him in the past of using sex to settle hard emotions between them, and truth be told, he had. It was his love language and the deepest way he knew how to connect with her.Maybe that would change over the future, but for the time being, he was happy with who he was and thrilled with the woman she was becoming.He took his time in the shower and let his mind wander through his life, enjoying each and every part of it as he focused on his relationship with Beth, then with friends, then work and then family. Everything was in place. Now all he needed was to enjoy the next few days celebrating a new life with his almost
Damon"So, James Talling got back with his family? That's crazy." Matt walked beside Damon down the fairway as Kendal stopped to pick up his ball."Yeah. He cut back on everything at the office and made sure his wife and kids knew they were first." Damon shrugged. "As much as I enjoy my work, I'm going to have to do the same. Dad's looking at bringing in a few more executives this year to help balance things out. I think he and Karen realize how much I'm working, and where it wasn't that big of a deal in the past, it is now."Ben moved up on Damon's other side. "You're there all the time, but a lot of that is your own doing. You have control issues, dude.""Nooooo..." Kendal jogged to catch up, finding his place on the far side of Ben. "Not Damon Bryant. Head of everything and follower of no one.""Keep it up." Damon glanced over at his best friend, enjoying the teasing more than he'd ever admit."I think maybe this time you should interview the candidates first. Dad hired some idiots
BethanyThe spa day was relaxing, but more than spending time with the girls, Bethany was ready to spend time with her man. Between a few needs at the office and Damon's groomsmen taking up all of his day, she didn't get to see him until lunch the next day."You looking forward to your bachelorette party tonight?" He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the side of her neck as they stood in their kitchen.She slathered mustard on half a sourdough loaf and pressed back against him. "Not really. I'd much rather be here with you. We're not going anywhere too exciting. Just to dinner and maybe to have a few drinks.""What? No club where you can shake your ass safely for the last time?" He cupped her breasts and moved his kissing-assault up to her ear, licking a few times.Chill bumps raced down her back and coated her arms. "I'm not exactly the shake-my-ass kinda girl.""I like it when you shake it." He kissed her again and moved back. "You want something to drink with your
Bethany"Dana, this is Erica. I know you guys have met, but just in case." Bethany moved back as the dark-haired nurse who'd captured Kendal's heart smiled and extended her hand to Erica."Nice to meet you. I've heard a little bit of your story through Kendal. You're up in Seattle?" Dana asked and moved closer to Erica.Bethany moved out of the way to let the two girls talk and lifted up on her tippy toes. Her mother and Aunt Patty were flirting with the bartender, or rather, Aunt Patty was. It was almost funny to watch, and yet Bethany's aunt was a looker, a strong woman with a sense of direction, but quite demanding on men. She would find someone eventually. She had to."Damn... I should have jogged with them," Bethany muttered, referring to Matt and Sophia. She hadn't met the girl before, and it seemed odd to invite her to the bachelorette party, but she was Matt's best friend from grade school, and at one time, she practically lived with Damon's family. She needed to be there. Bet
Damon"Let's get this party started!" Matt walked into the kitchen at their father's house, a floppy clown hat on his head and a party toy sticking out of the side of his mouth. "Here. We got you this..."Damon caught the t-shirt Matt tossed to him and glanced over to find Kendal holding back tears. "You guys are fucking stupid. We're in our thirties. We should be playing another round of golf, eating a steak dinner and flipping each other off.""What?" Kendal choked on a laugh. "We've been waiting for this moment since we met. Remember we used to talk about fucking up the town at our bachelor parties together?""That's when you guys were still fucking women together. Duh." Matt rolled his eyes and walked to the fridge."Wait. What?" Ben glanced up from the paper and gave Damon an odd look."Long story, and not one you want to hear. I promise." Damon held up the shirt and rolled his eyes before tossing it back to Matt. "I'm not wearing that shit.""No? Can I?" Matt held it up and chuc
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