Chapter 696: Piers Southway

Summer did wonders for the Ukrainian countryside. I liked it much better without all the snow and ice, thanks. Even though cold didn't affect me anymore, I still preferred the green and multi-hued beauty of this time of year.

I'd meant to drop us inside the palace foyer, but, instead, found myself stepping out of the veil on the giant front lawn, my sneakers crunching over gravel and old asphalt at the edge of the curving drive. The quiet of dusk washed everything in deep blues and shadow as the sun set here in Eastern Europe.

Puzzled and a little irritated I'd somehow missed the mark, it wasn't until I looked up and saw the tall, handsome blonde striding toward us, a smile on his angular face, I realized I'd been manipulated.

Ahbi chuckled in my mind as the veil sealed behind me, just before Piers Southway came to a grinning halt before me. He didn't pause, speak, or ask as his hands dove into my hair, mouth descending over mine in a hungry kiss.

This wasn't the first time he kiss