"You know, your majesty isn't supposed to see the bride the evening before," Fleur pointed out cheekily, dropping into a curtsey.
"Whoever made up that silly superstition only wanted something to blame in case their marriage did not work out." Theo chuckled, crossing the room to stand before her.
What if it isn't just a silly superstition? The question flitted through Fleur's mind but it was gone instantly when Theo took her face in his palms.
"I had to see you."
"You saw me two hours ago at dinner." Fleur smiled up at him.
"Why were you curtseying?" Theo demanded, ignoring her reply. "We are equals now. You need never curtsey to me."
"Not until tomorrow," Fleur pointed out. Even then she knew that she would never be his equal. He was Theo, King of the Summer Isle and although she was to be his queen she knew she would only ever really be Fleur. At least, she hoped that she would be. "And even then I shall be beneath you."
Theo's face spread into a deliciously devilish smile and he lowered his hands to her buttocks, pulling her into him.
"You will always be my equal though if you wish to be beneath me then I am happy to oblige." He growled deep in his throat and Fleur's heart began to pound with desire. Her cheeks grew red with embarrassment as she heard Tressa's sharp intake of breath. Clearly, the handmaid had heard the king's loosely veiled dirty talk.
As if he saw her embarrassment, Theo raised a hand and waved in the direction of the door. "Leave us."
Fleur gritted her teeth to stop herself from reminding that Tressa was her servant and not his.
Glancing around his side, she added to her servant, "Tressa, please wait just outside. The king will not be here for very long and we have much left to prepare for tomorrow."
Tressa nodded silently, curtseyed and gave Fleur one final look that suggested good luck before she removed herself from the room.
"King Theo, you are aware that you are getting married tomorrow, are you not?" Fleur asked as soon as the door clicked shut.
"How could I forget? It is all anyone is talking about," Theo responded. He gripped her hips and urged her around so that she had her back to him.
"What are you…" she began but her words trailed away when his fingers began to rub away the knots of tension in her shoulders.
"You are very tense, my love," he whispered into her ear and she couldn't help but lean back against him. "I do hope that all of this wedding planning hasn't been too much for you."
Fleur smiled at that.
"After all the organizing and planning I had to do for Lady Delilah, an entire wedding was easy peasy." She had meant for it to be a joke, something lighthearted, but she felt Theo tense behind her and for a moment his hands paused in their massaging.
"I wish we could forget that she ever existed," he grumbled. Fleur reached for his hands and pulled them away from her shoulders, twisting in his arms so that she could look up at him before forcing his arms to embrace her.
"If she had never existed then I would never have been made her companion and we might never have met," she pointed out, always the one to look for the silver lining in everything.
"Then I suppose I have only one thing to thank her for," Theo growled begrudgingly and Fleur reached up to cup his cheek.
"We have a long life ahead of us," she said. "One that does not involve her."
"Let's not mention her again." Theo shook his head and pulled her closer to him again. "I have more important things on my mind."
Before Fleur had a chance to ask him what those things might be his lips were suddenly upon hers. When his hands cupped her face again, holding her in place, she knew exactly what it was that he wanted.
Her heart hammered, remembering the conversation they'd had only days after he had proposed to her. He had promised her that if she wished it, he would not take her to bed until they were married. She had agreed, wishing that their first time could have been on their wedding night.
They had almost been caught short multiple times. Their passion had carried them away, almost causing them to break the promise on late evenings after a little too much honeysuckle wine or even wandering the corridors after dinner as Theo walked her to her private chambers in the tower. Then a darkened alcove had looked like the most comfortable feather bed. A passing servant or the knocking of an anxious messenger would usually cause them to break apart but this time it appeared that no distraction was coming.
Fleur was fighting the desire that welled up from deep inside her, preparing herself to pull away when Theo suddenly came up for air. Though he continued to hold her face in his hands, he did not try to kiss her again. Instead, he rested his forehead against hers and sucked in a deep breath before growling with frustration.
"I am sorry. I cannot control myself around you," he grumbled.
Fleur did not dare to move. Theo had already restrained himself and she wasn't entirely sure whether he would be able to continue to do so if she even brushed against him. She was having a hard time not ripping his clothes off either.