Chapter 204

We lay on the chaise together for a while, just being calm in one another’s presence, soaking in their scent. As soon as Charles was sure David had fallen asleep, his hands skimmed all over my body, cupping, touching, probing. Each of his touches strategically drew me closer until, without planning it, I found myself on his lap.

He pulled my skirt out from underneath me, then carefully undid his fly. He licked the rim of my ear, pausing long enough to whisper, “we'll have to do this quietly.”

Charles skimmed his hand up my stomach underneath my shirt. When he reached the lower edge of my bra, he simply wiggled his fingers up underneath the fabric, tweaking my nipple between two of his fingers.

I sighed and leaned back into him, tipping my head back against his shoulder and pressing gentle kisses along his jawline.

He reached a hand up under my skirt, pressing the fabric of my panties out of the way, and tucked his erection between my lips and inside the fabric. His rod of flesh slid along my moistened slit.

My breathing quickened. I wiggled my own hips to complement the movement of his.

When that wasn’t quite satisfying, I reached up under my skirt and pressed the soft head to my entrance. Charles took the invitation and angled himself so that his next movement pressed the head inside. The rim caught and tickled my sensitive edges so that I had to catch a moan.

I reached my hands around, running them along his thighs and up his lower back, caressing him and urging him on at the same time. Because we were doing this so quietly, he kept his movements subtle. This meant that the build of pleasure was slow and drawn out.

I closed my eyes, allowing myself to feel every movement. I focused on the connection between us, both in the physical sense and emotionally. We had reached a point where I couldn't guarantee anything in our lives anymore. And I wanted to take full advantage of any moment we had together.

He kissed my neck and skimmed his hands across my torso. I could feel the love in every caress.

He brought me to climax, and I swallowed all the sounds instead, gripping him fiercely. He joined me, his harsh breathing and shuddering movements the only indications he was coming.

We readjusted ourselves and must have dozed off, too, because a sharp knocking on the door woke us all.

I hurried to open the door. The chances of it being for anyone else are next to nothing, so I might as well be the one to answer. Sure enough, the mousy man greeted me with a bow.

“The king is ready to see you again, Miss Laurentia.”

“May I use the restroom?” I asked, sure that my hair was all messed up—in addition to other things needing to be freshened.

“Of course.” He peeked over my head inside the room. “If any of you gentlemen need to use the facilities, they are three doors down on the left in this hall.”

I hurried out and freshened up, then rejoined the mousey man. He took me down the same hallways to the same library we had been in before. The same manservant greeted me at the door and led me to the inner door.

This time, when I entered, the king had numerous papers sitting on the desk. He pointed to the seat without greeting me, and I took it, once again waiting to make sure that he would lead the conversation.

“I've gotten the results back, and you are indeed the Elena Laurentia who is related to me and the previous queen.”

I opened my mouth, but he held up a hand for my silence.

“I want to make this abundantly clear now: this is not a family reunion. I am not pleased that the former queen is the one who managed to have my offspring.”

“Why?” The question popped from my mouth before I could stop it.

The king scowled at me. “Rosemary was an unsuitable mate for an alpha king. I never should have made her the queen. She was weak in every sense of the word. So weak, in fact, that I was sure you had died at birth. The creature she gave birth to was a sickly little thing.”

He ran his scrutinizing gaze across me again. “You seem to have been feisty enough to both survive and take on matters around the kingdom which do not concern you. It remains to be seen whether this is a personality trait in your favor or just another sign of weakness. But at least I have some hope that you aren't as helpless as your mother.”

“What are the expectations of me then?”

He shot me a feral smile. “I'm glad to see you have the sense to ask. The last thing I intend on doing is some public reuniting and then turning my Kingdom, which I have worked hard to mold into exactly what I wish, over to a virtual stranger with a clearly defined yet oppositional view of this country.”

“I just want the best for Orlune and all its inhabitants,” I said, defending myself.

“That's a good place to start, but as you haven't been raised to rule, I think your ideas of what is best for this country are significantly skewed. So, here's how this will play out. I will accept that you are my biological daughter… if… you follow my conditions. I’m planning to publicly announce that you have no concept of how to rule, and you are beginning an apprenticeship here at the palace under my instruction.”

“A lie?” I asked.

“The truth,” he replied. “Though there is one condition before we get started on that. I need to know that you support me the way a good daughter ought to. I need to be sure that I can trust you with what I have created. And moreover, I need to be sure that you won't stab me in the back like that conniving current wife of mine. So far, I find the women in my life to be lacking. Do you accept those conditions?”

“I need to know some things first, your Highness. For my own peace of mind. “

A crooked smile spread across his face. “This should be interesting. But go ahead.”

“While you were talking to me, you mentioned that you were surprised the child survived at all. Does that mean that you knew that I was born?”

He made a face. “Don't go feeling the victim in all abandoned. I can't stand women who play the victim. As far as I know, you had no heartbeat, and it was that damn doctor's job to dispose of corpses. If anyone is at fault, it was that negligent doctor for not informing me that you had managed to survive.”

I nodded and kept the rest of my thoughts to myself. I’d talked to this doctor. I knew the story, and I could just tell by the king’s demeanor that my life would have been in danger if the goddess hadn't whisked me away. There was definitely a divine reason why I hadn't been left in this man's care.