by V Vee
They didn’t bother to ring the doorbell or to even knock. They each had a key and Valerie knew they were coming over. Besides, judging by the sheer number of cars, SUVs, and vans in the driveway, it appeared that everyone was there.
“Damn, think Val decided to have a party without telling us?” Laeticia asked with a pout.
Helen shook her head. “Nah. See those cars right there?” Helen pointed at a black 2018 Escalade and a 2018 Chevy Impala. “Those belong to Antwaun and Ella. I think everyone just came over today because Val just got out of the hospital, plus you know there’s the whole officially telling the world that they’re married thing.”
“Yeah, that bullshit,” Laeticia griped. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad ol’ boy finally decided to step up to the plate and do the right thing, but 14 motherfucking years?? Really? Like, Valerie is a saint. Sent straight from Heaven. Because you can bet there’s NO. Way. I would wait for a man to claim me.” Laeticia shook her head. “No. If a man wants all up in Miss Sasha Fierce—so called because she brings both men and women to their knees to worship at her awesomeness—then he’s going to have to announce to all near and far that I am his woman.”
Helen opened the door and stepped in laughing with Laeticia at the other woman’s foolishness. She wished she could be as bold as her friend, especially with the naming of her most intimate of areas—who named their… vagina after Beyoncé’s stage name anyway? But Helen could only be herself.
As Laeticia closed the door behind them, Helen felt someone’s eyes on her, and she lifted her head to gaze down the hallway. What she saw caused her to freeze in her tracks, her breath catching in her lungs and her heart pounding in her chest.
Standing approximately thirty or forty feet away was the most gorgeous—dangerous—looking man Helen had ever seen in real life.
Augustus Smythe.
While Helen had seen pictures of the prince, a veritable ladies’ man and bad boy, all the princes of Malvidence were known by their various illicit exploits, seeing him in the flesh put every, single image to shame. None of them did the other man justice. He stood a few inches taller than Algerone, though he wasn’t as tall as one of his other brothers. His shoulders were broad, his black hair was slicked away from his forehead putting his hard, square jaw on display. His biceps and thighs were thick, the jeans and t-shirt he wore barely containing the muscles they covered. He was barrel-chested, and Helen could make out the ridges of his abs through the black material of his tee.
Her mouth watered at the sight of him, and if the way his blue eyes blazed was any indication, which she could see even between the distance that separated them, she wasn’t alone in her appreciation. And appreciation was all it would ever be. Because even though Augustus stared at her, licking his lips as if he wanted to devour her, she would never allow herself to fall into the prince’s bed or become another notch on his bedpost.
Because while Valerie had been lucky enough to become a princess of Crown Prince Algerone Smythe, Helen knew that lightning didn’t strike twice. There was no way Augustus Smythe wanted to make her his princess and without that, without marriage, there was absolutely no way Helen would allow herself to have anything more with him.
Nope, she would just have to admire the prince from afar. And make sure she stayed far away from him.
Chapter Three
Augustus
“Helen! Laeticia! I’m so glad you guys came!” Valerie’s excited voice came from the kitchen as she stepped out to greet the two other women.
“Wow,” Alfie said from beside him and Augustus nodded. He had to agree with his youngest brother. Valerie’s friends were exceptionally beautiful, but one of them stood out from the rest.
“Excuse me, bruthrars,” Algerone murmured before he walked towards the two newcomers. “Helen! So glad to see you again,” Algerone stated before he gathered the breathtakingly gorgeous woman in for a hug.
Augustus growled low in his throat at the sight of his brother pulling Helen close to his body in an affectionate gesture. While Augustus knew his reaction was ridiculous, he hadn’t even met the other woman after all, he couldn’t help himself. An animalistic, primitive part of himself had already claimed Helen as his own.
Foolishness, he thought to himself, even as he took a step in the other woman’s direction.
“Brothers, come and meet Valerie’s friends,” Algerone commanded them and Augustus smiled. Leave it to his eldest brother to know what Augustus wanted instinctively. Augustus knelt down and put Chiamaka on her feet, following the little girl as she raced over to Helen and Laeticia, chattering away about her new uncles.
When Augustus came abreast of them, he looked down into Helen’s face and his jaw dropped slightly. She was even more beautiful up close, and if he wasn’t mistaken, he’d seen her somewhere before.
“Brothers, this is Helen and Laeticia, Valerie’s best friends. Ladies, these are my brothers, in birth order: Augustus, Alastair, Andreas, and Alfie,” Algerone introduced them.
Augustus held out his hand to Laeticia, then Helen. He held her hand for longer than was probably proper, but he didn’t care. The electric jolt that zinged from his fingers and spread warmth through his entire body insisted that he try to maintain contact with her for as long as he could.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Laeticia and Helen,” he said, purring her name. He smirked when he noticed the slight tremble that wracked Helen’s body at the sound of her name on his lips.
Oh yes, she belonged to him.
“Nice to meet all of you as well,” Helen stated shyly, tugging her hand free of Augustus’s grip. She looked away from him and handed Valerie a gift bag. “I, uh, brought the kids some gifts, and you as well, Val.”
She is generous and shy, Augustus observed to himself. I’m sure there’s a fire just waiting to blaze within her. I will be honored to be the one to bring it out of her.
“Oh Helen, you didn’t have to,” Valerie responded.
“They’re my god babies, Val, and you’re my best friend. I can spoil you all if I want to,” Helen denied.
“Someone should, since you know, you’ve been doing this all by yourself for the last 14 years,” Laeticia said, subtly rebuking Algerone as she cut a glare in his direction.
Alfie laughed and stepped forward to shake Laeticia’s hand. Augustus watched as the petite woman preened under Alfie’s attention and his protective instincts flared to life. He wanted to protect his youngest brother from the woman, he could tell she was unlike any other woman Alfie had ever met in his life, but he kept his mouth shut. Alfie was a grown man and while Augustus did not want his brother hurt, he also knew that some lessons had to be learned the hard way.
“Excuse me, I need to use the restroom,” Helen murmured before walking off down the hallway, stepping as far away from Augustus as she could get as she moved through their gathered group.
Augustus turned his head to watch her walk away, and grinned. So, she thought she could escape him, did she? Well, he would have to prove her wrong. Without a word to anyone, he followed behind her, ignoring his brothers’ chuckles and Valerie’s inquest as to his destination.
Helen
Helen slammed the bathroom door behind her and slumped back against it. Her heart was racing, and her hands were shaking and sweaty. She’d known that Augustus—Prince Augustus—was attractive, he had been her secret crush for years, after all. However, seeing him in person was nothing like seeing him on the pages of a magazine or even in the high definition of her television or cellphone.
Oh Lord, grant me strength, she prayed silently.
She knew Valerie and Laeticia would be surprised if she confessed to them that her core had heated and clenched when she’d first caught sight of Augustus. Then again when he’d shaken her hand, and that her panties had grown extremely… damp when he’d said her name.
For most of her life, Helen had hated the name she’d been saddled with at birth. Too many times while she’d been growin
g up other kids had mockingly called her “Helen of Troy” and asked her how many wars she’d started that day. Things were made even worse whenever two boys—or even two girls—would start fighting over her. Whenever the teachers would ask who started the fight, every student gathered would point at her and chant:
Helen did it! Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships!
God, how Helen had hated them all.
Especially because her teachers always looked at her accusatorily. All except one, Mrs. Mashburne.
Her fifth-grade teacher was a gorgeous biracial woman who had a wide smile, large hazel eyes, terra cotta skin, a full figure, and a round nose. Her hair hung down to her waist in one long French braid, with beads woven throughout different strands.
Helen had been completely fascinated by the woman who always told her that she could either use the good looks that God had given her as a weapon for good, or as a weapon for evil. Helen hadn’t known what Mrs. Mashburne had meant when she was a child but when she’d gotten older, she’d finally figured it out. And it was the older woman’s words that had been whispering in her ear when Helen had finally decided to do a bit of modeling while in college. And while she’d had many men—and women—who’d hit on her over the years, she’d rebuffed them all until Garrett. And while things had ended with the handsome man, Helen was almost certain that if she allowed anything to happen between her and Prince Augustus, she would do all she could to hold onto him. Not because he was a prince, but because he caused her to feel something she’d never truly felt before…
Lust.
Pressing a hand against her stomach, Helen pushed away from the door and walked over to the sink. Turning on the water, she walked over to the toilet to relieve herself before flushing and walking back over to wash her hands, making sure to turn off the water once she was done. She knew that when she stepped out of the bathroom that Valerie and Laeticia would tease her about turning on the water to drown out the sound of her using the bathroom, no matter what she was doing, but Helen had gotten used to their teasing. She knew they didn’t understand her little quirks, but Helen was certain that her Boaz—the man made just for her, who would wait for her, take care of her and her family, be understanding, the quintessential perfect man according to her mother—would be okay with them. Besides after all these years was she expected to change her habits just because she was being teased?
Shaking her head, Helen dried her hands, turned to unlock the door, then opened it to leave the room. She let out a high-pitched scream when she ran head first into a massively broad chest. When strong arms curled around her waist, Helen sank into the man’s embrace for only a moment before she remembered who she was and what she believed and pushed away.
Looking up… up… and up, Helen found herself staring into the amused blue gaze of Prince Augustus. She gasped and put a hand to her chest.
“Prince Augustus!” She said breathlessly.
Augustus bit his lower lip and groaned, his eyes wandering up and down her body. Helen shivered at his lustful glance and stepped back even further into the bathroom.
“I-is t-there s-something y-you w-want?” she asked.
However, she instantly regretted the question when she saw his grin widen. Squaring her shoulders, she moved to walk past him and head back to the rest of their friends and family, hoping that he didn’t notice or feel the trembling that assaulted her body when she had to brush against him to get out.
“Wait, Lady Helen,” Augustus’s voice was deep like a bass guitar, the sound vibrating through her frame, settling deep in her belly and spreading warmth and wetness through her core, much like a blues guitar would do.
Helen hesitated for just a moment and turned to look at him, her eyebrow quirked even as she pressed her back against the golden-painted wall behind her.
“Yes?”
Augustus
“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” Augustus said hoarsely as he stepped close to Helen, her body pressed against the wall. The front of his body was still sensitive from where she’d brushed against him.
Dear God, she was exquisite.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” she responded softly. “If you will excuse me?” She made a move as if to walk around him, but Augustus stepped in her way. She sighed in obvious frustration and looked up at him. Augustus grinned.
She was stunning. From her slanted light brown eyes, to her full lips, her round, full bosom, tiny waist, and flared hips, all lovingly caressed by the lovely brown shade of her almond skin; she set him on fire. But it was much more than her looks, it was the innocence that hid a naughtiness he saw lurking within her that intrigued him. The way she refused to use profanity and had glared at anyone who did. He was utterly enthralled by her.
“Is there something you want, Prince Augustus?” she asked him, her voice trembled a bit and Augustus knew—only by the way her eyes continued to trail down over his body—that it was from lustful appreciation and not from fear.
“Yes, there is,” he said. He lowered his head and sniffed deeply, smelling the scent of the perfume on her skin. She smelled of lilacs, vanilla, and… woman. His favorite fragrance. “I want you. With your legs wrapped around my neck, and my face buried in your slit.”
He lifted his head and stared down at her, waiting for her response knowing he had shocked her a bit with his bluntness, but hoping she would be appreciative. The sting of her hand connecting with his cheek was not what he expected, however.
“You are crude, Your Highness. Crude and completely inappropriate. While that sort of language, and sexual deviant behavior is fine with one of the scores of women who daily sleep with you, I am not one of them. The only one who can speak to me that way, or do those things to me, is my husband,” she hissed at him, before pushing at his shoulder and walking away.
Augustus grabbed her wrist, but then dropped it when he saw the expression on her face as she turned to look back at him. “Are you married?” he asked, an unusual and unexpected surge of jealousy, possessiveness, and rage curdling in his gut.
Helen jerked her wrist free and glared at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
As Augustus watched her walk away, he realized that he didn’t care if she was married, engaged, or dating. She was his. She belonged to him.
Chapter Four
Augustus watched Valerie’s friend, Helen, as the ethereally beautiful brown-skinned woman talked with her friends. She laughed at something and Augustus felt his cock harden behind the zipper of his jeans. When she glanced over in his direction, his breath caught in his chest and he recalled what she’d said to him when he’d caught up to her in the hallway. He didn’t consider himself especially arrogant, but he had to admit to a bit of surprise that she’d appeared unaffected by him and not at all moved by his charms. While he didn’t think he was a Neanderthal the surge of possessiveness and the thrill of the chase he’d felt made a liar of him.
He wanted her and knew he would have her.
Augustus narrowed his eyes when he saw Hank, Algerone’s college friend, step up to Helen, placing his hand on her shoulder to gain her attention. Augustus clenched his hands into fists as he watched Helen’s face light up at the other man’s words. He knew Al would be upset if Augustus went over and killed his friend in the home he shared—now—with his wife and children. Especially if Augustus did it in view of said children. However, Augustus was all too aware that he didn’t particularly care. All he knew was that the other man had better remove his hand from Helen’s shoulder and step away from her before Augustus did something that would land him in prison.
As if his unspoken words had been heard by him, Hank dropped his friendly grasp of Helen’s shoulder, said one final word to her with a smile, before turning to look directly at Augustus. He nodded, and Augustus returned the gesture. Their agreement was unspoken but Augustus was certain that the other man understood his challenge and warning even from where he stood feet away.
“You know, if you
keep scowling at people the way you are, people are going to think you hate our new sister,” Alfie muttered next to him, and Augustus turned to look at his youngest brother. Confusion flowed through him at Alfie’s words, then he realized that while his attention had been fixed on Helen and Hank, Valerie had also been standing in that group and since no one really knew of his current infatuation with Helen, they would think his frown had been aimed at his new sister.
Shaking his head, Augustus sighed. “No, my expression was not for our new sister. It was for the one man who decided it would be okay for him to walk up to the women and talk to them,” he admitted the half-truth.
“Ah, your expression was purely for the safety of our newest sister,” Alfie nodded. “This makes so much more sense. For a moment I thought you had the expression of a possessive Smythe man. But that made no sense as Valerie is married already. To our eldest brother. And has been…”
“For fourteen years,” Augustus said bitterly.
“Yeah,” Alfie scoffed. He shook his own head. “How did he pull it off? And why do you think he did?”
Augustus blew out a frustrated breath and ran his hand over his jaw and chin, the prickly sensation of his beard against his fingers soothing him somewhat. He cut a glance over to Algerone who was across the room playing with his children, his face bright with happiness and peace. He spoke his next words without thinking.
“He did it because he’s selfish, ashamed of being the Crown Prince of Malvidence, ashamed of us. And how? Well, he paid guards to be quiet, lied to our parents about where he was and what he was doing. Avoided the press for the most part. Put his family up in a beautiful, large home with guards and alarms, and barely saw them, so he could maintain his lie. His lie to them and his numerous lies to all of us.”
