Chapter 4
Both Amelia and Clarisse were grateful when the work day finally came to an end. Mia ran off to get ready for her date while Clarisse wasn’t sure anymore what she needed or wanted. The last twenty-four hours with Joseph had been…unexpected. On one hand she had no idea how to process everything that had happened…on the other, she had no desire to process anything; she just wanted to feel his talented hands and mouth over her body.
As they walked in companionable silence towards her suite, she could feel the heat radiating off of his body. She wanted him unlike she had ever wanted another person in her life. Even on their best day, she and Rupert had not generated the kind of magnetism that had existed from the first moment her eyes had locked with Joseph’s. They approached the door to her suite. “I’m sorry that I have to attend to business and can’t have dinner with you…seeing as how enjoyable lunch was.” He teased.
Clarisse glanced quickly down the corridor before backing herself against the wall and pulling him with her. Her hands clasped at the back of his neck and guided him until their lips were fused together in a passionate kiss. Her tongue glided along his lip until he succumbed and allowed the kiss to deepen.
He groaned as her hands slipped down his back to his buttocks and held him close to her body. He remembered the silky smoothness of her thighs from this afternoon and the heat he could feel radiating from her core each time his fingers neared her center. Very, very soon he was going to make her scream his name until her voice grew hoarse…oh yes, it would be the most erotic experience either had ever had. Her hands slipped in between them and she stroked him firmly a couple times before moving them upwards to push against his chest, effectively ending their connection. “You have business…” she teased. “And I am going to soak in a hot tub to try to relieve some of this tension you’ve created in every muscle.”
“I’ll come through the secret passage…so don’t alert security.” He teased.
“Understood…and Joseph?” She boldly reached out to touch him intimately. “I’ll be waiting.”
He crushed her body back against the wall again, his arousal grinding against her center. He leaned in and whispered. She blushed at his words, but nodded that she understood. The door closed behind her and he tried to clear his mind to focus on the tasks that must be done before he could return to this vixen.
**
Dinner had gone well for Mia, André, Shades and Charlotte. Through a considerable amount of cajoling, Mia had convinced the older couple that a movie and then a stroll through the park would be nice.
The movie was well under way when André whispered. “I think I’ve worked out some time alone for us…without the proverbial parents watching over us. It will require you to be a little sneaky…can you handle that?”
“Does Joseph wear black?” She joked in return.
“I can’t wait to be alone with you. I’ve dreamed of nothing else since the night I met you.” His voice was low and his meaning clear as his hand intertwined with hers.
Mia saw that intense look in his eyes again. Before she could begin to second guess herself, his free hand cupped her cheek and pulled her into a kiss. It began slowly, their mouths teasing as the sensations began to build. Just as things started to heat up, Mia heard Shades clear his throat…loudly, followed by Charlotte’s whisper. “I don’t think your Grandmother would approve, Princess.”
André’s sympathetic look told her he understood. “Tomorrow night…” he mouthed.
She nodded and they turned back towards the movie…though neither was paying attention anymore.
**
Clarisse tried to relax as she waited for Joseph’s arrival. Time was slowly slipping away again…with each passing minute, there was less time to spend in his arms. She found it completely ironic that she technically had an entire palace as her home, yet could not find any privacy. She understood the need for security…truly she did. One would think that with the head of security being her almost lover that he should be able to work something out that would afford them more than a few minutes of privacy before prying eyes descended and observed.
Finally, she heard the sound from the bookcase that indicated his arrival. Her eyes drank in the sight of his bare chest and black silk boxers; the image started the flame burning again. He didn’t say a word as he approached and pulled back the comforter revealing the object of his desire clad in black satin. “Beautiful.”
He moved into the bed next to her wasting no time as he lowered the straps and bodice of her nightgown, revealing the fullness of her breasts to his gaze. “I believe this is where I left off…” he explained before his hands cupped both mounds pushing them together to make a larger target for his tongue.
Clarisse moaned her pleasure as his tongue laved attention over every inch of her chest. His tongue flicked at the buds causing them to grow taut with need before circling the darkened area around each. When his teeth nipped on the highly sensitized area, her back arched as her hands went to the back of his head, guiding him in his endeavors. He immediately soothed them by drawing each in turn into the warmth of his mouth with a gentle sucking motion.
His hand moved lower, pleased to find that she had done as he had requested and foregone undergarments. Her curls were already damp from the attention he had been paying to her upper body. She gasped and grabbed the sheets as his fingers slowly stroked her. Every nerve in her body felt as though it were connected to the tiny bud of desire. The flames of passion were filling every crevice of her body as he continued to stoke the fire with his touch. Her body craved release as it had never done so before; her heart was pounding so loudly in her chest that she felt it might burst. Eyes heavy with arousal were closed and focused on nothing but the feel of his fingers, now slick with her juices, slowly sending her into a frenzy.
Just as she thought the dam would burst, he stopped. She hadn’t heard the ringing of any alarm…the clock had not begun to strike midnight…what was wrong? She opened her eyes to find his eyes intently watching her. She shook her head and tried to calm her breathing so she could speak. “Joseph? I…what’s going on?”
He reached over and covered her hand with his. He brought her hand to his mouth and slowly drew her middle finger into his mouth. He withdrew it and then lowered her hand to her very damp center. “Finish it.” He commanded huskily.
“What? I don’t understand.” Everything about this man seemed to grow more complicated by the day.
“You know exactly what I mean, Clarisse Renaldi. Take care of yourself…you said earlier that you didn’t understand why people felt the need to take care of you. So show me you can take care of your needs. I want to see you finish this.”
Clarisse warred with herself…would propriety or need win out? And how dare he get her to the breaking point yet again and then leave her…this pattern was really beginning to get on her nerves…which were stretched to the breaking point – thanks to the very virile man lying next to her. Not willing to acquiesce too quickly she said, “And if I refuse…will you leave me yet again, drowning in my desire for you?”
“I promise you that tomorrow night will be a night you will never forget. Tonight can be memorable as well, though. It’s up to you…are you willing to take the risk…to show me the intensity of your desire?”
She was so aroused that she knew it wouldn’t take much. Her body craved release so intensely that she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if those needs were not met. She exhaled slowly and began to take the first steps to move her own body towards some relief.
Joseph watched in fascination as delicate fingers slipped beneath golden curls to the hidden jewel that would unleash the passion that she had reigned in so tightly over the years as a defense mechanism against loneliness. She adjusted slightly to allow for better access as her other hand alternated caressing her breasts. Her mouth was open as she panted slightly from the exertion and the desire building. He had to fight off the urge to remove her hand and claim her right then and there. Instead focusing on the details as her body began to spasm as the coil wound tighter and tighter…it wouldn’t be long now.
Clarisse felt the blood coursing through her body, heating it…leaving her body covered in a sheen of perspiration. Her head tossed from side to side with reckless abandon as she forgot everything and everyone else in the room. She felt the tingling begin in her abdomen and spread throughout her body like a radiating heat suffusing every pore of her being. When it reached her toes, they curled up and a cry erupted from deep within her soul unleashing months…perhaps even years of pent up frustration and lack of sexual release. She felt his hand replace hers as his fingers slipped inside her, curling at just the right place to create an erotic explosion centering at her core. Her body arched as her hands grabbed fistfuls of the sheet while her lungs cried out in sheer ecstasy.
His hands smoothed over her damp body as she slowly came back to reality. “Do you still damn me for suggesting this?” He whispered.
She thought about it. “I suppose I can see some rationale for it…but I still would have preferred coming to completion under your skillful touch.”
“Tomorrow…I promise.”
“You’re going to have to get here earlier if you plan on keeping all the promises you’ve made to me over the past few weeks.” She teased.
“I’ve found a place where we can go that has no cameras.”
She sat up slightly to look at him directly to make sure he wasn’t teasing. “Shut up!” She exclaimed using one of Mia’s pet phrases.
“I would never tease you about this. I’ll make sure to get you the route you need to take out of your room. You will turn in early citing a headache and then meet me there around 10 pm – that should give us plenty of time.”
“I look forward to it.”
“I have to go now. But you should know…watching you was one of the most exciting things I have ever witnessed in my life.” He kissed her and then made his way back to his room just as the clock started to chime.
Clarisse pulled the damp gown over her head and covered her body with the satin sheet. She exhaled a content sigh which signified the relief her body felt now that it had experienced at least a small modicum of relief. Hey eyes closed as she fell into a deep sleep filled with the promises of tomorrow.
**C/J~J/C**
“Good morning, Gramma.” Mia announced as she walked into the office. Noticing that her Grandmother looked much more relaxed and rested this morning, she added. “I see the decaf suggestion helped!”
It took Clarisse a moment to realize what Mia meant. She smiled inwardly thinking decaf tea had nothing to do with her current state of mind and body. “Yes, dear, I do believe you had that right. Thank you ever so much.”
“You’re welcome – glad I could help.”
“You’re looking very chipper this morning as well. Did you switch to decaf?” Clarisse teased
Mia laughed. “Nope, just excited about my Queen lessons for the day.”
“Tosh! You shouldn’t sass your Grandmother.”
“I would never sass you, Gramma.” Mia laughed.
They both poured their tea and sat down to start work. Realization dawned on Clarisse and she asked, “Amelia…have you seen Charlotte this morning?”
Mia looked up from her paperwork. “No. I haven’t seen her since we said good-night yesterday evening when we got back from our double date.”
Clarisse was worried now. “Joseph?”
He stepped in the room from where he had been standing guard just outside the office. “Ma’am?”
“Could you please have someone check on Charlotte? It isn’t like her to be late.”
“Yes, certainly.” He picked up the phone and dialed the security office, asking for Shades. A moment later he hung up the phone. “Shades is going to check on her.”
“Thank you, Joseph.” Clarisse tried to focus on the trade agreement she needed to approve. Between Joseph’s behavior and now this from Charlotte…it was shaping up to be quite a strange week indeed.
Both women were preoccupied as they tried to work. Between waiting for news of Charlotte’s whereabouts and the upcoming evening distracting them, not a lot of work was getting done. However, there was a country that needed them and the needs of the many always outweighed the needs of the few…or just the two…even if those two were in the royal family. About thirty minutes later, Shades informed them that Charlotte reported not feeling well and was secluded away in her suite for the day.
“That’s odd…she seemed perfectly fine last night.” Mia shared.
“Perhaps it was something she ate.” Clarisse offered.
“Perhaps…well, I hope whatever it is, isn’t contagious.”
While the Queen and Princess were struggling to stay on task…others were being very focused:
Final report…all pieces are in place; approximately eight hours until the operation begins. Relationship between Eagle and Wolf is exactly where it needs to be. Sparrow is eager, but has proven to be unpredictable. With all the safeties we have in place, success is imminent.
**
