DamonThe light mist that covered the golf course that next morning ushered in an odd peace that Damon needed more than he wanted to admit, even to himself. Bethany had come in from her date, or whatever she'd been doing, opened the card and left him on the couch. It was a clear sign that things were headed toward being over. It was too much to consider, so like he'd done his whole life, he boxed it up and tucked it away. Fuck it. All of it."So you think you guys going down to Florida next weekend will help some?" James Talling glanced up as he wiped off the tip of his putter."Absolutely." Damon nodded and glanced over to Patrick. "Pat's going down there, and some of our other hard-hitting staff. We'll wrap everything up and set up new procedures and processes. It will be a brand-new operation by the time we leave.""And all in a weekend." Patrick chuckled and walked out to the fairway beside Damon as James moved up to take his turn. "We missed you last night. Ben thought you were g
DamonHe walked into the office a few hours later to find the staff working fast to put out a third quarter fire for another client. He left them to it and walked to his office to find Bethany staring out the window."Hey, can you organize a dinner tonight? It looks like those guys in there aren't going to get a break anytime soon. We'll either bring something in or go somewhere.""Yeah, I guess." She glanced over her shoulder. The sadness on her pretty face tore into him, but he'd made his apologies yesterday only to have her lie to him about her stomach and leave with someone. No way had she gone out by herself for two hours. He'd parked the car and gotten to the room in time to smell the remnant of her perfume that filled the place."Thanks." He walked to his desk and sat down, not bothering to ask why she was standing by the window while everyone else was busting ass. That wouldn't gain him any favors, though, after the night before, he wasn't sure he wanted any."Thank you for th
Bethany"Everything okay?" Philip glanced up as Bethany took her place beside him."Yeah, I think so." She picked up her menu and forced herself into a place of calm that didn't exist. She'd been through enough shitty situations as a teenager to know how to cover her tracks emotionally. Damon's denial of her concerns over Delilah showed where he was far too clearly.The only question was whether there was hope for a change of heart in either of them. A depression that she couldn't imagine surviving began to stir deep in her chest. As sad and stupid as it seemed, she couldn't shake the desire to have him one more time. The strong emotions they shared when making love were enough to leave her panting and shaken. It was a little like hitting a perfect drug and riding the high as long as she could. He was addictive in ways she'd never imagined possible."You don't look like everything is okay." Philip glanced around and pressed his shoulder to hers. "You and the big guy fighting?""Always
BethanyThe facade she held on to tightly through her friend-date with Philip crumbled into a million pieces when she got back to the room and found Damon's stuff gone. She cried throughout the night at the unfairness of life. She couldn't seem to catch a break no matter what she did, and each one that appeared to be something great turned into ashes in her hands.After a long, hot shower the next morning, she rolled her hair into a tight bun and dressed conservatively for her last day in the Seattle office. She was catching a flight later that night and had called to move it up to the one before their scheduled flight just to make sure she didn't have to sit next to Damon. She wasn't even sure he would be pissed about her actions. He might be happy to have a break too.She twirled her ring around her finger as the cabbie drove her to Zarpeth's corporate office, her thoughts a million miles from the present.The memory of Damon gripping her hand tightly as he told their families that
DamonThree days laterA growl left him as he paced in front of his fireplace, his house quiet and completely void of warmth. Three days. Three fucking days and nothing from her. Not a peep.What would be so hard about them apologizing and getting back together? Didn't people in love do just that? You fucked up; you got back together. What the hell? Why was it so different with them? It couldn't be. Things had to work out, and yet they weren't. Not in the slightest.Delilah had hit on him the entire way back to Dallas, leaving him sick. He didn't want another woman. He wanted his woman. No matter how many sappy-ass stories the pretty blond beside him told, or how hard she worked to remind him how close they'd been as kids, it didn't matter. She wasn't Bethany.He worked on Tuesday to get Beth off the job for Zarpeth, but his dad killed the idea. He'd spoken with Bethany, and they'd worked out the issue. Kent met with Delilah the day after and talked through her management style. All o
DamonA nervousness he hadn't experienced in a long time bubbled up inside his chest as he pulled the door open to the bar a little while later. Kendal stood by the far end of the bar with a warm smile on his face.Beth had her back to him, giving him a few minutes to appreciate how beautiful the swell of her ass filled up her jeans. She had plenty to hold on to, and the thought of some man worshiping her body instead of him left him wanting to stop in place and drop to his knees.One night. He only needed one night with her, and they could be back on track."You told him to shred his test? Why?" Her voice reached him, brushing across his skin and leaving his heart racing.His facade was in place, but he was willing to strip it away the minute he got her alone."Because he cheats, and he's an asshole. He's not going to make it in accounting. Period." Kendal glanced over at him and extended his hand as he approached. "Hey, buddy. Glad you could make it.""Yeah, thanks for the invite."
BethanyHis hands felt so damn good gripping her tightly as she stood pressed to the front of him. Damn Kendal for setting them up. He had no clue what he'd done. She had worked all week at pulling herself from wanting to fall at his feet like a weak, needy bitch and here he was, in her face, forcing her to beckon to his lust. It was consuming, a fire in the middle of a blizzard. Only a fool would deny the sexy bastard another night trapped beneath him."One more night." She lifted up and pressed her lips to his as the liquor warmed her core, adding fuel to the fire he started the minute she was made aware of his presence. They needed so much more than one more night together, but it didn't seem like it was going to happen.He hated her. He had to. Maybe it was because she had a bit of power over him, or because she'd forced him to consider a normal future with marriage and god-forbid kids, but either way, he hated her. That was the only logical explanation."Come on." He gripped her
BethanyThey barely made it into the house before he tore her shirt off of her. She reached for his and returned the favor. Thick muscle shivered under her fingers as she gripped his arms and wrapped her leg over his hip."God, you smell so fucking good. Like vanilla and sex." He gripped her other leg and forced her to wrap her legs around him as he walked them toward the bedroom.The beer and shots from earlier had fully engulfed her to the point of being drunk. She had little inhibition before, and it was much worse with her state of mind. She lowered herself a little and rubbed against the thickness of his erection."I want you inside of me." She lifted back up, rubbing her nipples over his hardened skin. "Take my bra off.""So demanding. I almost like it." He worked her bra off as she kissed and licked at his neck, pressing her teeth into the soft skin below his ear as he growled, "Be careful. You'll mark my skin.""Good." She pressed her mouth to his ear as she reached between th
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