LylaAs we stumbled into the palace, my heart jumped right out of my chest when we found Rashid's father waiting for us in the foyer, a stern look on his face. Rashid quickly grabbed me by my arm and hauled me back behind him, shielding me—or his father, I couldn't exactly tell—from my incredibly revealing outfit. An awkward silence reigned over the foyer, loud enough the only thing I could hear was all of our collective breathing. Oh fuck, we were so screwed.Rashid's father murmured something in Arabic, causing Rashid to tighten his grip on my arm and stiffen. They exchanged a few words back and forth, a tight tension to their tones I didn't miss at all, even though I had no idea what they were saying. I breathed out slowly when Rashid's father retreated and headed down the opposite side of the palace than where our rooms were.I frowned. "Is he… mad?"Rashid sighed and didn't answer me. He tugged me to follow him, leading me up the stai
RashidOur meeting with the embassy didn't finish until well after sunrise. As soon as my father and I stepped out of the situation room and the sun shone through the large windows overhead, I realized the time.Shit. Lyla.I hoped she'd fallen asleep and hadn't attempted to wait for me all night like she promised she would. I'd have to make it up to her somehow. Maybe take her shopping for some new things to wear, seeing as we've left at least two outfits behind at the club.Trying to hide my smile at the thought, I bid my father a good morning before heading to the other side of the palace. There was hardly milling about at this hour besides the cooks finishing up our breakfast spread. More than likely, my sisters and mother had already eaten and gone off to go about their days.Both of the girls had been getting food brought to them since the awkward breakfast I'd forced Lyla to attend with my family. Clearly, none of them wanted to get to know eith
LylaI tried not to be disappointed when I headed up the stairs to my room, leaving Rashid behind to do whatever his mother called about while we were… in the middle of trying to have sex.My face flushed so hard.In the middle of a damn dressing room. Who was I?Desperate, that's what. Horny and pent up from being teased into sexual oblivion. How did normal people do this? What was it called? Edging?It felt like actual torture.Shutting my door behind myself, I held up my bag of new clothes. The Prada logo stamped proudly on the side of it. I can't believe I owned something from a fashion designer. I'd never had anything this nice in my life. Sure, I frequented thrift shops and often found semi-designer clothes and handbags I bought for fun while I was still a teenager. But nothing like this. Nothing this extravagant and high-end.Dropping the bag on my bed, I tried to brush my fingers through my tangled hair. In the end, Rashid
Rashid"I'll be seeing you soon, your highness."I turned to look back at the towncar. Hafsa's window was rolled partially down, her sunglasses obscured her eyes from me, but I knew she had fixed me with an intense look judging by the way her shoulders were squared back from her. I held in a sigh and simply nodded in return. There was no use getting into an argument with her over her schedule of visiting me frequently now she'd made her intentions clear to me. I supposed if I actually had a backbone and stood up to my mother, none of this would be happening.Yet here I was, trying to fend off an Abu Dhabi princess while also trying to bed an American girl. Honestly, what had Zayed gotten me into.My body stirred at the thought of Lyla waiting for me up in her room. I wondered what she'd be wearing when I got up there. One of her new dresses I bought her? Or maybe she'd wandered back into my closet and found a few of the pieces of lingerie I'd pi
LylaWarmth spread through my chest at Rashid's words. I could feel my adrenaline starting to wane, and my bravery from earlier confronting this couple was beginning to make me feel jittery. I'd never been one to cause a scene, but I couldn't sit back and let this poor waiter be verbally abused like that."We don't need you to pay our bill!" the man screamed at Rashid, his face red with embarrassment.I winced. If only they knew they were yelling at their prince. Then again, I doubt their ignorant brains would even care. I've dealt with people like this since I got a job in retail at the ripe age of 15. There was no talking sense into these kinds of people, no matter who you were. Their entitlement allowed them to feel justified in their anger."I insist." Rashid wasn't even ruffled, glancing at the waiter again. "Please put their bill on my tab."The waiter nodded quickly. "Of course, sir."Rashid turned back to the couple, fixing them with
aLylaHe was so much bigger than I thought he would be. My entire core burned from his thick length invading me. I'd never used actual dildos before, let alone one girthy like he was, only the occasional vibrator. But fuck did I wish I had done so before this. To prepare myself. I shook and looked down at our hips to see how far he was in. When my vision finally cleared up enough, I could see that he was barely halfway inside me. What the fuck? How!It felt like he was taking up all of me!My hips strained, my legs not knowing where to go while I held them in the air on either side of his body. I lowered my feet to rest against the mattress, wincing when pain ripped through me again."Relax, Lyla," he spoke softly. Whining, I shifted my hips again, my body spasming at the sharp pain.He 'tsk'ed softly and rubbed his thumb over my clit a few times, swiping the pad of his finger slowly over it. The rising pleasure from that began to blo
LylaI woke up slowly, sore but satisfied.Moving my body from the warm cocoon I found myself in was hard. Peeling my eyes open, I blinked a few times to see it was already morning. The sun shone brightly through Rashid's bedroom windows, covered by sheer curtains. Stretching, I brushed my cheek where it rested on Rashid's chest. He smelled amazing, close to the salty sea breeze that rolled in from the gardens outside. I took in a deep lungful and relaxed to the sound of his heartbeat, steady in my ear.Under me, Rashid exhaled. Wrapping my arm tighter around his waist, I kissed my way up to where his neck and jaw met, rubbing my nose against his trimmed beard. He laughed softly. It made me grin. "Morning."His chest expanded when he breathed in deeply. "Good morning."His voice was gruff from sleep, and his accent a little thicker than usual. I held onto him when he rolled us over, putting me on my back and laying over top of me, coveri
Lyla"Wow." Melanie gripped my arm tight. "I can't believe you two finally hooked up.""I know." My words came out a little breathless. "I can't believe it either, honestly."After we'd danced around the subject for as long as we had and were forced to call it off more than once, it was safe to say that us having sex last night had been long overdue.She looked at me slyly. "How was it?"I laughed. "Incredible."She shook me by my arm, just as giddy looking as I felt. "Are you two going to hook up again?"I wanted to, that was for sure. But now that my contract with Rashid was finally fulfilled, would he authorize the rest of my money soon and send me on my way? Once that happened, I could pay the financial aid office, at least, and get them off my back for owing them.I knew I'd be upset about leaving this place and Rashid. But I understood why. He had a job requiring a lot of his time and attention, not to mention his family was less t
RashidThree Months Later…"Rashid! Can you come grab the milk out of the microwave!" Lyla called out through the house.I looked up from the laptop resting in my lap, my eyes readjusting from looking at the screen for too long and watering slightly. "I got it," my sister said, pulling herself up from the floor."Thanks." I stretched my arms over my head, feeling my shoulders crack as I did so. Who knew trying to find accommodations for a former princess was going to be this much of a hassle?Salama and I had been working on finding her a place to live on her own while Lyla and I's house was being built. After her breakup with Javier, my parents had disowned her as well, cutting her off before she had a chance to explain that he'd masterminded an entire campaign into trying to steal my wife away to Spain with him.According to our parents, Salama was just as much of a failure as I was and since she'd gotten back into contact with me and come ov
LylaJavier smiled at me. "I told you that. Remember?"I shook my head at him, trying to move backward but was only met with the hard bodies of the guards surrounding me. In my arms, Nasir began to cry. The sound made my heart ache. It fucking sucks that my newborn child has been put into this situation. It's not fair. "What is going on!" Salama tried to jerk away from the guards surrounding her too. "Javier, what are you doing!"He sighed. "I'm sorry to tell you, but I have to break off our engagement. Don't worry, I won't make it look like you were at fault.""I don't care about that!" she snapped back. "You're not actually taking her back to Spain with you, right?""I am, actually."I shook my head. "I'm not going anywhere with you, Javier. You know that."He frowned at me. "Lyla, we had a deal. I help you get your baby back and you come with me to Spain. You agreed to that.""I got my own baby back! No thanks to you!" I cried, holding m
RashidI wasn't completely familiar with the palace but I had a general sense of where things were from the copious amount of times my father had gone into great detail about the intricacies of how this palace had been rebuilt after he'd become king.Why my father had been so obsessed with discussing architecture with me was beyond my comprehension at the time, but today I was grateful for it. Thankful even. Maybe I'd send the old bastard a thank you card after this was all said and done.After we'd closed Hafsa inside the nursery, we hurried down the hallway on the opposite side of where we'd come up from the staircase. I remembered there being a door to the outside toward the back of the palace, used for any of the waitstaff that came and went as they needed to.I didn't have any worries getting past them. By the time any of them realized who we were and what we were doing in order to call someone, we'd be long gone in a car to my jet sitting in the hangar w
LylaI instantly wanted to cry.All of my emotions over the past few days that I'd bottled down in favor of trying to remain headstrong were finally coming up to the surface at the mere thought of finally being able to see my child again. Was this it? Was this really it?"Is he…?" Rashid asked from across the room.Before I actually broke down though, I reached over the side of the crib and gently folded my hands under the bundle lying there, lifting him gently until I had him out of the crib and tucked into my chest. He made a small noise as he readjusted himself, pressing his face into my neck and sighing softly against my skin.Oh my god.Finally.My hand came up to curl around the back of his head, my entire body folding around him to protect him from everything. Like I was his own personal human meat shield. My baby. My son.Finally, back in my arms.I rocked him gently, feeling that familiar weight I remembered on my chest
LylaDucking and weaving around corners to remain hidden was more annoying than I thought it would be.With Salama guiding us through the palace, she was constantly grabbing my arm and yanking me into a dark room, the sounds of others passing by or even the remnants of someone moving down a corridor had us both spooked beyond belief.I wasn't sure as to why Salama's parents wanted her back just as badly as they wanted Rashid, but I tried to stop understanding them a long time ago. It was easier to just assume the worst at this point.We wandered around what felt like every single damn hallway we could find. Having no clue as to how we were supposed to get out of here, or where to find Rashid in all of this as well as where Hafsa had run off to. Both of us were slowly growing more frustrated with each hallway we stumbled upon."This place is so horribly mapped," she spat as she dragged me down another corridor. "Who in their right mind would design a palace like
LylaI had no idea how long I sat there on the floor before I remembered I had my phone still tucked into my jeans pocket.Sometimes past-me really had future-me's back. That was for sure. I had no idea who the hell I was going to call, but I had to try someone.Pulling my phone out, I dialed Melanie first. Her groggy voice answered me only a moment later."Mmm… Lyla?"I gasped into the phone. "They have me locked in a room!""What?" There was rustling on the other end. I sobbed into the phone, my entire body shaking as I spoke. "They locked me in a room! They took Salama away too! Javier's going to take me to Spain with him and I'm never going to get to see my baby again!""Hold on, I can't—hold on." There was a groan on the other end from Zayed before Melanie came back on the phone. "Lyla, where are you?""The palace in Abu Dhabi," I choked out. "They… I don't know, had this plan to give me to Javier to take back to Spain. I don't k
LylaI pushed past Salama to get into the room, a gasp leaving me the moment I laid my eyes on the scene in front of me.My heart pounded so wildly in my chest that I was afraid it was going to split my ribcage open and jump out. It felt like a dream to see what was in front of me—to finally lay my eyes on the one person who'd completely ruined my life and the one that had completely changed it too.There was Hafsa, seated in a large round chair with her arms cradling a small bundle. She smiled down at it, rocking slightly as she murmured something softly. The scene was so domestic and sweet looking that for a moment I felt delusional. There was no way that someone looking that content with life could have done all of this.But as soon as I heard a soft cooing sound, my dream-like state crumbled, forcing me back into the reality that was and not the one that my brain wanted me to believe in.I stumbled forward toward her, a hand quickly jerking me back from the
RashidWe followed the attendant to an unmarked room away from the waiting room we'd been kept in for a little over half an hour. I wasn't surprised they were all taking their time. It was normal for officials to draw these kinds of things out, either for their own benefit by starving their clients, or making them too aggravated to think properly.And while normally it had the potential to work, both Javier and I were above falling for such things. We'd been trained in it, after all.Although, I am becoming a little jittering having to wait for so long. Because I know that if all goes well with this meeting, I'll be one step closer to getting my son back and holding him in my arms, and witnessing Lyla be a wonderful mother to him like it's second nature and she was born to do it.We're missing out on so many firsts with our newborn baby all because of that selfish fucking woman. The thought of Hafsa with Nasir caring for him like Lyla and I should be at this t
Lyla Waking up the next day to Rashid's grave face sent me into a small panic attack that I ended up locking myself inside of my bathroom to deal with it while he got the rest of our stuff ready to head out.I didn't want to bother him with more of my head-shit, having seen him stressed way too much about the other things on his plate he had very little control over. It wasn't fair of me to monopolize him with all of my problems when he had his own to sort out too. Dumping everything onto him, especially right before we were going to be heading out, was a shitty thing to do.Finally, after what felt like an hour, I gathered myself and splashed some water on my face before finally leaving the bathroom and heading out to join the rest of our group in the living room. Surprisingly enough, they all looked just as stressed as I felt, even Salama who I'd suspected only came on this trip to supervise her fiance looked like she'd barely slept all night. I didn't know whet