But first, I had to take a shower, because there was no way I was going to meet my fiancé smelling like someone who'd been sleeping off a bender under a bridge. Then I would dress and go to the receiving room to meet the man with whom I'd be spending the rest of my life.
The blue dress my mother had purchased while I was away was a little loose even though it was technically my size. I frowned. I must've lost weight over the past couple weeks. Not surprising. I hadn't really been consuming much real food recently. I smoothed it down, making a couple little adjustments here and there until it fit well enough. I smoothed down my curls. They were still damp, but presentable. I went with minimum make-up and a pair of heels that gave me a couple inches but were still considered decent.
I gave myself one last look in the mirror. I could still see faint bruise-like smudges under my eyes, but they were only visible if someone paid close attention. I doubted anyone would notice. I took a deep breath, cleared everything else out of my mind and headed down the hallway. The receiving room was at the front of the palace, allowing us to bring people into our home without bringing them into the part where we actually lived.
When I walked inside, my parents were already there. Standing with them were three people. I recognized two of them as part of a fairly wealthy family. I couldn't remember their name, but it didn't surprise me that they were the ones my parents had picked.
“May we present our eldest daughter, Namisa Carrmoni,” Father spoke in our native language.
I bowed my head a bit, enough to indicate respect, but without making it seem like they were above me. The woman curtsied, but I saw her pale eyes watching me. There was no doubt in my mind that she was wondering how long it would be before I'd give her a grandchild to assure her bloodline on the throne. Her husband bowed and kept his head down, his face carefully guarded. He was smart. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
I let my eyes turn to the third person now. He'd bowed, but not as low or as long as his father, and he hadn't kept his head down. His eyes were a clear blue, the kind that had the potential to be as cold as a glacier. Right now, they were unreadable as they met mine. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was handsome, with jet black hair and chiseled features. When he straightened, I saw that he was about average height, a bit under six feet tall, and muscular, with wide, broad shoulders. Most women would've been attracted to him. If I hadn't had Reed on my mind, I might've been too.
“Princess Namisa, meet Machai and Naomi Nekane, and their son Tanek.” Mother's voice was stiff and I wondered if she hadn't been as fond of this match as my father. “Tanek is your betrothed.”
I'd figured as much, but hearing it said out loud like that still made my stomach flip, and not in a good way.
Tanek stepped forward as I extended a hand. He took it, bowed slightly and kissed the back of my hand. “Princess.” His voice was low and cultured.
“Tanek.”
Something dark passed across his eyes at my use of his first name. I tightened my jaw and lifted my chin. Too bad if he didn't like it. He didn't have a title and, until we were married, he wouldn't. Even then, I would still be above him. Others would be required to address him as prince, and then king, but I would still be the leader.
“We have decided that a short engagement would be best,” Father said.
Mother turned to me, her expression tightly polite. “We have a lot to do, my dear, so we'll be spending every day until the wedding planning for the event.”
I heard what she wasn't saying. I would have no chance to screw this up. They'd made their decision and now I had to live with it.
Chapter 7
Reed
Piper was right, I decided. I deserved to be happy and that couldn’t happen until I knew where things stood with Nami. Even if she didn't want me, if she'd already married her guy, at least I'd know.
And no matter what happened, I was done here. Not just done with my family's business – which didn't belong to my family anymore – but with Philadelphia, with the obnoxious high society people, with everyone, related or not.
I wasn't going to do what my parents had asked and buy the company out from the Atwoods. Besides the fact that I wasn't interested in being in charge again, I didn't trust my family to do right by the people who worked there. I trusted Julien to though.
I laughed at that and shook my head as I looked down at the list I'd made. I was almost done. The last thing I had to do was tell my parents, and I was putting that off until I knew where I was going. I would eventually tell my parents, but I wanted to wait until I was ready to leave before I said anything. Give them less time to try to talk me out of it.
The first thing I'd done was pay ahead on property taxes for two years, and then sign the house over to my parents. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, giving away the place that had been my home pretty much my entire life. I guessed that was because it hadn't actually felt like my home. Not just mine. Even at my age, I'd always felt like I was still at my family's house, not mine. Now it was theirs again. I just hoped it would give my parents enough time to get their feet under them because I wasn't planning on bailing them out with anything else.
I'd had to pull quite a few strings to get everything together on a Sunday, but the Stirling name wasn't complete mud, especially when it was linked to my first name. Granted, people knew about the whole Britni thing, but the Michaels weren't exactly bright shining stars in Philly at the moment and business people were more likely to overlook an affair versus bad financial choices. It helped that what I was asking for had to do with money, and I had plenty.
Everything that was under my name was being turned into cash. I wouldn't be able to get it all today, but I'd set things into motion to have everything split into several different accounts at different banks. I'd taken a loss on some art work and on a couple other possessions, but getting this taken care of quickly meant more to me than a couple hundred thousand dollars. I wanted to be ready to go at a moment's notice.
I looked around the living room, realizing for the first time how nothing here was mine. The furnishings had changed a bit over the years, but I'd hired the same decorator my parents had used. There were family pictures on the wall, but they were all portraits or identical prints of ones in the apartment. I'd kept very few mementos over the years and none of them were displayed.
I didn't have anything I wanted to take with me. The knowledge that I could leave at any point with just my wallet and passport filled me with a sense of relief and a thrill of excitement.
A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts and I got up. I wasn't sure who it could be. Rebecca was going to come visit me, but it might've been my parents. I didn't really want to see any of them, but I couldn't think of anyone else. Unless Piper and Julien had decided to stop by, but while we'd gotten along fine at the wedding, I didn't think we were at the ‘drop by for a visit’ stage.
When I opened the door, I almost slammed it shut again. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I couldn't move. My feet were frozen to the spot and I was pretty sure my mouth was hanging open.
“Hey, Reed.” Britni grinned up at me, her light blue-gray eyes sparkling. “Heard you were back in the city.”
“Britni.” I found my voice, and was relieved to hear it sounded normal.
“Aren't you going to invite us in?” Britni asked.
It wasn't until then that I realized she wasn't alone. The man behind her was about average in height and build. Sandy brown hair and pale green eyes. He was good-looking, I supposed, in an average sort of way. I assumed this was the new fiancé.
“Come in.” I stepped out of the way and let Britni and her guy walk on by.
“This is Jeremy MacKenzie, by the way,” Britni called over her shoulder. She waved her fingers at me, a giant diamond glinting in the light. “My fiancé. He just asked me tonight.”
“Nice to meet you, Jeremy.” A strange, surreal feeling had come over me. “And con
gratulations.”
Britni went straight into the kitchen and started rooting around, coming up with a bottle of wine a few seconds later. Without asking permission, she pulled a couple of glasses out of the cupboard and poured us each a glass.
“I think we need a toast,” she said, raising her glass. “To true love.”
I was glad she hadn't said it after I'd taken a drink. I probably would've choked on it. As it was, I barely managed to swallow it despite how good it was. What the hell was she doing here?
“This is good, Reed.” She gave me another smile. “Then again, you always did have good taste.”
Jeremy gestured around the kitchen. “Did you hire someone or do it yourself?”
“Hired someone,” I said. “But I don't think she did much in here. Looks pretty much the same as it did when I was a kid.”
“You grew up here?” he asked.
I nodded. “On and off. We lived in the city too.”
“Well, while you two are getting to know each other, I'm going to visit the restroom.” Britni set down her glass and breezed out of the room.
“Is this as awkward for you as it is for me?” Jeremy asked, pitching his voice low so that Britni couldn't hear.
I let one side of my mouth curve up in a half smile. “I imagine so.”
“I told her we shouldn't come,” he said. “Especially not without calling first.”
“Britni gets what Britni wants,” I said wryly.
“She didn't get you,” he observed.
“She did for a while,” I countered. I grinned at him. “But I got away.”
“Rumor has it there was another woman involved.” Jeremy slid closer, his voice taking on a conspiratorial tone. “A stripper?”
I rolled my eyes. “Not exactly the whole story.”
“I didn't think so.” He reached over and put his hand on my arm. “Arranged marriages usually have secrets. I know mine does.”
I stared at his hand, my mind reeling. Was this seriously happening? I had to be reading into it, right? This was one of those platonic bromance moments, right?
“But when you have an understanding...” His hand slid up my arm and around the back of my neck.
Oh, shit.
I took a step back. “Sorry, Jeremy. I didn't mean to make you think...”
“No problem.” He took a step back and held up his hands, palm out. “My mistake. I just assumed...”
“You two getting along?” Britni said as she came back into the kitchen. “My two boys?”
“I'm not your boy.” I gritted my teeth. “What are you doing here, Britni?”
“And that's my cue to take a look at this beautiful house.” Jeremy drained the last of his wine and walked out of the room.
“All right,” I said as Jeremy disappeared. “Talk to me.”
“Can't a girl just want to see her ex-husband?” Britni gave me wide, innocent eyes.
I raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want me to replay the night I told you it was over?”
Her expression tightened for a moment, then relaxed. “I've had time to think about what happened between us and I want us to be friends.”
“Friends?” I echoed. This had to be a dream. Some sort of weird, abstract dream.
“Of course.” She moved in close, backing me against the counter before I knew what was happening. “Friends with benefits.” She put her hand on my chest and slid it down between us.
I jumped to the side as she cupped my cock through my pants. “What the hell, Britni?!”
“Jeremy's parents want the same thing yours did. An heir. And as I'm sure you've already figured out, I'm not exactly his type.”
“So get artificially inseminated,” I snapped. “Because I'm not an option.”
Britni gave me one of her pouts. “Come on, Reed. You can't say that we didn't have fun together.”
“Fun?” I raised an eyebrow. “I don't know what your definition of fun is, but nothing I experienced during our marriage was fun.”
She reached for the zipper at the front of her shirt and pulled it down, exposing bare skin. “You didn't have any fun? That's disappointing.” She opened her shirt and flashed her breasts. “What do you say we try again?”
“Zip up your shirt and tell me what the hell you're really doing here, because I know it's not because you want to fuck.”
“Actually,” Britni said. “It is.” She walked towards me. “I want a baby. Your baby.”
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. I hadn't heard much about the Michaels family since Brock went to jail, but what had happened couldn't have had a positive effect on their finances. Pieces fell into place, but I was hoping I was wrong. I didn't want to think Britni could be that manipulative and cold, but it made sense. If I got her pregnant, she could claim that the two of us had some sort of random night of passion. A simple paternity test and I'd be paying a hefty amount of child support. And she knew I wouldn't argue with it because I would never let a kid suffer.
“I think you need to leave.”
She yanked up her zipper. “Are you fucking kidding me? After what you did to me? You owe me.”
“I owe you? I signed the divorce papers and gave you more than the prenup allotted.” My temper was rising and I fought to keep it down. “We're done, Britni. In fact, I'm done with this whole fucking thing.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I'm leaving,” I snapped. “Everyone in this town is fucking crazy.” So much for my carefully thought out plan to reveal my plans only after I was going. Oh, well. In for a penny... “I'm leaving Philadelphia, and once I'm gone, I'm not coming back.”
She laughed, a shrill, brittle sound. “Sure you are. Everything you know is here. You're not going anywhere.”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “I am. “I've made all the arrangements. I'm just waiting on a call and then I'm gone.”
“Darling.” Jeremy spoke from the doorway. “I hate to be a bother, but my parents are expecting us so we can make the official family announcement.”
Britni glared at me for a moment longer before fixing a fake smile on her face and beaming it at Jeremy. Based on his expression, he wasn't fooled. I had a moment to wonder what he was going to get out of this marriage. It wasn't like he really had to worry about getting outed. Being LGBT friendly was quite popular among our social circle and I hadn't heard that his family was overly religious.
“Let's go. I'm done here.” Britni gave me another dirty look before stalking out of the room.
I followed them to the door to make sure they left and when it closed, I stayed there, resting my forehead against the door for a moment. If I hadn't been certain that I was going to leave Philadelphia and not look back, what had just happened clinched things for me.
I really hoped someone found Nami soon, because if I had to stay here much longer, I was going to go crazy.
Chapter 8
Reed
I looked down at her as she kissed her way down my body, her mouth leaving a hot trail across my skin. They were wet, open-mouthed kisses, teeth and tongue alternating to sting and soothe. When she dipped her tongue in my bellybutton, I laughed and was immediately rewarded with a nip to my stomach.
I groaned. “You're killing me here, Princess.”
Her hands slid up my thighs, fingers massaging the tight muscles there. I wondered how it was physically possible to feel tense and relaxed at the same time. Then again, it seemed like it was only during sex that it happened, and so many impossible things were possible when two people came together.
“Stay still,” she whispered as she moved her head lower. She put her hand on my stomach and my muscles bunched and jumped under her palm.
How the hell did she expect me to stay still when her touch was like electricity? Whenever I was near her, it felt like every cell was trying to find a matching one in her body, its other half. The pull was beyond magnetic, beyond anything I'd ever felt before.
I sucked in a sharp breath as her tongue dar
ted out to taste me. Her fingers danced over my swollen flesh and it twitched in response. My eyes wanted to close so I could focus solely on the sensation of her hot breath as she lowered her head. I forced them to stay open, wanting to watch her take me in her mouth.
Her lips slowly closed around the tip and I felt her tongue tease the skin there. I reached down and put my hand on her head. Her hair was like silk between my fingers and I wondered what it would feel like long, how the curls would brush against my thighs when she went down on me. Maybe I could talk her into growing it out.
My cock slid over her tongue as she took more and more of me. Her lips stretched impossibly wide as she neared the base. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked up at me as the head of my dick bumped against the back of her throat. I waited for her to gag, withdraw, and use her hand as she took the first couple inches again. Instead, she took a slow breath and let me slide down her throat.
“Fuck!” My back arched and it took all of my self-control not to thrust harder into her mouth. One hand tightened in her hair and the other grabbed on to the sheets.
Her nose brushed against my pelvic bone and she stayed there, my cock engulfed in the soft wet of her mouth. One hand moved beneath me, cupping my balls, then rolling them in her hand. After what felt like years, she raised her head and my cock fell out of her mouth with a near obscene plop. She used her free hand to stroke me as she ran her tongue along the underside of my shaft.
“Nami,” I moaned her name as she took one of my balls into her mouth. The hand on my cock didn't miss a single stroke and I could feel my orgasm building deep inside.. I was so close. Her hands and mouth were doing such wonderful things that I never wanted her to stop, but the end was coming...
I jerked awake, disoriented for a moment as I tried to remember where I was and what I was doing. Right. I was at home. Or, at least, at the house on Chestnut Hill. That was home for now.