The Emperor's Concubine

B.2 Chapter Sixty-Nine

I sigh, sitting in my room.
I twirl a pen on the desk, my thoughts occupying my mind.
The door knocks.
"Come in." I call out.
The door opens.
Cabel walks in, his arm behind his back.
"Cabel, what are you doing here? Don't you have a meeting?" I stand, happily jogging to him.
"I did, but I wanted to see you." Cabel brings his arm out.
In his hand is a large bouquet of yellow and white flowers.
"Flowers for my flower?" Cabel chuckles, giving a small smile.
"Cabel... That's so sweet of you, thank you." I smile, accepting the bouquet.
I notice his fingers, dirt smudged over them.
"Cabel... D-Did you pick these yourself?" I ask, looking down at his hands.
He looks at his hands, realizing the dirt. His face grows slightly red with embarrassment as he looks away.
"I... I may have... But your maid helped me..." He mutters.
"Maggie? You asked Maggie for help?" I giggle, surprised.
"Well no... I was picking them alone, but that girl saw me... I may have destroyed some flowers, and she got upset and told me I should have asked."
I stare back, surprised.
I burst into laughter as I think about Magnolia scolding Cabel for ruining the flowers.
"I-I'm sorry. It's just funny thinking about it. Magnolia loves the garden, you really should have asked for help, instead of destroying the flowers." I giggle, looking away as I try to hold back my laughs.
"I'm the emperor, this palace and all land in the empire is mine. I believe I'm free to do whatever I want." Cabel arrogantly speaks, scoffing.
"Yes, that is true, but you should have asked a maid or gardener." I giggle, placing the flowers on a table and grabbing a wet towel, "You're impossible. What made you even pick flowers?"
I take his hands, wiping the dirt away.
"I... I was taking a break and saw a flower that reminded me of you..." Cabel embarrassedly mutters.
I look back at him, surprised by his sweet words.
My smile grows larger as my heart beat quickens, touched by his words.
"But then that girl came and scolded me. I said I was going to bring them to you, and she began helping me. She said you liked these." Cabel points at the yellow peonies.
I smile, nodding.
"I really do love peonies, but you didn't need to pick them." I giggle, finishing to wipe his hands, "Which one made you think of me though?"
I look back at him, curiously.
He looks back at me, smiling. He leans down, bringing his face close to mine.
"Depends." He grins, mischievously.
"On?"
"Bribe me to talk." He steps closer to me.
I take a step back, surprised.
"But why can't you just tell me?" I ask.
"Because if you're to be my wife, you should know how to get an answer from me. Do something to please me, since I pleased you." He grins, closing in on me.
"C-Cabel, but-"
"No buts. If you're that curious, you need to please me if you want me to talk."
I bump into the window sill, his hands quickly resting against the ledge, trapping me on both sides.
His face grows closer, his breath tickling my neck.
"Please?" I ask, looking back at him.
"Please? Pfft, you need to do more if you want an answer." He grins.
"Um..." I grow flustered, feeling his hair lightly grazing against my skin.
His light kisses drop on my neck, up to my ear.
"Ah, C-Cabel-" I exclaim, growing flustered as he plays with my ear.
"I taught you so much, did you forgot all the lessons so far?" Cabel's voice playfully whispers in a low smooth tone.
I jump, a shiver going down my spine.
I look back at him, feeling my face flushed with embarrassment. I lean in, kissing his lips lightly.
Pulling away, I gaze back at him, hoping for it to have worked.
"Hm... Not good. You seem to have forgotten everything I taught you." He grins devilishly.
Instantly his lips meet mine, taking my breath away with a passionate rough kiss.
I hold onto his arms, my mind blanking with his kiss. He pulls away, sucking on my bottom lip before he moves back.
I pant, trying to catch my breath.
"Since you let me have a treat, I'll be nice. I'll give you three guesses. Each wrong guess you make, I'll give you a lesson." He grins, holding his hand up.
A shadow holds the bouquet, bringing them over from the table I placed them on.
He hands me the bouquet as I lean back against the window.
I look down at the flowers, flustered.
"If you get it right, I'll free you." He grins, kissing the ends of my hair.
"Um..." I stare at the flowers, thinking, "Is it this one?"
I point to a white sweet pea flower.
"Why do you think it's this one?" He asks.
"B-Because... It's the same scent I use for my baths, so the smell reminded you of me?"
He grins, his lips coming close to my neck.
"Wrong. Guess again." He speaks, kissing my neck as he lightly bites me.
I jump, tickled.
"Ah! W-Wait, I can't guess if you're distracting me!" I exclaim.
"It's your punishment. Keep guessing." His buttery smooth voice speaks.
His hand moves, lifting the skirt of my gown up.
"C-Cabel!" I exclaim, holding onto his arm and the bouquet.
"You have two guesses. Hurry up." His fingers begin to toy with me as he nibbles at my ear, sending shiver up my spine.
I arch my back, tightening my grip on his arm. I pant, flinching at every ticklish touch.
"Keep guessing." He grins, biting and licking my neck.
"I-Is it the tulip?" I call out, my body heat rising.
Cabel looks back at me with a devious grin.
"Why?" He asks, his fingers relentlessly toying with me.
"B-Because!-" I jump as his movements grow rougher, "B-Because they're the colour of my eyes?"
I bite my lip, trying to hold back my moans.
"Wrong." His deep voice whisper, amused.
He pulls away, grinning as he kneels down.
I jump, startled as he goes under my skirt.
"H-Hey! W-Wait!" I call out, flustered.
His hands part my legs, gripping my thighs as he prevents me from moving.
His tongue instantly toying with me.
I hold on, gripping his strong hands. Moans and whimpers escape my lips as I jump, feeling my core heating up more.
Just before I feel my core overflow with heat, Cabel pauses to look back at me.
He drops kisses on my thigh, his cheeks flushed slightly, and a dangerous look in his eyes as he grins from staring at my state.
"What will you do? You have only one guess left." He grins, seductively gazing up at me.
I stare at the last two flower types.
"If I guess right, you'll let me go?" I ask.
He nods, licking my thigh.
"I'm a man of my word. So, guess right." He grins.
I jump, tickled by his light bites.
"W-What if... What if, I don't want to get it right?..." I mumble, embarrassed.
Cabel looks up at me, his eyes slightly widened as he grins.
"What a naughty girl you are." He moves up, his lips locking with mine.
He picks me up, carrying me over to the bed.
He spends his time teasing me, my mind blanking as I succumb to his 'punishment'.

We cuddle, laying in bed in the afterglow of our time.
I blankly gaze at the window, the sun setting over the gardens.
Cabel strokes my head lovingly, turning to grab the bouquet of flowers.
"Since you were a good girl, I'll give you a treat." He grins, kissing my forehead.
"Depends... What is it?" I ask, wary of his grin.
"I'll tell you the flower."
"Really? Which one is it?"
"It's the aconitum." Cabel chuckles, picking the flower out of the bouquet.
"How come?" I ask, gazing at the pale yellow flower stalk.
He lightly brushes my skin with the flower, smiling softly.
"The colour reminds me of your hair. It caught my eye, and made me think about how your hair looks in the moonlight. There's a second reason too."
I look back at him curiously, tickled with the flower petals on my skin.
"These are poisonous. Ingesting their juice can kill a man in seconds with heart failure."
I look back at him, shocked by his gruesome fact.
He smiles, kissing my cheek, soon moving to kiss my neck.
He hovers over me, gazing down at me with a dangerous look.
"When I was younger, I went days without eating. Overwhelmed by hunger, I ate the flowers and fruits in the garden. The ones I ate made me slightly sick but cured my hunger, and one day I tried another flower because of its sickly sweet scent. I fell unconscious due to heart failure... You're dangerous the same way. One taste of you makes me lose my mind, but you're addictively sweet which makes me crave you more."
His hand moves, taking my hand and pressing it against his bare chest.
My eyes widen as I feel his heart quickly beat.
"Each time I look at you, your beauty captures me, and I turn into a fool every time. Each time you look back at me with your loving sweet eyes, it feels like my heart could stop just like when I was younger, yet even this unsettling feeling is addicting. It hurts my heart because I never want to let you go, I want to hold you every time I see you, I want to show you how much love I have for you, but there are limits when I know your fragile body won't be able to handle it." His hand rests, caressing my waist and core.
I blush, embarrassed and touched as he speaks.
His eyes gaze down at me, hungry almost.
"C-Cabel... I love you..." I whisper, moving my hand up his chest.
My hand rests against his cheek, softly caressing his cheek with my thumb.
"I... I can handle everything. I'm not agreeing to it when we're busy or when there's others around... But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't addicted to you too... So.. You don't need to hold back... Please... Love me with your whole heart." I smile, embarrassed as I gaze back at him.
My heart beating quicker as I gaze into his loving eyes.
He grins, leaning his face against my hand more. His seductive eyes gaze down at me as his lips move to kiss my palm.
His hand steadies my hand as he moves his kisses down my arm.
His lips kiss my wrist, my forearm, and down to my shoulder and neck, until his lips lock with mine.
I wrap my arms around his neck, growing lost in the kiss.