SophiaLuke tossed and turned for most of the night. If I didn’t already know he had something on his mind, I would have then. My night of distractions hadn’t worked as I’d hoped. Something was bothering him, and I wished he would only tell me what.I had kept a secret from him too. It wasn’t a big one, but if I told him about the wedding dress, then he would probably feel the pressure that I wanted to get married right away. I didn’t want to be engaged for the next ten years, and I did want to discuss the timing eventually. It would come up sooner or later when we got back to Qatar. From what he’d told me, it wasn’t like a king to remain unmarried for so long.Though, if Gia had anything to do with it, she would postpone it as long as she could in the hope of finding Luke a more “suitable” wife.I couldn’t believe that we were headed back into that mess in just a few hours. I wished we could live like we did in Dallas, where Luke and I shared our own little bubble and nothing could s

LukeSophia’s admission was more than enough for me to prepare myself for the decision I had to make when we got back to the palace. Even though I knew the council would force my hand, having a plan in mind gave me somewhat of an advantage. Little did they know that I had to get Mother on board before anyone else. She had no say in any of the council business, but she was a force to be reckoned with. If Mother gave her approval of Sophia and me, then the council may have to concede, even just a little bit. And then, I would have the ability to change their minds.I bet Jaabir hoped that Mother would give a good fight, knowing her values. But what he underestimated was my negotiation abilities, along with the nautral love between a mother and son.I wasn’t blood-related to her, and I never would be, but she chose to bring me into her life, and she wanted to keep me there. Throughout all of this, she never threatened me with questions of our bond, only the bond between Sophia and me. If

SophiaUnpacking our suitcases took all of ten minutes. The trip to England had been a short one, and we hadn’t taken much along with us.After staring at the bed for too long, I was anxious to do something while waiting for Luke. I knew he wanted me to remain nearby for when he was finished speaking with Gia, but without doing anything, my stomach was a bundle of nerves while my mind whirred with endless possibilities of how the conversation would end.I kept imagining that Gia would come into the room and demand I leave the palace and her son alone. Needing to distract myself, I went off to explore the palace for a little while. Besides, if Gia was going to try and find me, keeping myself moving would delay that confrontation.There was a flurry of activity in the main ballroom. I wasn’t aware of any event happening at the palace, so curiosity got the best of me.Wandering into the room, the servants huddled around a table. The clinking of silverware filled my ears as I got closer.

LukeThe sense of calm that I’d felt in Father’s office stayed with me as I walked the halls of the palace, back to my chambers. When I arrived, Sophia was nowhere to be found. Checking my watch, I realized I’d spent more time away from her than I’d originally intended.Before going out to search for her, I wanted to change into something more comfortable.By the time I finished, the door had swung open, and Sophia stood in the doorway.“Hi,” I said. “Where did you go?”“Just took a little walk around the palace. Apparently, the servants had a lot of questions for me.”“What did they say?” I asked. The servants normally kept to themselves, but I imagined having an American woman in the palace was a novelty for them.She shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. “They asked about my life back in Dallas. They were much more excited about it than I was about living it.”“Most of them were born into this position. The palace is all they know.” I crossed the room and planted a kiss on

SophiaLuke’s distraction techniques totally worked for me. After a tension-filled evening with his mother, the night ended up better than I expected. I wanted to talk more about why he thought we were leaving, especially after his mother started being less mean to me, but the way he made my body feel took up even more of my headspace.My head fell back against the bedpost as Luke’s mouth and hands roamed my body. It was amazing to me how quickly he could turn me on. Only in a matter of seconds, it seemed. I pushed my fingers through his hair and held the back of his head as I drew his lips closer to mine. I hesitated for a moment, our lips brushing together, a tingling sensation fizzling just inches from his mouth. A searing hot heat flickered throughout my body, and I could barely take a full breath.Luke’s fingers pulled down the collar of my shirt, exposing my breasts. He kissed the top of them before his other hand popped open the clasp. My breasts were free, and he didn’t waste