Chapter Four – Cleo
Cleo folded her hands demurely in her lap, trying not to show her excitement. It wasn't often that the king paid a visit to a colonel's house, and yet Iosif had been at the estate for four hours now. He had spent the time in Darius's study, no doubt discussing the shifter problem. Cleo wanted to listen at the door, but that would reflect poorly on her. Thus, she busied herself with the normal things she did during the day.
Finally, Darius sent word for her to meet him in the parlor and Cleo hurried to the room. She had been waiting ever since.
Not that the wait hadn't been pleasant. The parlor was one of the rooms that she had decorated herself after marrying Darius. Before, the furniture had been moth-eaten and covered in cobwebs. Now it was a bright, sunny room with gothic-inspired chairs and couches. Dark wood carved in elaborate patterns trimmed the white crushed velvet. The carpet was a nice neutral gray-blue, the walls painted the color of a robin's egg with lacy white curtains framing the huge French windows. She had even added an old-fashioned hearth since it was unthinkable that a proper parlor wouldn’t have one.
After several moments of waiting, the door opened. Darius came in, followed by a tall, dignified-looking man with salt-and-pepper hair and brown eyes. Iosif, the king. Cleo got to her feet and curtsied gracefully. She was glad she had decided on a simple pink blouse paired with a white skirt. It was humble-looking. Like she wasn't trying to impress him. But it worked well on her, especially with her ruby necklace and her hair pulled back in a Greco-Roman goddess style.
"Your majesty, may I introduce my wife, Cleo Paterson," Darius introduced. "Cleo, I would like you to meet His Majesty of the First Union, Slayer of the Dragon Alpha, King Iosif the Grand."
She curtsied again. "It's my greatest pleasure to meet you, your majesty."
"And mine to meet you." The king inclined his head. "You should be honored to have such a fine husband, Cleo. He has done the kingdom a great service. The Rebeluna prisoner he captured has informed us of many plotted attacks that we have since been able to stop. He has dealt a serious blow to the enemy."
"Oh, I am honored to be his wife." Cleo gave Darius a special smile, which he returned. "Even more honored to be carrying his child."
Iosif smiled. "I thought I smelled a pregnancy in this house. Take good care of your woman, Darius. A good woman is hard to find and easy to lose. You'll be seeing many more promotions in your future with her at your side."
Cleo's eyes brightened. Promotion? She had to stop herself from gasping. The king and Darius exchanged a few more pleasantries before parting ways. Cleo knew that they couldn't discuss it in public, so she dragged Darius up to their room before turning on him.
"Promotion?" she demanded.
"It will take a couple months before it's publically announced, but yes. I am being promoted to general."
Cleo clapped her hands and squealed. She hadn't expected it so quickly! But she already knew a dozen of the generals' wives, so she wouldn’t have problems getting introductions there.
A promotion! She would soon be a general's wife. Her influence would increase. Then the next step was to become a prince's wife. That was where the promotions would stop unless something happened to Camlo, the current heir, but even becoming a princess was something no person from her past ever expected her to achieve.
"I knew I made a good choice when I picked you for my husband," she said as she threw her arms around his neck. "You're amazing."
Darius laughed and kissed her. It wasn't his normal, tame 'I'm kissing you because that's what husbands do' kiss, either. This was full of hunger and passion and woke the same burning in Cleo.
As her husband's arms tightened around her waist, heat began to build in her core. Cleo grinned, deepening the kiss. She loved how Darius could make her body respond to his stimulus so easily. She also liked how ready he always was so quickly.
The vampire moved to her neck, nipping at her sensitive skin. Cleo gasped, her heart pounding with excitement.
"Are you going to drink from me?"
"Not right now." Darius' voice was muffled by her skin, but the vibrations made her insides quiver. "I have to get back to work in half an hour."
Cleo sighed, but as Darius' hands began to roam her body, her disappointment was quickly forgotten. He picked her up easily and walked to the bed, laying her on the mattress before crawling on after her.
Her skin tingled everywhere his hands or lips touched and she couldn't help but cry out from pleasure. She giggled.
"I like it when you get all excited," she crooned at him. "You forget about that careful control and just go all in for what you want."
"You like that?" Darius asked, panting now. "You like me thinking only of me and not you?"
"You think of me," she corrected. "You think of me all the time. Even when I'm not there, you think of me."
With a growl, Darius ripped their clothes out of the way. Cleo's breathless laughter soon turned to breathless cries of pleasure. She would never admit it, but at times like this, she would trade all the money in the world to be with Darius forever.
Maybe it was because he was just so good. Maybe it was because he managed to fill every inch of her with pulses of pleasure. Maybe it was his glowing eyes, the smile on his face as he looked down at her. As though she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
As if he was motivated more than just pure lust. As though maybe one day he would actually love her.
The moment of connection between the two of them felt like it lasted longer than it probably did. As Darius brought Cleo along with him, taking her higher and higher – as they gazed into each other's eyes, grinning despite their frantic pace, it felt like she was looking into his soul. And when it was over and she was left breathless and panting, she had to laugh at her own silly notions.
Darius returned to his gentle kisses for a moment before rolling off her. They lay exposed in the room, panting. Her vampire husband grinned idly as he put an arm around her.
"I didn't expect to get this far so quickly. Even getting to be colonel was hard-won for someone as young as I am."
"There are generals younger than you."
"I'm not from one of the higher houses. I had to fight for everything I've gotten. And, yet, here I am, about to become general. I could never have done it without you, Cleo." He kissed her shoulder. "I knew I needed a human wife, but I'm glad I picked you and not somebody else. I'm glad that you're with me on this journey. I'm glad we're going to have a child together."
Cleo bit hard on her cheek as a warm feeling spread through her chest. She didn't want to feel that way about Darius… If she let herself fall in love with him, what then? She might be faced with the decision of choosing between his love or her ambition, and she hadn't struggled through poverty and abandonment to become a shivering waif who would put a man ahead of everything she wanted or needed.
No. Love was not for her, and it wasn't for Darius. She climbed out of bed and began redressing, trying not to notice how much her hands were shaking.
"I have things to attend to," she said and was pleased when it sounded cool and aloof. "That was a great session, thank you. Will I see you at supper?"
Darius swung out of bed as well, his gray eyes darkening. He shook his head stiffly. "I'll be busy for the rest of the day, and probably well into the night. I'll try not to wake you when I do come to bed."
Cleo smoothed her hair and nodded. "Well then. I'll see you tomorrow."
She swept out of the room before she could convince herself to say – or feel – anything else.