I woke up smelling coffee and smiled even though my eyes were still closed. Something tickled my nose and I hit Milo on the shoulder as he tried to move away. “Rise and shine.”“What’s going on with you?”“I can’t make my brother a cup of coffee on the eve of his celebratory engagement banquet?”“You never bring it to my room Milo.”“I felt like being nice to you today.” Milo got up from the bed and stood looking out of the window.“You heard me talking to Ally.” It wasn’t a question but a statement because I already knew.“Isn’t there anything you can do? Get out of the wedding somehow?”“Yes Milo let me just quickly go barge into the King’s royal chambers and announce that I took his daughter’s virginity even though I can’t remember shit from that night and that I refuse to do the honorable thing and marry her.”“You can’t remember playing hide the sausage?” If we’d been talking about anybody else, I’d laugh at his choice of words, but this was me we were talking about.“No dumbass,
My family was seated next to me on the raised platform where the Royal Family also sat. Maya sat on my right next to her father and Ryder sat on my left with Nova next to him and Milo next to her. Abby sat on the other side of the long table next to Nicu.“A toast to the engagement between Duke Grey and Princess Maya!” Cheers rang from the room as every Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron were in attendance with their families. Generals and Ministers were sent an invite as well.I was currently the only Duke in the banquet hall since you had to be a part of the Royal Family to be a Duke. The Earls and so on had gotten their titles because of their loyalty to the crown which made me wonder what dirty deeds they were guilty of.After the feast, the dance floor was opened by the King and Queen followed by Nicu and Abigail and then me and Maya. Ryder and Nova joined us shortly and after that everyone else could dance. Milo had been quiet throughout the banquet but I’d go up to the roof wit
Every palace and castle of the Royal Family had a large chapel on the grounds for weddings, blessings upon births and funeral ceremonies. Maya and I were getting married in the Sinaia chapel because of the lack of time on our side.I was woken up early the next morning, before the sun rose and given a hearty breakfast that I ate with my family. Milo was my best man and since I didn’t have godparents anymore my own parents would stand by my side while the King and Queen would stand with Maya.We made small talk during breakfast but my heart wasn’t really in it. I kept feeling an itch where Ally’s name was etched onto my skin and Milo kept nudging me in the ribs. “Sorry Dad, what did you say?”“I said that your mother would’ve kicked your ass for pulling this stunt.”“At this stage I might welcome it.” Ryder’s gaze changed for a brief second, emotion flashing in his eyes.“So I’m gathering that the timeline has moved up eight months or so.”I hadn’t even noticed that Nova, Abby and Shae
The agreement with the King was that we’d spend weekends with them at the Palace and during the week I’d start taking over the duties at Mintia and run my territory. The castle had been renovated a year earlier and the day I proposed to Maya, new furniture and staff were sent there.“This is some place.” Milo’s voice held just a hint of awe as I parked the SUV in front of the castle.Staff lined the entryway that led to the front door and I woke Maya with a nudge to her shoulder. The moment I climbed out of the car all heads bowed and I felt a little uncomfortable at the display.“Welcome home Duke Grey.”“Thank you.”“I’m Gerard, the butler for the castle and I will see to all your needs.” He was about forty, average in height and slim of build.“My brother will need a suite close to mine.”“Of course Sire. We have prepared a light dinner for your arrival and your luggage will be stowed and unpacked in your chambers.”We followed Gerard up the few steps and into the castle. Milo and
I felt drawn to the town of Mintia and I looked through the window eagerly, soaking up as much as I could. People stared because the SUV held the flags of my Dukeship. Nobody waved and nobody smiled, which got me to thinking that my reception with the Elders would be cold as well.We met in the Town Hall meeting room with an oval table. There were still two heads and none of the men had taken their seats. I smelled bourbon and Ivan cleared his throat when we entered. They all stared at Milo with open hostility but their searing gazes of hate were spared for me.“Good afternoon Elders of Mintia.” I spoke first and they all just stared.“I present Duke Wynter Grey the new Sire of Mintia.”“We don’t need the son-in-law of the King to harass this town any further!” The man that had spoken was angry. His eyes burned with fury and I realized I was in the presence of allies, they just didn’t know it yet.“Tell me Duke why exactly did you choose Mintia to settle your seat?”“That is Elder And
Maya was seated on the sofa in the sitting room adjacent to our chambers. She looked past me and smiled when she saw that I was alone. I sat down on the sofa opposite her and leaned back into the cushions. It had been a long day and I wasn’t exactly done with work yet.“You wanted to talk.”“What did the Elders want?”“Nothing much, it was a good meeting.” For some reason I didn’t trust her smile and the fact that she was Florin’s daughter only made me more wary of her intentions.“I’m sure your personal secretary mentioned that I would be staying in my own chambers for the duration of the pregnancy.”“He did.”“About last night …” Her voice trailed off and I looked intently at her.“What about last night?”“I didn’t like it and it will never happen again.” She looked up at me with determination in her eyes.“You didn’t seem to mind last night, in fact, I could tell that you really enjoyed it.”“I felt humiliated that you would let your brother touch me. I nodded my head because it wa
I drove into Mintia and parked the SUV in front of Luciana’s store. There was one dim light on in the back and the front door was unlocked. The store was empty of stock and shelves and I looked around at the bare store.I turned towards the back when a door opened and I closed my eyes briefly as Luciana’s scent reached out to me. She smelled like fresh morning dew with a hint of oranges and I got a vivid image of the sunset.“Duke Grey …” She sounded breathless and my eyes popped open.She looked down instantly but not before I saw the light purple underneath her eye and across her temple. “Who hurt you?” I had no idea why I felt so protective over her. She was a just a young woman that I had met once before.“It doesn’t matter.” She tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear, showing her discomfort with my presence.“Why’s the store empty?” It wasn’t my place to ask these questions but I felt my dominant and protective sides clashing, wanting to make her feel better.“My father
Breakfast was awkward as hell as Milo kept staring at Luciana and she blushed so much that I thought the red in her cheeks might stay there forever. She finally had enough of him and looked him squarely in the eye.“What Milo?” I grinned as I leaned back in my seat and watched the exchange between them.“I can’t believe you just kept going.” Milo continued to eat and he probably should’ve known she’d have a smart-assed reply.“Jealous you weren’t in on the action?”Milo choked as I laughed and Luciana lowered her head again and started on her own breakfast. Milo raised his eyes towards mine and nodded proudly.“She’ll fit right in.”Eleven or so weeks sped by in a blur with Luciana sleeping in my bed every single night. She told me about her childhood and I told her about mine. It felt like I could tell her anything and she spent a lot of time with us in the office.She surprised the hell out of us all when she took the file Ivan was busy with and grabbed a pen. We all studied her for