“You know, it’s really bad manners to try to dictate to a man in his own home,” Tarik smirked.
“Go away, Tarik,” Thorne said through clenched teeth.
“Okay, okay, I’m going,” Tarik laughed. “Can you guys keep the noise down though? My innocence is being destroyed by your amorous activities.” He left the room, chuckling the entire time at Thorne’s pissed-off “Fuck you.”
Saina should’ve been embarrassed by the thought of her brother being able to hear her cries of ecstasy when making love with Thorne, although in the privacy of her bedroom. So, when Thorne started to make love to her right there on Tarik’s loveseat, she should’ve rebuffed him. She really tried to mute her moans, alarmed by Thorne’s perverse persistence on refusing to end her torment until she gave him what he wanted; and he wanted her unrestrained, unleashed, and begging. With the tips of her breast pinched between his fingers and her clit sucked on with his tongue and lips, there wasn’t a chance in hell that she wasn’t going to scream.
Much later, Thorne laughed as he told her, “Tell your big brother I will be happy to replace his pillows.”
Saina slapped him over the head with the remnants of the pillow she’d destroyed with her teeth in trying to mute her screams. After her third orgasm, with her legs spread to drape over the arms of the loveseat, there wasn’t much of the pillow left.
Thorne stood in the command room of his Airfleet headquarters a few hours after leaving Saina to get her much-needed sleep. He wasn’t surprised to see airships from Lokede trying to enter Calison’s airspace in the middle of the night. They let them get within a few miles before Thorne gave the order to disable all the electronic devices on board their ships. Saina’s insistence on them using superior science to beat Lokede was paying dividends. Once she’d given him that thought he’d let his engineering and physics knowledge soar, and within weeks, he’d resurrected the defense systems he’d been working on for years. He had complete control of the invading fleet when he patched through a call to their largest ship, and he knew carried their leader.
“It’s a lovely evening, Henric, isn’t it?” Thorne asked the eldest son of King Anders. In addition to having control of the mechanics of the lead ship, he also now had visual of the inside of it.
“I’m going to cut your dick off and feed it to you,” Henric roared.
Thorne laughed. “I gather you didn’t like the pink bow the men stamped on your cocks?” Everyone in the command room laughed at the pissed-off swearing that ensued from the Lokede crew. Although Saina had made him promise not to kill the men when they were under the sleeping agent and defenseless, he hadn’t promised he wouldn’t pull their pants down and brand them. Childish, yeah, I know, but it was damn funny as hell.
“Is there anything I can help you bastards with?” Thorne snickered.
“Give back my wife and children, asshole,” Henric demanded.
“Tsk, tsk, I didn’t hear a pretty please in there, Henric,” Thorne said drolly. And just to really get Henric riled, Thorne had his engineers move the Lokede airships back a few miles and then dropped them to hover over a large body of water. During the entire few seconds it took to perform that maneuver, the Lokede crew swore, threatening them with all manner of bodily harm.
“Okay, Thorne, you’ve had your fun,” Henric bellowed. “Stop fuckin’ around and give us our families back.”
“Or?” Thorne asked drily.
“Listen, you arrogant piece of shit!”
That’s King Arrogant Piece of Shit to you.”
“What do you want, Thorne?”
“Ah, finally you begin to understand.”
Henric sighed in frustration.
“Henric, send the rest of your ships home. If I detect more than one ship out there in the next two minutes, I’m going to pick one at random every two minutes and drop it into the Rupon volcano.”
“I…”
“Don’t waste your breath, Henric,” Thorne interrupted his protest. “I’m tired of playin’ around with you mudderfuckers. Your ships out of Calison or I’ll do it for you.” Thorne signaled to his engineers to give them temporary control of their ships, put up the Calison shields to block any missiles, and patiently waited to see what Henric would do. With thirty seconds left to act, Thorne warned him again. “I don’t suggest you test me, Henric.”
“Go to hell, Thorne!”
Thorne knew the other man would be an idiot about this. He felt nothing about taking control of one of their ships and dropping it into the active volcano of Rupon. Within seconds, the acidic lava of the volcano completely decimated the airship and its occupants into nothing.
Everyone went eerily silent. No swearing, no threats, not even the sound of their breathing.
“You have two minutes to move the ships out, Henric.” Thorne spoke with chilling authority into the silence.
“You’re going to pay for that, you bastard,” Henric said softly, his voice clearly distressed.
“Some would say that I’ve paid that price already with my father’s life, my sister’s life, my mother’s rape, and eighteen years of my fuckin’ life,” Thorne reminded him bitterly. “So think very carefully before you threaten me because I can drop your ass out of the sky anytime I want. You’ve got the message yet?” Thorne waited for Henric to speak, but all he got was some heavy pissed-off breathing from the other man.
He finally muttered after a while, “You have thirty seconds to get the fuck out of my airspace!”
As the airships started moving back, Thorne was disappointed. He’d wanted another excuse to draw blood from the torment the Lokede king had visited upon him and his family.
“What next?” Henric gritted out.
“Now, you’re going to sit your ass out there until the women and children are awake,” Thorne told him in a hard voice. “Just know that your sister will be returning with you. The marriage document has been made null and void. She’ll leave here with what she came with.”
“You bastard,” Henric whispered in shock.
Thorne laughed. “At least be original. Everyone has been calling me that all day!” He left instructions with his men to monitor their intruders and teleported back to the palace. He had no intention of sleeping until Saina and his baby were safe from Anastasia’s presence in Calison.
Thorne stared at his sister Marisol in surprise. “You want to do what?”
“I am your heir, Thorne, whether you like it or not,” she argued. “I haven’t been here in years. And I need to understand the economy and understand what is needed if something were to happen to you.”
“I’m honored by your thoughtfulness,” Thorne mumbled, although the thoughts racing through his mind were anything but feeling honored. “You don’t have to stay for that, Marisol. I’ll leave you a detailed note in case anything happens. Go home to your husband and children.”
Henric had left hours ago with his children, Sharma and her children, and a protesting Anastasia with all her supporters Thorne had been determined to gather up and exile from Calison.
“I’ll stay, Thorne,” she insisted. “You were never very good with sharing your toys.”
“Yeah, because you were always trying to destroy them,” he muttered.
“I see you still haven’t lost that whinny attitude.” Marisol bristled under his less-than-flattering words.
“I see you still haven’t stopped being a bitch.”
“Can’t we have a peaceful lunch?”
Their mother’s voice stopped both of them from further speech. It was a surprise to hear her voice after her continued silence.
“Son, I want peace. Will you please stop fighting with your sister?” Lenora pleaded softly.
“No worries, Mother. I have better things to do with my time.” Thorne wasn’t really upset with Marisol. She’d always been difficult, and he wasn’t about to let her change his mood. “Mother, I hope you can help plan my wedding?”
“Wha
t?”
“What!”
Both women seemed shocked by his question.
“How can you even think of getting married now while Anastasia is so upset about the annulment?” Marisol screeched. She stared at him as though he’d lost his mind. “She would be devastated.”
“Marisol, shut the hell up,” Lenora yelled at her daughter. Her frown turned into a glare when Marisol opened her mouth to protest. “I don’t believe in violence, but if I hear another word out of you, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
Thorne laughed at the shocked look on Marisol’s face. “Told you she needed discipline when she was a child.”
“I don’t need a cheering section, Thorne,” Lenora grouched.
Thorne felt his heart skip a beat with happiness at the return of his take-no-shit mother.
“Now tell me, who is this woman who finally inspired you to get off your ass and come get us out of Lokede?” Lenora started digging into her food with cool nonchalance.
“I always—”
“Don’t waste your breathe, son. That plan had a woman written all over it.”
“Saina had a few revisions to it, but…” Thorne mumbled sheepishly.
“Saina?” Marisol exclaimed. “As in the contract dad forced you to sign?”
“Your father did no such thing,” Lenora scoffed.
“Saina, as in the woman I love,” Thorne told her in a hard voice.
“Well don’t get huffy with me.” Marisol frowned at him. “It was only a question. I thought she was dead. Where did she come from?”
“She’s been with me,” Thorne dismissed. He still wasn’t comfortable revealing the safeguards he and Saina had been taking for years.
“Where?” Marisol persisted.
“Somewhere safe. Does it matter?”
“May I remind you of who I am?” Marisol glared at him.
“Give it a rest, Marisol,” Thorne muttered.
“I’m happy you have her, honey.” Lenora smiled.
“Thanks, mama. She’s incredible.”
“A-ha.” Lenora smiled. “So, you want to marry her badly I take it?”
“Like you won’t believe, Mother.”
“She’s a good girl?”
“She’s the best,” Thorne whispered. He wished Saina was here with him now. She hadn’t wanted to move in with him until their marriage was official.
“Does she love you?”
Thorne closed his eyes to stem the sudden burst of moisture that filled them. “She loves me more than I deserve.”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” Lenora said softly. “I want to thank her for loving my son.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “And I want to thank her for saving me.”
Thorne held her gaze. “Do I need to go back and kill that bastard?”
Tears rolled down Lenora’s cheeks.
“Would you listen to you two?” Marisol exclaimed. “Anders is my children’s grandfather!”
“Why are you still here, Marisol?” Thorne asked impatiently. He stood and kissed Lenora on her cheek. “I’ll be back, Mother. The wedding’s in two days.”
“What about Saina? What does she want?”
“I haven’t asked her yet.” Thorne grinned as he teleported.
Chapter Sixteen
Two days later, Thorne woke to his wedding day, glad that this would be the last time he’d be waking in this bed alone. He’d gone to see Saina the day before where she remained living at Tarik’s apartment. Everything was timed to distract her. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but he was determined to surprise her with their wedding. The thought that she may not want this didn’t even enter the equation for him.
First on the agenda was to get her family from Europon to visit. Thorne would give anything to be able to, every day, place that look of joy on her face that she had when she’d met her mother and father two days ago. As Tarik warned, Saina was a younger replica of her mother, Yvonne. Both women had cried, laughed, hugged, and cried some more. Her parents hadn’t been too happy about finding their young daughter pregnant and uncertain about her future. Thorne had had to do some fast-talking to get them on his side about the purpose of their visit and had made them promise not to tell Saina.
Yvonne had immediately joined Thorne’s mother in the planning.
The presence of her parents, her other siblings, and their children distracted Saina from what he was planning. Now that the time was fast approaching, he was beginning to question surprising her like this. Suppose she said no?
For the next few hours he was a nervous wreck. He drove his mother crazy wanting to know where Saina was every few minutes. And if she didn’t know, he forced her to call and ask Yvonne. If Yvonne didn’t know, she was forcefully asked to question Tarik. About an hour before the wedding, finally he began to breathe. However, there was still a problem because Saina was still unaware of why she was brought to the palace. And perhaps she was the only person left in Kenton, or even the whole of Calison, who was unaware of what was about to happen.
“Mother, why do I need to wear a tiara to have dinner with Thorne?” Saina grouched. She was almost sick of the fussing that her mother was taking in her appearance. They had arrived at the palace about forty minutes ago, and she and her mother had been separated from the rest of the family and escorted to this glamorous bedroom. While Saina had puzzled over this bizarre way to threat guests to the palace, she was even more confused when presented with a rack filled with extraordinary-looking dresses to change into. After being bullied into choosing one of them and matching shoes, she was then visited by a stylist, who cut her hair with her mother’s strict guidance and then did wonders with her makeup in less than fifteen minutes.
Saina had selected a stunning ivory lace, empire-waist gown with a diamond-encrusted bodice, which fitted her curvy frame to perfection. Despite Saina being seven months pregnant, the whimsical lines of the dress hid her baby bump artfully. Her only concern was navigating the stairs they’d climbed when being escorted to the room in the long train on the gown. She’d questioned her mother about how much like wedding gowns the dresses appeared.
“You will be meeting his family and his people for the first time,” her mother argued. “You want to look as though you’re his queen, his wife.”
“I am his queen and wife,” Saina told her emphatically, daring her to contradict her.
“Well, this shouldn’t be a problem then,” Yvonne sassed her back. She anchored the diamond-studded tiara on Saina’s hair herself.
An older caramel-skinned lady walked into the room and smiled. She was one of the most beautiful women Saina had ever seen.
“So, you’re the woman who’s got my son going crazy with worry.” The queen’s sultry voice washed over her.
Saina didn’t know why, but her heart rate increased and her mouth suddenly felt dry. The sheer elegance and beauty of Thorne’s mother unnerved her. Thinking about what Thorne told her that the King of Lokede had done to his mother, Saina wanted to kill the man herself. As soon as she saw Thorne again, she was going to make sure he understood that that man shouldn’t be allowed to live. She’d been wrong in advising Thorne to not kill the bastards.
“Your Highness,” Saina breathed. “I’m honored to meet you.”
“There’s no need to stand on ceremony with me, daughter.” Lenora smiled at her. “You are simply beautiful. I see why my son is so anxious over you.”
“Where is Thorne?” Saina looked behind the woman as though expecting to see Thorne there.
Lenora laughed softly. “It does my heart good to see how much the two of you wear your emotions for each other so openly.”
Saina ducked her head with embarrassment. It was always difficult to be away from Thorne for so long, and it was embarrassing that she was so emotional from not seeing him in the last twenty-four hours.
“Yvonne, it is nice to see you, my friend, after so many years.” The two women embraced
and touched their cheeks against each other’s.
“Yes, it’s been too long.” Yvonne smiled through her tears.
“Now, none of that,” Lenora admonished, as her eyes were also suddenly wet. “You’re as gorgeous as ever, my queen.”
Saina smiled at the irony of Lenora being a former subject of Europon and having to observe Yvonne as her queen, the Queen of Europon. Yvonne blushed under the other woman’s compliment.
“That tiara is one of mine, and it suits you.” Lenora turned back to her. “Thank you for wearing it.”
“Thank you for lending it to me.”
“Dinner is about to begin in a few short minutes. May I ask one more small favor?” Lenora asked.
‘Yes, of course,” Saina acquiesced softly.
“I have a pair of earrings and necklace that would go nicely with the tiara.”
“No, no, that’s too much,” Saina protested.
“I—”
“Nothing is too much for you.” Thorne suddenly entered the room.
“What are you doing here?” Lenora rounded on him. It was clear that she was very unhappy with his appearance.
Thorne and Saina ignored her.
Despite the slender heels she was wearing, Saina flew into his arms.
Thorne bent his head to kiss her, but Yvonne quickly intervened and pulled her away from him.
“You’d better have a damn good reason to come in here after all the trouble your mother and I have gone through for this day.” Yvonne was beyond pissed.
“Thorne, get out of here this instant,” Lenora demanded. “Andre!” she yelled when it looked as though Thorne would ignore her again.
Andre came into the room looking at them apologetically. “I tried to keep him away. He threatened to kill my future children, at least the possibility of them.” Andre grinned at his own joke.
No one else was smiling, however, least of all Thorne or Saina.
“What’s going on? Why can’t we see each other?” Saina frowned at the mothers.
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