Royally Flushed

Desire

~Malia~

Remembering the events of the night that Daniel had come to see me, it was impossible not to blush.  Once my grandfather had found me in a compromising position with Louis, the tea was a bit hard to swallow.

Louis had bid his royal goodbyes while we were heavily chaperoned and it was made sure that we were never left alone.

Apparently, according to Mar's words the next morning, pregnancy scandals involving royals were the absolute worst and it would do me some good to 'exercise extreme caution' when it came to Louis and our 'relationship'.

There was that word again...relationship.  He had teased me and sent butterflies coursing through every blood vessel in my entire body, forget just the stomach.  He did things that set my nerves alight with a fire they had never felt before, as if the neurons were just waking up to a world they'd never even known existed.

But, Louis was also unpredictable, constantly moody and impossible to read.  I didn't know if he was mocking me or just trying to get into my pants.  Probably both, now that I thought more about it...

I shook the thoughts of him from my head and reminded myself that I needed to focus on more important things than Louis' feelings...like how I was going to keep hiding from my step-father if my face was plastered all over shady tabloids and news outlets.

As if my injuries had a mind of their own, my ribcage began throbbing at the mere thought of Robert and what he had done to me.

I tried to focus on putting myself together, wondering if I'd be able to make it through an entire eight hour school day without my crutches to lean on, but there was no going back since I had abandoned them when I'd learned of Daniel's 'miraculous' resurrection earlier in the week.

School was a bore, as usual, but I tried harder than I normally did to pay attention because a failing grade probably wouldn't look good to Mar or my grandparents.

Louis was easy to avoid that day, and I took every precaution that I wouldn't run into him and let him throw me off balance yet again.

I saw his shock of black hair, and then his group of followers flocking around him at every turn of a corner and I could tell he was looking for me, eyes constantly searching the chattering throng of students but never landing on me because I would duck out of the way at the last second.

I had no such luck at my locker, however, even after a precursory glance down both ends of the hallway.

His breath was hot at my ear and chills ran down the length of my spine in anticipation of what he would do.

"You've been avoiding me."

Not a question nor accusation, just a simple statement. He seemed intrigued rather than angry, and although I was grateful to not have to deal with his temper, I was still more than confused.

"Maybe..." I conceded, guilt laced into my tone and I turned all the way around to face him.

Bad idea.

His arm was placed on the lockers beside my head and his entire body was blocking me, and it seemed like everyone in the hallway decided that was the perfect moment to disappear from the universe completely and left me alone with Louis staring down at me intently, eyes smoldering in amusement and filled with mirth.

I gulped and felt my cheeks redden with the blush I knew was bound to creep up on me, just like it always did where Louis was concerned.

"And why would you ever do that?"

He was mocking me, that much I could tell, but his expression seemed to resemble that of a lion stalking its prey, teasing it before devouring it completely.

And I wasn't sure I minded if he did just the same to me...

"Maybe because of situations exactly like this," I breathed out, hoping my words didn't sound as vulnerable as they felt.

His dark eyebrows rose in surprise and he seemed to falter for a bit before picking up right where he'd left off.

His nearness was more than intoxicating to me, it was addictive, yet another reason why I had been avoiding him. I was scared of the things he could do to my body, and the way that I reacted to him...

"What's wrong, Princess? Are you scared of me?"

"No."

"Then what is it? What are you scared of?"

I didn't know if I should say what I wanted to, but I did anyway, swallowing every argument against it.

"Getting hurt. Every man I've ever let into my life has either left me or abused me...and I don't know how I'm supposed to act around you if I know you're just going to leave too, just like them."

I had taken him aback, that was for sure.

The mocking and teasing edge to his expression softened and turned into one of regret and longing, and I wondered if maybe I had misread every interaction we'd ever had with one another.

Was he really wanting to get closer to me to just get in my pants, or was it something more? Did he want an emotional connection too?

"Malia...I am not like those men. I was raised in a completely different world than those men, and I don't leave and I sure as hell have never abused anyone in my life, and besides, I haven't figured out all your secrets yet so how do you expect me to ever leave you?"

My breath caught in my throat at his answer and when his free hand reached up to brush my hair out of my face, I let him, the trail of sparks left behind from his fingertips across my cheekbones making me shiver in anticipation for what he was about to do.

And then he kissed me.

His lips were light and soft against mine, a perfect combination that had me seeing stars behind my closed eyes.

At some point my hands threaded their way through his soft as silk hair and his hands found the curve of my waist, sparks exploding through every nerve ending in my entire body.

I couldn't tell where he ended and where I began, our bodies entwined together in perfect harmony and I never wanted to let go.

His hands trailed their way from my waist up to my neck and cupped my face, making me feel like I was the only thing he ever wanted to hold forever.

My lips parted as his insistence and our tongues found each other in a twist and tangle, a glorious battle for dominance that had me panting for breath and for more.

His lips escaped mine and found their way down my neck, arms searching up and down my arms, around my waist, trailing down my back with an urgency that matched mine in spades.

His lips created a hot searing path down my neck until I brought his mouth back to mine with my hands.

He smiled against me at my need for him and I tightened my fingers in his hair, begging for more and wishing that he could satiate my scathing desire.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of time for that later..."

Later. I pulled back a bit and gave him a small lingering kiss that made me long for more but I knew we were in the middle of a school hallway and could be discovered at any minute.

And then reality hit me.

I had just kissed the Prince of freaking England.

There was no turning back now.

*******

Author's Note:

So what did you guys think of this chapter??

Did you enjoy their first kiss? I know I enjoyed writing it for you guys!

What do think will happen next?

What do you WANT to happen next??

Until next time my lovely readers,

Kristen ;)