How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 8 - His One & Only

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I awoke to the soft rustle of silk sheets, the sun casting a golden haze through the sheer curtains as I instinctively reached my hand out across the bed, finding it to be empty. And immediately, a sharp coldness spread through my chest while my fingers went to grip the space where her body should have been.

Snapping my eyes open, I confirmed my doubts to see that she was gone.

"Ria." I called, a nickname I had given her a few days ago, one which only I could call her by.

The tiredness was still laced in my voice as I ran a hand down my face, sitting up as the sheets fell to lay around my waist. My eyes scanned over the chamber, looking for any sign of her. Her slippers were gone, and the robe she usually wore was nowhere to be seen, forcing me to realise that, once again, my wife had run away from me first thing in the morning. Perhaps it is time that I honestly start investing in some rope.

My jaw tightened as I glared at the empty space before me. For a moment, I thought I had succeeded in keeping her beside me, my worries of waking up to an empty bed had vanished as, for the last few days, I woke up to her soft breathing beside me, but it seems that her body has adjusted to me within these last few days.

My mind spun with possibilities as I climbed out of bed, rapid and calculating; Lock the chamber doors and hide the key. Tie her up. Dismiss the handmaids who accompany her in leaving me. Or better yet, keep her too exhausted to run. She's gotten used to my body; I can change that again-

My thoughts skidded to a halt as I paused in my steps.

The sound of water. Faint, but close.

My eyes shifted to look beyond the archway connected to out chambers. Draped with velvet curtains, steam drifted lazily out of the private bathhouse. And I heard the ripples of water, followed by a gentle splash, and felt my glare dissipate.

Wrapping a discarded towel around my lower waist, I didn't waste a second moment in striding across the expanse of the room, brushing the curtains to the side to see if what I heard was right.

There she was, my darling wife, half submerged in the marble bath covered in rose petals. Her back was turned to me, and her hair pinned messily atop her head, exposing the curve of her neck with droplets running down her bare shoulders.

Relief struck me so sharply, I almost mistook it for pain.

For a moment, I leaned against one of the pillars with crossed arms, simply gazing at her as she bathed, completely unaware of my presence. I had been worried over nothing, and I realise now that this possessiveness I feel towards her is only growing uncontrollably. Before it's too late, I should do something to quench it.

But for now, 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, gently pressing my lips against her nape.

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

"Good morning, flower." I greeted, sitting down on the ledge as my legs submerged themselves in the water beside her body.

"I left you sleeping just a few minutes ago, how are you already awake?" She mumbled, leaning forward on the ledge as she peered up at me.

"I must have instinctively felt your presence leaving me." I explained with a shrug of my shoulders. "For a moment, I thought you had succeeded in running away from me again." I added quietly, raising a hand to stroke her cheek.