BethanyI'm coming to dinner at dad's tonight. Be there. No lies between us. No drama from you. No complaining when I give you exactly what you want.The drive home was torturous. Bethany held her phone in a shaky hand, her desire to text him back almost consuming her. What would she say? How did she respond to that?I don't want anything from you? Lies.What did she want exactly? A fling? Hot sex on the balcony to sate her lack of attention and attraction from other men for the last few years? She sighed heavily, pulling into the driveway of the mammoth-sized house her soon-to-be stepfather lived in. She turned the car off and sat in silence for a minute, her nerves pulsating along the surface of her skin.If he played it off as a joke, things could return to normal, and she would just never mention seeing him in his office with the blonde. She could keep her mouth shut. Her eyes closed as she dropped her head back, the phone tight in her grip."How do I always get myself into this s
Bethany"Did you enjoy watching me this afternoon?" He reached out and pulled her toward him, his hand a vise grip on her waist. He pressed her to the wall of the house, one hand sliding down over her hip and around to the top curve of her rear as his other hand slid along her jaw, pulling her to look up at him as he shifted his hips, his body tucked into hers from the waist down. She closed her eyes and groaned softly, her body betraying her."Did you like it, Beth? Was that you under the desk? You with your beautiful mouth licking and sucking pleasure from me?" He leaned in, lifting her chin slightly as he dragged his nose along the column of her neck."I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered, reaching out and sliding her hands along his waist. Soft panting gave way to embarrassment, warmth coating her neck and cheeks. She had to get out of there. Where was Matt?"Of course you do. I had my eyes closed for most of it, my hand gripping her silky hair, my body reacting
Bethany"So you know we have the Barrington Corp audit committee meeting coming up next week?" Kent turned to Damon, Bethany's eyes on her soon-to-be stepfather as he turned the conversation at dinner from something more casual to business."I do. I've prepared a few things, but I thought we could meet tomorrow morning to discuss the fullness of what you want to be presented." Damon shifted his dark gaze from Kent to Bethany as he lifted his napkin and wiped his mouth. "I'd like to involve Beth if you're okay with that.""Beth?" Kent looked over to Bethany. "Do you go by Beth? I thought you went by Bethany.""I go by either. Most people call me Bethany, but Damon has taken a liking to the nickname I guess." She shrugged, smiling as the rest of the members around the dinner table chuckled."Short and sweet, just like my new sister." Damon lifted his eyebrows in comic challenge."Hey! I'm not short," Bethany grumbled as everyone laughed. Damon had far too many sides to keep up with, and
BethanyThe water was warm, the night sky filled with the brilliance of a million stars. Bethany sank into it, her bathing suit a small bikini, her full-piece lost to her last skinny dipping adventure in college. The sound of a car starting brought a mixture of peace and disappointment. Damon must have left, which was a good thing, and yet...She slipped under the water, her long hair billowing out around her. She twisted, looking up through the blurry liquid to see someone hovering just over the edge of the pool. She pushed against the bottom, moving up and lifting her chin to the sky to force her hair from her face. Wiping her eyes, she opened them in time to see Damon slipping into the water, his bathing suit black and tight.Oh fuck."I thought you left," she whispered, her voice much too sensual for her liking. His smooth chest was lined with muscle, his abs holding all eight curves for perfection. She moved a step back as he sank into the water, a smile on his lips."No, Matthew
BethanyThursday morning came much too fast, and the lack of sleep from a night of tossing and turning left Bethany feeling angry and cheated. She skipped breakfast altogether, not wanting to see anyone or have to hold a conversation of any type. She had a small bonus from joining the firm that should hit her account sometime soon; she was just hoping it was in the bank already. Stopping for a coffee was out until she found time to check her online statement, a soft growl leaving her as she turned off the radio and tried to not focus on the night before. Having Damon out at the house while she was there was a complete no at this point. She wanted him too badly, needed him against her, lost in her.She parked the car and angled the rearview mirror down, frowning at herself. Her makeup looked good, not too heavy but professional. Her hair was up in a loose bun, aging her a few years, which wasn't a bad thing at all."Last night was a fluke, and the fucker is messing with you. Let it go,
BethanyHe was pissed. That much was obvious, but he seemed the type to hide those sorts of emotions. Had none of them turned the tables on him and played back? Was his dating life a quandary of limp robots that simply did as he said, when he said? He leaned over the top of a large glass table, his finger moving along a flow chart as he spoke to her in a monotone voice. She bit her lip to keep from attacking him verbally."They will have the CFO of Barrington give his report, and then I will give ours, you being the one to flip the slides, and Kent will fill in as he sees fit." He glanced up, his eyes filled with dark emotions. "Are you even listening?""Hmmm? No, I'm not." She shrugged and walked to the window, moving the blinds to look out at the cityscape."What do you mean, no? This is important. It's not a simple task. It's a moment to impress Kent and lock yourself into a larger role here at McKenzie and Bryant. Pay attention, or I'll find someone else to do it," he barked at he
BethanyThey sat in the fancy restaurant, Bethany's mind far from anything that might help her future and more attuned to the things that would wreck it. The desire to climb into Damon's seat and drown in the scent of him played through the recess of her mind over and over, her stomach aching from tensing it so many times on the short drive over.The waiter approached, and Bethany lifted her menu, trying to blink the haze away from her eyes. Damon had ahold of her in ways that birthed worry. Years of not having sex or time to find the right guy to share herself with had left her a bit too needy. The show of desire by the relentless man across the table from her had destroyed her resolve to leave well enough alone. It would take the attention of someone else to get her mind off of him. Maybe Philip was a good idea. He was cute and safe, attractive and seemed to like her already."Bethany, what are you having to drink?" Kent's voice tugged her from her thoughts."Oh sorry. Water and a g
BethanyBethany sat in her office, flipping through the files for the meeting, her mind wandering back to each and every encounter with her handsome stepbrother."Soon-to-be stepbrother," she mumbled and leaned back in her chair, turning to face the window behind her. She was turning into a nymph. All she’d thought about the last few days was Damon—and even more so, sex with him. Did she have real feelings, or was it just lust? Just the demanding need to feel something as sweet as ecstasy?"Hey, Bethany. How's it going?"She turned and stood up, brushing her skirt to remove the cracker crumbs from her latest snack. She smiled at Ben and moved around her desk, crossing her arms over her chest."It's going. How about you?""Great. I'm looking forward to our event tonight. I swear we all live for Thursday nights instead of Fridays just because of getting out together. The group has started to gel. I think you're just going to be a great add to that.""Yeah, well, Damon's been giving off
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