by Andersen,Kai
No, glide was a better word, he thought absently as he watched her. Something about her that suggested ... she was not quite human. But before he could follow that line of thought, he recalled her words. He normally had a good memory for faces, and he was sure -- very sure -- that he had never seen her before.
“Do I know you?” He couldn’t help the uncertain tone in his voice. At the back of his mind, he was aware of his stepmother watching with an impatient frown on her face.
The woman stopped in front of him and tilted her head. He looked down into clear blue eyes, eyes that were young and, at the same time, old.
“But surely you remember me, Your Highness. I used to call you Freddie-boy, remember?” She touched him lightly on the arm. “Whenever you came here with your father and that lovely mother of yours, I’d bake you your favorite --”
“Blueberry cookies!” The memories rushed into his brain all at once. He remembered having skinned his knee as a little boy. This woman had cleaned and bandaged him. He remembered her yummy cookies and how he always seemed to have his hand caught in the jar. Funny, he had forgotten these memories ... until now. He even knew her name. Warm feelings filled him as he grasped her hand. “Mrs. Goode-Heart, how nice to see you. Why didn’t I see you when we dropped our things this morning?”
“I was out doing the wash, my boy. I’m sorry you didn’t get to finish your hunt. But I expect you’ll be doing a different kind of hunting soon.” She winked. “Well, I’d better go and prepare dinner.”
“What --”
She had turned away and walked out of the hall without a word to anyone else.
“Who’s that?” The queen raged. “Who does she think she is?”
A series of heavy thumpings from the direction of the door cut through her regal fury.
Ignoring the queen, Frederick strode toward the door, opened it ...
And fell in lust.
Chapter Two
Blood roared in Frederick’s ears, blood hurried through his heart singing a fast thump-thump-thump-di-da-thump-thump-thump, and blood rushed to his groin. He experienced the most pleasurable ache.
Rain blew in his face, but he was unaware of it. His world receded, containing only the two of them.
The girl who stood before him wasn’t the most beautiful he had ever seen, with her hair in dark, wet, scraggly lumps about her head and her face chalky white from the cold.
But there was something about her enormous, beseeching green eyes that touched him. Or maybe it was the way her wet clothes were plastered about her full-bodied figure, molding each rise and hollow of her charms. Whatever it was, Frederick swallowed as he saw her dark nipples, pebbled from the cold and thrusting against the thin material. Her arms were about her small waist, as if to ward off the cold. And she was shivering uncontrollably.
“S-sir?” Her voice trembled. “Can I . . .would you . . .would you be kind . . .let me stay for a night? Just for one night . . .”
Frederick shook his head, coming out of his trance. “Of course. Come in out of the rain; you must be cold.” Because he couldn’t help himself, he took hold of her hands as soon as he had closed the door behind her. He rubbed them, enjoying their cool and silky texture.
The girl looked at him wide-eyed, her entire body trembling.
“Frederick! You’re back --” He was barely aware of his stepsister Giselda, running into the middle of the hall. “Who is she?” Stalking to them, she swiped his hands away. “Don’t touch her! She might be a tramp and have a disease or -- or -- something!”
The girl cringed away from them.
“Stop it! You’re scaring her.” While Giselda pouted, Frederick turned to the girl and spoke softly, one hand outstretched. “It’s all right. We’ll help you get warm, then you can take dinner with us and stay here for the night.”
The woman tending the fire rushed to do his bidding. Frederick was about to usher the girl up the stairs when Giselda intervened. “Now, Frederick, I’ll take care of her. It’s not suitable for you to help her. After all, you’re a prince.”
Frederick wanted to protest. So what if he were a prince? It was his pleasure to help.
And what was wrong with him showing the girl to the guest room? He hadn’t only been showing bar maids, chambermaids, and all kinds of maids to his room for years, but he had also been helping them out of their clothes. In fact, he’d probably make a better helper than Giselda, who needed a maid to help her with her clothes each day. Just as he opened his mouth, she beat him to it.
“Don’t worry, Frederick, I’ll take good care of her. I’ll even lend her one of my dresses to wear.”
He saw Giselda poke the girl sharply in the ribs to get her to move in the direction of the stairs. Before he could rebuke her, they were gone.
* * * * *
Serena shivered violently, wishing the servants would hurry up with her hot wash water. Though the lodge was infinitely warmer than the storm outside, she was still cold and her feet were numb. It would seem that her tongue and brain had dulled too, causing her to react the way she had a few moments earlier.
Or perhaps it was the handsome man who had caused her to become tongue-tied. With eyes blue as the ocean and hair as beautiful as spun gold, he had stolen whatever breath she had left from her desperate dash to find shelter from the storm. He had stared at her like that old king her father had wanted her to marry: with warmth, intense longing, and something else. But his gaze hadn’t inspired revulsion. Instead, it called to something deep within her, something that awakened for the first time in her entire life.
She had stared dreamily at his compelling face before the cold caused her to shudder, thus breaking the spell. His hands had burned indelible prints through her when he had taken her chilled hands in his, emanating much-needed warmth to every corner of her being. She almost believed she didn’t need a hot bath.
“Heed my words, girl.”
Jarred out of her thoughts, Serena was startled to see the dark-haired woman who had prodded her up the stairs earlier advancing now with a menacing glint in her eyes. She cowered against the bed at the intense dislike she saw. She wondered what she had done, or what she had not done. It’s impossible to tell, with people from another land. Perhaps she had unwittingly failed to observe a local custom and that had offended her host and --
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from the prince. You hear?”
Serena nodded dumbly, almost hysterical in her relief. This was just a woman staking her claim! She was welcome to him, for all that Serena cared. Had she somehow wandered into a den of lunatics? This woman before her was so beautiful, it put the flowers to shame.
How could she think Serena was a threat to her? For that matter, what was the prince -- the handsome man, she presumed -- to her?
“Good.” Serena heard the wealth of satisfaction in the woman’s voice. “See that you do. Because he’s my betrothed, for all his philandering ways. We’re to be married soon.”
Serena longed to wipe the smug smile from the woman’s lips. She didn’t know why she felt as if a vise was being clamped around her heart. She wondered if it was the result of being out in the cold for too long. She forced her stiff lips to move. “I wish you happiness, my lady.”
“You might as well know. He’s my stepbrother, but I’ve been promised to him since I was born. So my mother eventually marrying the king didn’t affect the betrothal at all.”
Several knocks sounded on the door. “Ah, the servants are here. Enjoy your bath, girl. I’ll get my maid to bring you some clothes.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Her whisper went unheard.
The beautiful woman was already out the door.
* * * * *
Frederick closed the bedroom door behind him. Shedding his clothes, he stepped into the steaming tub and released a satisfied sigh. The hot water washed over his chilled body, warming every cold corner of his anatomy.
He lay back on the tub, content to soak and drowse for a mom
ent. A vision of beguiling green eyes filled his mind and a smiling mouth full of promises leaned close to him ...
So lost was he in his daydream that he didn’t hear the door open and close behind him.
He felt her luscious mouth nibbling on his ear, her smooth hand caressing him, trailing down from his shoulders to his chest. He smelled her perfume, strong and musky. Her hand tangled among the curls on his chest, as her quick fingers caught his left nipple, tugging and rolling. Her fingernails rasped lightly over the nipple, igniting a fire in his belly and causing his cock to stir. He moaned, willing her hand’s next move. Lower ... lower ...
Hardened and demanding attention, his cock rose from the water. Too impatient to wait any longer, he clapped his hand over hers, tugging as he drew it toward his aching shaft. Her fingers curled around his cock, shy and untutored.
His mind sounded a warning. He demanded it to be quiet. The warning knell tolled louder. His brow knitted.
“Frederick.” The voice in his ear was husky with desire ... and familiar. Very familiar.
Realization dawned, and with it, horror.
He dislodged her hand and sprang up. It was no dream! It was real!
“What the hell are you doing?”
The one woman he hadn’t expected to see stretched up to her full length slowly.
Giselda’s lips trembled, but her eyelashes fluttered and her eyes smiled at him. “What do you think I was doing, Frederick?”
“Get out!”
Heat bloomed in her cheeks. She swallowed as she glanced down at his bobbing cock, which was twitching in her direction, then back up to meet his eyes. “It looks like a part of you doesn’t want me to go.”
He looked at her in disgust. “Are you even a virgin?”
“I didn’t think that would be a requirement.”
“Not for the women I play around with. Do you want to be added to the number?”
She flinched.
Frederick controlled himself with effort, his anger threatening to break out in waves.
“Tell me, Giselda, how many lovers does the royal princess have? Is that why you’ve never married? Enjoying your lovers too much? What my father would say if he knew --”
“Lovers!” She laughed, a crazy sound rippling through the room. “I’ve never had a lover. You’re right; I should have married years ago. Most of the women in this kingdom have married and given birth to half a dozen babies at my age. Whoever heard of an unmarried princess of twenty-one? But I didn’t and you know why?” She flung the words at him, fury glinting from the depths of her eyes. He had a sinking feeling he knew what she was going to say next. “Because I was waiting for you to marry me. I AM a virgin, Frederick, if that’s one of your requirements. What I know, Mother taught me. What is it about me that you really object to, Frederick? I’m a woman too; I can satisfy you!”
He refused to take the bait. “You know that if I touch you, your mother would force me to marry you.”
“Would that be so bad? I promise we’ll be happy together.”
“You know my oath.”
“I’m a princess, too!”
“Not by birth.”
“And that means so much to you, doesn’t it.” She sneered.
“It’s a sacred oath made to my dying mother. Of course it means something to me.”
“Something, not everything.”
“I wouldn’t break it for someone like you.” His voice was slow and deliberate.
Her eyes started to tear. Her mouth trembled. “You -- you never liked me.”
He sighed, suddenly weary. “You’re my sister and you always will be. Nothing else is possible between us.” He didn’t bother to lie that he liked her. When she would have said something, he continued, “Go. Just go.”
He prodded her -- none too gently -- in the direction of the door. She went slowly, turning her head intermittently to look at him and sniffing as she went out.
When the door finally closed behind her, he sighed again and sat down in the tub, his face buried in his hands.
* * * * *
Serena felt much better after the hot, whole body soak. The water was so soothing and relaxing she hadn’t wanted to leave it anytime soon. However, good manners dictated her appearance at the dinner table. Especially since she was invited to dine with her hosts.
Leaving the tub with regret, Serena wiped herself dry with the towel laid out on the bed. Beside it was a bright-orange day dress that looked to have been made from the finest cotton.
Cold air hit her unprotected backside. She shivered and hurriedly pulled the dress over her head, twisting the clothing that seemed a bit small for her. She shoved first one arm and then the other through the sleeves, and pushed the dress down, tugging and pulling to fit the bodice more comfortably over her chest.
Finally, there was nothing more to adjust. Still, the dress felt tight across her chest and –
Serena looked down at herself in dismay.
The dress was too small. Her breasts, which she had never thought large before, were pushed tightly together, forming a deep cleavage even as they struggled not to fall out. A ribbon trailed from beneath her breasts and flowed to her waist, following the smooth, fluid lines of the dress that ended in the middle of her calves.
What was she going to do? How was she going to face her hosts like ... like ... like this?
She felt exposed and half-naked.
In desperation, she snatched at the other dress on the bed, a bright-red one this time.
She knew before she held it against her body that it would be a size too small for her as well.
Serena sighed. She hung the red dress in the closet, smoothing out the wrinkles before she closed the door. Leaning against the cabinet, she eyed her wet, blue dress. Unless she wanted to appear like a wet kitten and offend her hosts by rejecting the dress that they had so thoughtfully offered ...
She sighed again. She didn’t really have a choice. Tomorrow the storm would be over and she’d be on her way.
Feeling better at the thought, Serena made her way out of the room and down the stairs, suddenly realizing how hungry she was. Her feet picked up speed.
On attaining the first level, she headed unerringly toward the room from which the sound of cutlery and the buzz of conversation emanated. On reaching the doorway, a feminine voice called out, “Ah, here she is. Come in, girl, let’s have a look at you.”
The voice was that of an older woman and sounded maternal. Serena entered the room and her eyes zeroed in on the woman seated at the head of the table. She was smiling kindly and gesturing.
“Come, sit here beside me.”
Serena gulped. This must be the queen! Who else but the queen would be sitting in a place of prominence when the prince was in residence?
Serena dropped a hurried curtsey.
“No need for that, dear, we’re informal tonight. Come, sit here beside me.”
What was that her mother always said? Bearing!
Her mother could have been in the room by the way Serena’s spine stiffened. She stood and held her head up as she walked toward the queen with a slight smile on her face. She slipped onto an empty chair. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” She inclined her head.
The queen appeared delighted by her gracious nod. “How respectful you are. You may take that as a compliment. What’s your name?”
“Serena.” She glanced at their table companions, who had been content to remain silent so far. Her gaze collided with the handsome prince who was sitting opposite her. His face bore a smile, but his eyes ensnared her, burning with an intensity that touched that deep place within her again. Heat rose up, causing her to feel jittery and shaky. Her nipples tightened painfully, pointing and thrusting against the thin material of the dress.
“... Lovely name.”
Serena jerked her gaze away as the queen’s voice penetrated her ears. Yes, it was safer to look at the queen’s smiling face.
“Thank you.” She managed a shaky smile. It’s a
good thing the queen was pleasant and kind, not at all intimidating and imperious as a person of her rank should have been. Else, she just might find herself at the brunt of an imperial wrath. “My grandmother, the dowager queen, was the one who gave me my name. You see, she’d hoped that I’d grow up tranquil and calm and possessing of all those qualities, not that I didn’t try, but ...”
Her voice trailed off.
A stillness had settled over her companions. Forks were suspended in mid-air and all conversations had ceased.
She glanced from one face to the other, hoping someone would give her a clue to the sudden silence. Her gaze slid past the prince to another man seated beside him, and finally to PB (silly to be calling her “the prince’s betrothed” every time), who was seated beside her.
They were all staring at her with similar dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
Serena was aware that she had been babbling toward the end, but the prince had made her so nervous she had tried to gain her composure by talking. It always worked in the past. So why wasn’t it working now?
“Not another one.” The queen sighed in dismay. “Frederick, what is it with you and all these women claiming to be princesses?”
A loud, sneering laugh issued from PB’s throat and directed at Serena. “You? A princess?”
“From what kingdom?”
Serena glanced from PB to the queen, whose demeanor had transformed within seconds. The queen’s face was now stern and forbidding, a far cry from the warm, smiling woman of a few moments ago. Even her voice dripped ice as she continued her rapid-fire questioning, “Speak up, girl! Have you turned deaf? Mute? I ask you again, where do you come from?”
Serena was confused, but she wasn’t cowed. She didn’t understand what was happening, but she knew one thing for sure: she would have to be very careful about what she said from now on. She hadn’t actually meant to reveal she was a princess. It had slipped out. Sort of. In fact, it would be in her interest if these people didn’t know where she came from and send word to her father. “Of ... of ... of a distant kingdom.”