CHAPTER 1
Raven
Raven couldn't focus on the scene in front of her. Her eyes moved from person to person, her stomach clenching in fear and anxiety. Not a concern for her life or safety. No. It was fear that Dexter would give away their secret. That he would tell her parents about what they'd shared together in Washington, D.C., where she lived full time.
Dexter was her past. Her recent past, but he could no longer be part of her life. She'd made sure of that. He would always be the oneshe'd let go. Something she would regret as long as she lived.At one point, she was confident he'd be her future. She'd loved that man almost more than she loved herself. His every touch made her body writhe with need. Whenever he slid his thick cock inside her body, a feeling of completeness came over her.
The look in his eyes as they lay in bed together, their naked bodies entwined, and lips softly kissing, told her she was the only woman he needed. God, how she'd missed that. Dexter hadn't cared about her title, who her parents were, or how much money she had. As a boy from a small town in Tennessee, he grew up in a world so different from hers.
When they were alone in his small apartment or her townhouse in Northeast DC, nothing about their outside worlds could intrude. Their only focus had been on loving each other. Being with each other. Until the moment she chose to ruin everything they had. Everything they'd meant to each other.
She still remembered the day her world had come crashing down around her. Thick clouds hovered in the sky all day, threatening to pour rain down at any moment. Her mood had been dark, and she'd snapped at more people than usual. Working for Boekons, LLC as a business analyst, she dealt with risk all day, and for some reason, that day had been more taxing. As soon as she walked through the front door of her townhouse, her phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she noticed her parents’ number.
That’s the moment all her running, and her efforts to leave the life in her home country of Abingdon behind, officially ended.
A loud noise broke through the memories, jarring her back to the present. Her head turned, and hereyes immediately found Dexter. His gaze was laser-focused on her, his green eyes intense. Those beautiful lips that brought her so much pleasure every night for more than a year were held in a thin line. A look she'd seen before on those occasions when he'd been unhappy with her.
"Daughter? Why do you have that look on your face?"
Turning to her father, she attempted a smile. "What look?" She knew exactly what he saw because she felt it with every fiber of her being. She wanted to run. Get as far away from here as she could. But there was no escape. How did he even get here? Why was he here?
"You look as if you just saw a ghost," her father responded to his original question.
"Maybe I just need a break. It's been a longweekend. So much to do. All these things Ineed to learn. Inever expected to be here in this moment, stepping into a role I’m not sure I’m ready for," Raven admitted.
A soft touch on her arm turned her attention to her mother. This woman she'd emulated for so many years still had a quiet elegance about her. Her mother's dark skin glowed in the afternoon sunlight, her hair perfectly coiffed, and her crown twinkled from the light reflecting off the jewels. When her parents met, her mother had been a newly graduated nurse. She'd been on duty the night a handsome man with sun-streaked blond hair came rushing into the Emergency Room with a gash on his left palm.
That blond-haired, blue-eyed man had been her father, the Crown Prince of Abingdon, a small country next to Switzerland. According to the tale, her father had fallen head over heels for her mother within moments of meeting her. Determined to never be without her by his side, he'd asked her to marry him that very first day. Her mother, a brilliant woman on her own, refused him. From that point, she’d refused each of the thirty times he asked her after that. Whatever it was that finally convinced her mother to say yes, she knew it involved her father threatening to abdicate from the throne. They were married in April. She was born just thirteen months later in May.
A wave of sadness came over her as she thought of her parents’ marriage and what they'd gone through to be together. Her father allowed nothing to come between him and the woman he wanted to marry. He fought for the right to marry whomever he wanted, and the world would have to get on board.
If nothing else, that's what her parents taught her over the years. Be who you are, no matter what, and fight for what you want. She'd lived by those rules her entire life.
Glancing over at the man standing across the ballroom, it felt as if her heart were in a vice. Her breath caught in her chest, and her eyes welled with tears she refused to let fall. She'd given up on Dexter. Walked away from what they had, even as he stood in front of her begging her not to go. Pleaded with her to explain to him what he'd done wrong. To tell him what mistake he’d made.
She didn't answer him because nothing she said would have sufficed. No answer would be good enough to explain the selfish decision she made about their lives. He hadn't done anything wrong. Everything about him was amazing. When with him, her world felt right, and her soul felt content.
But she had a responsibility to the crown, the throne, her parent's legacy, and the people of her country. Dexter didn't have a title. He didn't come from royal lineage. Hell, Dexter was the first person in his family to attend college. After growing up in Jackson, Tennessee, he'd left home to pursue his law degree. From what she knew, it hadn't been an easy decision for him. His family didn't understand why he wanted to leave. He and his father only began speaking again about two years ago, and his extended family still accused him of abandoning his roots.
It was funny, but not funny at the same time. When Dexter’s family thought of her as an average girl who'd caught their son's eye, they were hesitant, but she won them over. It wasn't that they disliked her, but they initially questioned the cultural differences. Their family had a history of not being too kind to people with her skin color, even if Raven's father was Caucasian. At the end of the day, she was still a woman of color.
It wasn't until she had to disclose her wealthy and privileged background that things became a little more complicated. Raven had been invited to Christmas dinner and was excited about the chance to meet Dexter's extended family. Although she'd gone off on her own to spread her wings, there were some rules she still followed. One of those rules was to always have an advance protection team to perform a location check to identify any potential security gaps.No matter where she was in the world, her safety was her parents' primary concern. When she gave a little, so did they.
After the visit from her security detail, the Sorenson family seemed to give her the cold shoulder. The warmth she'd felt from them over the phone and video chats no longer existed. It wasn't until she overheard Dexter speaking with his mother once they'd returned that she understood what happened. From what she could gather, his mother believed Raven was using him. That Raven was slumming with him until it was time for her to go back home. They’d accused Raven of using Dexter as a temporary plaything until she had to go back to her wealthy family.
His defense of her made her heart swell with love, but it also highlighted that they came from two different worlds. Although she and her parents hadn't discussed her future with Dexter, she'd still been worried about their response to him. For all intents and purposes, Dexter was a commoner. He had no pedigree in his family lineage to speak of. He grew up in a small town where almost every family worked the land, everyone knew each other, and hard work was the town's mantra.
Fear had begun to bubble inside her. Concern about where they were truly headed began to fill her head. Would they grow to hate each other? What if her parents didn't approve of him? What if his parents truly hated who she was and refused to acknowledge her place in his life? When that call came through, the decision was practically made for her.
She'd have to leave Dexter. The love she had for him would last through any situation. But she was unsure if his feelings for her were strong enough to do the same.
"Raven."
Jarred from her internal musings, she looked up and saw the face of the man who filled her dreams at night. She took a deep inhale of breath, her hand going to her throat. How did she not notice him walking over to her?
"Dexter. What-What are you doing here?"
His forest green eyes bored into her brown ones. His brow creased in a frown, and his lips pursed in frustration. "Raven, sweetheart. Don't you know? I came for you."