Chapter 99: Inseparable

Daphne

Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting!

Being a king without a mate, I expected that women like Pilar threw themselves at him all the time, and he had no reason not to partake of what they offered. But looking into his eyes, I had no doubt that he was telling me the truth.

“I feel something when I’m with you,” Louis confessed, “And I think you feel it too.”

I nodded, as I didn’t really trust myself to speak.

“I’d really like it if we could just… spend time together.” Louis said, stroking the side of my face. “Without any pressure.”

“Any pressure to what?” I asked, half teasing, but also wanting to make sure that he meant what I thought he meant.

“I think we should take it nice and slow,” Louis elaborated. “Get to know each other nicely, and let things unfold naturally.”

I bit back a smile, because I was pretty sure that the natural unfolding was already leading us straight into sex. But I also understood what he was trying to say. Our situation was complicated. And yet the feeling I got when I was close to him was very simple.

“Maybe, if you would allow, I could just… hold you for a while.”

“That sounds…” I dared to lift a hand and cup his jaw, which was just starting to get a little rough with stubble. He turned his face slightly into my hand like he was craving my touch. “I’d like that.”

Louis leaned forward, and pressed his lips against mine one more time. And then he pulled back and stood up, “Why don’t you go prepare yourself for bed?”

“Um, yes. Okay,” I stood up quickly, and darted around the couch, feeling suddenly giddy and nervous. I couldn’t tell the king that I didn’t normally wear proper sleeping attire. I liked my brother’s old t-shirts, when they were worn thin and soft. I had some sexy négligée back at home in my purple bedroom, but I hadn’t packed it for the trip to Canada. The best I could do was an old spaghetti strap tank top and a pair of boy-shorts. I brushed out my hair, and then braided it over my shoulder so it wouldn’t tangle up in my sleep, and then I brushed my teeth and spritzed on some body spray.

What else were you supposed to do for a cuddle session with a monarch? I felt uncharacteristically shy as I emerged from the en suite bathroom, and found that Louis had put away the marble chess board. He had also turned down the bed, and placed two chilled water bottles on the bedside table.

Somehow, I thought perhaps we were just going to curl up on the couch together. Maybe put on a movie for distraction. For some reason, I hadn’t anticipated that he would want to get into my bed. He held out a hand to me, and I went to him, allowing him to pull me flush against his body.

How easily I forgot that this man was twenty years older than me. He didn’t seem old to me, especially not with the hard planes of his body pressed against my softness. I’m sure he could feel my nipples poking into him through my thin tank top. He could probably smell my arousal, too. And I could feel his desire too, in the form of a hard ridge pressed against my belly.

He lifted me easily, like I was a mere child, making me squeek with surprise. And he settled me in the center of the bed. Then he began to unbutton his shirt, slowly. My eyes were glued to his long-fingered hands as they worked their way slowly down the line, and the fabric parted to reveal his chest, until finally he worked his shoulders out of the garment and tossed it onto the chair that was pushed up to my dressing table.

I swallowed thickly. That was not the body of an old man. In fact, it seemed like age had only added something to his physique. There was a breadth to his shoulders, his chest, to his taut torso. I remembered, the first time I’d met him, how thin and fragile he had seemed, but he was neither now. His body had filled out with muscle, and there was a sparse sprinkling of masculine hair across his chest, that narrowed into a thin line at his navel. I wanted to touch him, test the texture of that hair against my fingertips.

He slid into bed next to me, still wearing his slacks. He pulled the blanket up, and then settled in, taking me in his arms so that my head rested on his chest, and his long arms encircled my body. I could feel the steady thudding of his heart under my ear, and his hand made slow, warm circles across my back.

I breathed in his scent, and let the warmth of his body soak in, not only from his hand on my back but from every inch of skin that was pressed together along my body. I let my hand slide over his torso, and he sucked in his breath at first contact, like my fingers were cold. But I knew they weren’t. It was just the unexpected jolt of pleasure - I’m sure he felt it as keenly as I had. I let my fingernails scratch lightly through the hairs on his chest, before sliding downward to explore the ins and outs of his abdominal muscles.

It was sensual, but it was something else too, something I struggled to put into words.

“You know what this feels like?” Louis’s voice was a deep rumble under my ear.

“It feels like we’ve done this before?” I answered, because that’s exactly how I felt. Sure, it was the first time I’d touched his body so intimately, and yet, it was like I already knew it. Everything was familiar and comfortable, and right.

“Yes, exactly,” Louis agreed, letting his hand slide down over the curve of my hip. “It’s like we’ve done this a thousand times. Like we are an old, married couple.”

He spoke it so casually, like it was normal and natural to feel that way.

The sexual tension was still there, still oozing between us. I avoided the temptation to let my hand slide below his belt buckle, and likewise his hand remained chastely on my back and my arms, while he had the other one tucked behind his neck. I wouldn’t have complained at all if he had made the next move, and yet, somehow, I just felt okay with what we were doing, too. Being in the king’s arms felt familiar, comfortable, safe.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that, as I found myself drifting in and out of sleep, in a half-dreamy state. At some point I rolled off his chest, and we changed positions. I found myself on my back, instead. My tank top had bunched up around my ribs, and the king had his hand splayed over my flat belly, while his chin rested against my shoulder. I thought he might be sleeping too, as his breath was slow and even, and occasionally, he mumbled something unintelligible.

And then he wriggled around, until his head rested over my belly, and his cheek was pressed against my navel. His hand had circled my hip, but as he slept it crept up my side until it rested just beneath my breast. His head was a bit heavy, but I kind of liked the feeling of it.

Since I was pretty sure he was asleep, I lifted my hand and let it run through his rich brown hair. It was still thick and full, and soft to touch. I liked the way the long, unruly locks slid between my fingers.

So different from Nate’s crew cut.

It was so soothing, stroking his hair, that soon my hand grew heavy, and my eyes closed again. I might have been dreaming, but I thought I heard Louis mumble, “I’ve been waiting for you for so long,” in his sleep.