So comforted was he by her smile after the news he had received in their time apart, that he wanted to take her hand and run, like he did on their first morning together. He wanted to take her somewhere where it would be just the two of them. Somewhere where he could dance with her forever. More than that, though, James really wanted to kiss her. He wanted to pull out all the pins that held up her golden hair, tangle his fingers up in her curls and kiss her. He must have been wearing his heart on his sleeve, because Zoey was getting uncomfortable. They were still at the foot of the staircase, his arms around her waist. "Ladies and gentlemen, Duke and Duchess Beaumont will now dance The Lovers' Dance!" said Cassandra. The crowd cheered and applauded again, but still James didn't budge. Zoey licked her lips nervously. "Jamie, I think that's us," she said softly. Damn those eyes! Damn them to hell! She thought as she felt herself getting light-headed the longer he looked at her with

2019, February 14th(The Arden Mansion)“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Zoey sighed, rejecting another call from Aaron.The duke and the duchess had taken CC and Bart with them to some or other party or something. Zoey couldn’t quite remember the details. She hadn’t been listening. They had asked her to come too, but she didn’t want to be the fifth wheel. Besides, she was just going to jump into bed and eat chocolate all night. Sounded about right to her.She was just settling in when she heard the knock. At first, she was sure she was hearing things, but as Zoey unwrapped a piece of Belgium chocolate, the knocking got louder. She looked to the terrace.“Zoey! Open up!” said Aaron’s voice.Zoey practically jumped out of her skin. She ran to the terrace and opened the doors.“What the hell are you doing here?!”“Shush!” he said, putting his hand over her mouth while he pressed a finger to his lips.Aaron pushed her into the room and closed the doors.“Sorry about that. There’s an entire army

2019, March 23rd“Shouldn’t we stop this?!” Zoey asked, feeling an eerie, numbing dread come over her. “Let’s give them a few,” said Cassandra. “Boys will be boys, right? They’ll stop soon.”“I hope you’re right, My Lady,” said Bart, settling in to watch.10 minutes later…“The fight is still ongoing and both sides are starting to look trigger happy. Now can we shut this down?!” CC exclaimed. “Alright, here’s the play. Everybody does exactly what I say and hopefully we won’t lose anyone today. Now I just need to know one thing. Emily, rumour has it your father’s army never knew a better sniper than you. Is that true?”“Put a gun in my hand and we’ll find out.”Aaron and James had both been training rigorously since they were able. Aaron was faster, lighter on his feet, but James had brute strength and his time on the run on his side. Both men were getting tired, but of the two, Aaron was taking more hits than he was landing. James had a rage coursing through his veins the likes of

2019, March 1stAs soon as they slipped out, Aaron planted a soft, slow, sensual kiss on Zoey’s lips. Perhaps their problem was that they’d been talking too much lately. He didn’t know if he could undo the seeds of doubt he’d sown in her heart, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to try. She didn’t pull away. Maybe she was just caught up in the moment, but she responded to his kiss with a longing, a need, the likes of which Aaron had never experienced before. He didn’t care if it was just her being caught up in the moment or if she would, in her next breath, say that she didn’t want to marry him. Because she had opened herself up to him in a way, she’d never done before. It was like she was handing him her heart with her lips. And try as she might, there would be no getting rid of him now. “Give me the next two days,” he whispered on her lips. “Aaron-” She wanted to say she would give him forever. If he had asked her to marry him at that moment, she would have said yes without qu

2019, March 23rdJames saw Zoey’s face when she saw Aaron’s beat up body. He was surprised that she was spending this time with him and not Aaron. The thought sent him into a frenzy. He was picturing it before he could stop himself. Her hands touching Aaron's chest, his abdomen, his arms, his face, everything as she tended to his wounds. All the places she had just been touching James. It was a visual he did not love and cursed his brain for creating. He had to stop thinking before he said or did something to frighten her. “Hey when I am going to see your paintings? I showed you mine. Show me yours?”“You already saw one of mine and you were super critical. I’m afraid I can’t subject myself to such negativity again,” she said, sticking her nose up in the air. “Aah, I see. So they all suck worse than kindergarten crayon drawings,” he teased. “Hey!” she laughed, holding her hand to her chest as she pretended to be offended. “You know, it’s probably not your fault. Your teacher p