But neither of them moved for several minutes until a shudder ran all the way through Catherine.
"Come on." He loosened his hold and took her hand, walking together back up the sets of stairs and to the veranda.
Opening the door to the sitting room, he stood to the side to allow Catherine to walk in before him. She kept going until she reached the window in the actual Monarch's Suite, looking over the same portion of the garden where they had just been.
Once again, he stood behind her and held her in his arms.
After another minute looking at the same view, Catherine turned to rest her head against his chest as her arms wentaround his waist.
Jake closed his eyes and breathed deeply. This felt right in a way nothing else ever had.
Catherine must have felt the same way because she shifted back slightly then leaned up and after the space of a heartbeat, kissed him.
15
Catherine would never know what possessed her to kiss Jacob like she did. It had been a clear, conscious decision to do so, even if she hadn’t thought it all the way through to the end result. Every step of the way, they had been two, consenting, married adults.
At the same time, she’d been grateful for the eternal night this time of year, leading to a dimly lit room despite open curtains. Once dressed, she snuggled down into the covers with her back to Jacob’s chest as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Waking some time later, she pulled her robe on over her pyjamas and went to find a snack. She made her way down to the kitchen, grateful she remembered how to get there. As she searched through the refrigerator, a door opened behind her. Pushing the door closed, she quickly jumped back, all while knowing it made her look even more guilty.
"I'm pretty sure you own the place."
Jacob's presence surprised her, though - conceding that - the amused tone did not.
"I know, but I still feel like I'm a little kid sneaking aroundtrying not to get caught." She opened the fridge again. "I need a snack..."
"A snack sounds like perfection." He went into the butler's pantry and emerged with a container. "Is there any milk?"
"What did you find?" Catherine took the milk out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter.
"Cookies. It's not common here, but eating them with milk is a taste I acquired in Southern Santiero."
"Interesting." She started searching through cabinets looking for glasses that were more functional for daily - or nightly, as it were - use.
Where could they be?
She couldn't find any sort of dishes, not ones designed for daily use or the fancier ones like they used for the family's daily meals at the palace. With her hands on her hips, she turned in a circle and looked around the kitchen. It definitely had more of an industrial feel than the one at home in the cottage, though not as much as the main palace kitchens.
"What are you looking for?" Jacob leaned against the counter, his forearms resting on top.
"Cups. Glasses. Anything to drink out of really." She opened a metal drawer to find measuring cups. "These will work." The two biggest ones went on the counter next to the milk.
"Really?" Jacob reached for the smaller of the metal cups. "They won't hold much milk."
"But the openings are definitely wide enough to dip cookies in," Catherine countered.
He tipped his head to one side. "That's a good point." Pouring milk into both of them, he left enough room to dip the cookies without it overflowing.
Opening the container, Catherine took a cookie out and dunked it in the milk, surreptitiously watching Jacob to see exactly how he did this.
After a bite or two, Catherine decided that it might not everbe one of her favorite things, but she could see why Jacob enjoyed it.
They each ate several cookies with the only sounds being those of cookies dunking in milk.
Jacob dunked a cookie and didn't look at Catherine as he spoke again. "I think we probably need to talk about what happened earlier."
She stared at her cookie as she dunked it in and out. "Probably." However, looking at Jacob wasn't going to happen while they discussed what she'd started and they'd gone through together.
