Page 20 of Their World (Her Royal Harem: Lily #2)

Chapter

Twenty

The photo shoot took forever because Trey decided to be a prima donna and made us do four outfit changes, three different shooting locations, and the photographers took a total of one thousand and seven photos.

The poor couple was going to get a bonus with a heartfelt apology letter from me.

As soon as the article was posted and pictures shared to our social media accounts, we got a flood of excited comments and reactions. Of course, there were also the negative ones, but there were always trolls to be expected on any positive post.

When we arrived at Nana Jolie’s for the meeting, I was surprised to find a printed and framed photo already hanging in the living room.

“Wow,” I whispered as I looked at it.

Nana Jolie came up behind me and hugged me. “I couldn’t wait to put this up. You look so beautiful, so regal and queen-like. And your men don’t look half bad either.”

“We love you, too,” Kayden teased her.

“Nana, there’s something I have to tell you,” I whispered, feeling nervous.

“Everyone’s finally here,” Grandpa Foxfire said as he joined us. He looked at the picture and smiled at me. “We are very proud of you, kiddo. You got your degree, found mates you love, and you’ve been doing a lot to help figure out the demon war.”

How would he feel once he knew my secret?

We joined the others in the dining room, one of the few places large enough for all of the royals, minus Mom and Dad.

Instead of waiting for them to start talking, I walked to the head of the table and said, “I have something important to discuss.”

“We know you’re mated already,” Grandpa Deryn interrupted. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“No, not that,” I said and sighed. “But thank you.”

“Go on, show them your power,” Kayden ordered me.

“Another new power?” Great Aunt Leona asked.

“Well, the shadow one,” I explained. “I’ve learned more about it.”

I summoned the snake who swirled around my arms and flared her hood proudly. “Armor,” I ordered her.

She flicked her tongue out and then covered my body in shadow scales.

Nana Jolie reached over and tapped her nail against the scales. Her eyes widened. “They’re hard.”

“Hard enough to withstand werewolf claws,” Kayden announced.

Mason turned a glare on him, obviously not forgiving him yet for earlier, which made me smile.

“I can also curse people,” I said after dismissing the powers, “but I don’t want to get into that right now. I just … I wanted to tell you who I am. Who I really am.”

“This is definitely going to be a shock to our people,” Grandpa Rhys commented. “We should keep this out of the news for now. Until the war is over.”

“Speaking of the war, we have something to tell you,” Trey said. He explained what had happened at the stadium and my plan to remove one of the curses so we could get my parents back.

They spent the next four hours arguing over how to organize the fighters and pulled out a map to sort it all out.

I helped Nana Jolie with gathering snacks and meals throughout since we all ate a lot and often.

By the time everything had been decided, I was exhausted.

“Take this,” Nana ordered Mason and thrust a box into his hands.

“What is this, Nana?” I asked.

“Supplies for when you get home. Have a good night and don’t stress too much about the battle, okay?” She kissed my cheek and shooed us out of the house.

It took another forty minutes to say goodbye to everyone, especially because my fathers wanted extra hugs, and get into the SUV to head home.

“Well, I think that went really well,” Trey commented. “They actually came to decisions on things much faster than normal.”

“That’s because they’ve been planning it since the last attack,” I said with a small smile.

“What?” Kayden asked as he started driving.

“It was obvious that they had all been discussing the plan already,” I said. “Grandpa Deryn and Grandpa Nico rarely agree on things so quickly. Add in Great Grandpa Dan and tempers get heated every time. There were no tempers this time.”

“She’s right,” Mason whispered. “They must have not wanted to stress Lily unnecessarily.”

“Whatever the reason, I’m not mad,” I said and relaxed into the seat. “It was a nice change of pace to have them agree on things.”

“Maya is at the house,” Trey announced. “I unlocked the door for her.”

“Nice!” I shouted. I sent her a quick text to get the movie she wanted to watch first set up so we wouldn’t waste time arguing over which one to watch.

As soon as I stepped through the door, Maya ran to me and hugged me, her bright red hair covering my face.

“I missed you!”

I hugged her back. “I missed you, too.”

We walked to the kitchen and Mason set the box Nana Jolie had given me on the counter. “This is for you two for tonight,” he said. “I snooped on the drive home.”

Frowning in confusion, I opened the lid of the box and gasped. Inside were three bottles of prosecco, strawberries cut into star shapes, edible glitter to add color to our drinks, and a bunch of snacks.

“She really is the best nana ever,” Maya said as she began pulling items out.

Mason put two of the prosecco bottles into the fridge while I opened the third one.

He kissed me on the cheek and said, “We’ll be upstairs if you need anything.”

“I’ll be here, so don’t wait up,” Piper teased.

He glared at her before walking away.

Maya looked at Piper and asked, “Did you do something to get on Dan’s bad side again? I know you’re not crazy enough to volunteer to be Lily’s bodyguard.”

Piper laughed while I pinched Maya’s side on my way to grab champagne glasses.

“Rude,” I hissed at her.

“I actually did volunteer,” Piper answered. “Who wouldn’t want to be around this serpentine chaos goddess and the fun she brings?”

“At least someone appreciates my chaos.” I put a strawberry star into each glass before filling it with prosecco.

“Help me carry the snacks to the coffee table,” Maya ordered Piper.

“Only because you asked so nicely,” Piper teased Maya.

“So, how was your date?” I asked Maya as we got settled on the couches.

She flushed, turning the same color as her hair. “Amazing. He took me to a fancy restaurant, to see a play I’d mentioned a few weeks ago, and finally to get ice cream. We talked about a lot of things and I genuinely had so much fun. It’s just so … simple to be with him. So natural, like breathing.”

“So, Tony might be the one for you after all, huh?” Sipping on my prosecco, I felt a sense of relief knowing my best friend and brother would have each other if something did happen to me.

“I don’t know about the one ,” she mumbled.

My eyes widened. “Who else has your eye?”

“Tony,” she answered, turning an even darker shade of red. “The one from the club.”

I nearly spit out my drink. “Really got a thing for the T’s, huh?”

Piper and I laughed while Maya groaned.

“It definitely wasn’t what I planned, okay? Tony from the club and I have been talking and dating, but I’ve always had a thing for Prince Tony.”

Hearing her call him prince was weird to me since she never called him that while we grew up. He was Prince of the Hybrids, so it was correct and I supposed it was easier to differentiate which Tony she was talking about this way.

“There’s also …” She fidgeted with her shirt without finishing.

“Jaeden?” I guessed.

Her head snapped up and her mouth dropped. “How did you know?”

“I’ve always known you have a thing for him. It was so painfully obvious. How did you convince him to start dating?”

“I was helping him with his game and he asked me on a date,” she admitted. “Apparently, he realized that I was helping him because I liked him and apologized for being blind to my affection earlier.”

“Does Prince Tony know?” Piper asked.

Maya nodded and picked up a cheese cube from the plate of snacks. “I told him at the end of the date. At first, he scowled and seemed upset, but after a minute of silence he said he was fine with it, since it is so common for us. I mean, there are far more males than females in our world, so it makes sense.”

And he was raised in a family where we had multiple fathers, so it wasn’t something he didn’t understand. He saw that Mom loved each of our fathers equally.

“Any others you have your eye on?” Piper asked.

She shook her head. “I think three is enough for me, thank you.”

We all laughed.

I started the movie and we spent the rest of the evening enjoying each other’s company. It was something I had sorely needed.

No serious discussions, no battle strategies, just time with friends relaxing.

I really hoped I had more of these nights in my future.

After Piper and Maya fell asleep, I went to the command center. Trey had recently installed a fingerprint scanner in addition to the key, so we could use either one. I was very happy about that, since I rarely remembered to take the key with me.

I needed to practice with my new powers and with the battle coming up so soon, it was difficult to sleep.

As soon as I sat at the table, Mason walked in.

“Why are you still awake?” I asked as he sat beside me and wrapped his arms around me.

“The bed was empty without you,” he muttered into my hair.

“Well, since you’re here, are you up for being a guinea pig?”

He drew back and frowned at me. “What for?”

“I want to practice my curses and their removal.” Before he could protest, I added, “I won’t use the really bad ones on you.”

“As long as you don’t use the one that makes you throw up, go ahead,” he said with a small, tired smile.

“If you’re tired, we can do it tomorrow,” I said quickly.

He grabbed my hands and said, “To be honest, I woke up because I felt your unease. If this will help you sleep better, than I’ll do it as much as you need. Sacrificing a few hours of sleep is nothing if it helps you.”

Moving from my chair to straddle his legs and sit in his lap, I kissed him deeply. “I love you, Mas. I know I don’t say it enough.”

He stroked the back of his knuckles down my cheek and said, “I see it in the way you look at me and feel it through our bond. Though, I do enjoy hearing you say it as well.”

“I wish I could go back and change the years apart,” I admitted. “To not be so childish in my reaction.”

He shook his head. “If I were in your shoes, I likely would have done the same. Plus, we’re together now and that is all that matters. Now, curse me.”

Laughing, I summoned my powers and ordered the snake to curse him with Scatterbrain. She turned into a mostly see-through shadow and swirled around Mason’s head before returning to me.

He scowled. “I didn’t feel the curse placed, but I can definitely feel a weight added to me. And …” He frowned. “Wait, what were we talking about?”

“Well, that was obviously a success. Okay, now remove,” I ordered.

She did the same motion, but this time I watched her withdraw a wisp of shadow from the back of his neck.

Interesting.

Mason shuddered. “Okay, that’s creepy. I do not like how that feels.”

“That was easier than I anticipated,” I whispered in surprise. “I thought it would take me some practice to learn it, but it’s … natural.”

“Probably because you are spiteful like your grandmother,” he said.

My mouth dropped open. “I’m not spiteful!”

He smiled, draped an arm around my shoulders, and said, “Baby, you blocked me because Kayden said something that hurt your feelings. You’re spiteful.”

“Hmph.” Since I couldn’t argue against that, I just didn’t say anything.

“Ready for bed now?” He stood and stretched his arms up over his head, exposing a strip of skin beneath his shirt and above his shorts.

“No, I think I’m ready for something else, though.” I slid my hand up beneath his shirt and stroked his abs while looking up at him from my chair.

He lowered his arms slowly, eyes focused on me.

Stroking my way down from his abs to his waistband, I smiled as he grew hard from the simple touch. I gripped him through his shorts and he sucked in a breath.

“Good thing Maya and Piper can’t come down here,” I said and pulled down his shorts, freeing his erection, which was perfectly at the height for me to draw him into my mouth.

He groaned and slid his hand into my hair. “Fuck, your mouth feels good.”

The bond between us caused me to feel not only my arousal, but his as well and instead of taking it slow like I wanted, it had me needing him immediately.

I gripped him at the base of his shaft and bobbed back and forth, relaxing my throat to swallow him all the way to my hand.

His grip on my hair tightened, but he held himself back from thrusting into my mouth. After another minute, he stepped back, pulled me up out of the chair, pushed my upper back so that I lay my chest onto the table, and pulled my pajama pants down.

I gasped as the cool air hit my drenched core.

“So wet for me,” he crooned and slid the tip of his erection inside of me. “Fuck,” he groaned as he slowly entered me, filling me up, and stretching me perfectly.

“Yes,” I moaned.

Gripping my hips, he pulled back until he was almost out of me before slamming back fully into me.

“Yes,” we both whispered.

With no more preamble, he began to thrust in and out of me, drawing orgasm after orgasm. My thighs dripped with my releases and I knew I’d need to change before I went back to the living room to sleep and I had zero regrets.

He flipped me over onto my back, raised my legs up to his shoulders, and thrust into me faster and harder.

I gripped his forearms and screamed his name as one of the strongest orgasms I’d had tore through me at the same time he came.

“Good thing this room is soundproofed or you would have woken up your friends,” he teased.

“Good thing,” I agreed, panting and smiling.