And so she undressed.
She slipped off her dress and underwear as Zakari watched, then slid into the warmth of the water, ducking her head under and feeling the lacquer in her hair dissolve.
And Zakari watched.
Watched her glorious body glisten with oil and water and as she surfaced saw her hair hang in dark waves.
Tomorrow, Zakari decided, his throat suddenly dry, he would tell her tomorrow.
Why spoil things tonight?
For the first time he removed his own boots, gazing at her in the soapy water, her eyes inviting him to join her, and Zakari undressed quickly. As he slid into the warm soapy water her warm wet body slipped into his and her hungry mouth greeted him and Zakari could only marvel at the woman he had unleashed. His hands massaged her soapy breasts, her legs coiled around his waist and she giggled as they slipped slightly, his head dunking under the water as Effie’s did the same, and as they rose to the surface she laughed and so too did Zakari.
Laughed as he never, ever had.
And for the first time he understood Aarif’s words. For the very first time he glimpsed a future where, no matter the strains and stresses of the day, no matter the weight and burdens of the Kingdom of Adamas, he could come home to this, to love and laughter and passion, to just be himself.
To just be.
He could deal with any challenges thrown at him, if he had those precious hours at night, with Effie.
As her hands soaped his chest and slippery fingers worked down and massaged his impressive erection; as he explored her body, made weightless by waters, the faint steam rising around, Zakari truly learnt how to relax, how to switch off from a world that constantly made demands, how to just let go and enjoy.
She was so enjoyable.
Despite the sumptuous heat of the room, Effie shivered from too long in the bath when they finally came out, and he wrapped her in a thick towel, then laid her on the bed and proceeded to slowly dry every shivering inch of her skin, till she was soft and pliant and warm. Then he lay beside her, talking to her between kisses, getting to know his beautiful bride and hoping to ward off the morning.
She tasted of soap, and felt divine. Her hair was still damp and it lay wet and heavy on his chest as her tongue kissed its way down as her soft warm hand crept up his thighs and then held him in her palm.
‘Do you remember how you kissed me there…?’
‘Of course.’ He grew in her hand at the memory.
‘If I were to kiss you—in the same way…’ Effie faltered, unsure if she might offend, unsure if she even knew what to do ‘…would it be as nice?’
‘It would be…’ Zakari caught his breath, could not continue to speak as she did just that, her pretty smiling mouth kissing his length so inexpertly, yet it felt divine. Hot, chaste kisses that had him drag in his breath as they reached his tip, her tongue swirling in a way that had his heart still in his chest.
‘Is like this okay?’
‘It is…’ Zakari couldn’t complete his sentence as she kissed him more thoroughly.
Just as she had at first tentatively kissed his mouth and had then grown hungry for more, Effie kissed him ever deeper, her tongue circling, her body greedy for his.
And then, checking his pleasure, for a second she stilled, her blue eyes glittered up at him as her soft pink mouth still held him and Zakari’s fingers knotted in her hair as she set back to work. And for the first time in his life, Zakari relaxed, just relaxed and enjoyed, because he knew she was enjoying it too; because with Effie there was no rush, no benchmark to match, just this mutual pleasure that was beyond anything he had ever experienced.
The soft swell of her intimate place pressing into his thigh had him pushing his leg up to massage, his free hand searching to pleasure her, not to impress, but because he wanted to, and feeling her sweet, slippery warmth, feeling her pleasure, he wanted to slip under the surface and let go, to accept the release she offered, only he couldn’t…
The Stefani diamond was heavy against his thigh as her tongue worked its magic. The reason it was still around her neck was so that they might consummate the marriage.
Duty must prevail.
‘Come here.’
He dragged her up to him.
He cupped her buttocks as he held her over his straining length and found that duty could also mean pleasure as he watched her sweet, intimate butterfly lips cloak him, hold him and caress him.
His eyes were on a different prize as they climaxed together—the Stefani diamond forgotten as he stared up at her face, watching it contort in ecstasy as he shuddered into her. He held her after till she was spent, till the last flutters of her orgasm stroked him as he nestled deep within her. Only when she lay on her side, when he spooned into her, one hand gently cupping her breast as they drifted off to sleep, did he remember, the Stefani stone slipping down the chain and silently coming to rest on the back of his hand.
The marriage was consummated, Zakari realised.
There was no reason not to tell her.
Except one—surely it could wait till morning.
CHAPTER SEVEN
IT WAS his duty, Zakari reminded himself. He had to secure the diamond and to do so he’d had to consummate the marriage.
Hadn’t he?
Not for the first time since waking had he questioned last night’s motives, yet for the first time he could not shrug off his thoughts. The sun would be rising in a matter of minutes, shedding light on the day ahead, demanding he deal with things. But how could he tell her now?
Should he have told her the truth in the desert?
For the first time in his life, Zakari’s conscience was pricking. Effie would not have dared argue with a king—she would not have denied him the stone. And even if she had married him out of duty, or on the chance she was carrying his heir, she had given her heart to him before the wedding—last night had not been necessary.
Yet it had!
He had wanted her, had wanted that perfect night with her before he told her the truth.
‘Zakari?’ She came up behind him on the royal balcony, her hand on his taut shoulder, her warm lips kissing the taut flesh of his back as he gazed out to the pre-dawn desert.
‘Come back to bed…’ Effie reasoned. ‘Zakari, it is too cool here.’
How much easier would it be to take her back to bed, to make love? He could feel himself harden as her warm lips nuzzled his shoulders, wanted to deny the dawn and prolong their time.
Yet already things were in place. Today she would find out, whether he told her or not.
There was a line of orange on the far horizon, saffron fingers slowly fanning out, a screech from above as the birds awoke and he looked upwards as a dark shadow soared.
Zakari had never liked falconry.
A sport amongst his people, it had never appealed to him. Oh, he had partaken at times when it was necessary, and yet watching that beautiful beast circling its prey, watching it soar so high as the tiny vermin continued unawares, he had, as a child, shuddered at what lay ahead. Even as a teenager, though he had grinned to his father, still an unseen part of him had shuddered as the bird had swooped, nausea had risen as the bird had returned to his leathered arm with its bloody beak bearing its gift.
He felt like a falcon now.
Circling his unwitting prey.
His little silver bird smiled innocently as he turned around to face her—to face the truth.
‘There is something you must know. Today there will be an announcement.’
‘About us?’ Effie checked.
‘That was released yesterday,’ Zakari explained. ‘Today the news will break that the missing half of the Stefani diamond has been found…’
Effie’s eyes were wide. ‘It was lost?’
‘It was replaced with a fake and both palaces have kept it quiet, but the fact was Prince Alex’s coronation could not go ahead without the missing half of the Stefani diamond.’
‘So it can go ahead now?’
‘No.’ Zakari shook his head. ‘The stones are to be reunited. King Christos’s Legacy is about to be fulfilled.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘I am in possession of the missing half of the Stefani jewel.’ Zakari’s voice was thick, his eyes not meeting hers. ‘Which means that I will now rule both Calista and Aristo.’
‘You…’ Effie blinked, a smile breaking on her face, as dazzling and as stunning and as delightful as the rapidly rising sun. She offered him her heartfelt congratulations. ‘Zakari, I am so proud for you, I’ll do everything I can to support you…’
With every word she made it harder, her trust, her faith in him, so absolute it would take an axe to shatter it. ‘When did this happen?’ Effie continued. ‘When was it found?’
Turning, he fingered the necklace that hung between her pearly white breasts and with his heart in his mouth he raised the axe to fell her.
‘This…’ Zakari cleared his throat ‘…is the Stefani diamond.’ He saw her frown. ‘This is the missing half of the Stefani diamond.’
‘Don’t be silly.’ Effie smiled, the only woman who might say that to a king and get away with it. ‘I already told you, it was my mother’s necklace. It is worth nothing… It’s probably just made of glass.’
‘No.’ Zakari shook his head. ‘That is the jewel I have been searching for—I would recognise it anywhere.’