Page 25 of Mated to the Crown
“What are you looking for? I feel you digging around in there.” He smirks.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I whisper. My mind is already overthinking though and as much as I try to stomp it down I can tell he feels it.
“Of course. I told you, the Goddess blessed us and I believe her.” His voice is deep and husky again, making me clench my thighs together. He raises an eyebrow. “Or is that what you are thinking of?”
“Oh stop.” I laugh, playfully pushing at him. Which of course leads to us fucking again, but this time we make it to the bed. After I lay in his arms, curled up against his side. I close my eyes and soon let the bliss of earlier fall over me like a blanket. I slip into sleep.
???
Sunlight streams in from the windows, the birds singing breaks me out of my sleep. I grumble, burying my face into the chest next to me. Wait, what? I open my eyes slowly, picking my head up from the warm chest to see Malik sleeping next to me. He is sprawled on his back, his arm around me while I am curled up against his side, my leg draped over his. I take a moment to look at him while he sleeps.
His lips are slightly parted, his breath blowing the strands of black hair in front of his face. His jaw is chiseled and the stubble is starting to peek through. My gaze follows down his chin to his neck. I bite my lip, remembering how much I lickedand kissed that part of him last night. He moves, tightening his arm around me.
“What are you looking at, Princess?” He growls.
“Don’t talk.” I put my hand over his mouth. “Don’t even think about it or I’ll come right here.”
He laughs, licking the palm of my hand which causes me to pull away.
“You are so tempting, but we need to go into the valley today. I am a bad planner and didn’t bring much food.”
I can’t help but let out a little laugh, getting up from the bed and getting ready.
“How many times have you been to the valley?” I ask, pulling a shirt on. I look through my bag, frowning. I didn’t really bring much. I honestly didn’t really have much so I should have known I might run into this issue. I hadn’t seen a washer here but maybe there was one hidden. Something sizzles down the bond and I let out a little gasp, clutching the pants in my hand tighter.Damn bond.I grumble. I had gotten good about hiding emotions but now there was no way to do that.
“I have been a few times but it has been a while. My uncle will be there.”
“Uncle? Who?” I turn, meeting his look.
“Nicholas.” He acts like it’s nothing but I give him a quizzical look.
“Nicholas has been gone for years?” I say, my mind running with this new information.
“No.” He laughs. “He has been in the valley. It’s a story, let’s get driving and I will tell you.”
I pull the pants on and slip on my shoes before following after him. Outside I get a good look around, seeing the beautiful scenery we are in. It is like another world. Lazy pines hang above us, dripping pine needles. Smaller trees filter the spaces in between, their leaves reaching out to catch the sunlight inbetween the pines. A mixture of moss and grass cover the ground around the cottage. The scent of flowers and fresh rain surrounds us and I can’t help the smile tugging at my lips as I get into the car.
“So. Tell me what you know about Nicholas.” Malik says, turning on the jeep and pulling down the dirt road we entered the day before.
“That he and Queen Isla fought over the crown. Queen Isla had the Goddess mark, which I don’t even know what that means, but she eventually took over. He left.” I glance over at Malik, his face neutral as he drives. His hand slides over to my thigh, squeezing it.
“She doesn’t have the mark. It was a fake, she had it tattooed but at that time Nicholas didn’t care anymore. He was like me, he didn’t want to be in the family. He moved down to the Valley, only told my grandmother, and that was that.” He shrugs as he speaks.
“Well then.” I whisper. I always wondered about Nicholas. There wasn’t much information about him, it seemed like once he had left they destroyed most evidence of it. I placed my hand on Malik’s as I looked out the window.
The only life I knew was the palace. I had never left and never needed to. Now that we are driving to the valley I feel a knot of worry fill my stomach as we leave the dirt path to enter onto the pavement once more. The ride is silent, my own worries rising the closer we get to the valley. Malik constantly sends soothing pulses down the bond but it doesn’t help the worry.
We pull down to the bottom of the hill and the valley arises. Buildings rise up above us, different shapes and sizes. Some are so high I need to lean forward to see the tops of them. They are a mixture of wood, metal and cement. They come in every color, blacks, blues and even browns. Each of them are sodifferent. We pull into the main road and it winds around the buildings but we pull into a parking spot near the entrance.
“Come on.” Malik smiles, something in his face shows his excitement but it’s the feeling that fills my chest that makes me know he is excited. I get out and look around, in awe about the whole situation. Scents fill my nose, coffee, tea, the steaming of chicken, sweet scents of fresh bread and oranges float on the wind. He grabs my hand and pulls me forward.
I stumble beside him, trying to take in all the sights but also I realize that as we walk nobody looks at us like he is a Royal. They don’t bend their head as he walks by, if anything they just keep walking like nothing is different. Nobody balks at the fact he is holding my hand. Nobody gives us judgemental looks that even though he is dressed casually, he still looks way out of my league. Nothing.
We walk by all the different stores, bakeries, coffee places, restaurants and grocery stores fill my vision. A man and a woman come around the corner and immediately have smiles on their faces. The excitement grows on the tread, filling my own chest as Malik speeds up our walk. I look at the man who looks so much like Charlotte. The way his nose curves, his almond shaped eyes and even the way his eyebrows tilt down ever so slightly. This must be Nicholas.
“Hey nephew!” His voice booms and he pulls Malik into a hug. Malik’s hand is pulled from mine and I stand there, not sure what to do. The woman smiles and steps toward me, holding out her arms for a hug. I give her a shy smile as she pulls me into an embrace.
“Welcome!” She smells of lavender and lemons. She gives me a quick hug but for that moment I feel the most sense of family that I have ever felt. I hug her back before she pulls away and smiles at me. “I’m Daisy, Nicholas’ wife. Nice to meet you.”
