The Royal Heir - The Valtoria Diaries 2

Love on equal terms

Jen woke up, stretched a little bit, but decided to relax again before opening her eyes, completely warm and comfortable in the arms of the man she adored. When she breathed in some fresh ocean air, she remembered where she was; in their little cabin, on a tropical island. Honeymoon forever, she thought with a sigh. Only two full days left now, but she never wanted to go home.

"Good morning little blossom," she heard Maxwell say as she nestled against him in their oh-so-cosy honeymoon island bed that was every bit as comfortable as the one in their bedroom at Valtoria. This greeting in itself wasn't an unusual start to her day, but today his voice sounded a little odd, as if he was saying it through gritted teeth or something... she opened one eye, to see he was looking down at her, a rose between his teeth.

She chuckled. "Only one?"

He laughed, and removed the rose, presenting it to her. "Sheesh, so needy these days. Once upon a time you were happy with a Haribo love heart."

"I'm happy, I'm happy," she told him, because she was, as he smothered her with little kisses which left her giggling and squirming, the rose already having been dropped to one side.

He reached underneath the bed. "So, I believe exchanging cards is customary on Valentine's Day..." He produced a royal-blue envelope with "Jen the sexy" scrawled on it, and she laughed before opening it.

"Awww." It had a beautiful peacock drawing on the front, and a sweet slogan. "You make me as proud as a peacock. That's gorgeous, babe."

But as she opened the card, Maxwell snatched it back. "Wait, I want to read you the poem inside."

She let out a little squeal of excitement, putting her hands to her face in anticipation, as he cleared his throat.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, Jen Jones is hot..." He paused.

"And Maxwell is too?" she suggested.

His expression was priceless. "Why'd you have to steal my thunder? That's actually better than my punchline!" He passed the card back to her.

"Aw, like my hippo tattoo." She smiled, giving it a little kiss. "Not sure the world agrees with me on that one, but yes I think it is."

"Where's my card? Where's my card?"

"Alright!" She glanced across the room. "I'm not as prepared as you. I'll have to get out of bed.."

"No matter! I'll do it for you." He jumped out of bed, and bounded across the room, as naked as the day he was born.

"It's in my suitcase," she told him.

He opened her case, and she chuckled as his jaw dropped. Yep, he'd just seen the sexy underwear she was saving for tonight. She laughed as he exaggeratedly wiped his brow, but then he grabbed his card and hurried back, diving back into bed to open it.

He looked at the slogan on the front of the card for a moment before he started to read it aloud. "You're a keeper. Open brackets. And not just because you really know how to use your..." He gulped. "Okay. Well. Compliment accepted!"

"I mean it," she said, snuggling up to him. "I'm keeping you."

"Best Valentine's day ever, and it's not even lunchtime yet."

She looked down at him as he re-examined his card proudly. "So, you had many Valentine cards before?"

"Nope! This is my first one!" His eyes twinkled happily. "I mean, I sent a few."

She gasped. "Wait, was your previous attempt at poetry a Valentine's Day effort?"

"Maaaybe. I've got worse V-day stories though." He dropped his lip. "There was the year I thought I'd got a card from Savannah, but it was actually meant for Bertrand..." He looked at her mischievously. "She didn't write his name on it, or the envelope, silly sausage. How was I supposed to know?"

"So how did you.."

"I texted her to say thanks for the card, and she replied and asked me to give it to Bertrand!" He pulled a face and stroked his chin. "I never did, though. Oops!"

"Maxwell!!"

"Then, there was the time I accidentally slept with two different people on an anti-Valentines singles night.. apparently, that's not the done thing.." She was cringing so hard by now he had to have noticed. "Aaaaannyway. You got a worse story?"

"How did that even work?"

"Yeah, you don't wanna know. So c'mon, how was your February 14th last year?"

"Was that last year?"

"Erm..."

That was a yes. She shook her head. "I didn't even get laid once last Valentines Day. But, it was good, actually." I was single, and ironically, it was so much better than the years before.

He nodded. She looked into his eyes, and they told her he understood what she meant, but he didn't need her to elaborate if she didn't want to.

"Well, in the years before, for every extravagant gift I would get, I would get a you're so lucky you've got someone like me. For every huge bunch of flowers, I would get a you should really appreciate me more." She sighed, and let her fingers intertwine with his. "Last year, when I gazed alone out of my bedroom window on Valentine's night, I realised I was better off without all those superficial gifts. The only gift I really needed was the gift of love on equal terms."

"Damn. If I'd known I'd have given you that rather than a red rose."

She giggled, and threw her arms around him. "You give me that gift every single day, Maxwell. I love you."

"Yeah." He seemed to ponder on this. "I guess that's something I do right." He looked back at her, with a contented beam. "Something we do right."

"Exactly." She kissed him quickly on the lips. "So, what other grand plans do you have up your sleeve today?"

"None! I figured we could figure out an agenda together. Apparently, we've got some sort of Valentine's day themed dinner tonight..."

"Let me guess, oysters, pomegranates, figs and chocolate," she giggled, listing out all the aphrodisiac foods she could think of.

"Hmm, not sure, but there'll definitely be chocolate when we come back here afterwards, and I also wondered if you'd be up for a game of..." He reached under the bed, and pulled out something she had not expected.

She raised an eyebrow. "Monopoly?"

"Strip monopoly."

She whooped. "Oh yeah. Bring it on. I'll have you naked in no time!"

"That was my ulterior motive, to be fair," he chuckled, pulling her close. "But wait, what do we have here? I already am!"

"Hmm. So am I. How convenient."

"And we're still in bed, and we're pretty close.." He stared at her in challenge, his playful eyes so close to hers that they were blurring into one blue haze. "Wanna get closer?"

"Is that even possible?" She licked her lips, and caught his in the process.

"Let's find out."