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Rosmerta recovered, not as quickly as you'd have thought, but finally said, "I will ask His Majesty if he could speak with you. His schedule is very full, though, so I can make no promises."
"I wouldn't ask you to make a promise on Taranis's part, Dame Rosmerta. And I'm sure his schedule is very full; but I really do need the question answered. I ca
"I will give him the message. He may contact you rather quickly, so may I humbly suggest that you take this time to dress and present yourself in a ma
"I think that I will present myself to the king as I see fit, Rosmerta." I'd left off the Dame deliberately. She was a minor noblewoman, and I outranked her. That I gave her the courtesy of her title was just that, a courtesy. I didn't have to do it.
"I meant no disrespect, Princess Meredith." She wasn't smiling now. Her face had closed down into that icy beauty that the sidhe are so capable of.
I ignored it, because to say almost anything was to accuse her of lying. Maybe she hadn't meant to be disrespectful; maybe she just couldn't help herself. "As that may be, Dame Rosmerta, as that may be. I look forward to hearing from the king. Do you think he will call back before we have time to rise for the day?"
"I did not realize that I had woken you, Princess, I am most humbly sorry." She looked it. "I will make sure that you are given time to rise and do your morning... duties." She actually blushed a little, and I wondered what word she'd thought of before duties or exactly what she thought my morning duties were.
I realized suddenly that Rosmerta had thought we were having sex, not waking up. Andais did answer the Seelie in flagrante delicto more often than not, or nearly so. Maybe they expected the same of me.
"I thank you for the time, Dame Rosmerta. It is most unseemly to be roused from your early morning bed to speak with a king."
She smiled and gave me a very pretty curtsy, almost disappearing below the mirror's edge. Rosmerta was the picture of absolute propriety. A deep curtsy from her was high praise indeed, for it meant she understood I was but a step away from the throne. It was nice to know that someone in the Seelie Court understood that.
She didn't rise, and I realized, a little late, why. "You may rise, Dame Rosmerta, and I thank you."
She came to her feet, a little unsteady, but I'd left her in a deep curtsy for too long. I hadn't meant to. I just had forgotten that the Seelie Court was a lot like the English court; once you curtsied you really couldn't rise until acknowledged by the royal before you. It had been a very long time since I was among the Seelie. I was going to be a little rusty on court protocol. The Unseelie Court was much less formal.
"I will speak with His Majesty on your behalf, Princess Meredith. Good day to you."
"And good day to you, as well, Dame Rosmerta."
The mirror went blank. I felt all three of us relax, let out a breath.
Rhys put both his hands behind his head, crossed his ankles, and said, "What do you think? Maybe a little jewelry so we'll be more formal?"
I gazed down the length of his body, remembering the feel of my tongue ru
"No, Rhys, I think clothes first. We'll worry about accessorizing later."
He gri
I started to say no. Then realized it was a lie. "A little tempted, yes, but we're going to behave ourselves, Rhys."
His grin widened. "If you insist."
"You're the one that's always going on about, ooh, the King of Light and Illusion. Why the change of heart now?"
"He's still scary, Merry, but he's also a terrible stuffed shirt. He wasn't always like that, but somewhere over the centuries he became more... human, in the worst sense of the word." The grin faded around the edges.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Just thinking about what might have been. Taranis used to be good for a few laughs, and a drunken brawl or two."
I raised eyebrows. "Taranis? Having a boys' night out on the town? I can't picture it."
"You've known him for only thirty years. He hasn't been at his best." He sat up, got to his feet. "Dibs on the shower."
"If you get it first this morning, I get it first tomorrow," Nicca said.
"Only if you're fast enough," Rhys said, heading for the bathroom.
Nicca's arms slid around my waist, turned me to him. "Let him have his shower." He raised a slender brown hand to trace the waves near my face. He rolled over on his back, drawing me with his hands at my neck and waist. The sheet had rolled off of him, and I saw that he was firm and ripe again.
I half laughed. "Don't you ever grow tired?"
"Of this, never." His face grew more serious, a little less tender. "This with you is the first time I have ever been with a woman and not been afraid."
"What do you mean?"
"The queen is a fearsome thing, Meredith, and she likes her men submissive. I'm not dominant, but I don't enjoy her idea of sex."
I leaned in and gave him a very gentle kiss. "We do some rough stuff."
He suddenly hugged me to him. "No, Meredith, no, you don't. You never scare me." He held me, and I relaxed against him, let him hold me. Almost too tight. It almost hurt.
I stroked his sides and what I could reach of his back, until he began to relax. His arms were not quite so crushing. I'd thought only days ago about sending Nicca back home, because I did not want him to be king. He wasn't able to be king, and it had nothing to do with whether or not he could breed.
I held him, stroked him gently, until the sudden panic in him eased. When he was calm, he reached for me again, and I went to his arms, his mouth, his body. I hoped King Taranis wouldn't call while we were in the midst of things, but the lovemaking took the last wounded look from his eyes. I needed to see those brown eyes turned to me with nothing but smiles in them.
When Rhys stepped out of the bathroom with his towels, we were just finishing. He cursed under his breath. "Is it too late to join in?"
"Yes," I said, and gave Nicca a last parting kiss. "Besides, I get the shower next." I scrambled out of bed and went for the bathroom before Nicca could protest. I left them laughing, and I left the room laughing myself. What better way is there to begin a day?