BethanyThe boys won the game, but only by a point. Erica cussed the whole way back to the room as they danced and made a scene in the hall before the girls. Bethany couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. Damon was beyond cute as he delighted in his brother's madness."This is such bullshit," she huffed and stopped at the room, glaring down the hall at them."Sore loser and you're going to be sore when I get done with you." Matt clapped his hands and high-fived Damon. If Matt and Erica ended up sleeping together, everyone would be shocked, Matthew especially."Promises. Promises." Erica slipped into the room with a soft chuckle under her breath. The girl was devious. She knew what she was doing.Bethany pressed her hand to the door and looked down the hall, catching Damon's attention as Matt slipped into their room. "That was fun.""It was, but don't forget later tonight when I strip you bare on the edge of the ocean and make love to you, that I get to. I won."A shiver ran through h
Bethany"Thanks. I appreciate that.""On a lighter note, what does the bridesmaid’s dress look like?" Erica moved back and took another drink of her coffee."It's actually white, funny enough. Mom wanted to wear a muted rose color since this isn't her first wedding. She bought me a pretty white dress that is relatively comfortable to wear." Bethany shrugged and turned her attention back to the beach as a large gaggle of girls jogged by in skimpy bikinis. Bridget was at the front of the pack."You have to be kidding me. Ugh." Bethany turned from the window and walked to one of the chairs at the kitchen table, sitting down.Erica moved to the door, looking out and shaking her head. "Desperation always screams louder than any other emotion.""That pretty blonde leading them is Damon's ex.""Oh. The chick from breakfast?" Erica moved closer to the door, peering out. "Hopefully she trips and eats it. I'm watching just in case. I'll replay the visual for you if it happens."Bethany laughed
DamonMatt reached out and patted the side of Damon's arm. "Just make sure she knows that you're not at all interested in Bridget anymore. That's what will keep things on the right track.""I already did." Damon ran his hand down his face and turned, feeling someone behind them. "I'll tell her a hundred more times if I need to.""What are your plans?""I'm going to go find Beth and see if she wants to lie out by the beach with me. It's a lazy afternoon, and from what Dad said, we aren't due to dinner until late tonight.""I'll come with you if you want.""Yeah, sure." Damon walked out into the hallway and made his way down to Bethany's room.Erica's voice surprised him as she walked up from behind them. "She's lying down. I just went to grab a Coke. You guys going to the beach?""Yeah." Damon turned to face Erica. "Is she all right?""I think so. She's just tired." Erica shrugged as her attention quickly turned to Matthew. It was almost comical to see how much the two of them liked ea
BethanyBethany woke to the quiet room around her, Erica nowhere in sight. The crimson rays of light coming through her open door brought in the awareness that it was close to dinner time. Bethany slipped out of the sheets and picked up her phone, three messages from Damon looking for her. They stopped just after lunch. He must have realized that she was taking a nap.Running her fingers through her long hair, she yawned loudly and walked to the bathroom as the conversation with Matt and Damon rolled over her again. She was making too much of it."Let it go. Stop letting shit threaten to ruin what you guys have going." She looked at herself in the mirror before picking up a container of powder. She brushed some over her nose and put her earrings back on before dressing in a coral sundress and slipping on her sandals. The cut of the dress made her breasts center stage for the outfit, but it wasn't slutty or inappropriate, just extremely feminine.She walked out of the room and texted D
Bethany"Watch it, vixen. Your little pink tongue makes my heart race." He wagged his eyebrows. The man with too many burdens and an aggravated disposition was nowhere to be seen. She needed to get him away from the office more often. Hopefully, she could be a part of alleviating some of his stress in the future.He moved beside her and slipped his arm around her, his fingers brushing rhythmically over the top curve of her rear. She crossed her arms over her chest and followed Matt and Erica as the pretty blond pulled him onto the dance floor."You wanna go join everyone?" Damon leaned down and pressed a kiss just behind her ear, sending chills racing through her."Yeah. I do." She intertwined her fingers with his and walked toward the dance floor, pausing only for a moment as he almost ran into her. "Wait. You don't like to dance.""I don't, but remember what I told you?""Oh yeah. Only at large events like weddings and when you want to seduce someone." She winked and started toward
BethanyThe wind blew around her, tugging at her dress as if urging her to walk farther down the beach. She gave in to the motion and turned away from the party, moving languidly down the stretch of soft sand. She stopped only to remove her sandals, looping her fingers in the straps and letting everything go. Too much had happened too fast. She had a crazy load of shit waiting for her to figure out how to balance the minute she got home as well. A break was in order. She just hoped it wasn't going to be her to shatter."Bethany," Damon called for her, but she kept walking, never picking up her pace nor turning around. He moved up beside her, reaching over and pulling her to a stop."What?" She glanced up at him, her voice far more cold than she wanted it to be."I got pulled into the middle of that shit. Don't be upset, baby.""You had a choice, and you chose. I was in the bathroom for a minute after being accosted by your perfect ex." Bethany shrugged, grateful that anger burned brig
Bethany"No sorries. I would have to give a million too. Just concentrate on right now. Let's me and you stay in the moment together. We'll work through all this shit from our past over a bottle of wine, nudity and a roaring fire at my place when we get home. Deal?" He slid his hands over her rear, tugging at the back of her legs.She wrapped her legs around him, the thick brush of his erection against her center causing her to whimper softly. How he left her needy and undone was a mystery. Bridget had one thing right. Being around Damon did make her feel like a starving hooker. Everything about him lent to the desire to fuck all night, unapologetically."Hold on to me tightly. I want to memorize your curves with my hands, Beth." He pressed his face into the crook of her neck, sucking softly as his fingers ran up and down her back, over her hips to her breasts. "So damn hot. I swear I almost came just watching you dancing in your sexy little dress tonight.""I was hoping you'd like it
BethanyBethany woke to the smell of coffee. She turned on her side and squinted against the bright light coming through the open glass doors. He stood with his back to her, his blue slacks on and torso bare. She laid there for a few minutes, studying him.Beautiful. He turned and smiled. "I thought I heard your breathing change a little. You sleep good?""I did." She moved up to her elbow and let the cover drop from her breasts.He set his coffee down and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling her into his arms and pressing his lips to hers in a long kiss. "I made you some coffee. Strong and thick like you like it.""That's how I like my men. My coffee I'll take anyway it comes." She smirked as he lifted his eyebrow at her."Your man, not men. You're officially off the market, Miss Thing." He leaned down and kissed her again before getting up and walking back to the kitchen. "Go get in the shower and let's get the day started. There are a few more things to do for the ceremony
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