BethanyThe sun pressed against her exposed shoulders as she walked to class. The world somehow righted because of Damon's hands having been all over her. How the man made her feel so good in so many ways was still mind-blowing. She’d left holding her skirt as he walked closely beside her. The rip wasn't horrible but enough to where she was more than mortified by the idea of walking out with it. They were both laughing by the time they reached her car.He had leaned over as she rolled the window down, the look in his eyes leaving her breathless. He was going to tell her. He had almost said it. It was on the tip of his tongue surely. She shouldn't have saved him from the heaviness of the moment, but the truth was she loved him. He would express himself when he was ready. She was more than sure of his feelings for her.Bethany reached up to ensure her sleeveless white top was positioned properly. The last thing she would want is for Kendal to think she was trying to dress seductively. H
Bethany"I think that someone who's wanted love for a long time, and finally gets it, feels a sense of ownership over it. Sometimes to the point of it being unhealthy. It becomes more like an obsession.""And when that love is denied or taken away, they snap?" Bethany sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, her thoughts sliding from Krista to Damon. How long had he been opposed to loving someone?"Sometimes, but I think it depends on the person." Kendal moved to the edge of the stage again, squatting. "Take Damon for instance. He's had plenty of shallow relationships, but he's never, in all our years together, introduced me to anyone he called his girlfriend.""But what if something happened and he lost me? Would you think he would be violent?""Are you worried?" Kendal tilted his head to the side a little, his gaze inquisitive."No. I love him too much to think about a future without him. I don't think it's the situation with us, but I can't help but wonder.""That's natural. He loves
BethanyBethany got home around four and decided on a quick nap before everyone was scheduled to arrive for dinner. She wasn't much in the mood for company after seeing Jake bruised and laid up in the hospital, but they had advertisements to review and final plans for the wedding trip to make. Lying in the comfort of her bed, she finally gave herself over to the need for rest and slipped into the welcoming arms of darkness."Beth, baby ..." Damon's voice pulled at her. She tried to sit up, but he tightened his arms around her, the handsome thing lying behind her in the bed and spooning her. He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck and brushed his hand down her outer thigh. "You awake?""Yeah. I didn't mean to fall asleep, or maybe I did. What time is it?" She curled up farther and snuggled back against him."It's almost seven.""Seven? Shit." She pulled from him and slid off the side of the bed. "I need to get ready. I was hoping to take a shower.""There is no reason to hurry, baby.
BethanyBethany slowed just before walking into the kitchen, heat burning her cheeks from her forward response. A smile lifted her lips, leaving her feeling fulfilled, happy. Her mother turned as she stood with Erica, Matt, and Kent."There you are. We were starting to worry." Her mother smiled.Matt walked toward her and pulled her into a big bear hug as Damon rounded the corner and moved to open a bottle of wine. "There's Sleeping Beauty. Damon and Dad working you too hard at the office?""They are slave drivers." Bethany laughed and walked toward the large platter of crudité. She picked up a carrot and dipped it in the creamy ranch sauce as Erica responded."Man, I remember when I started working for these two years ago. I took more naps than I care to remember." She smiled, and Bethany returned the gesture. "I would honestly go home feeling like my brain was bruised.""That's because you're creative, and they aren't. Like trying to teach calculus to Michelangelo." Matt joined in a
Bethany"We already knew," Bethany's mom responded softly. "We fully support what's happening between the two of you and have seen changes in each of you that leave us breathless. We can't speak for Matt, but we knew this moment was coming."Bethany tucked herself into Damon's side, some part of her wanting to disappear as tears began to streak down her face."I love you both, and you know that. I figured something was up the night you treated me like the fucking pool boy and sent me to fetch shit left and right so you could make out while I was gone." Matt laughed loudly, everyone else joining in but Bethany."Are you sure you're not disappointed?" Bethany spoke up, her voice broken with emotion."No, baby. I couldn't be more proud of the woman you're becoming. Damon is family by marriage, and the way you two look at each other thrills me as your mom."Bethany moved away from Damon and walked to her mom, slipping into the warmth of her hug and letting herself cry a little. Kent patte
BethanyBethany turned and looked around the tiny garage, boxes piled high on both sides of her. There was no way they were going to be able to get her mother's place fully loaded up by nightfall. Why in the hell the woman would want to was the question. She had gotten a wild hair that everything needed to be moved out of the old house and put into storage before the wedding three days away.Letting out a long sigh, Bethany pushed her chestnut hair back, the messy bun at the back of her head not doing its job at all. Her mother walked in from the front of the garage, a few cars having stopped to see if they were having a garage sale."Go call Matt and Kent. Someone wants the washer and dryer.""Mom. We should just donate all of this stuff. There's no reason to sell it.""I am donating it. Go get them, sweet girl."Turning, Bethany checked her phone for the tenth time within the hour. Damon was at the office, holding down the fort so the rest of them could help pack. He was the only on
Bethany"I love you too. I need to get up to the college." Bethany released her mom and ran her hands over her shirt. "The college is closed right now, and I'm not even sure if Dr. Tarrington is up there. Does this look too bad to just drop by for an hour or so? Should I get dressed up?"Her mom reached out and brushed her hand down Bethany's back. "Change into a blouse instead of this t-shirt, and you should be good to go. Your jeans aren't dirty. Before you go, tell me how the situation with your friends is going."Bethany's best friend and roommate, Krista, had gone off the deep end a few days earlier, attacking their other best friend, Jake, and leaving him for dead. It was still a mystery as to what would lead Krista to react so violently to Jake turning her down. It had to be a combination of being off her medication combined with having her heart broken. It seemed to be the most likely reason."Jake is going home on Monday. His parents are with him now. He's doing better, just
BethanyShe had gone through an array of emotions by the time she reached the campus. Parking the car, she rolled up the windows and sat in stony silence for a minute longer. She had promised Damon that she would give him time and space to work through some of the things that bothered her most about him, and she would. Forcing herself not to react was going to kill her, though. He was a different man at home than he was at the office, which made sense to some extent, but she belonged in both worlds with him. They would have to work through their differences of how they expected those worlds to look.Grumbling, she got out of the small Honda and slammed the door, the car groaning in protest. Damon was right about one thing, she needed to get a new car, but there were more important things nagging at her, like paying for her graduate program. The car hadn't fallen apart yet, and her plan was to pay Kent back with the money she was making at the firm and then start working to replace her
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