CHAPTER 2
Dexter
She ran away from me.
Denied who we are to each other and how we feel about each other. My Raven. Beautiful, sexy, luscious Raven. She was the only woman he'd felt this way about. She was the other half of his soul. The one person he was willing to give it all up for, just to be with her.
And she'd tried to break his fucking heart. Then she ran. That was the one thing he could never allow. If he believed for one minute that she didn't love him, or thought their relationship had run its course, he would have left it alone.
But he knew it was a bag full of lies. Every word that fell from Raven’s lips that final day at his apartment in Washington, DC had been false. They'd been inseparable for more than a year. When she told him who she was, he hadn't believed her at first. It had been too sensational. The Crown Princess of a fucking country? Really?
But none of that changed how he felt about her. Lying in bed with her soft body cradled in his arms after making love, the only thing that mattered to him was sinking his dick inside her again. Once she made her confession, he never brought it up again. Not because he didn’t understand the importance of who she was, but because it didn't matter to him. If anything, he was even more concerned that he wasn’t good enough for her. After a few minutes of that defeatist thinking, he pushed that thought from his head.
With Raven by his side, it didn't matter what other people thought. Her opinion is the only one he cared about. Dexter would kiss her soft lips as he whispered words of need and desire. He’d played with her body on a nightly basis, placing sweet kisses along her smooth skin. His lips suckled her pebbled nipples, the brown flesh puckered and standing up at the ready. She was always so primed, her juices flowing from her wet channel even before his hard member entered her welcoming pussy. He’d use one hand to travel down her body, rubbing along her flat stomach until reaching her bare mound, and the little pearl of flesh he loved so much. His favorite visual of Raven was when he’d rub against her clit as her hips bucked underneath him.
Dexter would position his body between her legs, sliding his thick cock inside Raven's body while capturing her lips in a soft, sensual kiss. As he stroked inside her tight sheath, they’d moan in unison as they became one. Raven’s thick thighs would cradle his body as they writhed on top of the bed.
After every session of lovemaking, he’d lean his head down in the crook of her neck. Her unique scent was his favorite perfume, and he loved to smell their scents mingled together after they made love. It always had a calming effect on him. If he could, he’d willingly get lost in the sensation of her pussy wrapped around his cock as they slumbered in his bed.
Thinking of the two of them together in bed brought back memories of her whimpers as he stroked inside her slick channel. He remembered the first night Raven told him she loved him. His heart still stuttered as her breathless words floated through his mind.
It had brought him to his knees when he’d heard the words fall from her lips. It was at that moment when he realized he’d never let her go. No matter what issues they had to face as a couple, they would handle them together.
She was his.
He was hers.
Until the day she'd become spooked, running away from the life they had together. Left her job, packed up her townhouse, and hopped on a plane to return to Shularia, the location of her family's royal home.
Angry at first, Dexter had begun to doubt what they'd felt for each other. That every look of passion he'd seen reflected in her eyes had been a lie. When Dexter calmed down, he knew that hadn't been the case. She loved him just as he loved her. She'd run from him for another reason, and he wasn't going to let her throw away everything they had.
If she no longer wanted him or loved him, Dexter wanted her to tell him to his face that her feelings for him no longer existed. Because until he genuinely believed she was telling him the truth, he wasn't giving her up without a fight.
Using some money from his savings, he'd booked the first available flight. He then called out of work for some urgent leave and packed his tuxedo—one of the best investments he'd ever made. Within three days of Raven’s departure, he made his way across the vast ocean to go claim his woman.
As he watched her eyes widen in surprise at seeing him across the room, he smirked. Raven knew the kind of man he was. She should have known he'd show up. When had he ever backed away from a challenge? Dexter placed his empty glass on a passing tray before making his way across the room. His focus was on Raven, his intent clear.
"Raven," he said in greeting with a sneer on his face. He knew she was surprised to see him here.
"Dexter? What are you doing here?"
That she actually questioned why he'd come pissed him off. "Raven, sweetheart. Don't you know? I came for you."
The older man standing next to her glanced his way, one eyebrow raised. "Raven, do you know this young man?"
Men in dark suits with earpiecescame closer to their small group. The blond man dressed in the full regalia of the royal family, shook his head at them, pausing their steps. Glancing between the older man and Raven, Dexter saw the resemblance between the two and realized this was her father, King Hans of Abingdon.
Her brown eyes were widened with fear as they stared at him. Her pleading message was coming through loud and clear.Please. Don’t.Hecould tell she wanted him to walk away. To not cause a scene in the middle of the ballroom, with reporters hovering like vultures. Although he understood her fears, there was no chance in hell of that happening. He wasn't walking away from her. Raven owed him some answers, and he was getting them today.Dexter watched andwaited as Raven squirmed under the scrutiny of his gaze. He wondered how she'd respond to her father's question. Had she explained their relationship to them? Was her father aware of what they'd meant to each other? Did anyone know they'd planned to marry, have children, and grow old together? From the looks of things, Raven never had any intentions of telling her family about their relationship.
"Raven?" Dexter prompted. Her silence unnerved him, but there was no way she was getting out of this. He knew she was scared andnervous about his presence here, but her frozen state was unexpected. "Raven!" he exclaimed a bit louder, causing her to jump.
"Young man," her father jumped in. Dexter knew the King didn't appreciate the way he'd raised his voice at Raven. After all, she was the Crown Princess. The older man glared at Dexter with a sharp look in his eyes. "Who are you?"
Glaring at Raven as she stood there in silence, he turned his body towards the older man. Bowing before he responded, once he was at full height, he addressed the King. "Your Majesty. Thank you for welcoming me into your home. My name is Dexter Sorenson. I'm a friend of Her Royal Highness, Princess Raven. I met her in Washington, D.C.."
Her father looked between the two of them. "Raven?"
"Yes, Father?" she finally responded.