The Luna Choosing Game by Jane Above Story

It had been three days since Boss made his proposition: either I sleep with him or I get fired.

I needed one more day’s pay to cover Elva’s most recent bill. Once I had that, I could resign and hopefully find something else.

Boss trailed his eyes down the length of my body. Staring openly at my breasts, he licked his lips. “Don’t think I won’t, Piper. I’ll be waiting for you.”

In the restaurant, all of the female patrons talked excitedly about the selection. To cater to them, Boss turned all of the televisions on the walls to the royal consort ceremony broadcast.

“Which one do you think is the most handsome?” asked one patron to her friends.

They’d ordered a plate of loaded nachos to share. I carefully placed it in the center of their table.

Another girl spoke quickly. “Are you kidding? The others are cute, sure, but Nicholas is obviously the hottest.”

The other girls quickly agreed.

Startled, I hovered at their table. They were right, of course. Nicholas was the most objectively attractive, but to hear people talk about him so casually still surprised me.

For three days, I’d tried to reconcile in my mind that the Nicholas I had known was also the eldest prince of the kingdom. But I still couldn’t quite manage it.

Nicholas had always been proper. But a prince?

“Piper, is it?” one of the girls at the table asked me. I jumped, realizing I was still standing there. Yet before I could apologize, she asked me, “Which one do you think is the most handsome?”

“Nicholas,” came my automatic answer. “Excuse me.”

Embarrassed at having been caught daydreaming, I forced myself to focus on work. And I succeeded – until I heard Nicholas’ voice come from the speakers.

“The kind of woman I’d prefer?” Nicholas said. “Someone loyal. Strong. Even tempered. And she has to like to children.”

“Check, check, and check,” came a voice from the table of girls. “He’s describing me! It’s meant to be.”

“Dream on. He’s clearly describing me.”

“You don’t even like kids!”

of us make it through the

screen showed the interviewer. “Children, hm? Does that mean we can expect you to have a big family, Prince

my duty as a prince to continue

in delight. “He’d make such

moment, it seemed as if he was staring straight

My heart ached.

the interviewer, and immediately, I felt

me at all since the

over my heart, hoping

hung up on him. Sure, I hadn’t dated anyone else since, but that didn’t mean anything. I’d been

Elva, and I had Anna. I

went back to retrieve it. When I returned to the dining room, Nicholas was still

is investigating with the utmost seriousness. This illegal trade of wolves and their gifts is dangerous for every person in the

dropped the plate of food in

at once, all eyes

any one wolf, weakens the whole pack. We

other waitresses hissed at me, waking me from

ceramic shards and ruined food. “I’m sorry.” I quickly set to cleaning it. As I did, I cursed myself so loudly in my thoughts, I couldn’t hear any more

and exhausted. After my accident, I pushed myself as hard as I could, focusing solely on work and

my eyes to the television again, not even when the table of girls

hadn’t applied. I wouldn’t be on the list.

until closing, scrubbing dishes in the sink. After washing away a particularly stubborn clump of food from a plate, I noticed how quiet it was

had to clean the stove, or prep for tomorrow. Almost always, he was the last to

who had said they would clean the dining

I was alone.

of my

been cleaning, I immediately swung around, ready to knock Boss over

moment too late.

plate onto the floor, where

pressed his hips hard to mine, wedging me against the lip

I was trapped.

buttons of my shirt, revealing my lacey white bra. He

Panic swelling within me, I struggled against him. He only held tighter, rougher, fingers biting into my hip and my

have the

felt him smile against my jaw. “You have a child, after all. I know you aren’t a