LOGINRaising The BetJillI stood still in my defensive position as Landon sized me up. Today was our 11th training session, and I had been practicing in secret. Aunt Tawnie had given me videos of some of hers and Storm’s training sessions, and I was eager to show him my new favorite move. I knew he was probably going to be shocked because even though we sparred together almost on a daily basis, he never really touched me. He treated me just like my father did. Like I was a piece of porcelain that he had to protect. I wasn’t. I was grown. I was an adult that had needs, and I had grown very interested in him. The only problem was that I was anxious about how he would perceive any flirtation that came from me.I didn’t want him to just brush me off just because I was his junior by like 12 years. Maybe if I showed him that I could handle myself and knew what I wanted, he would give me a chance. But first, I wanted to feel his body against mine. And that meant I had to put him on his ass, whic
Playing Their Cards RightAlexAt about 5 AM, I gave up trying to sleep. I was sick of tossing and turning, which is all I did during the night. It drove me crazy, but I couldn’t help it. I kept wondering what Osirus was doing in the cabin with his chosen mate, and it drove me crazy. I didn’t want him to be touching her, making love to her, or spooning her while they slept. All I wanted to do was go over there and drag her out by her hair before crawling into his bed to let him spoon me. I threw my blankets off me so I could jump up and throw on some running clothes. Once I was dressed, I jogged out of the cabin, needing to burn off some of my anger. I was so focused on the trees in front of me that I didn’t see the person sleeping less than five feet in front of me. I bit back a cry of surprise as I landed on top of them, which I had to do again when strong arms wrapped around my waist. I drew in a breath, almost moaning in delight when his scent filled my nose. I let both my heartbe
Tawnie– 14 years laterLandyn knocked on the door before pushing it open, stepping in, and shutting it behind him. “Madame Tawnie, Prince Osirus is here for your meeting.”I smiled at him as I nodded. “You’re late today. Where were you?”“I was on patrol.”“Uh-huh! Patrol doesn’t usually take you so long. Did something happen while you were out?”He groaned. “Okay, fine. I was late to start patrolling. Jill was too tired to deal with Sarah this morning, so I got her up, dressed, fed, and took her to her grandparents’ house before I started patrol.”I laughed heartily as I nodded. “Toddlers are a handful. Is she ready to give birth to y’all’s next daughter yet?”“Very much so. She’s already cursing me for doing this to her,” he chuckled.“Mhmm, you’re saying that like you aren’t enjoying every second of it.”“Oh, trust me, I am! She only lets me dote on her while she’s pregnant.”“That’s my girl. Alright, I’ve made Osirus wait long enough. Please show him in,” I instructed.I stood up
3 Years LaterI was sitting in my office, tapping my fingers on the desk in front of me as I spoke to a clearly agitated Osirus via mindlink. He had sounded so stressed that I hadn’t had the heart to tell him that I was busy at the moment.‘Can you fucking believe it, Tawnie? My father is sending me to Europe to handle a major conflict! First, it was hunting down all the rogues who hurt anyone in our kingdom. Now, it’s going across the sea to fight in a war that I don’t approve of, and find a solution to everyone’s problems. I hate that every time I want to come visit you, my parents find something for me to do instead. And we both know that if I were to tell them no, they wouldn’t give me my throne!’ he grumbled.‘They really do hate me now, don’t they?’‘Of course they do, and you know why! You said it yourself that if you were in their shoes, you would hate you, too.’I groaned. I had said that. It had been the truth. I had lied to them to get a pardon for things I was already plan
TawnieAfter Landon left, I quickly gathered all of the reports I had left to review before making my way upstairs to my penthouse, where I gave Charlene and Nina a bright smile. I hadn’t wanted to interrupt Alek’s time with his brother. They didn’t get to spend a lot of time together, and we all knew that it was going to get harder now that we all had kids, but I was determined to make sure they got to see each other as much as they could, just like he made sure I had time for myself.“Hey, I hope you don’t mind that I came back early today. I sent Landon away on business and would rather be here than alone in my office,” I told them.“Of course not, Tawnie! They’re your kids, and this is your penthouse! You don’t need our permission to come and go as you please,” Charlene laughed.“Thank you so much for your kind words,” I laughed. “I only need another hour or so, and then I’ll be done with my work for the day. You guys will be more than welcome to go home when I am.”“Or we can sta
LandonI shifted irritably for what felt like the 600th time in the last two hours. I was finding it incredibly hard to stand still in my position beside Tawnie’s office door, guarding her while she worked.“Just go talk to him,” she told me without looking up.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told her, even though I wasn’t surprised that she knew I was unhappy about the conversation I had previously had with Preston.“Yes, you do. Your moving around is distracting me. I’m ordering you to go talk to him. I already linked Alek to come down and stand guard today.” She lifted her gaze to mine before continuing softly, “I know how important it is to you that he accepts you as Jill’s future mate, and I know he will. He just needs a little bit of time to get used to the idea that his little guard has a mate.”I groaned. I didn’t like hearing her referred to as a little girl. It made me feel dirty, even though I did not allow myself to go down a fantasy path where she was involved
AlekI smiled down at Tawnie as she squared her shoulders before glancing at Storm, who stood beside her while Galen flanked her other side. It was amazing to see how the dynamics between the three of them changed the moment Tawnie found out she was pregnant four days ago. Tawnie was still the bada
TawnieWhen I finally woke up the next day, I immediately closed my eyes again, desperately trying to hold onto the dream I was having. It was better than my reality. At least it was after I begged my inner demon to let me have it. I would rather spend a few minutes being held in Alek’s arms in a r
StormI held the last cat down so Galen could restrain him. Tawnie had been in such a mood since Alek was brutally murdered by people he thought he could rely on-well, maybe not rely on, but were at least dependable– three weeks ago that we wanted to make sure her orders were completely complied wi
On my way up to my penthouse, I opened my link with Nina Garrison, the casino’s doctor, to tell her to come to me. The moment Storm said that I could be pregnant, my whole world had been turned upside down. First came hope, and then came anger. How could she do that to me? She knew how badly I was







