A Dove's Tale

Chapter 174

A light kiss on the lips woke me the next morning. I rolled onto my side, burying my face in the pillow, and Chevalier's fingers brushed across my face, tucking my hair behind my ear before he kissed me on the cheek.

"Good morning, little dove."

"Mm...did I oversleep?"

The bed shifted as he moved closer, and his hand came to my back, pulling me into a warm, comfortable embrace. "No."

"Then why are you awake?" I mumbled, snuggling into his chest.

He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "You forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Your birthday."

That got me to open my eyes. I looked up at him sleepily, finally registering the oddity of him waking before me. He hadn't done that since our honeymoon. But he was awake, and he was smiling, a smile that lit up his crystal blue eyes and wrapped my heart in a warm, fuzzy feeling.

"I did forget," I admitted, smiling shyly, my heart skipping a beat when his eyes dropped to my lips.

He traced a feather-light finger around them, pressing my bottom lip just slightly before trailing his finger down my chin, then along my jaw, skimming in front of my cheek, across my cheekbone and up my nose, breaking my line of sight briefly as he continued around my eye. My heart was now beating double-time against my ribs, the breath caught in my throat at the growing intensity of his gaze. It felt as if he were memorizing every detail of my face—as if I were the only person in the world who mattered.

I never thought anybody would look at me like that.

A year ago today, I'd been the girl nobody cared about and nobody spared a second glance, living day-to-day on spare change and odd jobs. Now, I was the woman married to Chevalier. The king. And he was touching me as if I were as delicate as porcelain, meeting my eyes with endless oceans of pale blue that drank me in and drowned me in their depths, leaning in to kiss me so softly, so gently, there was no mistaking how much he treasured me.

I thought my heart might burst.

"I love you, Chevalier."

He smiled against my lips as he kissed me again. "I love you, too, little dove."

Early morning sunlight streamed into the room and played across his hair, blonde strands dipped in gold whispering across my face as we kissed and cuddled. This time last year, I'd been walking along a dirt road, already done with morning chores and on my way to the palace to see about a job. I liked this much better. Sweet kisses, warm hands, all the time in the world.

Until the knock at the door interrupted us.

I sighed and pulled back from Chevalier, expecting to see the usual flash of irritation whenever someone disturbed us, but he was still smiling. And he got out of bed before I did. I sat up, watching him curiously as he answered the door in my stead. He took a breakfast tray from Theresa with barely any acknowledgement, then he shut the door in her face and brought the tray to me.

"You could have at least said 'thank you,'" I chided him as he propped the tray over my lap. "And what about yours?"

He climbed back into bed beside me, his smile morphing into a smirk that made me blush even before he spoke. "We're sharing. Open up."

My eyes widened as he picked up a piece of fruit and brought it to my mouth. "Th-that's very sweet, Chevalier, but—"

"Are you defying the order of the king?" he teased.

"But this is embarrassing!"

"You let the doctor feed you."

"That was a little different, Chevalier! And I'll have you know that's the same line Clavis used on me when he made me breakfast in bed!"