Pawliday Love

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

I barely noticed the way the carriage swayed beneath me while I read. We would soon be arriving at our destination, Queendom Grewt’en Castle. My homeland held the third and final Courting Season in the six monarchies. For two weeks in winter, every eligible prince, princess, lordling child, and respectable merchant child of marriageable age were invited to attend in hopes of finding a spouse. Something that I no longer needed.

Taking my focus from the page I had been reading, I looked up to admire my husband, Prince Regalius Baylor of Kingdom T’Lovoness. He lounged on the seat across from me, reading as well. If he was aware of me studying him, he did not make it known. His glossy black hair was combed back, with perspiration forming at the hairline. Earlier, I had suggested dressing down to only his royal blue shirt that matched my dress. He had refused, being too proud. Instead, he sat sweating while displaying all of Kingdom T’Lovoness’s colors of royal blue and blood red that mingled with the gold. The humidity that accompanied the hot weather in Queendom Grewt’en had to be chipping away at him from all the additional layers he still wore from the cold snow we had left behind in our travels.

While it was only for a short duration, I was happy to temporarily live in the warm climate again. Unlike my new home, Kingdom T’Lovoness, where multiple layers of clothing were required to survive the frigid winters. At first, I enjoyed the crisp fall air followed by the snow that accompanied their winter. The welcome was short-lived as I longed for the year-round warm days I had grown up with. A momentary sadness coursed through me at the reminder that we were unable to visit my family on this trip. I desperately missed my two younger sisters.

“If you would like, I can have a portrait painted of me for you to stare at,” Regalius teased breaking my thoughts. He did not even glance up from his reading.

“I was not staring.” I huffed as I looked away, diverting my attention to the scenery outside the carriage window, annoyed that I had been caught.

“Ah yes, and I have no desire to kiss you right now,” he commented flippantly, turning a page.

“What?” I asked, confused and a bit taken aback.

I barely had a moment to react as Regalius cast his book off to the side and was across the carriage, kissing me swiftly. His hand tenderly cradled my right cheek while he kissed me as if I were the air he desperately needed to breathe. I gently tossed my book onto the seat he had been vacating and wrapped my arms around his neck. I could feel the heat radiating off him, and I wanted to tease him about it, but instead, he guided our bodies down onto the plush red velvet cushions.

“I thought we were telling each other lies,” he breathed between the kisses. His free hand trailed down my side until it reached the loose fabric of my dress. He started pulling it upwards until his warm fingers touched my bare skin. I shivered, my stomach tightening from the sensation.

“Mmh, then here is another lie. I do not want you to ravish me right now,” I moaned.

Possessively, he slid his hand upwards to my inner thighs. I clenched my legs together from the excitement before relaxing, welcoming his touch.

“Then let me lie when I say, I do not want to taste you.” He broke the kiss, dropping a quick peck on my nose, and sank to his knees on the carriage’s wooden floorboards. He lifted the rest of the fabric up and then disappeared beneath it. I spread my legs wide for him, feeling his breath tickle along my inner thighs.

I let another moan loose when his tongue trailed up my center to my clit as both of his hands dug into my ass to hold me in place. I tried to shove down the whimper as I begged him for more. His tongue circled and teased my clit. When I tried to follow the path of his tongue, his strong hands kept me firmly in place, forcing me to only receive the pleasure he allowed. I growled in frustration, wanting more. The vibration of his chuckle made me throw my head back into the cushion of the seat as my hands gripped the fabric.

I felt my arousal building with every flick of his tongue. My hips tried to move out of the hold he had me in. He continued to tease me, bringing me to the brink of the edge and pulling away each time I was close. I rasped his name in frustration, begging him to let me cum.

When I couldn’t handle it anymore, he finally let the waves of pleasure crash through me. I covered my face with a throw pillow to muffle my cry as I repeatedly shattered from his tongue. His mouth followed every buck of my hips, his tongue never leaving my clit as he sucked it. I gasped into the pillow, feeling myself build again while my thighs clenched around his head. I shook as I unraveled a second time from him. I begged for him to stop, unable to handle anymore.

When Regalius was satisfied, he emerged from beneath the fabric of my dress and started undoing his pants. I lay there, panting while watching his hard cock break free from its restraints. With shaking hands, I pull my dress upwards onto my chest, fully exposing myself to him. He smiled tenderly at me while he positioned himself in between my legs. I smiled back through my lust-hooded eyes. He sank into me, and I welcomed the new pleasure his body gave mine. My legs trembled as I tried to bring him closer to me.

We fall into a rhythm, the sweat dripping off his body from the humidity. Bringing my hands up, I guided his face down to mine, kissing him deeply and loving the way I tasted on his lips. He moaned into my mouth and fucked me harder until his body spasmed. We stay like that momentarily, breathing heavily until he kisses me sweetly and moves to nestle his head into my neck.

We don’t stay like that for long; the heat of our bodies mixed with the humidity, making it unbearable. Reluctantly, Regalius withdraws from my body to sit next to me. I watched as he removed the additional layers that he had been too stubborn on prior. A small sense of triumph coursed through me. Carefully, I swung my legs from behind his body to position myself in a sitting position.

“We are almost there, Serenity-Darling.” He panted, glancing out the window while his finger ran around the shirt collar of his neck, trying to ease some airflow in. He looked back at me, and his jade-green eyes were filled with adoration.

I smiled at him as joy coursed through me, feeling as though I might burst from the overload of emotions..

He returned my smile with his single dimple revealing itself again on his cheek.

A flush washed through me when I realized the meaning of his words. I grabbed a mirror to begin fixing my hair frantically. While many of the single people frequented all three courting seasons, there were still individuals that this would be the only one they would be attending. The last thing I needed was a bunch of strangers to see the future queen of T’Lovoness with fresh sex hair. I was still becoming accustomed to the idea of being the future queen of the largest and wealthiest monarchy in the lands. Glancing at the heir in my mirror, I was comforted in knowing I would be ruling by his side. We were still newlyweds, only wedded a few months ago.

“I am looking forward to seeing Fairness,” I replied. Princess Fairness Althea was the heir to Queendom Grewt’en and had become my dearest friend while I learned how to navigate the royals. I had not been born a princess, instead, growing up as a Lord’s daughter.

I smoothed the stray whisps of silver hair that had escaped back into place. Spotting where my tiara had clattered to the ground, I reached down and gently put it back on my head. The sapphire and ruby gems had been encrusted in an intricate mold. I had become accustomed to wearing the newfound weight daily, but it did not remove the headaches that sometimes accompanied the tiaras.

“I am certain she is equally excited to see you as well.” His dimple deepened further as he fixed himself to be presentable.

“I suggest a new shirt,” I commented, not waiting for his response as I turned to the trunk in the carriage and began riffling through it. I only stopped when I found an identical match to his current shirt, handing it to him.

The one he wore was showing more sweat than dry areas. He did not hesitate to undo the buttons and shrugged out of the soiled apparel. Regalius used the ruined shirt to dab up the rest of the perspiration off his body. I unashamedly admired the way his muscles flexed while on display. If we had more time, I would have leaned across the space and trailed kisses on my husband’s chest and down over his abs.

“Keep looking at me like that, Serenity-Darling, and I will tell the coachmen to make a detour,” he flirted. I laughed, shaking my head. Only slightly considering the possibility. By this point in the trip, we were both aware that anyone outside the carriage had to know what we were doing in here. It only fueled our arousal at the potential of being interrupted.

“Later, when we are in our rooms,” I promised.

“Will that be before or after you find the royal library,” Regalius teased.

“If I have a choice, after.” I winked. Giddiness spread through me from the thought of the royal library. I wondered what secrets I would find hidden in Queendom Grewt’en’s history. When I had agreed to marry Regalius, I discarded my original reason of research; now, my only focus was compiling all the history to create the ultimate historical texts of all the lands.

Regalius laughed out loud. “I should have known my wife would be only interested in books. You’ll save me a dance will you not?”

“I suppose if we do not share a few dances, your mother will scold us upon our arrival back home.” I rolled my eyes while fixing the minuscule details of my dress back into place. It was Queen Opal, my mother-in-law, who insisted we attend the two courting seasons that followed her extravagant summer one. She claimed it would show good faith to the other monarchies of my marriage to her son. I had withheld my eye-roll at the time, knowing completely she had actually meant there was nothing to hide when the ruling heir of T’Lovoness had wedded a non-royal. In minimal instructions, she wanted me to build connections with other future monarchy rulers. As a lord’s daughter, I was a lifetime behind the other royal children, who had grown up together. I was more grateful for the reprieve I felt when I was far away from my mother-in-law. Even though T’Lovoness was ruled by King Lucien, he did not meddle in his wife’s affairs when it came to The Courting Seasons.

“Which leads me to my next question,” Regalius stated in a less humorous tone.

My brow furrowed as I looked at him, concerned about what he would ask me.

“What is something you have always wanted but have never had before?”

“A cat,” I blurted, it was the first thing that always came to my mind when asked these kinds of questions. Even now, it made me feel like a silly adult who begged for a cat like a child. The notion was incredibly pathetic sounding compared to all the extraordinary possibilities I could request now that I was a princess.

“A cat . . .” he trailed off giving me a peculiar look while he buttoned the last one on his shirt.

“Yes, a cat. I could never have one because my father is allergic, so I yearned for one all the more,” I confessed.

“I think I am more impressed you did not ask for a rare book.” He chuckled, clearly amused. “You continue to surprise me every day.”

“If I am able to make a list, I can compile quite a few topics I am in search of,” I replied in a matter-of-fact tone, attempting to hide the teasing in my voice while I preened under his compliment.

His chuckle turned into a full laugh and I could not help but to laugh as well.

“Compile the topics and when we arrive home, I will make certain the task is followed through.” He kissed me tenderly to seal his promise.