by Frankie Love
True love.
“I can do this,” I say, wiping my eyes, nodding my head. Resolute.
Violet smiles. “And I thought Iris was the brave one.”
We wrap our arms around one another, the first family hug I can think of in the longest time, and I marvel at how my heart breaking is bringing everyone together.
I guess love does funny things.
Meredith fixes my makeup, brushing foundation and bronzer on my cheeks, curling my lashes and lining my pale pink lips. I can’t meet her eyes, so I fix my heart on my future.
I can do this.
My sisters help me into the gorgeous white gown, fluffing the train and adjusting my breasts, before the attendants literally spray me into place.
“Thank you,” I manage to tell Meredith, knowing I have unknowingly made a mess for her—and hoping somehow, someway, after the wedding I can fix it. “Thank you for making me look so beautiful.”
She smiles. “We have a lot to work with.” She places a veil on my head, draping the tulle over my face. It blocks my view slightly, but then she places a glittering tiara on my head. No amount of obstruction could cause me to miss the beautiful diamonds encrusting it.
My sisters squeeze my hands. Both of them are dressed in lovely gowns, with the tiaras of Cressia and Alpinweiss resting on their heads.
I take a deep breath, wondering when this became my life.
Thomas deceived me, and I can only hope my sisters are right, that Prince Lucas is an honorable man who will love me for me. Love me despite my flaws and failures. Cherish me regardless of what I’ve done.
I believe in magic. I always have. Maybe there’s still some magic left in this world.
After the final touches are complete, I tell the room the complete, God’s-honest truth. The truth I am clinging to. “I’m ready to go find my happily ever after.”
20
I’ve never been so nervous in my entire life
Everything I want is within my reach.
This is the day I commit my life to the woman I love.
The music begins, the pews are filled. My father is beside me, a crown on his head, a royal robe of velvet and fur around his shoulders. He looks nervous.
“Is she going to come?” he whispers.
“Will you revoke my honor if she doesn’t?”
“If you love her, you’ll fight for her.”
“I wish Mother were here,” I tell him.
He nods, his eyes glassy. His shaking hands reach out to clasp mine. “This would make her proud.”
“What? Her son making a fool of himself?” I ask, suddenly nauseated over the idea of Dahlia not showing up.
“No,” my father says, his voice gravelly, true. “Making himself a husband.”
The door to the chapel opens.
All I see is bright white.
All I see is love at first sight.
All I see is her.
21
I clutch my father’s arm. He seems so certain, so sure that I should be doing this. It gives me the extra boost of confidence I need.
I put one foot in front of the other, but I can’t look up at Lucas. I’m scared that Thomas will be by his side. Thomas, the man I gave my heart and body and soul to. The man who played me.
The man who slayed me.
My eyes are on the ground, and I focus on not tripping over this massive gown. I focus on the future, not on the past—and try to ignore the hundreds of people here for the wedding.
Ignore the photographer documenting every royal step I take. Ignore the beautiful chapel, the dahlias covering everything—a detail that someone thoughtfully added to this day. Ignore the tulle above me, which seems to create a cocoon for me to pass under as I walk toward the man I’m meant to marry.
The man I don’t love.
The man I betrayed.
“One step in front of the other,” my father says, pressing his hand over mine as I hold tight to his arm.
“Why are you so sure this marriage is going to work, Father?”
“Because I spoke to him, Dahlia.”
“You did?” I whisper, knowing so many eyes are on us. “He wouldn’t even speak to me.”
“Not everything is as it seems.”
I nod; I’ve known that since I was a little girl, looking for mermaids long after my sisters determined there were none.
Not everything is as it seems.
That sentence holds so much hope, because if things aren’t what they seem, that means there might be more to find, to discover.
To have and to hold.
“I love you, Father.” I look into his eyes when we stop at the front of the church.
“Look up, darling,” he tells me.
When I do, the world stops.
When I do, I blink, not believing this is true.
22
Standing before me is a woman I fell for—first her figure, but quickly for her heart.
Her softness, her vulnerability. Her ability to cut the bullshit and instead speak the truth.
I lift her veil, standing before her and the people gathered here today—and her father and sisters, and my father, and the priest.
I want her to like what she sees.
Her eyes fill with tears. Her hands shake, and I see someone reach for the bouquet she’s holding, before she drops it.
She doesn’t even seem to notice.
“Thomas, what are you doing here?” Her head turns from side to side as she looks around. Confusion covers her beautiful face. “Why are you wearing the prince’s crown?”
“I’m not what you think,” I tell her plainly, reaching for her hands.
But she pulls away. “I know! You’re about to be a father,” she whisper-yells at me. “You lied to me. I met Meredith. What did you think was going to happen when she walked into my room?”
Fuck. Meredith was never a part of my equation. Shit.
“A father?” I turn towards Thomas, who’s standing five feet behind me.
His face goes white. Apparently Meredith has some explaining to do.
But so do I.
“I’m sorry, I did lie,” I tell her.
She harrumphs at that, still clearly confused.
“I lied about who I was. I’m Prince Lucas, not Thomas. He,” I say, pointing, “is my bodyguard, Thomas. And I thought pretending to be him would let me see you for who you really are. I didn’t plan on a snowstorm hitting.”
“Who I really am?” she asks, tears in her eyes. She leans close, whispering so only I can hear. “I’m a woman who slept with a man who wasn’t the prince, one night before her wedding.”
I shake my head, cupping her cheek with my hand. “Princess, you didn’t do much sleeping with me.”
Her cheeks flush, and she bites her bottom lip, blinking back tears.
“Don’t cry, love. I’m so sorry,” I tell her. I clasp her hands in mine, wanting to scoop her in my arms and carry her back to that cabin where time was ours. “Your father and I spoke.”
Her head turns, and her eyes meet her father’s. “You knew?”
“I knew,” he says.
“When I called him to my room, I told him the truth of who I was, and who his daughter thought I was. He was shocked. But then I asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Not an arrangement, because I loved her. Love her.”
“You love me?” she asks, her eyes glistening as if she wants to believe.
“I love you with all that I am, all that I will be. I love you, Dahlia, and I want to marry you in front of our families. I want to marry you now. I want to marry you with the promise that I’ll never hide from you again.”
“I told you things, Thom—I mean, Lucas. I told you my ... deepest thoughts.”
“And they are sealed to my heart,” I tell her. “That doesn’t change.”
She looks around the chapel. Her sisters are crying off to the side, with their husbands comforting them.
“You love me?” she asks again. “All of me?”
I put my hands around her waist, wanting to hold her as I look ardently in her eyes. “All of you. I was scared I’d be marrying a woman who wanted me for my crown alone. That’s why I pretended to be Thomas in the first place.”
She nods in understanding. “I love you, Lucas. So completely. You are my prince, and I’m the luckiest princess in the world.”
Then she wraps her arms around my neck, and kisses me before we take our vows, or exchange our rings.
She kisses me like she did before, like I know she will forever.
“Ahem.” The priest coughs behind us. “Do you want this royal wedding to take place, Princess Dahlia and Prince Lucas?”
I look at my bride and she smiles the smile of a Princess.
“I do.”
Epilogue
Four months later...
When I wake, Lucas is between my legs.
His beard grazes my pussy, tickling me in the most irresistible way, causing a smile to erupt across my face.
“Morning, sleepyhead.” His hands run across my bare belly. “Sleep well?”
“Very.”
“Good. Today’s a big day.”
“You going to be okay, love?” My hand reaches out toward him, wanting to comfort him, even though I can already tell his mind is far from the pain of the last few months. And it’s not that he’s looking toward the future. No, Lucas is only thinking about the now.
The now being his morning erection pressing against my thighs, begging for entrance.
I’d never tell him no.
“I’ll be a lot better if I can fill your pussy.”
I laugh, feeling my face flush. It doesn’t matter that I’ve been his bride for the past four months; he still makes my knees weak, my cheeks blush, and my pussy drip.
I don’t want that to ever change.
“I think you’ve already filled plenty, Lucas.” I tug on him, pulling his hips closer to me. As he hovers above me, I kiss him, letting my lips linger on his, feeling instantly more complete with his body covering mine.
“You are so fucking gorgeous with my baby in your womb.”
I love how Lucas is unabashedly proud of the fact that he knocked me up on our wedding night.
If I’m being completely honest, I love his pride, because my heart is full and bursting.
His hand slides between my legs, and my pussy is in the palm of his hands.
Just the way he likes it.
Just the way I love it.
His fingers dip inside of me, and my body instantly reacts, rewarding him for touching me so tenderly. I arch my back, wrap my thighs around him—suddenly horny, desperate, and just ready to be fucked.
“Take me baby. Fill me all the way up.”
His cock is thick, hard, and hot. He slides the tip of it over my entrance, teasing. But I’m not in the mood for games. My pussy is sopping wet and his cock is ready. There’s no reason to wait.
If this last season of life has taught me anything, it’s that life is precious, a magical gift that should never be wasted.
“Today you become King,” I tell him. My tits are pressed against him, my nipples hard and begging to be sucked. “So take me like your Queen.”
Lucas loves it when I talk like this, and he nibbles my ear, his hot breath on me, as he stops the tease and begins to fill me inch by perfect inch.
“Oh,” I moan, wrapping my arms around his neck, clawing at him, wanting to be closer, and closer still.
He growls, pulling me up, and then he’s sitting with me squarely in his lap, easing me onto his cock like the King he is. My legs wrap around his waist; our chests are pressed together, with the heir of Rochester between us.
“Come in me, Lucas,” I cry, rocking against him harder and harder. He thrusts deep into me, my pussy dripping the way it always does the moment he fills me. The moment he takes me.
I am his.
He is mine.
This life is ours.
Later we dress in our finest clothing: royal robes and velvet gowns. We are led up the steps to a sitting room until the coronation takes place in the throne room. It’s being televised for the world. Every eye is on the two of us.
His father died two weeks ago. We’d prepared for it as best as anyone can, and I held him as he cried, for what was and what is. Everyone was grateful for the time we had, but of course when a King dies there is a loss felt across a nation.
And for Lucas, the loss cut deepest of all. I’m so grateful my family has been here to support us throughout this.
My sisters and their husbands are waiting for us in the sitting room, along with my father.
“Dahlia,” Violet says, standing when Lucas and I enter the room. “You’re glowing.”
“You truly look beautiful,” Iris gushes. “Take a photo of us,” she tells Garrick.
Garrick shakes his head at Iris, but willingly takes her phone. We all know he’s as anti-technology as it gets, but he never refuses Iris anything.
Violet, Iris, and I squeeze together and smile, our glittering tiaras balanced on our heads.
A staff member walks over with a silver tray holding six flutes of champagne. Lucas and I exchange a knowing glance. This moment calls for a toast.
I may be four months along, but we haven’t told anyone about the pregnancy. We found out when his father was on his deathbed, and it didn’t seem appropriate.
Now, with my sisters here, it’s time.
I raise my hand to decline the offer of champagne.
At the same moment my sisters raise theirs.
“No thanks,” the three of us say simultaneously.
Our heads turn, our eyes meet.
Oh my goodness.
“Are you pregnant?” we all blurt, before bursting into a fit of giggles.
“We just found out,” Iris says. “I told Garrick’s parents it was the plan for the honeymoon. And boy, did we deliver!”
“We are, too,” Violet says, her hand reaching for Hunter. “We’ve known for a few weeks, but wanted to wait until we were all together.”
“Same with Lucas and me,” I say, covering my mouth. “This is insanity. Three princesses, pregnant together?”
“No,” Iris corrects. “Two princesses, and a queen.”
I nod, still in awe that I am about to become Queen of a country. Lucas wraps his arms around me, and I rest my cheek on his chest.
“I know you ladies aren’t drinking,” Garrick says. “But this still calls for a toast.”
“Agreed,” Hunter says, his head held high, proud—just as he should be. “To the heirs of Cressia, Alpinweiss, and Rochester.”
“To the men who knocked us up,” Iris says kissing Garrick’s mouth unabashedly. We laugh, but the emotion of the moment fills the room.
“And to the women we have the privilege of loving,” Lucas adds, tenderness in his words.
Violet, Iris, and I are truly the luckiest princesses in the world. We’ve all found our own happily ever afters. We couldn’t have arranged it better if we’d tried.
There are tears in my eyes as Lucas and I are led to the throne room for the coronation.
In a moment of great anticipation, and carrying a magnitude of responsibility and honor, the golden crown that graced his father’s head for decades is placed upon Lucas’s.
And the crown of the queen is placed on mine.
I look at my husband with reverence, with gratitude. With a heart surging full of love.
Lucas is no longer a mountain prince, he is a mountain king.
My mountain king.
ACE: LAS VEGAS BAD BOY
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ACE
I don't take women to bed.
I take them against the wall, hard and fast, and when I come I make sure they remember.
They always do.
I'm cocky as hell, but sh*t, I've got reason to be. I own Spades Royalle, the sexiest casino in Vegas. F*ck, the sexiest casino in the country.
I'm gonna keep building my em
pire all on my own - my ties with the mafia are in my past, buried with the bones of my family.
I like my money clean and my women dirty.
That is until I met Emmy Rose.
She says she doesn't want a bad boy.
I guess I'll have to change her pretty little mind.
EMMY ROSE
F*ck. My. Life.
I made one rule when I moved to Vegas two months ago - I would not screw bad boys. Or asshats. Or really anyone I met on the casino floor. And the thing is, I've made good on my promise.
I'm here for one reason, and one reason only: it's a f*cking job.
Landing in Vegas was never my plan. But plans change when your sister is in a coma and you don't know who put her there.
If only she'd wake up and I could get some answers.
Until then, I'll do everything in my power to avoid men who have a past as shady as my own.
***This book contains a helluva lot of chemistry and smokin' hot sex. Just be prepared, babycakes. And don't say I didn't warn you. xo, frankie
WILD & TRUE
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Get ready for a Frankie Love Escape! This line of stories is all about indulging in your wildest fantasy. Plenty of sexy times, with a focus on what every woman wants: a night to remember.
Courtney ... a good girl longing for a man who sees her as more ...
Callie ... on the rebound and ready for a man to take control ...
Willow ... bored and searching for a man (or two) who will fulfill her deepest desires ...
When three best friends leave for a weekend get-away at a remote resort they expect a relaxing vacation.
But they soon find that unwinding isn't what they need ... they need a no-strings-attached weekend they will never forget.
***WARNING: It's gonna get hot. This book is hook-ups galore, so please no slut-shaming. For reals. Let's not take this too seriously. Just have fun, you deserve it.
