Page 1 of Possessing the Prince

Prologue

Eight Months Earlier

Senya

Abena Owusu will be the death of me.

The woman is unrelenting, irresistible, and too damn fuckable. I never meant to take her sweet body captive on any of the countless times we’ve made love over the years. Each time we’ve met, it has always been my intention to end our affair, but she has a way about her that compels me to take her…to please her. Now, the compulsion has extended beyond the bedroom and coaxed me into a monkey suit at a damn UN gala.On my night off, at that.I finally get a break from babysitting my worrisome brother Adom, and this is what Abena asks me to attend. I want torest! I love my brother, but Adom Annan’s preparations to be chief of Tafo have been extremely trying, and he has been more difficult than usual, which is saying something.

I hate suits.Butas King Kofi Ajyei’s younger brother and his head of security and national intelligence, I’m required to endure expertly cut suits regularly. Tuxedos are a hell I avoid altogether, though—or at least they were, until Abena Owusu was able to press me into one that she had giddily hand-picked.

A prince dresses above the occasion.

That’s what Abena purred in my ear three nights ago as she rode my dick in the back of the royal Range Rover. I was prepared to agree to anything as long as her perfect ass kept bouncing up and down on my lap.Marriage, included.

But watching her sexy ass walking toward me in a black lace dress that hugs her curves perfectly makes this Tom Ford tuxedo worth every discomfort. The dress hits her mid-thigh and showcases her athletic legs. I turn around and tell the bartender to give me two Fever-Tree Tonic Waters with lime as she approaches. Abena doesn’t drink alcohol, so tonight, neither will I. When she reaches me, she leans over and gives me a friendly peck on the cheek. Her sweet skin smells good enough to eat.

“What are you thinking about, Senya? You look preoccupied.”

Abena flashes a sly grin as she swings the long hair hanging down her back. There is a train attached to the dress that flows behind her; it balances the frock’s risky hemline. The neckline is cut in a deep plunging V, and her breasts look incredible. Without heels, Abena is five-foot-ten, and with the stilettos she’s wearing tonight, she’s easily six-foot-one. We used to call her “Ostrich” growing up because she was taller than all of us. Now that I am six-foot-eight and a grown man, I jerk off to the memories and promise of her long legs wrapped around my waist while my dick plows into her with reckless abandon. Her body cures all that ails me.And she needs me to marry her.

I drop my voice and lean in closely enough for my lips to faintly touch her ear as I speak. “I’m thinking about getting you out of here and out of that dress.” I steal a nibble of her earlobe and hear a small moan at the back of her throat. I move away and see that her dark skin is flushed.Mission accomplished.

“Senya T'ogbe, behave yourself. We don’t want to give gossips any fodder to take back to my father. Our plan is precarious as it is.”

I nod, but frown at her thick London accent. At this point even her Twi sounds British.It’s time I bring her home.I turn and pick up our drinks.

“That it is. But don’t you think it will only help our cause if we are viewed as a couple before springing an engagement on the kingdom and your father?”

She releases a sigh and takes the tonic water. “Yes, but that is phase two of our plan. Phase one is to get Adom installed as chief and you installed as prince. Without that, my father will never approve, and any hint of our marriage will be met with relentless reproach.” She quickly runs her hand over mine. “Speaking of which, have you talked to Adom about releasing his position as prince to you? Once he is chief of Tafo, he won’t need the title, but it will be vital to us. Have you laid some groundwork?”

I shake my head. “No, he’s very busy with Maya. She arrived almost two weeks ago, and she did not look good. I do not know all the particulars, but she clearly needed help. He arrived abruptly without her. He would not even talk about her. Then all of a sudden he flew her into Accra. Adom has never left her side since she touched down. His head is not in the royal game right now.” I brush my knuckles against the smooth skin of her cheek to erase her pout. “Don’t worry, Abena: I will speak with him.”

Abena takes my hand and pleads with her eyes. “I pray so, Senya. If any part of this plan fails, my life will crash and burn. My father is relentless. Even tonight he has Chief Apeagyei’s ancient son Michael sitting next to me at the table. Our fathers keep making jokes about an auspicious occasion to bring the families together. Not to mention that snake Michael keeps accidentally brushing his hand along my thigh under the table.”

The fuck!Abena may not think she is my woman to claim, but she is wrong. She is mine. I have never had anything that I wanted to truly make mine…until Abena. My father disowned me from conception and did not even know I was living in his house. My true lineage was hidden from my brothers Adom and Kofi, so I had no family to speak of. I played the role of servant and steward for most of my childhood.Senya the Strong Tower.That’s me.

I never complain. I love my job. I never show any emotion, because feelings don’t solve problems. And I sure as hell never want my father’s name—he is not an honorable man. I take care of my king and I do a damn good job of it. I have no desire for anyone to take care of me. People let you down.

But surprisingly, Abena Owusu became my friend. Then she became my lover. And now, she is asking to become my wife. All she wants is protection, but protection is only the beginning of what I can offer her…I fell in love with her years ago, and the joke is on me, because she doesn't even believe in love.It does not matter.I take care of what is mine. Abena belongs in my arms and in my bed…wet and wanting. She should not have to deal with jackals that cannot keep their hands to themselves.

I step in and move my lips to her ear. “He could find his hand broken…or maybe each individual finger could be snapped like a twig. Both can easily be arranged.”

Abena laughs and playfully pushes me away. “Neither! I told you we have to be discreet. This is not the time for anyone except your brothers to know we are anything more than acquaintances.”

Disappointed, I step away and lean against the bar. I really wanted to break his hand. As a matter of fact, I want to break her father’s, too. What is he doing while his daughter is being molested at the dinner table? And why is he in such a hurry to marry her off to this old man? Chief Apeagyei and his sons are not known for their kindness to women. They are generally seen as sleazy men whose hands reach into every part of the country’s politics and governance. They can grant political favors, but no man would willingly marry their daughter off to them. What is Owusu up to?

First, he held Abena hostage with that ridiculous thirty-year betrothal contract to Kofi—a betrothal that neither Kofi nor Abena wanted. Thank God Kofi was never interested, or things would have gotten…awkward. He always knew Abena and I had a thing. I like to think part of the reason he was so dead set against marrying her, was to allow me a modicum of happiness. When he married Ella, I allowed myself to hope for more than weekend trysts with Abena. I dared to hope for a life with her.

But Kofi was not married to Ella six months before Chief Owusu promised Abena to Michael Apeagyei. It makes no sense. Something is off, and I will get to the bottom of it. My experience in security and intelligence has taught me that whenever you get to the bottom of the affairs of powerful men, you always find money. It is time to get to the bottom of Owusu’s barrel. Abena cocks her head to the side and touches my arm, jerking me out of my analysis.

“By the way, Senya…I helped our plan along by asking Kofi’s wife and her friend Maya where you were tonight. I’m sure that has piqued their interest. They looked at me like I had three heads. But this way when you tell Adom you are in love with me and the only way my father will let you have me is if you are of royal status, he will feel compelled to help. Then all will be well.”

I sigh and lift my hands to caress her cheek. “Abena, all will be well because I promised you it would be. You must trust me. But we have to be delicate. Timing is everything. I will handle my brothers.”

Abena sucks in a breath. “Every minute we wait is another day closer to my father handing me off to that snake Michael Apeagyei. It’s too much.”

Abena’s lip trembles at the thought. Her father has her mind in a vise grip, and she cannot bear the idea of crossing him. I want to capture her lips and keep them from ever trembling in fear or doubt again. But I cannot. Not here. We are in a room with hundreds of people. It is time to fix that.

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