by Malone, Nana
Roone shook his head. “Your Highness. I. Don’t. Care. I hope you don’t mind, but I need to hit the sack. I get two days off rotation, then I’m back out, so… you know the way out.”
And with a turn of his back, he left me alone. It looked like I had my work cut out for me where he was concerned.
* * *
Sebastian
This wasn’t an ambush. It really wasn’t. Those are the lies I told myself.
My beautiful queen was playing cloak and dagger, and I knew a really good fuck wasn’t going to deter her. I had other things I needed to be doing at the moment but keeping her out of trouble seemed far more important than matters of state. Besides, I didn't need to be anywhere specific for another hour.
I followed her from the north parking lot along the trail to the Rose Tower then into the secret tunnel entrance. I let my eyes adjust to the dim light then blinked in surprise to find my wife waiting on me with folded arms in the adorned archway.
“Shit.” I stopped abruptly. “What—uh, how…” my voice trailed. There was nothing to be said. She’d caught me.
She grabbed my hand and then dragged me into a small room. She fumbled around for a light, and I saw it was a storage room. Office supplies mostly. The Rose Tower was where most of the offices were.
Well at least if she was going to read me the riot act, no one would hear us in here. I swallowed hard. “Look, I know what you're going to say. And I’m sorry, but—you didn’t leave me much choice the other day. I just feel like we didn’t resolve—” I stopped talking abruptly when she shoved me against the shelves and went for my belt buckle.
“Stop talking, Your Majesty. You’ll ruin it.”
I frowned. What the hell was happening? You, dumbass, are about to get what looks to be the shag of your life. Listen to your queen and shut the fuck up. “You knew I was following you?”
Her laugh was low as she wiggled out of her blazer then shoved a delicate hand into my jeans. “I suspected you were following me from the ministry. I knew for sure when I went to see Bryna at her office. You are the worst at clandestine services.”
“All this time, you knew?” I thought back to earlier in the day. “So, the lingerie store?”
“I thought you’d come in and insist on helping me try things on.”
I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or yell. She’d taken me on a wild goose chase all damn day. That’s what you get for not talking it out. “So now you’re jumping my bones?”
She looked up at me with wide, dark eyes and blinked innocently. “Uh huh. Isn’t that why you’ve been following me? Because you love me and missed me so much and didn’t want to wait until tonight?”
I knew that wasn’t why. And she knew that wasn’t why. And what was worse, she knew that I knew that she…. Well, you get the idea. Basically, I was caught.
But instead of giving me shit, my queen, my new bride, was sinking to her knees in front of me. And it was all I could do to hold on for the ride.
Hot, wet, and slick, her mouth felt like heaven and sin tied up into the best kind of bow.
I gritted my teeth, desperately trying to hold off a rapid orgasm. Prickly heat fired over my skin, and sweat beaded on my forehead as my heart raced. My hands involuntarily tightened into Penny’s thick curls, and she moaned around my dick.
“Oh, fuck, Len…” Len. Only I called her by that nickname. And usually when I was too far gone and couldn’t think.
She moaned again as she sucked deep, and my eyes crossed.
Penny drew back slowly, licking the head of my cock. “Yes, Sebastian?”
“Come here,” I growled as I reached for her.
She inched back. It’s not like she had a lot of room since she’d dragged us into a closet. Teasing me with the tip of her tongue and licking the pre-come off the tip of my throbbing erection, she shook her head. “Next time, Seb. Now let’s see if I can’t make you—”
Oh no she didn’t. She’d spent nearly an hour in the lingerie store to taunt me. I was getting more than a quickie. Besides, I liked to take my time with her. Quickies with her were like feeding a starving carnivore hummus or quinoa instead of a steak.
Tugging her to her feet, I whispered, “It’s not enough. I want more.”
Penny laughed. “You’re desperate. You could have joined me in the lingerie shop, you know.”
“Were you waiting for me?” My cock twitched as the idea took hold. Thinking about the way she would have struggled not to cry out in the dressing room as I pumped her deep and played with her ass was nearly enough to make me come.
Penny’s breath hitched as I rolled a thumb over her nipple. But even as a small moan escaped, she put on her rational hat. “Sebastian, don’t you have a meeting for the Artistic Trust today? It’s important.”
“I don’t give a shit. Besides, Tressel can wait for me. The way he’s been going after my brother, he needs to be kept waiting. And making my wife come is always at the top of my priority list.”
“Sebastian—”
“Focus on my voice.”
Gathering the material of her skirt, I tugged it up, eager to see which set of garters and panties she’d tease me with today. I wasn’t disappointed. Sheer stockings hugged her cinnamon-brown skin and were held up by a fire-engine red set of garters. Holy fuck. “These new?”
She nodded. “I bought them today when you didn't join me in the store.”
My cock throbbed painfully. I set her on the tiny utility table and splayed her legs. Slipping my thumb under the edge of her panties, I hissed when I encountered soft, slick, silky flesh. “I fucking love how wet you get for me.”
“You’re the one who does this to me.” She ran her teeth over my earlobe, and I swore softly.
All I wanted was to take my time devouring her, but I knew she was right. I’d have to wait until we were in our quarters when hours stretched out in front of us, not minutes.
I kissed her deep while I impatiently shoved aside the swatch of fabric. I circled her clit, and she canted her hips up, leaning into my touch. With my free hand, I unbuttoned the front of her blouse enough to expose the matching bra. Goddamn. I didn’t have the time or patience to savor, so instead, I shoved down the cup of her bra, exposing one of her breasts to my view. Tearing my lips from hers, I bent my head to suckle her, taking greedy pulls of her nipple as I used my finger to stroke her slick channel and my thumb to tease her clit.
Penny milked my finger with her soft, silken walls, and I added another.
“Yes... Sebastian.”
Intense need clawed me. She was mine. Really mine. Left to me, I’d do nothing but keep her naked in my bed all day, every day. Her pussy was tight and slick and hot, pulling at my questing fingers. Reluctantly, I slowed the pace. I wanted her to come, but I wanted to have my dick inside her when she did.
“Can you feel how much I want you?” I drew her hand to my straining erection.
“Mmmm.”
The tiny voice in the back of my mind tried in vain to remind me that I didn't have time. But I ignored it. I needed to taste her—just one taste. When I dragged my teeth over her nipple, Penny clamped a hand over her mouth as she screamed. I smiled at her attempt at concealment. Personally, I didn’t give a shit who heard us. Instead, I focused on placing scorching, open-mouthed kisses down her torso and belly until I reached her hot, slick center. I knew exactly how to get her where I wanted. Not too much attention on her clit. She preferred the tease. As I sucked, she wound her hands in my hair, tugging gently, leading me where she wanted me to go.
“Sebastian, please.”
More than happy to oblige, I teased her silken entrance with my thumb then gently drew it back over the pucker of her ass. With one slow circle over the taut skin, a deep shudder racked her body.
Knowing how close she was, I didn’t waste time. I crawled back up over her body, my hands planted firmly on her knees to keep them wide. The head of my cock nudged her entrance, and Penny dragged open her eyelids to meet my g
aze. I stroked deep into her, never breaking eye contact.
With my first slide in, she dug her nails into my shoulders as her body quaked. On my retreat, my cock hit the bundle of nerves deep inside her body, and she cried out as her orgasm rolled into a second one. On my third stroke, I watched as I entered her. That was all it took to send me over the cliff behind her.
22
lucas
I wasn’t sure how well this was going to go over. I’d gone over to Blue Water Studios only to find out that Bryna wasn’t there. She was out with an artist, looking for a new guitar. Not ideal, but I could swing it.
Roone’s words still tumbled around in my head. I’d been trying to do all these things and keep people safe by leaving. I’d been trying to tell them that I cared about them, instead of just doing things that showed them I loved them. I knew Bryna wasn’t too thrilled I’d made decisions for her. And maybe I’d been a bit of a dick since I got back to the islands with all that ‘mine’ nonsense.
Not nonsense. It was the truth. I felt like she was mine. I knew I’d never be as connected to another human being as I was to her. But, you need to show her. You can’t just leave and expect that she’s going to stick around. So, now I was chasing her all over God’s green earth, or rather all over the island, trying to locate her.
Eventually, I found her in the old town. She was going from one second-hand shop to another. When I found her, she was chatting quietly with the owner, as if weighing the cost of each piece. She was haggling. I looked around and saw a kid of about thirteen or fourteen years old picking up each guitar, one by one, carefully strumming them. He handled each one with care.
That’s what you should have done with Bryna. Yeah, hindsight was 20-20 and all that. I didn’t have to wait long for her to come out. When she saw me, she stopped short.
She put up her hand as if to tell me to stop moving. “No, we are not doing this. I am working.”
The kid joined us quickly. From outside, I’d assumed with she was with a boy from the short afro hair and the extra-lean build. But no, she was a girl. Up close, she had really delicate features, and she wore small studs in her ears.
She eyed me skeptically. “Bryna, who is this?”
“Nobody. No one we need to know. Come on, Laila. There are two more second-hand places to check out. If we can’t find one today, we’ll go to the other islands tomorrow.”
Still not looking away from me, Laila added, “I really appreciate this, Bryna. I can’t believe my guitar broke.”
“That’s fine. It’s not your fault. We’re just going to have to work on getting you two of them, so you can leave your good one at the studio where your brothers don’t have access to it.”
I pushed away from the wall. “You’re just going to pretend I’m not here?”
Apparently, the answer to that was yes, because she dragged Laila behind her by the hand, winding through the old cobblestone streets. “Bryna, please, wait up.”
But she kept moving. At the next shop, about four avenues later, she stopped. Laila looked up at it. “No way in heck I can afford this place. I don’t have much money.”
Bryna nodded. “Don’t you worry, just go inside and look and see what you like. We have a small stipend from Blue Water. This will be your home guitar. For your studio guitar, it’ll be top of the line. Even nicer than what they’ve got in there. But you’ll want to rehearse at home, so we need to get you a practice piece. Just go look.”
I took another look at the kid. Her jeans were worn. Her sneakers had seen better days and she needed a new pair. She wore a ragged t-shirt, but she was clean. She looked decently fed. She just didn’t have much money. Like someone else you know? My heart squeezed a little, because I’d been that girl. Scrounging and saving and trying to do what I needed to do. The only difference was, I’d turned into a thief. This girl didn’t look like she was turning to a life of crime to pay for her guitar. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to crash your work thing.”
“Yes, you obviously did because you tracked me down. So, what is so important? We are not picking up where we left off, Lucas.”
I frowned. “No. Actually, I don’t even know why I tracked you down. I just—I wanted to see you and apologize, I guess.”
Her eyes went wide then. Delicate brows arched. “What?”
“Yeah. I had no right to turn up on your doorstep and—" I ground my teeth. “Crash your date.” I couldn’t take the bite out of the word.
Was it me, or did her lips twitch? “Are you serious right now?”
“I know. That was wrong. I saw you, and that guy had his arms around you, and I just—I couldn’t take it. I know you and I have a lot of baggage to sort through, I guess, but I shouldn’t have taken that out on you that night by crashing your date.”
Her voice lowered. “And what happened after?”
I leveled my gaze on her even as blood rushed to my dick. “I regret none of it. One of the best nights of my life. Given half a chance, I’d do it again.” Her jaw unhinged, and her mouth hung open. “But, someone wise once told me that I couldn’t just declare that I love people and go about doing what I thought was best without thinking about how they’d feel or be affected. That words didn’t matter. I had to show them. So, I’m letting you know that I’ll be showing you instead of just telling you, and I’m expecting there will be a set of rules.”
She fought a smile. “Well, whoever this friend is, they are really smart.”
I shoved my hands in my jeans and nodded. “I know you didn’t plan on it, but do you mind company while you look for the guitar?”
I could tell it was on the tip of her tongue to say no. But then she surprised me. “Um, sure. We have a bunch of other places to go, if you don’t mind.”
I shook my head. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted. She hadn’t run up to me and told me that she loved me and she was sorry or wanted to take me back in any kind of way. But I just wanted to stay close to her, and I’d take what I could get.
“Great. Thank you. I just have to ask though, all that danger we talked about before? Is it still a problem?”
I clenched my jaw. At that moment, I could spot at least four Royal Guards, which meant that there were at least two to four that I didn’t see. “That’s not anything you have to worry about. Everything is going to be fine.”
She searched my gaze. “Why are you here Lucas?”
“I’m here because I know I messed up. And even before you found out who I really was, we were friends. And I miss you. That’s why I’m here. Is that okay?”
She chewed her bottom lip for a moment and then nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think that much I can handle.”
“Perfect.” Now I just had to not screw this up and declare I loved her again or that she was mine. Even though I do, and she is. Best to let her reach that conclusion on her own.
* * *
Lucas
I could feel Bryna next to me all afternoon. It was like there was this vibrating hum between us. Like we were two magnets. Whenever we got near each other, something flipped. And we were either attracted, pulled so close and so tight nothing could tear us apart, or we repelled each other. Either way, there was a force connecting us in some way, and it made it impossible to not be aware of her.
And I was the moron who’d intentionally spent the day with her. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take, to be honest.
But maybe that’s what it felt like to not be a selfish prick all the time.
I did my best not to stare at her. I wasn’t really looking to be a creeper. And I could tell she was doing her best to not look at me either.
But that was to be expected. Of course, my mind was doing all the things to torture me. Wondering if she was thinking about the last time we were together, about my hands on her skin, holding her tight against me. Wondering if she remembered how my mouth felt on her pussy, sucking on her clit. Was she thinking about the way she’d screamed? Was she thinking about the way I slid my finger inside her to that se
nsitive spot and—the door opened, and I immediately straightened up.
Stop it asshole. None of that shit is helping. And I’d meant it when I said that I wasn’t going to push her into this. For once, no more being a selfish dick.
I didn’t know what Sebastian was up to or why he’d called us back to the palace, but I was willing to wait patiently, hear him out.
Finally, my brother was here, with—oh shit. I stood when I realized who’d come in the room with Sebastian. My gaze darted between him and my mother and back again. “What the fuck is this?”
Sebastian put up his hand. “I know, this is distressing Lucas, but I want to put everything to bed.”
They didn’t come alone either. They were quickly followed by Matthias, then Oskar, Penny, Roone, who still didn’t look at me, and Ethan.
Sebastian took a seat behind the massive oak desk.
“All of you please, have a seat. I know we’ve all been through the ringer, so I’m not going to prolong this. Ethan, can you do me the honor, please?”
Ethan nodded, stood up, and pulled out an envelope.
I eased down on the seat next to Bryna and held my breath. What was going on? Were those the blood test results? Even though I knew what they would say, it was still terrifying to know that the dream I’d held on to for so long, was about to be dashed. No one wanted that. It was devastating to have a dream ended.
Ethan stepped forward, handed Sebastian the envelope, and then took his seat again. “Thank you for joining us Adele. You are not one of my subjects, so I couldn’t compel you to appear, so I appreciate you taking the time.”
My mother darted a furtive glance at me. “I owed it to my son. Honestly, after all these years, I’m tired of lying. I’m tired of being afraid. And I want it over. I want to know, once and for all.”
Sebastian nodded. “Ethan, as law dictates with these things, I need to have a member of the Regents Council present to record. Please accept that duty on behalf of the Council.”
