The bathtub faucet should come with its own set of instructions. I play with a few of the knobs until I find right one, adjusting it until the perfect temperature comes out. In my search for body soap, I came across lavender lemon scented bath salts and empty a generous amount in the filling tub. The air becomes heavily scented with the combination.
I slip out of my clothing and luxuriate in the feel of the soft, pale green, shag rug under my feet, reminding me of a fleece blanket as my toes curl out and open in appreciation. A girl could get used to this type of life. The bath salts, although it could be a bubble bath with the amount of bubbles forming, create a hefty layer of bubbles hiding the tub beneath. I sigh in delight after dipping my toes in, checking the temperature. I slip in without making any waves. The water wraps my body in a warm cocoon, leaving me drowsy. The last few days have taken their toll. I’m exhausted and my reserves are depleted. The soothing scent coupled with my exhaustion push me further and I fall asleep.
I don’t know how long I have been napping when I hear a gentle knock at the door. A woman enters without being beckoned, all business like, until she looks around the room and our eyes meet. She drops her gaze and curtsies quickly. I quickly draw the remaining bubbles around my breasts while her gaze is still downcast. The water has cooled and my breasts pucker in response.
“Can I help you?” I ask, perturbed by the intrusion into my haven.
“My name is AnnaBelle, Your Highness. I am your lady’s maid.” She peeks at me briefly from under her lashes. “The Duke bid that I come check on you. He was worried that you would catch a cold. You’ve been in here for a while.”
“Did he?” I quirk an eyebrow at her.
A lady’s maid? What the hell is that?
She has the ghost of a smile on her face in reaction to my statement.
“Is Dan-? Is the Duke around by chance? I need to speak with him immediately.”
She steps back slightly at my question as if I burned her. Was my tone too harsh? Did I scare the meek mouse? Now I feel guilty for no apparent reason. Damn.
“I’m sorry. Could you please get Dan-? The Duke please.” I try sounding less harsh.
“I can help you, Miss.” She replies stepping towards the towel warmer.
“Please, just get Daniel for me. I mean the Duke.” I ask again, my patience thin at myself for forgetting the proper way to address him.
“But-.” She tries again.
“Please get him now!” I raise my voice, no longer sorry, but irritated about being ignored.
“But it wouldn’t be proper. He cannot come in here with you like this. What would people think?”
“I don’t care what people think. Get. Him. Now.” I state succinctly in case she does not understand. “Go!”
I splash water in her direction, getting her to move. She gasps, running off. Releasing the drain from the tub, I stand up wringing out my hair then let it fall below my shoulders in a mass of unruly waves. The door slams open as I reach for the towel and I hear a sharp intake of breath, not at all feminine, making me turn to face the intruder.
Daniel stands there unmoving. His eyes rake over my body, stopping longer at the junction of my legs are joined and again at my breasts. He kicks the door shut behind him without taking his gaze off me. Stunned, I grope blindly for the towel, but I realize I am nowhere near it.
He walks casually but with deliberate intent towards me. My first instinct is to step back, but I hold my ground. He reaches past me to grab the towel. His arms meet behind my back draping the towel over my shoulders, covering me completely. I can feel the warmth of his body emanating from him.
I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath since the door slammed open and let it out in a puff. The light headedness from the lack of oxygen causes me to sway slightly. Daniel clasps my shoulders steadying me. The warmth of his hands seep through the layer of thick towel, warming my chilled body. He gently moves a fallen wet lock of hair away from my face and behind my ear.
“Thank you.” I whisper.
He nods taking a step back, but his hands linger longer than is necessary. When his hands do let go, I feel a sudden chill in the air, as if the sun had been shining brightly only to be hidden by clouds. Not even the warmth of the towel can chase away this chill.
“I’m sorry to barge in but AnnaBelle made it sound like something was wrong. I should have knocked first.” He offers as an excuse as his eyes peruse my body again.
“It’s not as if you haven’t seen a naked woman before.” I reply, suddenly wondering how many women he has seen naked. I blush at my boldness.
“True.” He says without emotion. Then his eyes meet mine and he says, “But then again none of them were you.”
The ghost of a memory lingers, Mine.
There goes the pitter-patter of my heart again. I don’t know how healthy it is for my heart to be around him with the constant ups and downs. We both stand staring at each other, willing the other to make a move. His hand twitches at his side and my breath catches in anticipation.
He clears his throat, but his voice still comes out gravelly and heavily accented. “Did you need something?”
“Oh. Um.” I stutter, completely forgetting why I needed him.
He inquires, lips twitching in a suppressed smile. I have a totally different type of need for him now. I bite my lip in thought. I’m picturing him as naked as I am. A warm flush suffuses my cheeks at the erotic thoughts. His nostrils flare as he reads my mind.
“Oh right. Why didn’t you tell me about AnnaBelle?”
There we go. Brain waves are functioning again.
“Well, you haven’t actually been open to the topic of your new life. Remember you ran when I was talking to Dante?” He says sarcastically. “Anyway, I thought it best to let it happen.”
“Well you could have warned me or something.”
“Are you ready to talk now?”
“Now?” I look down at the state of my undress.
“When you’re dressed and ready, that is.”
I nod. He turns to leave, but turns back around.
“Daphne, however much I loved seeing you like this.” He waves his hands up down in front of me. “It can never happen again.”
“Why?” I ask feeling rejected.
“As princess and future queen, you are to be untouched until you’re married.” He replies coldly.
“What?” I choke out.
Can’t be touch by a man? What the hell?
“Let AnnaBelle help you get dressed and we’ll talk after.” He says, kissing me lightly on the cheek.
Daniel opens the door. He nearly bumps into Annabelle who is standing right outside. She bobs a curtsy as he passes. Once inside, she closes the door then bobs another curtsy at me.
Oh this is not going to do.
“AnnaBelle?” I say sweetly.
“Yes, your Highness.” She answers while removing brushes and combs from the cabinet.
“First off, if we are to get along, please call me Daphne.”
“Oh, I could never do that. You are to be my Queen. I can never be so informal with you.” She replies aghast.
“Yes, you can and you will. I was brought up much like you. I am no Princess, much less a Queen.”
“I couldn’t.”
Seeing as how I am getting nowhere because of her pigheadedness, I try a different approach.
“Please. I think you will likely be one of the few people who will certainly know me. How about this,” I barter, “when we are in public, talk to me and treat me as is expected, but when we’re in private let us be more informal?”
She taps a polished manicured nail against her lip in thought.
“What you say makes sense, but I have not been trained that way. It wouldn’t be right. What happens if I slip?”
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll deal with that if it should happen. How much do you know about me?” I question, finished with drying myself.
“Not much except that hat he Due has explained. You’re King Michael’s daughter.”
“Well, yes that much is true as far as I know or have been told. Do you know that I have never been to Farquadt, besides being born there? I didn’t even know about my father until a few days ago.”
She nods in acknowledgment.
I continue. “Dante, my friend, well more like brother, is the only other person besides the Duke I will know here. I was hoping that maybe we, you and I, could be friends? I don’t have many friends to begin with and I think this new life will not allow me the friends I would traditionally earn on my own.”
“Oh.”
“I mean we’ll treat each other as we’re supposed to in public, however that is supposed to be, but I want to be able to speak candidly with you when we are alone. You know like girlfriends. Such as ask you questions that may not be appropriate elsewhere.”
I smile as I watch her think it over again, tapping her lip.
“When you put it like that, I don’t see why not.”
“Great!” I hug her before she changes her mind. “Did Daniel leave? Is it safe for me to leave the bathroom?”
“Yes, I heard the door close before the bathroom door closed.”
I go to open the door, but AnnaBelle gets to it first.
“Thank you.”
There is an outfit laid out on the bed when we enter.
“This looks perfect.” I acknowledge the outfit on the bed.
“I thought since you were just going to be talking with the Duke this would be most comfortable.”
“Good thinking. I think you and I are going to get along really good.”
“Well, I couldn’t leave you alone with the Duke in a state of undress.”
“No, I guess you couldn’t.” We laugh like school girls. “Though I wish you would have.”
I wink at her and she reddens.
She helps me dress as Daniel asked, even though it took longer than if I did it myself. The outfit is warm and comfortable, a long pink cashmere sweater matched with grey leggings and fluffy hot pink socks. My type of lounge wear.
“I can plait your hair if you would like?”
I nod climbing on the huge bed. She looks at the dressing table then the bed and climbs behind me. Once settled, she sits cross legged like me.
The door in the living space opens and I hear someone ruffling around out there. Daniel peeks his head in and smiles when he sees us sitting on the bed like a couple of teenagers. AnnaBelle quickly jumps off as if it was on fire. She bobs a curtsy before leaving quickly. He smiles warmly at me
“Comfortable?” He asks.
“Hmm.” I respond. “What did you bring?”
“Tea, scones and other pastries. You said you liked pastries so I made sure there were some here for you eat.” He leans in to me conspiratorially and whispers, “I may not have been able to take you out on the town like you wanted in Paris, but I can at least have French baked pastries sent along.”
“Sounds delicious. Thank you.”
Daniel holds a chair out for me at the dining table and I oblige him. He walks down to the other end. We sit opposite each other. He shakes out his napkin placing it on his lap. This is wrong- me here and him there. Rising, I walk to his side of the table and sit to his left. He says nothing but tries to hide his smile.
“So, are you ready to truly talk about what it will mean when you become Princess?” He asks.
Not actually sure of the answer yet, I try to evade it by making as much small talk as possible. He plays along, knowing my stalling tactic for what it is. The first bite of the raspberry scone is divine. Not only did it melt in my mouth, but the raspberries were perfect in sweetness and without the seeds. The hot tea was delicious and aromatic.
“What type of tea is this?” I ask.
“English Breakfast.” He says, sipping his. “Do you like it?”
“Yes.” I reply taking the last bite of the scone. Once I wash it down with a final sip of tea, I say, “Okay, lay it on me
He chuckles.
“It seems to be the only thing we do is talk.” I say by way of an answer.
I feel his eyes burning into me and I flush. When I look up, I suddenly feel as naked as I was in the bathroom.
Looking away, he says, “Daphne, this is hard on me also.”
“What do you mean?”
The look he gives me makes me smile.
“I mean besides the obvious.” I blush.
He sighs. “When I look at you, all I want to do is touch you. It is taking most of my self-control not to touch you right now. From that first night when I saw you on the dance floor, I knew then you were meant to be mine.” He chuckles at himself. “I just didn’t know how true that was. When we touch, it is unlike anything I have ever felt. You’re different.”
I’m speechless.
“I have been with a few women, but when I touch you it is… I don’t know different. I can’t get enough of you. It’s like I can’t breathe if I’m not touching you. Then when I do touch you, I get to take a deep, easy breath. But then that ease becomes an overwhelming need to bury myself in you and mark you for all to know that you belong to me.”
“Oh.”
I feel my panties dampen at his words. I feel like I need to say something, anything, but I don’t know what. Daniel rises and walks to the couch.
“Have you ever felt this way before?” He asks, looking unsure of himself as he walks back to the chair, gripping it.
“No.”
“Daphne, I don’t mean to be forward, but this is going to come up often when we introduce you as Princess Freya. There will be much speculation and question about your purity. Have you ever been with another man?”
“Honesty, right?” I mutter.
He nods. His knuckles whiten on the chair back. The pulse at the side of his neck is visibly pulsating. The anticipation of my answer weighs heavily on him. I blow out my breath looking at my hands and then the words are out in a rush.
“No, I have not been with a man, but isn’t because I haven’t tried. For some reason at the last minute, I always chickened out.”
A few minutes pass without a word or sound. I’m afraid to look at him. I gather the courage and peek at him through the veil of my hair. He is looking at me thoughtfully. There seems to be a sense of relief that flashes across his expression. The silence is killing me.
“Well, are you going to say anything?”
The muscles in his jaw ticks. Another few minutes’ pass and as I am about to say something again, he is on me like white on rice, pulling me to my feet. His hands roam my body freely as if they own it. My hands slip under his shirt and glorify in the feel of his naked skin under my fingers. His hands find the edge of my shirt, seeking.
This is it. Finally!
He pulls away, breathing raggedly. My hopes dashed again. He rests his head against mine.
“You have made me the happiest man in all of Farquadt.”
Then he resumes kissing me again. I laugh against his lips, jubilant in his evident happiness with my virginity. Being a V card holder just paid off. We stand there holding each other for what seems like an eternity.