Beautiful Torture *Book Two of the Beautiful series*

14) The Future is Changing

Lucy drank in his words, letting them settle within her before speaking again. "She was the real reason you left Streatham for three years, was she not? Your father forbade you to marry her upon the mages' warning and it upset you."

Alexander nodded grimly. "Queen Mary almost got her wish of Jamieson being future King. But once my father learned I had forsaken Lilith, he implored me to come home and reclaim my title as crown prince."

Lucy scowled, still feeling the prickly tendrils of jealousy poking at her heart. She knew she must be the bigger person and overcome such childish emotions. After all, she was the one growing his heir in her womb. She was the one wrapped snugly in his arms each night. Still, it was not easy to think that it could have been different. It could have been Lilith. That he almost renounced his title and throne for her, something that seemed to mean so much to him now.

"What changed?" She finally murmured, peeking back up to his face that stared at the canopy over the bed. Her breath held deep in her lungs. She was not sure she was ready for the answer.

"You," he replied with an absolute certainty that made her heart squeeze. He angled his face towards hers and cupped her smooth cheek so she could not look away, smiling at the warm blush overcoming her. "You changed me. The moment I saw you, everything shifted. I knew I needed to be better. That I had to be, if I were going to be worthy of such a diamond. My sweet little goddess." His lips brushed her nose. He tilted her chin back so he could kiss his way down her lips. "I may have fought it at first. I told myself I would cast Lilith aside simply because I needed to go home to make sure you were safe. But deep down I knew..." he smirked ruefully. "I knew my heart belonged to you entirely."

They kissed again, fierce and hot, and in the darkness, they found each other once more, shedding the layers of fabric between them. She rolled to her back and he slid between her legs, entering her until the late hours of night. Finally, out of pure exhaustion, they conceded.

Damp with sweat, her king held her tight in his arms. There, she feared nothing. And though she had slept most of the morning and into the afternoon, exhaustion was like a heavy blanket over her mind. Her eyes fluttered shut and sleep claimed her once more.

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From a nightmare she woke, sweating and shaky. A rat had been chasing her through the halls of Streatham palace, blubbering and screeching in a human voice. And when she had come to the end of the labyrinth-like maze, the ghoulish queen waited with a figure cloaked in darkness. Endon, whose ruby eyes peered from beneath his cloak hood.

Black greeted her outside the window. Alexander lay peacefully asleep at her side, naked in all their love making glory. She took in a deep breath, realizing the terror had only been a dream, and nestled back into her pillow. Her heavy eyelids fluttered closed, but just as she started to drift off again, an aching, insistent hunger blossomed in her stomach. Her little prince, already so demanding.

With a sigh, she rolled towards Xander, watched his breath rise and fall in soundless heaves. He looked almost angelic and the idea of waking him actually caused her pain.

No, let him sleep. He will need it for what is to come, she thought.

She would creep down to the kitchens herself, certain the bodies were long cleared away. After all, it is not as if she could summon a servant to bring her food. The face of the dying man flashed behind her eyes, followed by a flare of hate towards Lilith. Both, she quickly tried to banish. She would not scare herself into remaining in bed. Not when her growing son demanded sustenance.

Sliding carefully out from under the blankets, Lucy pulled on her discarded nightgown and then tiptoed to the end table where she struck a match to light the wick of the white candle. She grasped the silver holder and used the glow to guide her way into the dark hall. It was eerily quiet. Her childhood home had always been alive with noise, even late into the evenings. Men and women fucking 'till dawn. The palace had buzzed with patrolling guards, night and day. Even the forests where they camped had noises of nocturnal creatures, scurrying and hooting. The silence here made her ears ring, pushing against them like a deafening blanket. Lucy gritted her teeth, stomach aching, and continued. She would be quick, is what she promised herself–and the little prince in her belly.