by Ella Brooke
“Hello.” Imelda approached them. “You’re Emrys’s, yes?”
“Oh, um, I suppose I am.”
Eliana appeared by Imelda’s side and offered Caitlyn her hand. Awkwardly, Caitlyn took Eliana’s hand and made a weird little bow. Eliana frowned, and Caitlyn looked to Emrys haplessly.
“Let’s be seated,” Imelda suggested. “I’ll have them start serving.”
Emrys guided Caitlyn to the table.
“Tell us, my dear, where are you from?” Eliana asked as she smoothed her napkin in her lap.
“Ohio. Pettysburg. You probably haven’t heard of it. I moved to Cincinnati after college, though.” Caitlyn fussed with her napkin, getting it tangled before letting it drop in her lap.
“So America, then?” Imelda took a seat next to Eliana.
“Yep.” Caitlyn looked to Emrys as he took her napkin and folded it properly.
“There you are.”
“Th-thank you.”
Emrys decided, as the servants came around with plates and drinks, that his mother must have come up with a list of questions for Caitlyn since he’d last seen her, because every question was followed by another. Caitlyn’s cheeks were turning pink, fielding interrogations about her education, her cultural background, her business, and one veiled question about her health that was more of a comment on her weight.
“Your mother adores me,” Caitlyn muttered sarcastically, when Eliana had excused herself from the table for a moment.
“Give her some time. It’s her way,” Emrys replied. “I’m sure your mother would be equally curious about me.”
“I don’t know that curious would be the functional adjective for how she’d feel about you.”
Emrys laughed softly.
“Does your mother not know about your relationship?” Imelda pressed.
“She knew about it once,” Caitlyn offered.
Emrys shot her a look and touched her back. Imelda leaned her chin on her hand and smiled knowingly.
“Oh, Em, what have you done?”
“I’ve been a perfect gentleman,” Emrys said sternly.
Imelda narrowed her eyes. “But of course. You always are.”
“Behave, Im.”
“I’m simply curious.” Imelda gestured to Caitlyn. “You clearly have known her for some time, and yet we’re only meeting her now?”
“Well, he could’ve introduced me years ago, if he hadn’t arrived home to find himself engaged,” Caitlyn said a bit peevishly.
Imelda’s lips parted. Her eyes widened. Emrys felt the urge to give Caitlyn a bit of a shake.
“You should have told us!” Imelda said.
“As though that would’ve made a bit of difference in Mother and Father’s plans,” Emrys replied.
“Father’s no, Mother’s yes,” Imelda insisted.
“I have serious doubts that Mother is entirely on board now. And I have very few prospects for her to obsess over at the moment.”
Imelda smirked and held her glass aloft. “You have prospects. They’ll all be at the ball.”
“I intuited that much. You’ll understand if I’m not particularly interested in being selected like a piece of meat, especially when I have already made a choice.” Emrys wiped his mouth. “Perhaps you’ll let Mother know that we had to leave the table.”
Imelda clicked her tongue. “Stay. She’ll be on another tack when she comes back. I’m sure of it.” She looked to Caitlyn. “Have some patience with us. Our family is a bit much to tolerate, but I promise once you get past the vetting process, we’re not so bad to be around.”
“It might be worth it in exchange for the amazing digs,” Caitlyn said.
“Oh?” Imelda raised a brow.
“That bed is some kind of portal to a heavenly realm or something.”
Emrys took Caitlyn’s hand under the table. His mother returned, and sure enough, she had tired of questioning Caitlyn and now wanted to talk about the families who would be attending the upcoming ball.
Emrys felt lucky that things had gone as well as they had. He would eventually have to have a word with Caitlyn and explain his mother’s misconceptions about their relationship. For now, though, he simply wanted her there by his side, making jokes and enjoying everything the royal life could bring her.
Chapter Six
Over the next few days, Caitlyn found herself experiencing the spoiling of a lifetime. The kitchen brought her whatever she liked as quickly as possible when she made a request via the intercom. Heloise was available to her before meals or trips outside of the palace to properly arrange her hair and choose her outfits—from a wardrobe that seemed to be expanding by itself somehow—and Heloise had even brought in a seamstress to have Caitlyn’s clothes custom fitted. Almost every day, she found gifts waiting for her on her pillow or at breakfast. Once, she’d walked into the tea room to see an explosion of orange and gold daisies. Emrys had simply hugged her from behind and whispered that he knew she loved daisies.
It was true, of course. Still, she had no idea what the purpose behind all of this was. The tending from Heloise could’ve been passed off as the woman doing her job well. But each time she saw a new gift, Caitlyn felt more and more curious. What was all this lavish attention for? It wasn’t all from Emrys, either. The new clothing and one necklace had come from his mother, paired with the explanation that a woman in the company of a Sébire man must at all times look her best. Caitlyn knew that Emrys’s mother didn’t entirely approve of her, but at the same time, she seemed steadfast in her determination to make Caitlyn’s behavior conform to an unspoken, but impossibly high standard.
That morning, Emrys had been obligated to attend a Skype meeting regarding his next project and promised to meet with her later. Having finished everything on her to-do list for her web design clients the night before, she took Imelda up on her offer to go out to the market together.
Caitlyn arrived, freshly coiffed by Heloise, to find Imelda waiting, her long dark hair pinned up on her head as she made notes in a bound book. When she spotted Caitlyn, she slipped the book into her purse and rose.
“Ah, Caitlyn dear. Are you ready?”
“I am. What are you looking for at the market?”
Imelda chuckled and offered Caitlyn her arm. “Come.”
Caitlyn didn’t find the question all that funny, but she followed regardless, and as soon as they stepped out of the palace, a pair of guards flanked them. Well, of course, Imelda was heir apparent. Had to protect this one.
Instead of taking a car, Imelda took Caitlyn along a footpath and through a gate. As they walked, Imelda began a truly dizzying lecture on the running of Cabeau’s parliament, and how the monarch fit into that governmental structure. If they hadn’t been walking, Caitlyn might have taken a nap.
“I guess you guys don’t have Starbucks around here,” Caitlyn joked.
“Of course not. We’ll visit a stand once we reach the market. They always have the most exquisite offerings. You came to visit at a good time. All our farmers are bringing in their produce. The harvest festival is held the same day we have our ball in the palace.”
“That sounds fun. Will we go to the festival?”
“Oh, no. It’s too difficult to arrange that much security. But we can go out for the events leading up to it. It does the people good to see their royal family from time to time,” Imelda advised. “We are a small country, and the people are very attached to us. They’ll be watching our every move, so it is important to be respectable and worthy of their admiration.”
Caitlyn nodded and gave her a vague smile. Imelda was a little strange.
They approached the market, where the entire street had been taken over by vendors. The stalls sold vegetables, clothes, people’s homemade wares and artwork, and steaming plates of food. Everyone was wearing colorful sweaters and large, fluffy scarves. Caitlyn didn’t feel all that cold, though. She was the only one strolling along wearing sandals and a short-sleeved dress.
Imelda took her
to a cart where the vendor seemed appropriately star-struck to be talking to her. The vendor, a middle-aged man, handed Caitlyn a large cup of coffee.
“There’s a hint of cinnamon in it,” he said. “I hope you like it.”
“Oh, I do like cinnamon.” Caitlyn smelled the coffee and smiled. “Thank you.”
The two of them walked through the market, and Caitlyn watched the people going about their business and enjoying the excitement. A pair of little girls bolted past the two of them, giggling and holding hands.
“This place is lovely,” Caitlyn murmured.
“We do our best,” Imelda said graciously.
Caitlyn was really talking about the citizens, but she let it go. She paused to look at a series of paintings on display at a stand, and another person appeared beside her, a girl of about eighteen or nineteen, short and a bit chunky, with fiery red curls.
“I can’t believe it’s the fall festival already!” She seemed to bounce as she came up to them, breezing past the guards.
“You ought to have met us at the palace properly,” Imelda said sternly.
“I only got in from school this morning. I talked to Mum before I left,” the girl protested. She looked at Caitlyn. “Is this…?”
The girl’s eyes were lit up with mischief and excitement.
“Yes. This is Caitlyn. Emrys is on one of his internet meetings or something, so we have some time to get to know her,” Imelda explained. She gestured to the girl as she looked at Caitlyn. “This is Adora, our youngest sister.”
“Ohh!” Caitlyn laughed. She gave a wave with her free hand. “It’s good to meet you.”
“And you. When was the last time Emrys ever bothered to bring a girl home?”
Imelda cleared her throat and apparently decided to keep moving through the market. Caitlyn and Adora looked at one another and followed her.
Caitlyn was glad that Adora had shown up when she did. She was like a little creampuff and positively chatty. There was no talk of politics or governmental structures with Adora by her side. In fact, Adora had the tendency to point at things, grab Caitlyn’s arm, and drag her over to see whatever had caught her fancy.
It was silly, but spending time with the two of them made Caitlyn feel a bit homesick. She wasn’t even sure that was the right word, since what she was longing for was something she’d never had. As an only child with parents who both worked, her childhood home had been very empty sometimes. She would have loved to have sisters, even if one of them tended to bore and lecture her, and the other was potentially exhausting. She hadn’t imagined how much she would enjoy a day out with Emrys’s siblings, but she knew she would count today as one of the highlights of the trip.
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 w
as 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.
