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Bing, bing!

“Ignore it,” I said through a gasp as I kissed him hungrily. He did as I asked, kissing me deeper, pushing my body into the mattress as the hand under my shirt traveled over my stomach, settling over my navel.

Bing, bing!

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him toward me, slipping my tongue past his lips and relishing his deep groan, causing me to arch my back.

Bing, Bing!

“Fuck,” he growled, pulling away. “What the hell?” I couldn’t help but laugh. As much as I didn’t want him to stop, it was pretty funny to witness his sexual frustration.

I reached up and kissed his neck. “Go ahead.”

He sighed deeply, trying to regain his control as he rolled over and reached for his tab on his nightstand. After a moment, he sat up, still reading the screen. His body tensed, and it didn’t take a genius to know that wasn’t good.

I sat up, shifting closer to him. “Wes?” He closed his eyes, lips thin as he breathed in slowly. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Jaw clenched, he opened his eyes and snapped his mini-tab on his wrist. “It’s my dad. He’s requesting we both meet him in his office.”

My heart skipped a beat as I tried to swallow, my throat suddenly dry. “Oh,” was all I could muster. I knew this was coming. But I also knew that I had nothing to hide, and that I needed to convince Charles Calvernon of my parentage for my plan to work. I nodded and started to move off the bed.

“Mara,” Wes reached for my wrist and pulled me back to him, “you don’t have to do this. This is between me and him. I’ll deal with it. Just go to the base, and I’ll meet you there.”

My heart swelled. I cupped his face in my hand and told him the same words I told him during the Admin Job. “You stay, then I stay. Remember?”

Wes’s eyes flickered with recognition as he smiled. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he whispered before drawing me into another kiss.

No matter how much I wanted to get lost in his arms, I knew we had a major problem we needed to resolve. And the quicker we got that problem behind us, the better for us both. I pulled away from him as he stood up.

“Go get dressed and I’ll meet you in your room. We’ll go see him together.”

Together.

The word did something to my heart, to mysoul. Because that’s exactly what we were. We were together, and I had a ring to prove it.

***

We walked side by side, our fingers interlaced as we marched through the hall leading to Charles’s office. We decided to put onour cadet uniforms since our plan was to go straight to the base following this little meeting.

When we approached the door, Wes turned to face me. “Just let me do the talking, okay?” I nodded. Wes leaned down and gave me one more quick kiss before putting his hand on the handle and pushing the door open.

Inside, the same décor as the rest of the house adorned the office—gold lamps, tapestries, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a plush red rug, and an ornately carved dark wooden desk right in the middle of the room. And, of course, Charles sat on the other side of it. But he wasn’t alone. Marissa and Sasha were with him.

“Well, it took you both long enough to arrive,” Charles began, eerily calm. “I hope you understand the gravity of this matter.” He stood up, putting his arms behind his back. “Now, President De’vor, I’m sure you’re aware of what we discovered last night, much to the disgust of my important guests.”

Sasha’s hair was in her typical braided bun. Her navy-blue pantsuit made her look reasonable, professional, and trustworthy. And she didn’t look the least bit intimidated.

“President Calvernon, as I have already explained to you, thisisMara de la Puente. Dissenters kidnapped her from the Presidential Palace, and she has been in my care ever since.”

Marissa stood next to her husband. “Be that as it may, President De’vor, you must understand how difficult it is for us to believe that the First Daughter of Telvia looks more like a beaten dog underneath her trappings.”

“Mom,” Wes snapped at her.

“Hush, boy,” Charles barked back. “I’ll deal with you later. But first,” he turned to face Sasha, “tell me why that girl looks like you picked her up from a slum?”

Sasha’s face remained serene, with her hands neatly folded in front of her. “Miss de la Puente was re-captured by Telvian scouts. When she refused to disclose any information about ourcamp or troops, her father resorted to torture to make her talk. What you see is the extent of Raúl’s wrath and vicious need to stamp out any dissent among his people, daughter or otherwise. I’ve told you before, Charles, that Raúl will stop at nothing to dominate this entire continent. And that includes you and the North.”

“You mean to tell me that Raúl whipped his daughter like that to make hertalk?”