SophiaEven though Abir didn’t appear fazed by the request, Luke’s tone held a heavy weight. For once, I didn’t want to know what was on his mind, but I had a feeling I was about to find out.This was what I was here for, to be Luke’s rock like he was mine. This was what a real relationship looked like, for better or for worse.When Abir left and closed the door behind him, Luke collapsed onto his bed. He rolled over onto his back and raked his hands through his hair.“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, intending for it to sound like a joke.Luke wasn’t smiling. “The council wants to meet with me,” he said.“Okay? Don’t you meet often?”“They want to see me now.”“Now?” I asked. “You just got back. They can’t give you a second to get settled?”Luke sat up. “That’s what Mother said. A king’s duty never rests.”I sat down next to him. I didn’t touch him for fear he would shrink away from me. I wanted to be there for him but not to make him more uncomfortable than he already was.“Are yo
LukeI walked toward the conversation I dreaded, and my heart pounded in time with my footsteps.As I approached the meeting room, I glanced down at the suit I wore. I hadn’t even bothered to change. Would it have made a difference? I didn’t want to keep the council waiting longer than necessary, since they were adamant about meeting me the moment I arrived from a long-ass flight into Qatar.If they didn’t like the suit, too bad. This was my house, and if they were going to make ridiculous demands, then I wouldn’t completely bow down to them.Shoving open the doors a little harder than necessary, the doors smacked against the wall and came back quicker than I’d intended.At the noise, the other council members turned their heads in my direction.Jaabir looked particularly smug while the other members had serious frowns on their faces.Shit.Normally when coming into this room, I received smiles of greeting, at least from everyone except Jaabir.“Take a seat, King Luke,” Qadeem said as
LukeThe closing of the meeting room door signaled the end of the conversation between myself and the other council members. My head swam with questions about what the fuck had just happened. Leaving Qatar and going to America to reclaim the love of my life Sophia was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Returning to the palace with her had more than turned my world upside down. While I thought Jaabir, the oldest and most traditional council member, was my only foe in that room, it turned out that all the council members weren’t fond of my decision to marry a woman outside of our culture.Their final ultimatum was clear: either I give up Sophia to keep the throne, or I give up the throne to keep Sophia. If I chose to keep Sophia, then my sixteen-year-old brother Abir would be forced onto the throne. Other than Sophia, no one else knew that Abir didn’t want the crown. Father’s dying wish was for me to take the throne. Mother had supported the decision too, which was why I made Sophia leav
LukeWe walked along the winding pathway toward the massive structure on the west end of the grounds. It was a beautiful sight with a beautiful woman, and I didn’t want Mother to ruin it, even in spirit.“Sophia, she will learn to live with it, or she can live her life without us.”“Might be hard living in the same house as her,” Sophia said.“We don’t have a normal home,” I said. “When I was a teenager and pissed off at them for whatever reason, there were plenty of places to hide.”“You, the king, are going to hide from your mother?”“No, but if she doesn’t want to be involved in our life together, then she can do all the hiding.”“Our life together,” Sophia said, looking down at the ring on her left hand. “I like the sound of that.”I pulled her close to me, never wanting to be more than a room apart from her ever again. “Me too.”We wandered through the manicured flowers and other plants that were native to my land. The first time I had brought Sophia home to the palace, we preten
Sophia“What was that about?” I asked Luke. As quickly as his adoptive brother entered the room, Abir left again.Luke walked over to the table and lightly kissed the top of my head. I leaned against him. “Abir wants us to meet his girlfriend.”Sophia’s eyes widened. “Alda?”“Apparently, she’s a frequent visitor to the palace.”“It must be serious then,” I said.“I’ll be the judge of that,” Luke said.I touched his hand. “Down, boy.”He smirked. “I just want to get to know her better. I haven’t been a very good big brother.”“You’ve done just fine.”Something flashed in Luke’s eyes. Before I could identify it, the look was gone.Even though Luke had told me that everything went okay in the meeting with the council, I had a strange sensation that he wasn’t telling me everything. Luke only hid things from me when they directly affected our relationship. I thought we were over doing that, but Luke was a kind and intelligent man, and if he needed to work through something, he would do it
SophiaWe said our goodbyes, and the two of them left without a second look. Abir took Alda’s hand as they walked down the hallway together.“Oh my god,” I said. “How cute are they?”Luke turned from the hallway to face me. “He’s head over heels for her.”“I’d say it’s mutual,” I said. “When I was sixteen, I never felt that way for someone.”“Never?” Luke asked.“Unless they were on the movie screen and out of my league, sure. Those were crushes. Whatever Abir and Alda have is for life.”“Like you and me?” Luke asked.He puckered his lips, and I met him halfway, melting into his kiss. “Like you and me.”Even though we were years ahead of Luke’s brother, finding what he and Alda had was the dream. I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.Luke stared into his mug as if he were trying to conjure something from it.“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” I asked him.He shook his head and blinked as if coming out of his own mind. “What?”“You seem distant today,
LukeUnlike last time, I didn’t leave Qatar without speaking to Mother or the council. At least they wouldn’t think I was doing anything rash. If they thought I was running away with Sophia to marry her, all hell would break loose.I spoke with Mother first, informing her that she would be rid of Sophia for a few days while I attended to Maddox and the business. I hadn’t heard from my friend for some time, and I wanted to see him again. To Mother, it probably appeared like I didn’t trust him, but she could think what she wanted. I had a life outside of the palace, and she didn’t. She would never understand.“Feel free to come back here alone,” Mother said before walking away from me.She always liked to have the last word, and in an effort to not leave in a shitty mood, I allowed it.I contacted Qadeem and informed him of my trip. The council had a small hand in the oil business, and in the years I’d run it, they had no issues. Going back there would only improve relations with our cl
LukeFocusing on Maddox and the business would distract me for a little while. And of course, there was always Sophia’s body to make my mind wander.I lowered my gaze to her chest. The shirt she wore was wide open at the neckline, showing off the top of her breasts. How I wanted to touch the smooth, silky skin. I knew what bra she had on, a cream-colored one with lace at the top. I wanted to tear it away from her body with my teeth.“Luke?” Sophia’s voice broke through my thoughts.“Yes?”“Where did you go?” she asked.“Nowhere. I’m here.”She pressed her lips together.I hadn’t convinced her. “I was thinking of what you were wearing under that shirt.”She blinked in surprise. “You were?”My tongue darted out and dragged over my bottom lip. I grabbed my wine glass and sipped from it. “You’re rarely far from my mind.”“I just thought…” she trailed off.“What?” I asked, concerned that I’d offended her somehow.“You’ve been distant since the first day we were at the palace,” she said. “I