Cherished

by Lauren Dane

  “Oh,” she murmured.

  “And then I was blindsided by the sudden capitulation by the insurgents. I hadn’t anticipated matters being resolved anytime soon—if ever. And I absolutely would not expose you to a potentially hostile environment. So I sent you away, but in my heart, I knew I would do anything to bring you home to me, even if meant relinquishing the throne and any part of Cristofino’s future as ruler.”

  Tears brimmed in her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks. She simply couldn’t fathom all he was telling her.

  “You love me that much?” she whispered in a choked voice.

  “I love you more. More than you can possibly imagine.”

  “But why?”

  He smiled. A tender, loving smile that melted her from the inside out. “From the very first day I saw you, I was enchanted. And the more I learned of you, of your unerring devotion to your mother, how you were so selfless and yet still had such a kind and gentle spirit, I knew that not only were you perfect for me, but you were perfect for Cristofino. I was so convinced of this fact that I only agreed to retake the throne if I was allowed to marry a very specific Cristofino girl. Thankfully, I was not forced to abdicate my throne before I ever regained it.”

  She stared at him in absolute wonder, unable to process all he was saying. These things didn’t happen in real life. They were reserved for fairy tales. Stories told to little girls that inspired dreams of love and happily ever after.

  And now it was happening to her. Dreams really did come true!

  “Oh my God, Xander. I can’t be a king’s wife!”

  He chuckled then and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly in his embrace. “You will be the most perfect queen this country will ever have. I love you and so will our people.”

  “Oh, Xander, I love you too,” she said against his neck. “So much. I was so devastated when I left the island. I left my heart and soul there and I never thought I would get it back.”

  He pulled away from her and stroked her cheek, wiping the tears away. “You will never know how sorry I am for the way I hurt you. I handled it badly, but more than anything I wanted to get back here so that I could settle the future. Our future. There was never a question of me coming for you, Talia. You were mine from the moment I saw you and that hasn’t changed. Not even for a minute.”

  She smiled and nuzzled into his palm and then she shot him a more mischievous grin. “Now about this submissiveness…”

  He laughed and it was a beautiful sound, almost as if it had been since the last time they were together that he’d found joy.

  “In public, I want you to be the independent, fierce, kick-ass woman I know you to be. You will be a credit to our country and will be a role model for many young women. Behind closed doors, you’ll offer me your submissiveness. Only me. Only I will receive that precious gift and no other.”

  “I think I can live with that,” she said, her smile so big that her cheeks ached from the strain.

  He took her hands in both of his, raising first one and then the other to his mouth. “As much as I want to keep you all to myself, the others are very anxious to see you and make amends for the hurt we’ve all caused you.”

  He rose from the couch, leaving her sitting there and he walked to the door, opened it and then moments later, Garon, Sebastien and Nico filed solemnly through the door.

  Her heartbeat accelerated as she nervously found their gazes. She slid her palms along her pants legs and inched closer to the edge of the couch.

  Then they surrounded her, making the first move. Garon went to one knee in front of her while Nico and Sebastien crowded in beside her on the couch.

  Sebastien pressed a kiss to her hair while Nico reached for one hand. Garon took the other and then they just kind of folded around her, hugging her to them, pressing in close so she was enveloped by their warmth—and their love.

  “Is this what you want, Talia?” Sebastien asked against her ear. “Do you want us? All of us?”

  She looked to each of them, giving them her full attention in turn. “I do want you. So very much. It’s hard for me to believe, I mean I can barely take it all in. I thought…”

  It was too painful for her to replay all that she’d thought and so she fell silent, emotion overcoming her as she stared into the faces of these men who cared so deeply for her. Who wanted nothing more than to care for her, protect her and place her needs and wants above their own.

  Garon put his finger over her lips. “Forget whatever it is you thought and let us replace that sadness with new memories.”

  She lay her head on Nico’s shoulder, simply absorbing the magic of the moment. Then she looked beyond to Xander, who stood there gazing at her with such love that for a moment she couldn’t breathe.

  This was really happening. It wasn’t a fantasy. It wasn’t a temporary break from reality. This was her reality. Her future.

  And whatever obstacles they had to overcome, they’d do it together and they’d always have the undying loyalty of three men who’d devoted their lives to serving Xander and now her.

  What more could she possibly ever ask for?

  Sway

  LAUREN DANE

  This one is for my husband.

  As they all tend to be. Because he’s my everything.

  Chapter 1

  Levi found the studio easily enough. His brother hadn’t lied. It wasn’t far from his office, which was attached to his house on Bainbridge Island. He’d moved to the island five years ago, months after Kelsey had died.

  The building smelled like every community center he’d ever been inside. He’d been in more than his fair share as he and his older brother had set up a mentoring program through the local school systems and they gave presentations at least once a month. Each door had a sign on it, but he didn’t see anything about wedding basics, so he wandered into one of the classrooms to ask someone.

  And then paused to watch as a couple dominated the center of the room. A ridiculously beautiful dark-haired woman was spinning, propelled by a long, lanky man as the rest of the people clapped along to the swing music.

  It wasn’t the male that interested him, though Levi was sure the man was talented. It was the nearly effortless timing of the woman as she went around the man, her legs and feet in perfect time with the music.

  So quick and intricate, these moves.

  Even he burst out with an exclamation when the man flipped her over his arm and she kicked her legs even as she was upside down.

  A flash of some thigh as she hopped when she got to her feet and then she went in again as her partner actually flipped her up and over his shoulder.

  They continued on for a few minutes more until they both took a bow and the male, apparently an instructor, began speaking to the people in the room again.

  Perhaps he should take this class instead of the wedding dancing class his brother Mal’s fiancée wanted him to take. Levi was only doing this for his brother. He could dance just fine. But it was a way of mollifying Gwen so they could keep her attention off the dancing up the aisle idea she kept pushing, and Levi would sooner die before he did that. He loved his baby brother, but that wasn’t going to happen. Ever.

  A bit more wandering and he finally found the room he thought was right.

  “Excuse me.”

  The instructor turned to him and smiled. “Oh! An extra. Hold on one moment.”

  She rushed to the doorway before Levi could stop her.

  “Daisy! Can you help? I’ve got one extra tonight.”

  He’d been about to interrupt to tell the instructor he wasn’t interested in this class but was looking for another one. Until the aforementioned Daisy entered the room.

  Long, dark hair had been captured into a high ponytail and it swayed as she walked. Big brown eyes. Not overly tall. Probably five and a half feet at most. Pretty, full lips glistened red. Her body, curvy and mouthwatering, was draped in a dress he could only describe as vintage. A full skirt and a tight bodice. Tattoos
, though he couldn’t see all of the half sleeve due to her dress.

  It was the jitterbug woman he’d watched a little while before. She had a gorgeous smile as she looked from the instructor to Levi. But he kept going back to her eyes. After a perusal of the impressively high and full breasts of course; he wasn’t a saint. She had beautiful eyes, but it was the intelligence in them that made him look twice and then again.

  Suddenly it wasn’t so bad that he needed a dance class. Not if she’d be his partner for a time or two. That way he could say he went to the blasted class and have an excuse to get his hands on her.

  She took him in and smiled, holding her hand out. Bangle bracelets jingled and clicked with her movement. “I’m Daisy Huerta. Nice to meet you.”

  “Levi Warner.”

  The instructor clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Welcome everyone to introduction to dance. We’ll cover several different styles of dance and rhythm over the next few weeks. Partner up and let’s get started.”

  This was definitely not the class he’d signed up for. They’d discover this, he assumed, when they checked to see who’d paid.

  Daisy stepped close, took his hand and he naturally pulled her close, his other hand at her waist.

  “Leading already? All right then.” When she quirked a smile, a dimple showed at the right corner of that full, lush mouth. “I love it when my partner is tall. Fits better.”

  Well now.

  There was a lot of talking and people laughing self-consciously, but he didn’t hear any of it. With his hand at her waist, there was nothing to do but slide into the dance as the music came on.

  Rosemary Clooney took a deep breath and began to sing the opening of “Sway.” And she bent to his will and began to move, sensuously, slowly, gracefully. Giving over to him easily as he led. That simple act of submission wasn’t sexual. Not really. But it shattered all the reasons he’d been lining up to leave after that one dance. And tore at the walls he’d built around himself a long time ago.

  His hand on her waist seemed to burn through the material of her dress as they moved.

  He led every moment. Sure of himself. Propelling her just exactly where he wanted her to go. She relaxed and fell into the music. While others in the class worked slower, going step by step, Levi danced like he knew what he was about.

  It was increasingly clear Levi wasn’t a beginner of any type. It wasn’t that she didn’t like his hands on her, but he didn’t need the class and it was only right she tell him. But she could wait until after the class. Just to be fair.

  Until then she’d enjoy the hypnotic pleasure of being led by this man. She’d danced many times with many people, and it had never felt this forbidden and sexually charged. A shiver moved through her system, hardening her nipples, heating her skin. Totally inappropriate to get all het up over this one silly moment, but there it was so why not enjoy it?

  “I saw you dancing. In the other room, I mean. How long have you been teaching dance classes?” His murmur nearly made her jump, she was so lost in the way he’d made her feel.

  She licked her lips and didn’t miss the way his pupils seemed to swallow the color in his eyes. Green, a pale green. Unusual. Especially with dark hair. His was nearly black, with salt and pepper throughout. It suited him. As did the scruff.

  Really, he was a walking, talking dream of a man, and he smelled as good as he looked.

  She managed to find her words again. “I fill in when they need me. My neighbor teaches Lindy Hop and swing dancing here. I help there most often.”

  “Is that what you were doing?”

  “Depends on when you came in.”

  “At the end. Right before I found this room.”

  “Ah. We were jitterbugging at the end. A little bit of this and that. We did a fast Lindy Hop at the start of class.”

  “I’m sorry I missed it. You’re quite good.”

  Charmed, she winked. “Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I’m pretty fabulous at it.”

  He grinned and the mischief showed in his eyes. Boy oh boy this man would be so much trouble for a woman. But it would be a good kind of trouble, she’d bet.

  “You should show me.”

  “You want me to teach you how to Lindy Hop? By the way, you don’t need this dance class.” Damn, she’d planned to wait.

  He laughed and all logical thought seemed to burst apart. He had a great laugh. Deep and sexy.

  “Let me guess.” She paused as they moved into a simple waltz, which he handled just as well. “You’re getting married and your fiancée wants you to take classes. No, that can’t be it.”

  One of his eyebrows rose. “Why not?”

  “She’d be here with you. They always come. You know, to take the class together.” And frankly, it’d be foolhardy to let anyone get near this one. And she also bet that if he had a woman, she came a lot in the other way as well.

  And suddenly a rather vivid, totally filthy image of him over her, his perfect hair sex-messy, sweat gleaming, muscles working from the way he fucked her flashed through her head and she got very warm.

  “It’s my baby brother. He’s getting married and she, his fiancée, wants all the men in the wedding party to take a class.”

  “You clearly know your way around a dance floor. At least for all the basics you’d need at a wedding. Shall I write you a note?”

  His grin made all sorts of things tingle. “I’m not sure she’d accept it. But it would be amusing to present it to her. I like the way you think. My other brothers and cousins have all folded. I was the last holdout.”

  She bet Levi here didn’t do anything he didn’t want to. Dominant, this guy. Mmmm.

  “The wedding dance class is down the hall. I think they gave it a snazzy name, but it’s wedding dancing for dummies really.”

  “Do you teach that one?”

  “No. They have a different kind of instructor in there.” They told her specifically that they wanted more elegant-looking women doing the class. Fuck them. Elegant.

  “Would you show me? How to Lindy Hop, I mean.”

  “Yes. But I think you’re a more sensual dancer. Tango. Maybe rumba or cha-cha.”

  His mouth was beautiful when it canted up into a knowing smile. A cocky, arrogant smile and it shot straight to all her pinkest of parts. Just a few minutes with this man and it was totally clear he was exceptional. And out of her league. And a client of the studio. And probably too old for her, though she didn’t care about that stuff really.

  He pulled her a little closer but kept dancing. “I don’t actually want you to, I just wanted to know if you would.”

  He kept catching her off guard. She liked it.

  “Is that so? Why is that?”

  He shrugged as they came to a halt while the instructor began to speak again.

  “Do you like telling people what to do? Just to see how they react?”

  He stopped, examining her carefully. His attention so very intense it was nearly physical. She tried not to gulp under such scrutiny but it was hard not to. She felt very much like Little Red Riding Hood having bumped into the Big Bad Wolf.

  “I prefer it when their reaction is obedience.”

  A flush roared through her, hot and wild. A million things she wanted to say flitted through her brain but none of them seemed right. She was usually good at this stuff, the silly back and forth between herself and the students. But he was something altogether different.

  He studied her a long time until he finally spoke again. “I’m going to go.”

  Her heart sank even as she struggled to keep her face relaxed.

  “I don’t need this class. But I showed up and I can honestly say so. Thank you for amusing me.”

  He stepped back and bowed as they took the first brief break. “I enjoyed meeting you, Levi.” She waved to Tansi and left, heading back down the hall.

  How strange her day had been. Flirted with by a rather intense older man who totally made her hot-for-teacher fanta
sies go wild. Not a bad way to leave work.

  Chapter 2

  She stood with her hands at her waist and looked the installation over. “I don’t like the light. Switch it out for a different bulb.”

  This was her biggest piece yet. Hell, the biggest sale yet. Not a lot of money as things went, but enough to know she was making a living, even a small one, from her work. And that was important.

  A mixed-media piece. Watercolor and paper. In three distinct parts, like a winged altar. It was going to hang in the large, open atrium of Cal Whaley’s small office building.

  Speaking of Cal, he wandered out, looking handsome and studious in his natty three-piece suit holding a sheaf of papers. He clearly hadn’t been expecting her though, because when he looked up from the papers in his hands he started and then smiled when he saw her.

  “Daisy!” He kissed her cheek. “What brings you…Oh, today is installation day.” He noted the work. “I love this so much. Really brings some color and life into this space.”

  It did. With vivid blues and greens. Evocative of the water they were surrounded by, of the forest too. It had come to her on a hike they’d all taken nearly two years before. In the spring when everything had been clear and sharp. They’d been standing on an overlook, taking in Puget Sound and she’d been so glad to have had her camera to capture it. She’d spent another six months tinkering with the idea as she’d finished another project.

  And the whole time Cal had been her biggest supporter, telling her he wanted her to do it already so he could buy it.

  “It’s not hard to look that great in this space.” The windows soared to the third-floor landing, flooding the room with light, the art reflecting Eagle Harbor out in the distance.