by Lia Lee
When they returned, Emrys hadn’t yet finished with his meeting, so Caitlyn went out for a walk on her own. She hadn’t been running since that day by the Hudson with Melanie, and Adora had convinced her to sample a variety of absolutely delicious but waistline-expanding local treats.
The grounds of the palace had a nice stone pathway to the south. Along each side grew a small hedge and a row of sprightly azaleas and wisteria. Caitlyn drew in a deep breath of fresh air. It was so much easier to breathe here. She liked Cincinnati well enough, and New York was interesting, but the air didn’t have the same quality. There was also no chance of finding a spot this quiet anywhere within either city.
The quiet let her hear the rap of a heavy step behind her, and she turned to see Emrys catching up.
“There you are,” she said with a smile. “Good meeting?”
“Long meeting. Though I trust that my contract will be in better shape for my next movie.” Emrys put his hands over her shoulders from behind and rubbed them as they walked. “You like it out here.”
“I do. It’s…calm.”
Emrys leaned over to kiss her cheek. “And calm is something you need?”
“Occasionally.”
“Funny. I assumed you were one who liked excitement. All this traveling, right? You don’t want to stay in one place?”
Caitlyn pursed her lips and shook her head at him. “Don’t psychoanalyze me. I like to see the world. I like to visit new places. That doesn’t mean I’m not still that girl who wants to put down roots and watch them grow.”
“So you want to be a farmer?”
Caitlyn prepared a glare for him, but seeing his smile, she realized he was simply teasing her. “You’re incorrigible.”
Emrys laughed and put his arm around her as they approached a fork in the path. “Come this way.”
Caitlyn looked at the turn in the path and let herself be guided toward an older part of the path. She could tell from the worn stones that this path had been here for much longer. The greenery framing the path was a bit wilder. She felt a little like she was walking into a fairytale.
As the hill grew steeper, Caitlyn spotted a building at the crest. They were quite far from the palace by now. She soon recognized the building as a church. It wasn’t as grandiose as the cathedral in the city or the palace, and the stones were old and weathered, but it was absolutely lovely. Caitlyn paused when they drew closer and simply looked at the stained glass windows in the middle of the steeple. She pressed her hand to her chest and smiled at the sight. All those fragmented colors, coming together so beautifully to make a huge rose pattern.
“There’s another window on the other side. The sun should be at good height for us to see it as it should be,” Emrys told her.
He took her hand and led her inside the towering doorway. While it looked old, the church itself was very well cared for. Every pew was spotless, the wood rich and well-oiled. And above all, it was so quiet that Caitlyn could hear her own heart pounding.
Emrys was right about the windows. From the inside, she could see the vertical windows on each side, with the light streaming in sideways. Behind the pulpit, there was a matching rose window, with seven vertical windows beneath. Caitlyn hurried up the aisle and stepped up behind the altar to see more clearly. She had been to Notre Dame in France, but that had been so long ago. And she hadn’t been able to prowl around inside and get so close to the windows.
Emrys strolled up behind her. His hand rested on her neck as she stared up at the windows. She could study them all day.
But distracting her at the moment was Emrys’s other hand, which had begun moving very slowly down the front of her dress. She leaned her head back and tilted it to the side, and he began to kiss the crook of her neck. Letting out a soft sigh, Caitlyn felt her cheeks burning. But that wasn’t the only part of her burning. There were parts of her heating up that wanted him very much. They wanted him now, and responding to his own obvious want, which was pressing determinedly into her back, they began to throb with need.
His hand crept down her belly and between her legs. There his fingers teased her and forced a breathless moan out of her that echoed through the church walls.
“Now? Here?” she breathed. She wondered whether he had a condom on him, although if he didn’t, she couldn’t imagine asking him to stop, no matter where they were.
“I have to have you, Cait.” Emrys rubbed himself against her.
She shuddered and put her hand over his, letting herself tighten around his fingers. He laughed softly.
“You are a greedy thing, aren’t you? I suppose I have to give you everything I have.”
“Now, Emrys, now.”
“We should take this back to the palace,” he suggested. “Get some protection.”
“Once without it will be fine,” she panted.
With a broad lap of his tongue over her neck, Emrys bent her over the wooden divider between the choir loft and the pulpit. His fingers continued to tease her pussy as he nibbled on her flesh, making her squirm and mewl in a most undignified way.
“Please…”
“Oh, I will.”
His kisses moved down her shoulder, and his other hand slipped under her dress. Soon her panties were dropping, and he rubbed his thick erection against her cheeks. It was torture, waiting for him. All of him. She reached behind her and wrapped her fingers around him. He grunted deep in his throat as she stroked her fingers over him, and then guided his length to her.
“Are you ready?” Emrys asked.
“I can’t wait anymore,” she pleaded.
He pushed into her, and at her gasp, paused and rubbed his hand up and down her belly. His girth was as daunting as Caitlyn remembered, but she craved having him inside of her, and she spread her legs wider and pushed back a little to encourage him.
Bit by bit, inch by inch, he entered her, stretched her, thrilled her. The groan that came out of her was deep and long, and her hand went back to grab his ass. His hand moved up her dress to squeeze her breast, and he began to move inside her.
Heat radiated outward from between her legs. Jolts of pleasure caused her to make little noises with every thrust. When he finally hit his rhythm, Caitlyn could no longer be still or remotely restrained. She keened like a wild creature, driven to distraction by the force of him inside her.
When she began to come, her legs grew weak, and she sagged over the wooden partition. He reached down once more, fondling her as she came, and she shuddered and babbled incoherently.
Emrys had a way of making her weak all over.
His hips jerked, and she clenched as tightly as she could, taking his hand as he came. In this moment, she would give him absolutely anything in the world that he desired.
Emrys tended to roar when they were alone in bed together. His expression of release now told her that the church was truly be deserted. His deep voice reverberated through the old, hallowed walls of this place. And when he was finished, Caitlyn sagged into him and stroked her thumb over his hand contentedly as she bit her lip.
She wished this time with him could go on forever.
When he pulled out, Caitlyn turned around in his arms, letting her dress fall back into place, and put her hands on either side of his face as she kissed him.
“I don’t know if you want to know this, but you were my first, and you absolutely ruined me for other men,” Caitlyn confided.
“I think every man wants to hear that,” Emrys joked.
“Which is to say, this part has always been the one thing you and I always got right.”
Emrys moved his arms around her and cupped her ass. “We could get more than that right, I’m sure.”
Caitlyn wasn’t sure about that part, but she kissed him again anyway. She could be greedy about this. She would take every bit of him she could get, while it lasted.
Chapter Seven
Emrys paced impatiently in Caitlyn’s anteroom. Inside, at least five servants were hard at work preparing her for the A
utumn Ball. While Emrys could hardly imagine that Caitlyn was pleased with how many women were hovering around her to perfect the dress that they had been working furiously to complete in time, he also knew how critical it was that his mother and father approved of her tonight.
His mother had been terribly pleased over the last few days. So much so that she had ignored rumors around the palace that tended to spread every time Emrys and Caitlyn disappeared alone together. Everyone knew, of course, what they would be up to, but it wasn’t polite to say. And maybe that was why he’d never corrected his mother. And never told Caitlyn about the misunderstanding. He liked the freedom they had, and he could tell she did too.
It wasn’t even really proper to refer to her as his fiancée until she’d been formally presented to King Eldon as such. The rigid social rules worked in Emrys’s favor in this case. It meant that no one would directly mention it to Caitlyn, and his mother wouldn’t directly question his choice. Not until his father had a say.
It also, unfortunately, meant that the female servants would be stricter about keeping Emrys out of Caitlyn’s room, which irritated him no end. He was already dressed but had to wait on them to finish dressing, painting, and coiffing Caitlyn.
Heloise popped out and held her index finger up at him, telling him to go wait in the study by the Grand Hall. With much irritation and anticipation, he did.
***
Caitlyn gave a squeak as one of many women bustling around her tugged the sides of her corset into place. Another girl zipped it up, and a third came around, sticking her fingers underneath the top next to her breasts.
“Oh!”
“We’re very nearly done, dear,” Heloise promised. “We just need to check the fit there. Don’t want the top slipping down in front of the entire royal court!”
“God, no. Fondle away,” Caitlyn encouraged. Not that she had to. All these women really required of her was to be still and allow them to push and pull her into her dress as they madly rushed to add the finishing touches.
The gown was absolutely gorgeous. It probably cost more than her entire apartment building. The top included a corset that held her breasts aloft, making them appear twice their size and emphasizing the tightness of her waist. Over this, however, shimmering lilac fabric draped around her curves and covered the very tops of her shoulders. The sleek fit ended at her hips, where the fabric billowed out all around her, fading to white as it went down. It looked like she was hovering wherever she went.
It seemed strange that they would go to all this trouble for a friend of the prince. Caitlyn had little time to focus on the strangeness of it all, though. With these women around her, expertly painting her cheeks, pinning her hair in curls about her head, and placing the stunning diamond necklace on loan from Emrys’s mother around her neck, it was hard to think about anything at all other than what it would be like to step out like this at a fancy ball, where everyone else knew what they were doing and was used to dressing so exquisitely.
Her nerves seemed to be getting the best of her. She’d barely been able to eat all day, even though Heloise had tried several times to push meals on her. She would be meeting King Eldon tonight. He would definitely be there, even though he’d been absent from the palace during her visit so far. What would he be like?
She’d asked Heloise about the king before, but the older woman hadn’t given her much that she could use. Heloise said that Emrys favored his father in looks, mostly, that King Eldon had a sweet tooth, and that Adora was his clear favorite, even if he did trust Imelda the most with matters of state. No one had said much about his feelings about Elsa or Emrys, the former of whom Caitlyn had only met the night before and who was the closest in age to Emrys. She also looked the most like him, having cut her hair even shorter than her brother’s and wearing slacks rather than a skirt. It would be interesting to see Elsa at the ball, since she’d spent the entire meeting with Caitlyn and her mother rolling her eyes and sucking in her cheeks every time Eliana brought up the preparations for it.
“Come.” Heloise took Caitlyn’s hand. “Let’s see if you can walk.”
Caitlyn felt slightly off balance with every step, but after a few turns around the room, Heloise seemed confident that she wouldn’t faceplant into anyone important. Caitlyn wasn’t so sure, but this didn’t seem to matter. Within moments, the women had turned her around for one last check over and spritzed her with something that smelled a bit like strawberry, a bit like violets.
And she was out the door. Heloise instructed her to fold her hands in front of her and walk slowly.
***
“Come, Emrys,” his mother called. “We’re beginning to line up for the procession.”
“Caitlyn isn’t here yet,” Emrys objected.
“Oh, I’m sure Imelda is still rounding up her children.” Eliana waved her hand. “There will be time yet for our stragglers.”
“They were still working on the gown when I left.”
Eliana gave him a stern look. “What were you doing in there anyway? You’re just going to make things difficult.”
“That’s hardly my intention. I merely wanted to be there in case she needed anything. Caitlyn has never been to a function quite this big before.”
“Ensure her fingers stay where they are meant to be, and yours as well, and we should all be fine,” Eliana instructed.
“Mother!”
“Do you think there is a single thing that occurs under this roof that escapes my attention? You must grow up, Emrys, and give her the due respect that you have offered.”
She meant, of course, the respect implied by their engagement. Emrys ran a hand over his mouth. There would be no fixing this easily while they were all handling his father. He would have to postpone that until the old man was too embroiled in politics to notice him much.
“Ah, here she is!” Eliana spotted Caitlyn entering the room, very slowly, with Heloise by her side. She remained in place, waiting for them both to reach an acceptable distance for speaking. “You are a vision, Caitlyn. Simply a vision.”
Caitlyn lifted the bulk of her skirt and smiled. “I feel like I’m about to go to a debutante ball.”
Eliana chuckled. “Just keep your chin up and smile, my dear. Your first formal presentation to the public is always the most difficult.” Eliana gave them a nod and went to speak to a guard who had just walked in.
“My first? How many balls do you plan on having while I’m here?” Caitlyn asked.
“Just the one, fortunately, unless you stay for Christmas.”
“I-I…Christmas?”
Emrys took her arm from Heloise and began to walk with her. “It is very beautiful here at Christmas time.”
“I’m sure it is, but I’ll have to get back sometime.”
“Sometime, I’m sure. But you’ve brought your work with you, haven’t you?”
“Well, yes—”
“So it should be no trouble to have an extended stay.” Emrys leaned in. “We can send you home whenever you like, of course. You only need to ask.”
They approached the large double doors that led out into the courtyard. Four festooned carriages stood in a row, waiting for the royal family to arrive. They were enclosed but had large windows so the passengers could be seen easily. Horses stamped and jingled their harnesses, eager to be moving.
“I knew it!” Caitlyn said suddenly.
“Pardon?” Emrys pressed his lips together in amusement.
“I knew there’d be carriages sooner or later.”
Emrys smiled, watching the excitement in her eyes. He’d never had someone on his arm for events like these. The king and queen were always in the lead carriage, of course. Then Imelda and her family in the second carriage, and the youngest siblings together at the end. Now, Elsa and Adora would be on their own, and an extra carriage had been prepared for Emrys and Caitlyn. It was like some kind of rite of passage for him, and he liked the feeling of finally having graduated from the children’s section.
&nbs
p; Caitlyn watched people coming and going in the courtyard as servants uninvolved with the procession streamed in and out of the palace on business related to the ball. Adora and Elsa were reclining against their carriage until their mother came over snapping her fingers to get them both to stand up properly. The servants had solved Elsa’s short hair problem by clipping to the back of her actual hair a matching braid, which she took off at one point and fanned herself with while her mother wasn’t looking.
Then the king appeared.
Eldon Sébire walked at a fast clip, with two men scribbling notes furiously on either side of him. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with the same distinct jaw and striking eyes as his son, though his temples were streaked with gray, and his nose was bigger. It made him look hawkish and severe. It seemed that Emrys had gotten his mother’s nose, while Elsa and Imelda had gotten their father’s.
“Do not disappoint me,” Elden barked at the man next to him. “We will meet on this tomorrow, and I expect to be prepared.”
Well. He was The King. If anyone had to be on top of his game at all times, it was him. Caitlyn tried to give the man the benefit of the doubt, but the image of Emrys coming home to find himself engaged loomed in her mind. She imagined the same thing would happen to little Adora someday, even if she was his favorite. Had Imelda been given any choice in husband? Had the king told her how many children to have as well? Was four the standard obligation, or would the younger children get to choose how many to bear for the expansion of the family line?
The king strode to his carriage. He offered Eliana a hand so that she could enter first, and then climbed in himself. One of his assistants made a shooing motion toward the rest of them, and Emrys took Caitlyn’s hand to help her into the carriage.
