A Beast's Tale

Chapter 74

"Good morning, Chevalier!" Ivetta called the next morning, back in the normal routine of her waking before me. As much as I loved hearing her voice, I wasn't looking forward to getting up this particular day. Leon had suggested taking Gilbert on a day trip to see Freedom, hoping to influence his opinion on slavery. Surprisingly, Gilbert agreed to go. I wasn't holding my breath that this would change anything. The only humanity he ever displayed was in situations involving Ivetta, and I wasn't about to bring her along as leverage.

"Is it morning already?" I grumbled.

"It's not just any morning, Chevalier. Today is the one-year anniversary of our meeting," she said happily.

And that little revelation added another layer of complexity to my plans. I hadn't known that until she told me yesterday. Spending the day without her was less than ideal. I sighed, pushing back the blankets and stretching.

"I should have taken the day off."

"We just celebrated our wedding, our honeymoon, and my birthday. There's no need for another big celebration today. But I made us pancakes."

The groan of my bureau drawers told me what she was doing before I sat up in bed. She was getting my clothes. The drapes were tied back; our new little table in the corner was set with breakfast. This was our morning routine, although the breakfast was usually made by the palace cooks and delivered by Theresa. It put me in mind of all the mornings when Ivetta was my maid, all the times I lay in bed listening to her and watching her. I restrained myself back then from climbing out of bed and wrapping her up in a passionate embrace. There was no reason for me to restrain myself now. I got out of bed and came up behind her, spinning her to face me and pushing her back into the bureau for a deep kiss before she could speak. Her soft, sweet lips, her slender waist curving into her hips under my hands - I hated Gilbert so much right now. If he hadn't agreed to this trip, I would have had no problem pushing everything off to tomorrow and staying here with her. As it was, I had to cut the kiss far shorter than I preferred.

"While I appreciate you making my favorite breakfast, that alone is not sufficient to commemorate this day," I said, gazing down at her beautiful green eyes sparkling in the sunlight streaming through the window. Her eyes slid down to my bare chest and back up to my face, a mixture of adoration and longing in their depths. That look was dangerous. The feel of her through my favorite dress, without the added barriers intrinsic to her royal attire, was dangerous.

I hated Leon, too, for suggesting this trip.

"You're wrinkling your clothes, Chevalier," she chided, as if either of us cared about them, crushed and forgotten between our bodies. "Maybe I can be your maid for today."

"No," I said firmly, kissing her again, much softer this time. "I will not have you dirtying your hands with such menial labor."

She sighed in mock exasperation. "You don't let me have any fun."

"Oh?" I asked teasingly.

"Hold that thought. The pancakes are getting cold," she reminded me.

And I had to leave in less than an hour. I sighed and released her. "We will discuss this over breakfast."

She handed my clothes to me and seated herself at the breakfast table while I dressed.  The new table with its two matching chairs was a recent addition to our room courtesy of her. My writing desk was hardly suitable for both of us. The new furniture took up very little space, keeping our room from feeling too crowded in between our cozy shared meals. Not that we shared all our meals. Breakfast was a given, dinner an occasional occurrence, lunch an extreme rarity, dependent on our schedules. My schedule today dictated starting immediately on the stack of warm, fluffy pancakes she had slathered with butter and maple syrup for me. She didn't bother making me anything else when pancakes were on the menu, knowing I'd rather fill up on my favorite food than settle for one or two pancakes with varied side dishes as accompaniment.