“Just where do you think you’re going?”

So busted. I squared my shoulders and attempted to saunter past my husband, but he pushed himself off the wall and planted a hand on the other wall across from him. “I don’t remember telling you, you could go.”

I tipped my chin up. “Your Majesty, is that a direct order from my king to stand here and await my punishment, or is it a request from my husband?”

Yes, I was pushing him. But we were going to work something out. We still had difficulty with our roles. I didn’t like being told what to do. He didn’t like being defied. And now that he was king, he was even more pompous than usual.

His voice dropped an octave. “Penelope, I love you.” That wasn’t fair. That low timbre of his voice rolled over me like brandy. Enticing with a hint of spice, promising to soothe whatever ached in me.

“Sebastian.” By contrast, I was vodka. Icy and cool. One of us was going to bend, and it wasn’t going to be me.

He leaned close, and I could smell him. Sandalwood and musk, with a hint of leather. I picked that soap out for him at this hole-in-the-wall perfumery in the old town when we’d honeymooned in Antibes. He was wearing it now, and it was making me dizzy.

“I’m only trying to protect you.”

I tilted my chin up to glare at him. Unfortunately, that brought me even closer to him.

“And I keep telling you, I don’t need protecting. You forget, I’m the one who does the protecting.”

“You’re no longer Royal Guard.”

I arched a brow. “So, what’s my official title now, Wife to the King?”

He pursed his lips. “I prefer Queen.”

“I guess I am a queen. Which means I can pretty much do whatever I want. And I want to be a Royal Guard.”

He leaned ever closer, our breath co-mingling. “And I keep telling you, it’s impractical. You want to work in Intelligence with your father? Fine. But this sneaking out in the middle of the night to do God knows what… How am I supposed to keep you safe?”

I opened my jacket enough for him to see my gun. “I don’t go anywhere without Annabelle. You know that. Don’t forget, I know how to do this.” Yes, I named my gun. But didn’t everybody?

“You’re more than capable. But why take the risk? Given what’s happened, it’s just not safe. I didn’t know where you were.”

“And if you had just checked your phone, you would have seen that I turned my location services on.”

His jaw clenched. “Yeah, how do you think I knew you went in the tunnel?” He rubbed the back of his neck “I woke up needing you and you weren’t there.”

I chuckled low. “This all started because you were looking to get some?”

He grinned at me and shrugged. “Yeah, basically. But imagine, I looked over and my wife was gone. What the fuck was I supposed to do with that?”

“I don’t know. Call me?”

“Yeah? Would you have answered?”

I grinned at him. “Maybe?”

He shook his head, but he was already leaning down.

The electricity sparked between us even before his lips met mine. That little charge. That little burn and sting. And then his lips crushed over mine, his tongue sliding in hot, his hands going to my waist and squeezing just a little too hard. He was letting me know that I was his and reminding me that he wasn’t going to let me go.

As I eased back, I bit his lip, reminding him that I wasn’t going to be caged.

With a little growl, he tucked his hand under my t-shirt and palmed my breasts. I whimpered as his palm found my nipple, and he nipped at my bottom lip. “Don’t scare me like that again.”

“I didn’t intend to scare you. Now if you don’t mind, my husband was talking about needing to get some. It’s made me all achy.”

He chuckled low, and the next thing I knew, we were wrestling my jacket and my holster off of me. When they fell to the ground with a soft thud, Sebastian dipped his head and kissed me again. With his hands on my ass, he lifted me easily and braced me up against the wall. His hands were in my curls in no time, tugging me, angling until he had me just where he wanted me.

Sebastian’s tongue slid over mine, and I tried to gain the upper hand, retreating, advancing… teasing him. He slid his hands up my shirt, roughly tugging it as he went. I was no gentler with his shirt, yanking at the soft cotton over his shoulders and pulling up. Then he released me. My feet hit the ground. My boots made a clicking sound.

He dipped again, kissing my neck and that hollow behind my ear. “Start walking. These tunnels are monitored now, and I want you all to myself.”

He picked up my jacket and my t-shirt and my gun and followed behind me, one hand tucking my hair away from that spot on my nape he wanted to kiss. When he pressed his lips there, heat coiled up my spine. He knew exactly where to touch me.

We’d gone no more than fifteen feet, and he gently pushed me through the doors of our quarters. The moment we were in our room he was back on me from behind, unfastening the button of my jeans and shoving the zipper down. He didn’t lead me to the bed though. We went straight to the desk. He kissed my neck, my shoulders. “You’ve been a very, very naughty wife.”

I chuckled low even as I tugged his sweat pants. “Is this the part where you threaten to punish me again?” I had my hand in his sweats in seconds. My fingers wrapping around his cock.

He coughed low. “Do you feel that? I’ve been sitting with that for thirty minutes wondering where the hell my wife was. You should probably do something to make him feel better.”

I laughed softly. “Oh, should I? Maybe he should reward me for coming back.”

“You know what, I think we could probably come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

At the edge of the desk in the far corner of the room, he shoved my jeans down to my ankles, and his sweats as well. I could feel the hard length of him behind me, pulsing, probing… gently asking for entry. My breath caught as his lips pressed against my ear. “Don’t scare me again, okay?”

I sighed. He was the last person on earth I wanted to fight with. “Okay. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

His voice went even lower. As he bent his legs, the tip of him grazed my aching slickness. “And I’ll try to give you more freedom, okay? I hate fighting with you.”

“Me too.”

His hands slid up my back, and he pressed me forward into the glass top of the desk.

And when he slid home, I cried out.

“Fuck.” His voice was more of a growl. “So good.”

“Hurry,” I muttered. I was wet, ready, and beyond desperate at that point.

“Oh, you thought I was going to hurry? See the thing is, my wife kept me waiting, so, she can wait a little too.”

I popped my hips back and then deliberately squeezed my inner muscles, milking him. That earned me another muttered curse, a growl, and then a sharp swat on the ass.

I shivered at the burn of heat and the delicious bite. “Sebastian.”

His only response was a chuckle. “Behave.”

“I will not. You swat me on the ass again, you’ll see what happens.” Yep, totally empty threats. The only thing he was in danger of was making me wetter.

He leaned over me. His broad chest pressed in my back. The full length of him pulsed inside me, making me ache, making me need, making me want. “Will you make me pay?”

“Yes. You will pay dearly.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Then he stood again and planted his palm on my ass once more.

Another sweet bite. My pussy clenched. “Asshole.”

He then slid his hands over my belly, up to my breasts, lifting me gently, all the while slowly sliding home and then retreating. Pleasure in emptiness; pleasure in fullness. And the gentle roll of my nipples had my legs shaking.

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t want to hurt you,” he whispered.

“Make me believe it.”

He chuckled even as he branded me with his cock. “Here, let me show you.” Sebastian’s hand slid down my torso as his thick cock teased me with a promise of ecstasy. His fingers slid over my clit. His middle finger rubbed gently, coaxing, bringing me so much closer. And then gently edging off as soon as my hips started to work back toward him, pumping, begging, and needing a release.

I groaned in frustration and squeezed him internally again.

“Fuck, Penny.”

“What? What did I do?”

He laughed into that spot where shoulder and neck meet. “You know what you did.”

Still inside me, he turned us around and shuffled us over to the bed. When he gently slid out, I whimpered, missing him already. I needed that promise of release. “Sebastian, please—”

“Sshh… I’ll be right back.” I heard the shuffling as he closed in behind me, assuming he was stepping out of his sweats, then he tugged my jeans off my ankles.

Then he pulled one of the pillows from the bed and shoved it under my belly, tipping my ass up for him. And without any preamble, he slid home again. His lips kissed the little hurts of the tiny nips his teeth made. He whispered the words I’d wanted to hear. “I love you. I love making up with you too.”

I laughed. And then his fingers found my clit again, circling softly. “Shit, oh God.”

With his free hand, he pulled me gently back to my knees, changing our positions slightly. “You know what I’ve been missing?”

His thumb gently pressed over my ass and circled softly as his finger teased my clit and pressed. I shuddered. “Oh fuck, so good. So, so good.”

“I’ve been missing this. Right now, though, I need you too much. I won’t be gentle enough.”

“I don’t care about gentle. I don’t—"

“Sshh… I care about gentle. I don’t want to hurt you.” And then he picked up his pace. His cock slid inside me. His thumb teased over my asshole as his fingers worked my clit, and I knew any second, I’d be a goner. Flying.

And then he pushed his thumb inside me.

Full. So full, oh my God. And he picked up the pace with his fingers as his dick slid inside me. “I know you love this Penny. I can feel how much. The way you’re gripping me. With your pussy and your ass. All you have to do to come is to let go. I’ll catch you. I always do.”

I could feel the twitch of him inside me. He was waiting for me. Holding out for me. Determined.

With a cry, I broke apart, my body convulsing. And then he sank deep. His thumb still pressed inside me, gently, his fingers never letting up on my clit. He expanded inside me. He cursed, and it was part swear, part reverence. “Fuck, Penny.”

With another press of his fingers, I was flying again. He sank his teeth into my flesh, expletives muttered into my skin as he exploded deep inside me.

“So was this my punishment?” I muttered, my body limp. Too tired to move. “Because keep that up, and I’m likely to misbehave again.”

I could feel the vibration of his chuckle. “Something tells me that was your plan all along.”

“Hey, Bryna, there’s someone here to see you.”

I looked up from the pile of contracts I was reviewing. The new singer I’d found in Antigua last week agreed to do a sample demo with us of her own work. We would just distribute it to see if we could get any interest, and I would move forward and see if she should be a full-time artist with us. It was for a management deal, so it was really from the ground up, and I was excited about it. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Someone’s here to see you.”

I frowned. “Uh, who?”

Marie shrugged. “She said her name was Eliza. She’s older. Really well put together though.”

I groaned internally and forced myself to take a deep, steadying breath. “Thanks Marie. You can show her in.”

Marie was our receptionist. We went to lunch together every now and then. Technically, she was supposed to make me coffee and be my gal Friday, but I preferred to do a lot on my own.

Marie gave me a bright smile and nodded before strolling out of my shoebox of an office.

I never minded my office before. I was just shocked that I even had one. I’d assumed I’d be in a cubicle. But something about my mother being in my space, being here, made me feel a little bit of shame. As though I was doing something wrong or didn’t have something right.

Stop it. You’ve done nothing wrong. And you love your job. It’s a solid job. You’re proud of it. You do work that’s important to you. Own it.

That was true. And if my mother didn’t like it? Well, she could feel free to bite me.

My mother walked in wearing, of course, Chanel. Her gaze quickly scanned my office. It might have been small; it might have been a little cramped and cluttered. I had a lot of contracts to go through, mostly our standard let’s-see-how-it-works-out, then-move-forward kind of stuff. I stood. “Mom, what are you doing here?”

She sighed. “Is that any way to greet your mother?”

Fantastic. Already off to a stellar start. “What do you want? I have a lot of work to do.”

Her brows furrowed, and she eyed the seat across from me as if it were going to jump up and bite her in the ass. After a long hard inspection of my perfectly serviceable chair, she eased herself into it. “I had to hear that you were back from Jinx’s mother. How long have you been here?”

“A month.”

Her eyes went wide. “A month? I know we have our differences, but I would have at least expected a call.”

“Really, Mom? Do you want a call? Because I feel like I was pretty clear the last time I saw you in New York.”

She waved a hand. “Are you still angry about that? I thought we’re going to let bygones be bygones.”

I sat back and stared at her. “Are you really that delusional? You’re going to just sit there and say ‘let bygones be bygones’ and act as if nothing happened with us? Act as if you didn’t steal money out of my account? That you didn’t attempt to control my very existence? We’re just going to pretend that none of that happened?”

“I swear to God Bryna,” she took a deep breath. “I just hoped that maybe, with the dust settling, you would see that we were only looking out for you.”

“Sorry, I don’t see it that way. And I won’t see it that way, so you’re wasting your time.”

My parents were used to me just doing what they wanted and were quite accustomed to me caving, giving in. But not this time. No way in hell. “If that’s all, I have a lot of work to do.”

“Bryna, are you well? You’re okay? I love you. You should know that.”

“Sure, Mom. It’s just that how you show it is not how I want it shown, which is neither here nor there.”

“Look, I just—I heard about the unpleasantness with Lucas.”

“Oh, you thought I’d been licking my wounds. Depressed and despondent that I’d been abandoned?”

“Sweetheart, you can’t possibly think that I would want you upset or anything like that. When I heard, I thought it might be a good idea to go see you in the city. I was making plans when I saw Jinx’s mother. And she said how wonderful it was that the two of you had moved in together. It was horrifying to be the last one to know that information. My own daughter, and you didn’t even tell me.”

I sighed. “Okay, if we’re done here, you can go.”

“Oh, Bryna, come on. How do we get past this?”

I studied her closely. She looked sincere. Like she actually wanted to fix this. Like she actually wanted to make this in some way better.

“Honestly? Stop trying to control me. Just stop. I make lots of mistakes.” Mistake number one, Lucas. “But, they’re mine to make. In an ideal world, you would just sit back and be my Mom. Give me a hug when I’m upset, talk me through it when I ask for your advice. And maybe if you actually have to offer some sincere advice, you could consider what’s best for me and what I would actually want. You have to get to know me, who I am. Not who you want me to be. You know, that would be a great first step.”

“Ugh, Bryna, you really think we don’t know you? Every decision we’ve ever made has been because we know you so well. We know what you need.”

I put my hand up. “See, that’s the problem. You just don’t listen.”

“I am listening. I just came to talk to you because I heard about the unpleasantness. I mean, he’s a thief, Bryna. Prince or not, I mean—"

My brows snapped down. “What did you just say?”

My mother sputtered. “I don’t know. What in the world do you mean?”

“You said, ‘Prince or not.’”

Her face flamed. “I—"

“Dad told you? That’s tantamount to treason. I know for a fact you’re not supposed to know.”

She swallowed hard and settled back in the seat. “Well then, how do you know?”

“Well, Lucas told me. But it’s not treason for him to talk to me because it’s his information to tell.”

She rolled her eyes. “Those rules are antiquated. It’s not like there haven’t been rumors.”

“Sure, there have been rumors, but no one knows. You know because Dad told you.”

“Okay fine. Your father may have let it slip. But really, the last thing on earth we can allow is for someone like that to be confirmed. Honestly, such a scandal, the whole mess to vote to allow illegitimate children. How are they ever supposed to know who is actually royal and who isn’t? You know, from the rightful lines?”

“Mom, have you forgotten that King Jackson wasn’t actually from a royal bloodline? It’s not like it’s some pre-ordained nonsense. He became king on the battlefield. So this whole idea of royal blood is nonsense. Luck of the draw. He’s the prince, like it or not.”

“Well, I don’t have to like it.”

“Fair enough. You don’t. That’s true. But if you think you’re going to walk in here and change my mind about him, or get me on your side against him, or in any way get me to side with you and Dad, you couldn’t be more wrong. It’s not going to happen. No, no. Good luck with that.”

“So you’re siding with him? Over your father?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, all I know is that he’s gone. If you’re in here, asking me to choose sides without even knowing the full situation, I’ll side with him. At least he hasn’t made a life choice out of lying and manipulating me.”

No, he just lied that one time. Either way, I wasn’t buying what she was selling. She was wasting her time. Even if he didn’t love me, even if it had been a game of some sort, I knew him. There was no way he would have stolen from his brother. That just wasn’t him.

That’s if you even knew him at all.