I was sitting in the recently finished nursery. The renovations of the royal apartment were finally finished and we moved in. Now, that I had a place to settle for the baby, I was making up for lost time, nesting. I’d washed and rewashed the presents we’d received from our friends, family and various foreign dignitaries, celebrating the new royal baby.
Some of the stuff was completely over the top.
A platinum rattle? What kid uses that?
Silk baby sheets? Um, no. Baby shit stains everything.
I would rather be doing all of this with my husband, but he was too busy being the king. The only time I saw him was when I got up in the middle of the night to pee. My handsome husband was curled around me, sleeping fitfully. The poor man was being worked to the absolute bone.
I sighed, looking at the beautiful dress in my hand and my daughter kicked into my spleen. “I miss him, too, Charlotte,” I breathed. “But, Daddy’s ruling the country.”
“Not tonight, cherie,” he said.
I blinked up and saw my gorgeous, but exhausted husband standing in front of me. “You’re home, Masen. I’ve missed you so much,” I cried. Stupid, pregnancy hormones.
He walked to me, kneeling in front of me. His large hands were laying on belly and his green eyes were so sad. “Don’t cry, cherie,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. I knew it would be more work. I never expected it to be this. Being away from you has been awful.” He kissed my belly, whispering to our daughter and kissed me. “My brother told me to go home to spend time with you. We had words after my meeting with the parliament leadership.”
“What did he say?” I asked, brushing back his unruly bronze hair. “Do I need to kick his ass?”
“Bella, you’re all belly. You can barely walk, let alone kick ass,” Masen chided. I glowered at him. “Right, don’t tease the mother of my child.”
“Not if you don’t want to sleep on the couch, Majesty,” I said sarcastically. “What did Emmett say?”
“Come on, cherie,” he said, helping me to my feet.
I was all stomach. Everywhere else was tiny, but my belly had ballooned after the coronation. It was like my daughter knew I had an entire country staring at me before she had her growth spurt. We walked into the bedroom, where I sat down on the bed. Masen began removing his suit. I watched as he tossed his dress shirt into the hamper and revealed his muscled torso.
It’s been so long since I made love to my husband.
“Bella, you’re staring and biting your lip,” Masen snorted. “Did you hear anything I said?”
“Sorry, my brain is perving out on your sexiness,” I blushed. “How are you able to work out while working eighteen hours a day?”
“I’m not working out. I just don’t have time to eat. Most of my meals are nibbles on the run in between meetings,” Masen shrugged, pulling on a pair of dark-wash jeans. “I’m far from sexy, Bella. Overworked and exhausted, yes.”
“True. Just wait until we have a newborn, Masen,” I said, rubbing my belly. “Emmett … what words of wisdom did he impart?”
“Direct quote, ‘Go home to your wife, make love to her and do not come back to the city center until next week. You’re acting like a fucking tyrant.’ Felix agreed and Renata worked her magic, clearing my schedule for the rest of the week until Monday,” Masen said, sitting down next to me. He was still deliciously shirtless. I wanted to lick every inch of his tattoo. He laughed, cupping my chin and forcing my eyes to his. “I’m with you, cherie. I’ve missed fucking you.”
“There he is,” I purred, gliding my fingers along his forearm and to his nipple. “My dirty-talking royal.”
This is my Christmas gift to all of you. I’m posting several future-takes from A Modern Day Fairy Tale. It will be posted as a separate story entitled Happily Ever After. The first chapter will be a sneak pack into the birth of the Crown Princess Charlotte. The chapter itself will be posted on Friday once I’m done with school for the day.
I’m working on chapter three, but it may be about five chapters long, wrapping up on December 31st, 2020.
A gift from me to you ... your very own glimpse into KingWard’s future.
