The door to conference room 5 opened with a soft whoosh, granting the four access in a place they had no business. Wynona Hawthorne stood at the front of the room, giving what looked to be a presentation on increasing security measures. The woman caught the movement at the door immediately, her lips setting into a deep scowl.Noting the soured look the head guardian wore, those gathered in attendance shifted in their seats to take a look at the ones who’d garnered her attention.For her part, Hawthorne did little to hide her exasperation at their appearance. The woman sucked in a deep breath, willing herself to remain composed despite the sudden intrusion. “I assume this is of the gravest importance, Finley—so important that the safety of the realm with have to wait. So important, in fact, that you would throw protocol and decorum to the wind and simply let yourselves in.”Demetrius flushed at the woman’s rebuke but his mot

Her hands in his hair were enough to clear every thought from his mind. Demetrius felt Jamie’s urgency with each tug, responding with a hunger of his own.He’d convinced her to take a break. Having missed the revision week, she was thrust back into school with only enough time to sit her finals and it had made her worryingly preoccupied with verb conjugations and mathematical equations. There was a part of him that was surprised she conceded to his distractions, but another part of him was too busy getting drunk on the taste of her mouth.“We should get back to studying,” she whispered, teasing a nip at his lower lip.“I can’t hear you,” he whispered back before recapturing those saucy lips that sought to ruin his fun.How she managed a coherent thought with their bodies pressed so closely together was beyond his level of understanding. Demetrius could feel her every curve as her body fit itself into his contours.

“Jerry…what…what’s this about?” “You’ve got some nerve,” he said, pushing past her to enter the living room. Behind him, four other men entered. They all did their best to avoid making eye contact with the woman despite having let themselves into her home.  “Who are these people?” “The movers. Get the books off the second and third shelves,” he said. “Honey, I—” “Don’t call me that,” he said, snapping despite the lack of necessity for such hostility. “You don’t get to call me that, not after what you’ve done.” “Daddy,” Valerie tried, too cautious this time to reach out for him. “Where are you going?” The man gritted his teeth. “I’m not your father, despite what your whore of a mother’s led you to believe—the things in the third bedroom from the stairs, too, men. I want the nightstand, the dresser—leave the bed. That slut’s done too many things on there while I was at work. She can keep that for the next time she runs into

Leave it to his father to want to mingle while his family waited for him back in the apartment. Within ten minutes of realising his father was getting comfortable with some of his former partners, Demetrius excused himself from the company of the men and started back. The rehearsals ran longer than he thought necessary, and he could only imagine his sister crawling out of her skin with impatience. In another mood, the idea would’ve amused him enough to slow his steps. He knew, of course, that with his mother around it was unlikely anything would happen, but it did little to quiet the erratic pounding in his chest. “I’m running out of options, Caspian.” Demetrius drew to a dead stop at the sound of the prince’s voice and the mention of the man who managed to keep him rattled despite his extended absence. The boy crept over to the door. “You could try releasing her.” Carlton’s dispassionate response rang as clearly from behind the door. “I’m sure her fa

He’d suffered all he could. Demetrius had tried and had made concessions; he’d held his tongue when they screamed hard enough; he played along when they insisted forcefully enough.He was done.Demetrius offered his hand to Jamie, allowing her as much time as she needed to talk it. The girl clung to his hand, drawing close as she sought to shield herself from the piercing gazes that followed the boy from the stage. With her secured, the boy walked across the room to the table set for his family. He momentarily released Jamie’s hand to hoist Phoenix up from the table. He placed her in Cassidy’s arm before taking her free hand and reclaiming Jamie’s.The path to the main door was clear for him, despite the many guests and guards that sat or stood in his way. They simply didn’t matter.“Where are you going?” The presenter called to him from the stage, encouraging back to receive the prestigious award made speci