SophiaMr. Fraser’s eyes darted between us as if he didn’t quite believe me. How did he expect me to keep up with a relationship when I was always in the office when he arrived in the morning and hours after he left at night?“I see,” Mr. Fraser said. “Sophia, I know it’s almost midnight, but may I have a word?”Matt downed his glass of champagne and grimaced. I stifled a laugh and the urge to tell him that I told him so. I should have had him sneak something in, but I was sure the car service from the airport wouldn’t appreciate stopping at the liquor store on the way to the party.“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Matt said and winked at me before heading in search of more booze.“He didn’t have to go,” Mr. Fraser said, staring after Matt.“Matt knows how important work is to me,” I said, smacking the head on the nail a little harder. If I were any more obvious, I’d need a piece of cardboard and a string of lights with the words “PICK ME” in big bold letters.Mr. Fraser smiled, but it d
LukeFor the entire flight to my childhood home, I sorted through emails on my laptop, desperate to keep the conversation with Father as infrequent as possible.But as king, he had other duties to attend to. While he locked himself in the suite on the private plane, fielding whatever issues were ailing the country that he ran, I did the same with my work. I wasn’t as productive as I would have been at the office, with the constant turbulence and the staff’s eagerness to cater to my every need, but I did get enough done to feel somewhat accomplished by the time the plane landed.As the plane touched the ground, I drew in a sharp breath, and a sinking sensation weighed in my gut. The plane slowed, and the moment the “fasten seatbelt sign” turned off, I clicked the buckle open and stood up.The door to Father’s suite opened a few seconds later, and he strode past me with his staff right behind him.I hadn’t bothered to change into the more traditional clothes that Father would have prefe
LukeWalking in the opposite direction from Father’s drawing room, I went in search of Mother and Abir.Knowing where they would be, I walked with purpose down the long hallways and across the glittering marble floors with intricate gold overlays. Being in England for so long with the bleak weather and the different style of houses and buildings, coming home to the palace made everything seem brighter, enough that I yearned to wear my sunglasses again.Mother would never approve, so I didn’t entertain the option. I merely squinted my eyes until they adjusted instead.The New Year celebration would take place tonight, and Mother always went above and beyond. It was a time to celebrate family and close friends, and she never skimped on the festivities.I found her and Abir in the Great Hall, overseeing the staff transforming the banquet space into the most lavishly decorated room in the palace.Abir was the first to see me. “Luke!” He hurried over to me and reached his hand out to shake
SophiaIn the taxi over to the hotel, I flipped through my passport. I tried to keep my cool as the agent at Heathrow placed my very first stamp onto one of the pages in my book. I wanted to commemorate it somehow, but I didn’t want to seem like a naive tourist.Instead, I clicked a picture and texted it to Matt with a thumbs-up emoji.With the time difference, I wasn’t sure what time it was in Dallas, or even if he had managed to get a flight back to Seattle.I had little time the night before to pack, but I was surprised to find that Mr. Fraser had added an international cell phone package for me to use while I was in the UK.It would make things easier when it came to communication with my boss, but I tried not to overdo it with texts that weren’t work-related.It was a little sad that at twenty-nine years old, I never made it out of the country before, but after nailing this assignment, that might change.Who knew? Maybe next year I would have a full book of stamps that I would be
SophiaThe concierge was helpful in getting me a car, and before I knew it, I was back on the road. This time, I didn’t look at the sights. The sun had started to set in the distance, and I hoped that I wasn’t too late to speak with Mr. Walters. I wasn’t sure what the schedule for an oil tycoon was, but I needed to nail this story to show Mr. Fraser that I deserved the promotion.When the taxi stopped, I looked up at the massive building next to the vehicle.“This is it?”“Yes, mum,” the older gentleman said.Stepping out of the car, I stared at the structure. It looked like a box, all sharp angles and several stories high.I swallowed the lump in my throat and lifted my chin, acting as if I belonged there.Walking up to the building, I noticed a small gray box next to the door. A red light shone from the top corner. It looked like a swipe card reader, and I didn’t have any way to access it.The front doors looked pretty heavy, and I peered through the small window, which was high eno
LukeIt was good to see my family again, but the unrelenting pressure of taking over the kingdom had turned my little vacation into a tension-inducing trip that had me more wound up when I left than when I’d arrived.I kept it all inside, as I always did. It was one of the ways that Abir and I were different. My dear brother wore his heart on his sleeve while I closed off all emotion when I could, especially when it came to the public eye.From the airport, I didn’t even bother going back to my flat. I had a lot to do at work since I’d missed two days already. I knew Maddox would want to know what happened since I was sure the news of Father stepping down was already known throughout the company, if not the public as a whole.Promising him dinner would help defeat his curiosity. I had a lot to make up for, and I wasn’t going to let this company suffer because my mind was distracted by the decision about becoming king.I arrived around the time that the rest of the employees did, so I
LukeMy door opened, and the both of us turned toward it. Justine always knocked.Instead of the familiar face of my secretary, I looked into the pale blue eyes of some strange woman. Her dark hair fell over her shoulder, and she was dressed in a gray skirt suit that made her eyes appear even bluer, if that were possible.“Speak of the cheeky devil,” Maddox said with a grin. I knew that smile. He’d already made up his mind about her. I wished he’d think with his brain more often.You’d have to be blind not to think she was gorgeous, but I’d been around enough news outlets to know that they always sent in the pretty girls to get their foot in the door before the real questions began. Questions I didn’t want to answer at the moment. She was right to get to Maddox first. He was a pushover when it came to a pretty face. But I knew better. She was going to have a tougher time with me.“I’m Sophia Holmes,” she said, stepping into my office as if she owned the place.I wasn’t impressed. “I d
SophiaTo keep up my charade about doing a piece on the company, I agreed to speak with Maddox after leaving Mr. Walters’s office. I hoped he hadn’t realized how struck I was by him when I burst through the door. I’d seen pictures of him, but they were mostly random candids that showed his hands in front of his face, or ones taken at a press event. I hadn’t thought he’d be as attractive as he was.He towered over me with a brooding gaze that gave me a different type of feeling than Maddox and the bellhop. Power rolled off him in waves, and I wondered what it would be like to be in his presence on my own. It was a good thing Maddox was with me for the initial meeting.Even though I couldn’t care less about the actual business, I stroked Maddox’s ego for about a half hour before delving into the nitty-gritty. I couldn’t get Mr. Walters out of my mind. Even though I planned on speaking to him at some point, getting some dirt on him from his friend would prove to be helpful to get him to
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