“Puretrouble,” he grins.
Keane quickly reaches for my hips and tilts my body to the side, throwing me over his body and onto the bed.
I laugh in pure enjoyment, falling onto the soft sheets as I turn around to look up at him. My fingers dart up in a come hither motion, willing him to join me but watching as he takes a battling step in the opposite direction. His walk is slow as he tries his best to keep his gaze off the lazy tilt of my naked body on the sheets. He bends down to pick up his black shirt and tunic from last night and wrings them in his hands, his eyes darting back and forth between the bed as he attempts to dress himself.
“Writing it is, then,” I chuckle, “I’ll hold you to it, Highness. I want it to be the first thing I read this morning before breakfast.”
“Alexis…” Keane groans, running both of his hands through his hair in a heated battle before he shrugs on his tunic.
“Let’s go then,” I taunt, sitting up on my knees. I slowly make a show of caressing my breasts, letting one of my hands fall between my legs as Keane turns to me like I knew he would.
“You’re insatiable,” he grumbles.
I nod with another smirk and watch my Prince, “only for you.”
Keane takes a step forward, the battle within him raging so hard right now. His heated gaze rakes over my body as he groans again, those brown eyes lit with so much desire and intensity that it almost looks like something…
Ancients.
It almost looks likesomethingmore.
“Know that I’ll remember you like this, Alexis,” he finally releases me from his commanding gaze and takes a step back, “but don’t worry,” he taunts, “I’ll pretend my hands are yours.”
I groan in my own frustration and fall back against my bed, watching him walk away. The sound of Keane’s deep laugh fills the room as he walks out the door and away from the open temptation, the sight of his intense brown eyes on mine imprinted on my soul.
I’m the first to arrive in the kitchens and greet Chef with a large smile, grateful to see his happy face. He spots me from the back of his large prepping room and wipes a hand over his forehead, catching the beads of sweat that have formed from cooking over a large fire.
Chef is a large man. Not large like Cal but heavy and plump around the belly, no doubt from tasting all of the food he prepares for the castle.He’s an older human man, somewhere in his sixties if I had to guess, with short-cropped grey hair that covers his round face.
“Alexis,” he bounds forward with a smile, “growing every time I see you.”
“I’m pretty sure I stopped growing a few years ago, Chef,” I laugh and walk towards him with my arms outstretched, “maybe you’re just shrinking.”
“It does come with age,” he chuckles.
“Thank you for the food on my last travel. Everyone enjoyed it.”
“Of course, dear, any time.”
His eyes dart to my shoulder when he pulls away from our hug. Stormfall is sleeping peacefully under my hair, but that doesn’t stop Chef from spotting him with a curious gaze.
“So this is the animal for whom the most random request came for last night?” he chuckles, “when my boy asked me to send raw red meat to your room I nearly slapped him on the back of his head with a spoon. But it looks like it wasn’t a jest. You’ve come home with a new friend, or two…”
His eyes glance to Golem behind me. He’s standing next to a table at the entry of the kitchens, giving Chef a small bow in greeting from afar.
“It’s been an interesting month, Chef,” I nod, “if we didn’t have breakfast this morning I would sit down and share stories with you.”
“Next time, then,” he smiles, “I heard the Prince brothers will be joining you and your traveling crew this morning. More friends, too?”
“More friends,” I smile shyly.
“Always knew you’d be making a name for yourself, Alexis. Glad to see you happy.”
I duck to hide my grin, watching as Chef walks back to his prepping table in the back. He’s been in Castle Bardot for as long as I can remember, and my memories with him span since I was first brought here at fourteen. He’s the closest thing I’ve had to a father figure since losing my parents.
Chef easily took me under his guidance when I first arrived at Bardot. He taught me everything there was to know of a kitchen and instilled a daily routine and discipline in me until I turned seventeen. That was when I was called to join the Queen’s Ladies in Wait and had other duties to attend to, but Chef was always there to hear me lament when I grew bored of them too quickly.
He stuck around when I took on my employment with the King, packing larger bundles of food when he knew ahead of time that I would be leaving on my travels with the men. He accepts my help whenever I can give it and always lends me food when I’m in the capitol and want to take a ride to the Willow or Bardot Library for the day. He’s just always been there, smiling with every new morning and making time for me whenever I visit. Him and his cooking are beloved by all in the castle, and I understand every sentiment by Keane to want to shuffle this man away for his own Court.
