How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 8- Eyes of Steel

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"Flower, if you eat any faster than that then one would think that I was forcing you to fast," I rested my chin on my interlocked hands as I spoke to her and she paused in her munching to turn her head up to look at me, an intense glare on her face.

"You might as well have been forcing me to fast... How are you so insatiable?" She leaned forward to whisper and I chuckled, thinking back to our heated morning in the bathhouse nearly half an hour ago.

"If you could see how divine you looked this morning then you would understand where I am coming from," I whispered, playing along with her.

"Are you not going to be late for your morning briefing?" She asked, ripping off a chunk of her wheat bread and placing it in my waiting mouth.

"They can wait. My wife always comes first," I innocently smiled, munching on the bread she gave and dodging her pointed look.

"Well, in that case... I wanted to ask you something," She started, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with the cloth to get rid of any food residue that may have been lingering there.

"What is it?" I raised a curious brow.

"My childhood friend's birth date is nearing and I want to go celebrate with her. I have not been able to see her since our wedding and that was such a long time ago. So, may I please go?"

"To her Domus?..." She nodded her head.

"No," I bluntly denied without another thought.

"What? But-"

"Before our wedding, you were an ordinary civilian but now you are my wife and being my wife automatically makes you not just my Empress but this entire Empire's. No matter how nice and caring people may seem at first, there is always going to be someone with ill intentions, hoping to harm you. And I will not let that happen," I explained

"But I will take Linus with me, he is a capable bodyguard. Is that not why you assigned him to me? If he alone will not be enough then I can take some more guards too, I will make sure to stay with them at all time-"

"Ria, I have already said no," I cut her off and she jumped, her eyes shaking as they met my steel ones. I wasn't going to give in to her this time, her safety was the top priority. I wasn't able to protect my mother but I will most definitely not allow myself to fail in protecting Ria.

"But-" She cut herself off before I could this time and with a sigh, she calmed down, her hands resting on her lap as she clenched the material of her clothing, glaring at the food that sat in front of her.

"She is my friend." She quietly sighed.

"I know she is, flower. But just as you have said, if she is your friend then she will understand that an Empress is not someone who can risk leaving the palace walls so easily and unguarded," I leaned forward on my seat to take hold of her hand.

"If she wishes, I will be happy to hold a banquet for her here at the palace and you can invite whomever you so wish to invite," She raised her head to meet my eyes of steel and I stared right back at her for the longest time until she gave in but not in the way that I expected.

"I understand. But you do not need to go to the extent of holding a banquet, Balbina does not like large events so having one for her will embarrass her beyond which words could possibly ever explain," I felt my lips quirk up into a smile at her words and nodded my head.

"If that is what you wish," Ria put her hands on the table and I automatically moved my hands away from hers as she drank a few sips of water.

"But, if it isn't too much trouble, may I at least invite her to the palace? Whatever title I may now possess does not change the fact that I have been best friends with Balbina since I was a child," She stated as a matter of fact as I gave some thought to her idea.

I really did not want her to be alone with a woman I knew nothing about but I don't think I could bear to see her any sadder. If I order Linus to carefully keep watch over her and another guard to keep watch on this woman called Balbina then things should be alright, right?

"Alright," I gave in to her with a loud sigh and she gifted me with a bright grin, standing up from her chair to lean forward and kiss my cheek.

"Thank you," She gleamed.

"If you are really thankful then you would have kissed my lips instead of my cheek," I joked and she blushed but nonetheless, leaned forward until she was but a breath away from me.

"You have to close your eyes," She whispered and chuckling, I did as told.

One of her hands rested on my cheeks as she lightly kissed my lips and I opened my eyes, being met with her closed lids and smirked into her lips, closing my eyes once more while I leaned forward and took control.

Grabbing her face in my arms, I moulded our lips against each other and stood up, bringing her towards me by the waist and sitting back down on my chair with her sat sideways on my lap.

She pulled away, breathing heavily and rubbing her lips against the back of her hand while staring at me with an innocent glare that did nothing to intimidate me.

"Okay, I kissed you," She said, her hands resting on each of my shoulders. "Are you not going to go to work? If you are any later then everyone will get annoyed," She said.

"Let them be annoyed for all I care. As long as they do not show that annoyance in front of me then there will be no problem," I said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"But, you are right. No matter how much I want to take you back to our chambers right now, I still have my duty as Emperor to uphold. But, as soon as I am done with that..." My finger ran over her lips as I leaned forward to kiss her cheek, a promising glint in my eyes.

"I will have you," I whispered in her ear.

"And you cannot run away again," I added just for safe measure.

"Before or after you have me?" She innocently asked and my chest vibrated with a chuckle as I kissed her other cheek this time.

"Neither..." She hummed, moving her hands from my shoulders to wrap around my neck as she leaned forward to hug me, her face hiding in the crook of my neck and lightly placing a kiss on her ear, my fingers ran up and down her spine.

"I love you," I whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," She didn't wait a moment to reply.

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