Page 16 of Crowning His Innocent Assistant

CHAPTER FOUR

LIVIAWASSTILLreeling over the kiss, and brooding over his actions, when there was a knock on the door to her suite. She had only had two hours’ reprieve from him, and lying flat on her back in a dark room with a lavender sachet over her eyes hadn’t been enough to quell her disquiet.

She had never been kissed before.

She hoped he didn’t know that.

She would be furious if he did.

Absolutely livid.

Of course, she had no idea when he would think that she had had a sexual interaction of any kind. Her entire life had been devoted to him. And before that, her entire life had been devoted to her own survival.

She was in a foul disposition.

She stomped to the door and jerked it open. And there he was, looking downright disreputable. He was not dressed in a formal suit as he had been earlier. Rather, he was wearing a white shirt and no tie, the top button undone.

She had seen him nearly naked before.

And in fact, that night when she had gone into his room... He had been naked when he’d grabbed hold of her, but the room had been dark, so it had limited what she had been able to see. Still, over the years she had seen him in a bathing suit, in various states of half-dress as he wandered around, and she never got used to it.

His body was stunning.

A finely honed weapon that made a hard pulse go off between her thighs. And then there were his scars... She couldn’t see them and not think of that night. The night when she had found out the two of them, however different they were, might have more in common than she had with anyone else she’d ever met. And it was an impossible sort of thing, to believe that someone like her could be so like a king. But she felt as if she was. She felt as if they recognized one another. Though she did not feel particularly like they recognized one another now. Mostly, she just felt like he was being an ass.

“I brought you a dress.”

“I have plenty of dresses.”

Of course, she had left all but two back at the palace, and they were all black.

“I do not wish for you to wear your typical garb. You are not to blend into the background. You are going out with me as a date. Not as an assistant.”

“I...” As she had quit as his assistant, she had very little to say on the subject. It was very hard to argue. “Why?”

“You know why.”

“You’re infuriating.”

She took the bag from him and stalked into the bathroom. From there, she unzipped the bag, and frowned. The gown was red. Bright red. She never wore things that drew so much attention to her. When she pulled it out of the bag she saw that the fabric was slinky. Silky. It would spill over her curves like water and offer barely any coverage.

She slipped the dress over her slight curves and looked in the mirror. It was a simple dress. Barely more than a slip, with a V-neck and thin straps. The cut was basic, skimming close to her shape, and she had to ask herself why in the world she had put it on. Her own worried expression looked back at her. She reached into her makeup bag and pulled out a tube of red lipstick she had never used before. She didn’t really wear makeup.

She swiped the crimson color over her mouth, and then dusted a bit of glowing sparkle over her cheeks. She looked... Well, as ever like Livia.

She would not wear her glasses out tonight, however. She took them off, and put them in their case, then put her contacts in. She didn’t often do that; she found she liked her glasses, they provided a barrier between herself and the rest of the world, and sometimes that felt good. Sometimes it felt necessary.

Her stomach twisted as she put her hand on the doorknob. And she was reminded painfully of the day when he had asked her a different question altogether...

She’d been at the palace for two years. For the first time in her memory, she’d celebrated birthdays. She had done her best to forget when her birthday was, so when Mrs. Fernandez had asked, it had been nearly painful to come up with the answer. But she had cakes and gifts, and it was such a wonderful thing to be surrounded by friends.

It was her birthday, and King Matteo had asked to see her.

A shimmering sensation radiated in her stomach. She was certain she was in love with him. It was a foolish thing, and she did know it. He was far too high above her for it to become anything, but oh, he made her soul sing. He had asked her to meet him in the garden. She was already dressed up, because she had her birthday dinner. With her wages, she had bought herself a pretty red dress and she hoped that he would like it.

She was not a girl anymore, after all. She was a woman now.

She had filled out a bit, both due to age and easy access to food, and she looked much nicer, much healthier.

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