How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 7- One & Only

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As I felt myself stir awake, my arm automatically reached out to the right side of me which had become Ria's side of the bed. Before marrying her, I would sleep in the centre of the bed and I liked that but sleeping with her now, half of this bed was her's and I liked that better.

When my arm didn't automatically come in contact with her small body, I groaned, squinting my eyes open and glaring at the sun which seemed like it was on a mission to make me go blind first thing in the morning.

"Ria," I called, the tiredness still laced in my voice as I ran a hand down my face. Sitting up on the bed, I looked around the area of the large chamber but realised, once again, that my wife had run away first thing in the morning.

Damn, maybe I really do need to start investing in some rope.

Climbing out of bed, I glared at my reflection in the mirror as I walked passed it, strolling into the connecting bathhouse which belonged to only Ria and me.

When I see her again, I really will give her a good scolding. After I racked my brain to come up with an idea to keep her in bed with me, she still managed to run away.

The idea worked all the times before today as I would wake up to see her sleeping soundly beside me. Her body must have gotten used to it. I'll have to make it not get used to me from now on...

My thoughts drifted off to a halt when I saw her.

In the large pool covered with rose petals, her hair was tied up into a messy bun with a few loose strands hanging around her in ringlets, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the warm temperature of the morning water.

And slowly, I felt a smile creep onto my face, trying with every fibre of my body to keep from laughing out loud... I guess I had nothing to worry about after all.

As silently as I could, I went to stand behind her, squatting down as she hummed a quiet tune to herself and before I could continue holding myself back, I leaned forward towards the back of her exposed neck and gently pressed my lips against her nape.

A loud gasp escaped her throat, echoing across the room as I leaned back with a satisfied grin and she turned to glare at me with a red face.

"I saw that you were asleep just a few minutes ago," She said, leaning forward on the ledge to hide her exposed body from me while simultaneously gathering the rose petals towards her body for more coverage.

"Yes. Well, when I realised that my wife was no longer beside me, I grew curious," I explained, dipping one of my legs into the pool beside her as she continued to stare up at me. "Initially, I had thought that you succeeded in running away from me yet again," I added quietly, raising a hand to stroke her cheek.

"I won't run away anymore," She timidly said, using the back of her hand to wipe away the water droplets that ran down her face. "I know that you do not like to wake up to an empty room. So I won't run away anymore," She added on, glancing at me as I smiled gratefully.

"You promise?" I asked, brushing her hair away while leaning forward to kiss her nose. She nodded her head, eyes squeezed shut and grinning at that, I moved to kiss her closed eyelids.

"Words," I paused with my light kisses to whisper in her ear.

"I promise," With that, I jumped into the water with her and raised my other hand to rest on her cheek. She opened her eyes and we stared at each other for the longest time until a small grin made it's way onto her face and following that grin was the sound of her euphoric laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" I tried to sound offended but failed as I ended up laughing with her. Moving my arms away from her face, I trailed them down her soaked body until I reached her thighs, clutching onto them before pulling her up.

She pursed her lips, face turning red once more as I picked her up in my arms, crushing the front of her body to mine and stepping forward so that her back rested against the pool. To balance herself, her arms moved to wrap around my neck and she shyly looked away from my eyes to my throat.

I nudged my head forward, kissing her forehead. Balancing her on me with one of my arms, my free hand trailed all over her back, brushing her hair out of the way and running along the soft smoothness of her caramel skin.

She fell forward, hiding her face in the crook of my neck and I chuckled, kissing along her shoulder to her cheek and lightly biting down on her earlobe which caused her to jump ever so slightly, and I loved this so very much.

"I love you," I whispered into her ear, knowing how much she loved to hear that.

"I love you," She whispered back, moving back to meet my gaze as one of her hands moved to rest against my cheek, her thumb stroking back and forth for a few moments until she finally gained the courage to lean forward and initiate a kiss.

I smirked into the kiss, tilting my head to the side and leaning forward as she moved back a bit. Picking her up, I placed her on the ledge and jumped up myself, one hand resting on her nape to keep her from moving away while the other arm wrapped around her slender waist, pulling her closer to my heated body.

"But it's only the morning," She breathed out, breaking the kiss to catch her breath.

"When has that ever been an excuse?" I moved back in to kiss her and her hands rested on my shoulders as I picked her up and sat her down on my lap so she straddled me, her body covered with goosebumps at being away from the warm water.

I licked and kissed her lips, biting down on her bottom lip and moving back with a satisfied smirk when I saw the redness that I had caused.

"You look the prettiest in moments like these," I leaned back a bit to admire her beauty. Her blushing cheeks, wet strands of hair sticking to her face, arms that covered her breasts from my view and her hazel eyes which she would never admit to being filled with lust.

"Can I go now? I'm hungry," She mumbled, looking away and I chuckled, leaning back in to kiss her throat and she gulped. "I'm hungry too, but not in the way in which you are imagining," I whispered, trailing my kisses down slowly.

"Help me satiate my hunger and then I will give you whatever you want to eat," I paused to look up at her and she seemed to be having an internal debate for some time but eventually, she nodded her head and moved back to place her hands on my shoulders.

"You are, after all, my one and only wife and Empress,"

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KEYWORDS:

Bathhouse- A building containing baths for communal use.

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