"I wasn't talking about your health physically. How are you emotionally?" Piper asked. "I saw that two of the other women from the brothel called you. How did that go?"
Jennifer and Lisa. She barely remembered them, but they had given her so much strength. She'd been terrified at first, but they had drawn her out, getting her to really talk about what had happened. They had cried, all three of them. They had cried for each other, for themselves, and for the girls who hadn't made it.
"I'm starting a new foundation. I'm bringing Lisa and Jen into it with me. It's going to fight international slavery and push the United Nations and other countries to advance women's rights."
Tears formed in Piper's eyes, and she put down her teacup and reached for Alea's hand. "A long time ago, Dane told me that how we handle the pain we've been given is the way we're measured in life. A strong person can take the horror and pain and use it to make the world a better place. Lea, I think that's a wonderful idea."
She was excited about it, and especially excited about the fact that Jen and Lisa were going to get some of the others together for a visit at the palace so they could meet and talk and help each other heal.
Alea was going to reach out to Brittany, too. She was letting go of her anger because it had no place in her life. It solved nothing, but forgiveness and understanding … those could solve everything.
She was done with anger and bitterness. She was ready to move on, but she had no intention of moving on without Dane Mitchell.
There was the sound of a door opening, and Landon walked in. His blue eyes found hers, and she was shocked at how her heart pounded in her chest at the very sight of him. He nodded toward Piper. "Your Highness."
"It's Piper, Lan. In a couple of days we'll be family, and no one in my family calls me Your Highness. Well, except for my sister, but it sounds more like Your High Ass. She's a classy one, my little sis."
Lan's smile made him beam. "I'm excited to meet her. I'm also excited that Coop's family is going to descend on the palace tomorrow morning. I think it might be the first time that monstrosity Tal calls a plane gets completely filled."
Alea couldn't wait to meet Cooper's family. She just hoped she could remember all their names. There were six brothers and five of them were married with eleven kids between them. But first, she had a job to do. "Are you going to help me?"
Lan put a hand on her hair, smoothing it back. "Always, Lea. You're sure the doc said it was all right?"
He was killing her, treating her like she was made of glass. "Lan, have you ever heard of pregnancy hormones?"
Piper shook her head. "Oh, honey. I have a load of those." She also proved she had Alea's back. "But it's okay because your men are taking care of you, right?"
She was so glad Piper was on her side. She shook her head. "No. They're not taking care of me. They're very gently making love to me, but only once since we got back and only Cooper."
Lan went a stark red. "Lea, baby, should we be talking about this?"
Piper stood up and wagged a finger at him. "How could you? Pregnant women need sex. Crazy, dirty, nasty sex. So, you liked having sex with her so much that she got pregnant, but now that she's expecting, you've lost interest. Is that the way it is?"
"No. God … N-no, not at all. I'm so horny … ." He shut his mouth and started to laugh. "This is one of those times when you two are having fun with me, isn't it? Well, fine. I can deal. If you're going to make it a royal decree that I get down and nasty with the love of my life and share her with my best friends, then I have no choice. I have to follow a royal order. Do you have the key to the dungeon, Piper? Cooper is going to get Dane down there in twenty minutes."
Piper smiled and handed over a key. "You guys have fun. The bed is in the back if you decide to stay down there. There's also a phone that goes directly to the kitchen. We had that installed a few months back because Kade gets hungry when he's playing. Y'all have fun. I'll keep Tal busy elsewhere."
Lan took her hand and started to lead her down the hall. She threaded her fingers through his, but worry still swamped her. "Are you sure you want to do this with me?"
Lan looked down at her. "Do I want to play bondage games with the most beautiful woman in the world? Uh, yeah."
"You haven't seemed to want me lately." He'd been perfectly polite and he'd said all the right things, but he hadn't made love to her. "I said some terrible things when we first arrived at the palace. I was reeling and I didn't mean them. And-"