Chapter Seven
Adapting to life in the harem was something that Alice found to be more difficult as time went on. She hadn’t foreseen the consequences of putting Veronica in her place. Now leaderless, Veronica’s followers had chosen to go to Alice for guidance and decisions about how the harem should operate. Despite her best attempts to convince them to leave her alone and make their own decisions, the women were set on bothering her with every little argument between groups.
Thus, whenever she got the chance to escape from the harem, she did, disappearing into the house and settling in one of the many rooms to read, study, or even nap.
She was settled in the library, her mind lost in the pages of one of the vampire’s history books when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Gasping, she jerked to her feet and spun around, her hands sparkling faintly with magic, while Talon hissed and glared at the intruder who had dared to disturb his nap.
“Relax, I’m not one of your followers. Lindsey told me you would be hiding from your adoring fans,” Matheus laughed, holding up his hands defensively, regarding the cat at her side with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you had a cat.”
“I do. His name is Talon.” She smiled and sat down again, pulling her companion onto her lap and kissing the top of his head. “Can I help you with something, your majesty?” she asked, setting her book on the table after properly marking her place.
“A pleasure to meet you, Master Talon,” Matheus smiled, chuckling when Talon ignored him. “I was just going to ask you if you’d mind joining me for dinner tonight. It’s been over a week since you first arrived and I’ve only been able to speak to you in passing.”
Alice felt a smile form on her lips at the eager look on his face. The man who she had once thought was some sort of monster was starting to remind her more and more of a puppy. She didn’t hate him like she thought she should, despite everything that his kind had taken from her.
“I suppose that would be alright,” she said, trailing her fingers through her hair. Glancing over at Talon, she raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you coming?”
“Why would I join you on your date?” he asked, not even bothering to open his eyes. Rolling her eyes, she turned away from her cat and allowed Matheus to take her arm.
“You can speak to your cat?” Matheus questioned, smiling when she nodded.
“Of course, I can. I can never understand how others don’t understand him. He’s incredibly outspoken.” She laughed, leaning against Matheus’ side. When they got to the king’s private quarters, she raised an eyebrow at the lavish dinner that had been laid out for them. “I think you were expecting me to say yes,” she mumbled softly.
“Well, if you said no I would still have had a fantastic dinner for me to enjoy while I grieved over your rejection,” Matheus said, pulling out her chair before sitting himself. “I hope you don’t mind veal; the cook insisted on it.”
“Veal is fine,” she responded, letting the servant dish out her plate.
“Great, veal is one of my favorites,” Matheus smiled, dismissing the servant with a wave as soon as their plates were full. “How have you been enjoying your time in my manor?” he asked, eyeing Alice slowly.
Taking a moment to sample the food while she thought, Alice hummed softly as the veal all but melted on her tongue. That had been something that she had missed when she left court to go into retirement. The food had always been so good.
“I’ve been enjoying myself. My only complaint is that the girls seem to always come to me to deal with their problems,” she sighed, looking at him with an amused smile. “Luckily, the libraries and gardens are quite extensive and they never think to look for me there.” Matheus laughed at this, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
“I knew that you would enjoy it here, even if you have quite a little cult following you around,” he grinned between bites of potatoes, his eyes wandering over her form. “They all look up to you. After you defeated Veronica, who I admit has always been a bit of a pain, you gave them someone to look up to – a person who isn’t manipulative or controlling.”
“They are good girls,” Alice said. He was looking at her intently, making her heart flutter in her chest. Blushing slightly, she turned her attention back to her food quickly. “Though, I do wonder why you, of all people, are interested in someone like me.”
“Why?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and gently catching her free hand in his own. “You obviously can’t see yourself, because if you could, you would realize just how ridiculous you sound.” He laughed softly.
“How so? I’m hardly the most beautiful woman in your harem. I’m bookish, not beautiful. I always have been,” she huffed, though she didn’t pull away from his gentle touch.
“I would have to disagree with you.” Matheus shook his head, his icy thumb trailing over her knuckles slowly. “You are beautiful, one of the most beautiful women that I have ever seen, not to mention the fact that you are intelligent, strong, and powerful. A woman like Veronica would sit pretty on a throne but accomplish little in the way of bettering her country. Whereas you, I would gladly rule beside, knowing that my country would be taken care of.”
“Is that all? You believe that I would rule your country better? That is hardly a reason to wed,” she mumbled, her fingers small in Matheus’ strong hand.
“No, it’s not, but that’s not the only reason that I want to take you as my lifemate,” he said, trailing his thumb across her fingers slowly. “I know that you don’t feel anything because you aren’t a vampire, but vampires are given an innate ability at their birth to sense potential mates and determine whether or not they will be suitable as a life mate.” Alice nodded. She had heard about this before.
“So you’re saying that you naturally find me a suitable mate? How romantic,” she teased, looking up at Matheus and hating how her heart fluttered in her chest the moment that he met her gaze. “I’ve felt something strange too,” she admitted, hating the hurt look on his face. “I won’t say that I believe that we’re magically fated to be together, but I do believe that there is something between us.” She blushed when he lurched forward immediately and captured both of her hands in his own.
“See? Even you can feel it, and you aren’t a vampire!” He beamed, leaning in before she could protest. She gasped when she felt his lips press against her own.
The kiss was firm, his soft lips pressing against her own and gently coaxing them apart with the tip of his tongue. She could taste blood on his breath, something that would normally be disgusting, but she instead found absolutely intoxicating. She shouldn’t be so aroused by such a simple kiss, yet there she was pressing against the cool touch.
If they were supposed to be together, if the feelings she had been having towards the prince meant anything, the only way she was ever going to know was if she let him closer. It went against everything she had ever believed in, but even she couldn’t deny there was a certain amount of magic involved here. Maybe they were tied together by some sort of ancient magic, a type of magic more powerful than anything she had ever studied.
She wanted to learn more and the man currently pressing soft kisses up her neck was willing to teach her.
Letting Matheus pull her down into another slow kiss, Alice allowed herself to be sat into his warm lap. Tangling her fingers in his hair, her lips curled into an eager little grin.
“You’ve got me where you want me, now what are you going to do?” she asked, trailing her fingertips over his broad chest. Matheus chuckled at the challenge, his eyes sparkling with lust.
“Let me show you,” he whispered, moving to his feet with Alice in his arms. Alice shivered at the dominating sound of his voice, her slender fingers tangling into his shirt as they moved towards the bed.