That ended now.
“I— no, that’s—”
“Lies? Slander?”
I bared my teeth at him. “We have documents, conversations, paperwork, bank records, all of it.”
I have to admit, the smile on my face when I watched the color drain from his was satisfying as fuck.
“Before you start to grovel,” I hissed at him. “No, I’m not going to go to war with you. That isn’t me anymore, and I’ve left that part of my life behind.”
I squeezed Callie’s hand — my wife’s hand — tight, and knew it was true That part of me was over. I’d left the fighting behind years before, but with her at my side, I knew it was permanently behind me. Besides, what would war do except punish the people unfortunate enough to live under Milton’s thumb? No, war wasn’t the answer. Targeting him was though.
“See, I don’t have to go to war with your entire country, Milton,” I growled. “I just have to target you. And I have.”
His eyes went wide, his face completely white.
“The United Nations, the Hague, and the international Royal Council all have the documents my team uncovered, and I’m fairly sure you’re in violation of just about a dozen international laws.”
“No, that’s—” Milton stumbled over his words, shaking his head. “No, Hayden, you’re—”
“Punishing the man who’d have sought to hurt my bride,” I spat. “Yes, you’re right.” I curled my lips into a smile, nodding at the food he’d strewn across the floor. “I’d start saving my food if I were you, Your Highness. You’re about to get hit with frozen accounts and every international embargo you can dream of.”
“What do you want?” Milton whispered hoarsely. The room was silent around us.
“Want?” I smiled. “No, Milton, this is no negotiation. And I already have everything I want.” My arm wrapped around Callie’s waist, and I pulled her into me, relishing the way Milton scowled.
“Here’s the deal. Callie is mine. You never deserved someone like her anyways.”
I could see him seething, biting his tongue as the anger welled up inside of him.
“The drugs stop. Now. I know the international community is going to step in soon, but I mean right the fuck now. You stop making them, you stop giving them to my country, or to yours for that matter. Robling deserves a better leader.”
“Well I’m their leader!” he spat angrily.
“Which brings me to the third part,” I said quietly.
Milton’s face paled.
“You’re resigning. Today. You forfeit your throne, and let Robling decide on a new king.”
Milton sputtered. “Excuse me?!”
“You’re done,” I growled.
“The fuck I am!”
“The records are being released to your citizens as we speak. I’d suggest crawling away before they storm this castle and throw you out.”
Milton sputtered in rage, fuming and snarling as he shook his head at me.
“Keep the whore,” he spat. “You want her? She’s all—”
He shrieked as I crossed the divide between us in half a second, yanked him by the collar across his banquet table and slammed my fist into his face.
Twice.
His guards stood right where they were.
“You will mind your tongue when speaking to my wife,” I hissed into his ear before stepping away. Milton raised his head up, lip bleeding and his eyes wide as he stared at the two of us.
“You— you married her?”
“He did,” Callie tossed back.
“On our wedding day?”
“Yep,” she spat. “Yes, I did.”
“You little lying wh—”
His mouth snapped shut, and he cowered away as I snarled and stormed towards him, holding his hands up as if to stop me. A pathetic excuse for a king.
“You will never even think about her again, are we clear?”
Milton nodded, looking numb and lost.
“I’m leaving now, Milton. And I’m taking my bride with me. Again, I would suggest leaving before your citizens come looking for your head, but hey,” I smiled. “Enjoy your party.”
And with that, I turned, slipped my hand into hers, and strode out of the room, with my queen by my side.
“Wait, actually…”
I grinned as I turned to her, standing there as pure perfection in her white gown, with her eyes flashing that fierce fire and she smiled back at me.
“Come here.”
She giggled as I scooped her up into my arms, and when I tossed her over my shoulder, she shrieked and laughed even louder. And that’s exactly how I walked out of Milton’s palace — exactly how I said I would.
…Out the front door, with her over my shoulder.
Anton had the large transport helicopter ready and waiting for us, sitting in the middle of Milton’s front lawns. I set Callie down onto the grass, wrapped my arms around her and kissed her for all I was worth — until neither of us could breathe, and we came apart panting.
“Well that’s how you kiss your bride.”
I whirled to see Sven sliding door to the chopper slide open.
“Ready to get out of here?”
“Absolutely,” I chuckled, squeezing Callie’s hand. “But wait, where are the rest of the—”
He slid the door the rest of the way open, and both mine and Callie’s jaws dropped.
Oh, there were my three friends, alright. But let’s just say, they weren’t alone. But then, that’s probably a story for another day.
All that matters for this one is that I’d gotten what I came for.
My bride.
My queen.
My love.
Mine.
On board, I pulled her into my lap, my lips locking with hers, and I damn well kissed her long and slow, as we flew off into whatever life threw our way.
Epilogue
Callie
I took a leap that day. I jumped off the ledge. Before, I could at least see where my life was going, even if I didn’t much like it. But then I met Hayden, and it all changed with one step from the ledge of what I knew.
…And damn am I glad I jumped.
Life doesn’t always give you a happy ending. I know that, and Hayden certainly knows that with what he’s seen in his life. But that just made us appreciate the one we were given even more. Because that’s exactly what we got, a perfect happy ever after.
Hayden settled my parents’ debts. And not in the same way Milton was promising to, by just throwing money at the problem. No, Hayden sat down with my parents and made a plan. Well, no, first he sat down with my parents and apologized for never asking their permission. But I’m one-hundred percent sure they didn’t hold any grudge. They’d never liked the idea of me marrying King Milton, and they both knew of Hayden’s history quite well.
Needless to say, they approved wholeheartedly of my eleventh-hour choice of husbands. We threw a second “wedding,” this time with family and close friends on my parents’ grounds, and it was as magical as the first time in that small room with Father Patrick.
Oh, but it was after that that Hayden sat down to look at how to help with Arbor’s financial situation. Eventually, they set up a trade pact with the two kingdoms, one that brought money to Arbor, and better jobs and schools to Rince. As it happens, an economic partnership between the two kingdoms worked out fantastically. And with us being married, and the two kingdoms being bonded that way, the citizens of both places were ecstatic over the new deals.
Milton obviously stepped down as King of Robling.
Well, no that's not quite the way it happened. The true story is that after our failed wedding, Milton shut himself away in his quarters, which were then stormed by his own personal guard who offered him up to the international community. Yeah, the breaking news that their king was directly supplying drugs to war veterans, even in another kingdom, didn’t exactly sit well with them. He’s in prison right now, de-throned, de-crowned, and stripped of his money and
titles. Drugs, corruption, organized crime — you name it. The people of Robling were not happy with him, and even with him in prison, a special congress was assembled to officially remove him as king.
Actually, they pretty much decided against a king at all going forward, and held elections for a prime minister instead.
I became Queen of Rince, at King Hayden’s side. I also became queen of getting knocked up on the first try, in King Hayden’s bed. Yeah, that was a bit of a surprise, but honestly, we couldn’t be happier. He’s never said it outright, but I know there’s a part of Hayden behind that rough exterior that knows he missed out on having a family experience. With his parents dying young, and him spending the early part of being a man in the service fighting a war, there’s a part of him that’s come alive with the news of our soon-to-arrive baby girl.
True to his word, Hayden carried me out the front door that day, over his shoulder in front of everyone. And true to his other word, there’s not a day that goes by without his sinful mouth, or his amazing fingers, or his perfect cock making me explode in so many ways I can’t even keep track. Like I said, we found our happy ending, and both of us are going to make sure we never forget that.
And of course, we weren’t the only ones who found love that day of the wedding that never was. Riley, Faith, Lola and I — all four us walked away with something we weren’t expecting. In fact, Hayden and I are on our way to the wedding of another love story that bloomed that day…
…But then, I think Lola would do a better job at telling her own story.
All I know is, I found love and a new life where I was never expecting. I found the man who’d steal my heart — or maybe he’d found me. We have love, we have a family on the way, and we’ve got the rest of our lives with each other.
That, and sex so good I can feel it in my toes.
The End
Goodies
Hey there!
If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading, and I truly hope it means you enjoyed this book! If you have, and wanted to leave a review, it would mean the world to me!
As I tend to do with new releases, as a special thank you for picking up the new release edition of this book, I’ve included three other books of mine here for your reading enjoyment.
If you’re done reading, or don’t want to dig into these freebies, that’s totally okay! You’re done! But, if you’d like to escape reality for just a little longer, scroll on for the dirty parts ;).
On the following pages, you can find Stealing Beauty, another royal romance from my Possessing Beauty series, Doctor Babymaker, one sizzling hot doctor romance stuffed with baby-making hotness, and Dear Stepbrother, I Want You, another out-of-control alpha hero romance.
Prince Magnum, Dr. Jackson Brody, and the very irresistible Channing Hensley are waiting for you!
All of this and every book I write is for readers like you, and so I just want to say that your continued support means the world to me!
Happy reading!
Madison
Stealing Beauty
Stealing Beauty
She’s been mine from the second I saw her. Tonight, I’ll make sure everyone knows that.
The tabloids call me “Prince Magnum,” and it’s not because I’ve got a big kingdom.
A royal “suitor’s ball”, full of single, untouched female royalty, should be a buffet for a man like me. It doesn’t matter what a woman’s bloodline is -- once I’ve set my sights on her, she’ll be on her knees in minutes.
But that’s before I walk in and lock eyes with her. Princess Imogen.
She’s sweet and untouched, with eyes that beg me to take her and an innocence that’s just waiting to be claimed. Once I’ve seen her, nothing is going to stop me from taking what’s mine…
And Imogen will be mine.
A “suitor’s ball” to find her a husband, huh?
F*ck that.
She’s been mine and only mine since the minute I laid eyes on her. And tonight, I’m going to make this princess my queen.
*Please note that each of the Possessing Beauty books are completely standalone stories centered around one couple, with no cliffhangers.
Stealing Beauty is a quick and filthy modern fairytale involving an utterly obsessed alpha hero and enough insta-love, kindle-melting steam, and sugary-sweetness to make your dreams come true. If you love over-the-top, slightly unrealistic, and wildly dirty stories, this one’s for you! HEA with NO CHEATING!
Chapter 1
Imogen
I took a shaky breath, my green eyes meeting my own gaze in the mirror. My lip quivered, and I could see the nervousness playing out in a pink blush across my cheeks. I took another breath, clenching my fists by my sides and closing my eyes. I’d been dreading that night for weeks, and now it was here.
The ball. Specifically, the ball my father, King Lucian of Avlion was throwing for all “eligible bachelors and bachelorettes” across the kingdoms, now that he’d finally decided that his daughters were ready for marriage.
Heck, or dating even, since neither myself nor my sisters had really done any of that either. And I was twenty.
I knew my father meant the best for us — not letting his eighteen, twenty, and twenty-one year old daughters seek partners until now wasn’t some show of old-fashioned customs like my little sister Isla always said. He was really just protecting us, and giving us the time to have a proper view of the world before we started looking for someone to share our lives with. And besides that, most princes had horrid reputations as foul, filthy-mouthed womanizers.
But that night should have been something I’d looked forward to, not secretly cringed about. After all, my parents had invited all sorts of princes from the neighboring kingdoms, including the absolutely dreamy Prince Chester of Montagne. I’d be an idiot to think I was the only single princess that had eyes on him, but he’d written my father three times over the last few weeks, mentioning how excited he was for the dance and to meet me.
I know, I know. Believe me, I understand how out of touch it seemed in the modern world of cellphones and Facebook and snapchat to be throwing balls for princes and princesses to meet at, but hey, that's the word I was born into, and as much as Isla, and even my older sister, Ilana, poo-poo-ed the royal life we lived, I actually liked it.
Well, except for tonight.
Because, yes, Chester was coming, and yes, the whole palace had been done up beautifully for the ball, and yes, my bright chartreuse green gown, with the exposed shoulders and gold trim looked amazing and made my red hair and green eyes just pop.
But there was a storm cloud hanging over tonight. A dark, filthy-mouthed, crude-talking, perverted, scandalizing, morally repugnant storm cloud. And this storm cloud had a name:
Prince Magnus Jameson.
The absolutely disgusting, tabloid-scandal-ridden prince of the kingdom of Zale.
The absolutely gross, ridiculously cocky, impossibly arrogant, and unfairly gorgeous Prince Magnus.
And I say unfairly, because it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that someone that obnoxious, and with that much of a terrible reputation could also be hands down the most attractive, heart-stoppingly gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on. Thick dark brown hair, sharp, piercing blue eyes, and an absolutely melting smile perpetually across that perfect, chiseled, handsome face. Broad shoulders, powerful arms, and since I did unfortunately read the tabloids and see the pictures of him on various beaches and yachts, a body absolutely carved from marble.
Prince Magnus, but then, the tabloids had a new name for him as of late.
Prince Magnum.
Take a guess what that was in reference to.
I blushed in my bedroom mirror, shivering and quickly shutting my eyes again as the memory of that day came flooding back with the usual heat it always did. It’d been four weeks ago, and I never should have been there.
My parents had believed I’d been going to southern Spain to do some homeless outreach in some
of the poorer areas. After all, helping wherever I could with people that hadn’t had the completely random luck of being born into a kingdom like I had was one of my passion projects. And I had gone to one of the slums outside Valencia to help, but then I’d gone off itinerary.
I’m not entirely sure why I’d lied to my pilot about my father being perfectly aware of me going to Ibiza. I’m not sure why I checked into a hotel under an assumed name, or why I’d bought the biggest pair of movie-star, incognito sunglasses and big brimmed hat I could find. Maybe it was because I’d just turned twenty, and I just wanted something exciting. I wanted to go a little crazy, I guess, for once.
That’d lasted all of one day. I’d sunned by the pool, I’d had exactly two glasses of wine at the hotel bar, I’d gone upstairs to change to go out—
And that’s when I’d been introduced to Prince Magnus.
No, that’s when I’d been introduced to Prince Magnum.
At first, I’d had a horrified thought that I’d somehow walked into the wrong penthouse suite. But there were only three suites like this at the hotel, and I knew I’d made a right off the elevator.
I’d wanted to scream, but it was like I was frozen to the spot just staring at the sight that greeted me when I walked in. Frozen, scandalized, staring, and incredibly and horribly turned on.
Because there, laying spread out and propped up in my bed, without a stitch of clothing on that absolutely gorgeous body, was Prince Magnus.
…With every single inch of his…well, Magnum standing at attention.