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
We settled into a large suite with two bedrooms on the top floor of the Palace. Milo stayed with us since he could better keep an eye and ear out for any rumours circling the Palace. Maya took a shower and Milo pushed his luck, going in to join her.I took that time to head down to speak with Abby, leaving them to get better acquainted and from what I heard from the bathroom, they were getting carnally acquainted. I wasn’t jealous of Milo having sex with Maya because I didn’t want to cheat on Luciana, no matter what you labelled our relationship.I stopped in front of Abby’s suite and knocked on her door. “Come in.”I opened the door and walked into her sitting room where a can of soda stood on the table and she scrambled for the remote but I saw what was on the television in any way. “Who’s that?”Abby seemed flustered for a second and then she sighed and put the remote down. I looked at the baby filling the screen and thinking the baby was beautiful. It surprised me and even Echo pu
On one side of the bed lay Nicu, his throat torn to shreds. I had killed the crown prince and I swallowed down the bile that rose in my throat as Echo licked his lips trying to come out to eat his liver. In front of the bed lay Dorin, blood pooling from his nose with his neck angled to one side. It was him I had stumbled over.“What the hell happened here?” It had taken Milo seconds to get here and he looked around the room, his eyes filled with disbelief.“Nicu found Dorin in my room. He overheard our conversation. Dorin was telling me that he couldn’t fight the bond anymore, that he’d sneak me out of the palace to safety so we could be together. He didn’t even see Nicu coming. He broke his neck and then his nose as he slumped to the floor.”“Shit Abby.”“Nicu slapped me and pushed me down on the bed. He told me that he was done playing nice and that I’d give him his dues tonight. That’s when Wynter came in and killed Nicu.”Milo had Abby in his arms and he stroked her back as his on
I carried Maya to her wing of the castle. She had cried herself to sleep again and I had the lair doctor waiting to give her a check-up. Abby walked inside with Milo once again holding her and I saw Luciana from the corner of my eye as I walked down the long hallway.I stayed while the doctor took her blood pressure and prescribed something that was safe for the baby. She was on her side with her back to me as I sat next to her and stroked her hair. She seemed calmer now and then she turned her head to look at me.“We weren’t close but he was still my brother.”“Of course he was.”She sighed and shifted around to look properly at me. “He wasn’t a good person but he seemed so different with Abigail that I hoped the things he did in the past was behind him.”“What things?” I had to fight to keep control of my voice because she knew things I didn’t know and I’d left my sister with him.“He was accused of rape once but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. I don’t think he did it,