Pigalle Palace (21 page)

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

“I know you love me, but can I trust you?”

“You can trust me.”

“What about your brood?”

“I let them go a while ago. They no longer follow me.”

“Good.” His caress was gentle as he continued to stroke my hair. “You have to promise me that you'll put your complete trust in me. You must not work against me.”

“I'll be by your side through everything for an eternity.”

I was being sincere and honest. The hatred I held, I let go. I put the key out of my mind as well. Once he put the puzzle together himself, he would be able to tell me what the key unlocked. Since he couldn't trust his family, I was all he had.

“What's going to happen to the family?”

“I made a decision that I feel is best. From now on, everyone will have to do what I say. Only I know what's best for Pigalle Palace. They have to learn the hard way that no one stands between us.”

“I hope your mother and father will finally accept things.”

“Don't worry your pretty little head about them. I'll deal with them. My job is to protect you. No one will bring harm to you.”

“Does this mean that we're getting back together?”

Rain stared at me hard and he read my thoughts in a flash. He smiled once he could see that I was telling him the truth. Both of his hands cupped my face. When his lips met mine, his kiss gave me
the answer.

E
ssence and I were crowned the day after our wedding. My family attended and nothing seemed to make me happier. Château de Chambord was now reclaimed as our royal house and all was calm in the streets of Montmartre.

On our very first night as King and Queen, Essence and I spent the night alone.

“Let's go for a midnight swim,” she suggested.

“We can do whatever you want.”

After she changed into her bathing suit, she noticed I was still in my clothes.

“Aren't you going to swim with me?”

“I don't really like the water, but I'll watch you.”

She giggled and took my hand in hers while we walked down the corridor. Once to the pool, she jumped into the water. I watched her poolside. Essence looked soft and angelic, much like when I first laid eyes on her. She was finally all mine. She was my Queen.

When she was done swimming, we sat there, basking underneath the moonlight. Her hair was wet and hanging past her shoulders. Little droplets of water sparkled before dripping off the ends of her hair. Her amber eyes sparkled as brightly as the droplets of water.

Her nipples were hard and poked out against her wet bathing suit. I could barely see the darker color of them beneath the white material, but I had memorized the way they looked. I looked back
up at her face and that's when I realized that she was gazing at me the same way. 

Not a word was spoken as we leaned toward one another.

We stared into each other's eyes before allowing our lips to touch. It was a soft kiss—a kiss of love, not one of sexual need.

We were finally together.
 

I brought my hands down her sides, feeling her figure as I kissed her chin. She threw her head back, allowing me to kiss her neck. I licked the water droplets from her skin, tasting the sweetness of the water and the slight saltiness of her skin. 

I was aware of the bats flitting about overhead and the splashing water fountain before us. Essence moaned and I began untying her bathing suit. She reached up and gently pulled my head between her exposed breasts. Feeling her hands on the sides of my face, her touch was so sensual. It was a touch of love. Her fingers slowly made their way to the back of my head as I moved my mouth to her right nipple. 

Once again, I heard her moan, barely audible over the gurgling waterfall as I grasped her nipple between my lips. I felt the hardness of it against my lips as I slowly slid my mouth around it. 

I don't even remember her hands leaving my head, but the next thing I knew, I felt her lifting my shirt and I leaned back so she could pull it off over my head. She threw her shoulders back allowing me to remove her bathing suit completely. I looked down and saw how her breasts stood out. They suddenly became hard from the slight breeze of the night's air. 

I licked the water from them and tasted her skin again. 

She put her hand against my forehead to stop me. She wanted me to look at her. She wanted me to remember how she looked at that moment. The first night she was legally my wife. Therefore, I did just that before I kissed the ends of her fingers.

Focusing on her nudity, I stared at her exposed bellybutton, and then back at her breasts. I saw how her collarbone glistened in the wet sheen the spray of water had left. Then, I looked at her neck, her chin, and full lips. I looked into her eyes once more and knew I was right. It was what she wanted. 

She could see that my dick was hard and ready to fuck her until she couldn't take any more, but we were going to make love that night. We were going to explore each other and make love right there, poolside with the waterfall in front of us. 

She pulled my swim shorts down while staring at me with pure love and acceptance in her eyes. Once I removed my shorts, I climbed over her. She sucked my tongue when I slid it between her lips. She lifted her chin when I nibbled on it. She arched her back as I kissed first one, then the other nipple. 

I licked my way down her body and bellybutton. I sucked at her skin just above her mound. I kissed her knees, licked her ankles, and kissed the ends of her toes. When I looked up at her, she slowly spread her legs, exposing her most secret parts to me. 

I was going to taste her, savor her womanly nectar, her essence. 

She moaned louder as I dragged my tongue along her inner lips. She gasped and pushed her pelvis into me as I penetrated her deepest parts with my tongue. She moaned even louder when I gently blew on her clit. I covered her sweetness with my warm mouth, and when I pushed my tongue against her clit, she couldn't help but orgasm. I left her with no other choice.
 

Again, we found ourselves staring into each other's eyes. It was easy to see what she wanted. She wanted to feel me inside of her, but first, she wanted to touch me. I will never forget the soft touch of her wet hand over my manhood. She felt it. She gently squeezed it along its length. She pulled me forward and gently placed a kiss on the end of it. I had to fight to keep from coming as I
watched her open her mouth. I watched as inch after inch sunk into her soft mouth. For a few moments, she pleasured me. When she was done, it was time for us to join as one person.

We both knew it.

I looked down the length of her nudity. She was beautiful, much more than words could describe. I slowly moved myself up and down her clit. I loved the way it felt and the way she closed her eyes, I could tell that she did, too.

I was entranced by her.

She was still.

I was still.

We listened to our quickened breaths as I made love to her nice and slow. We felt the moon, shining down on us, and we both were aware this was a moment that could never be repeated the same way. This was a unique moment in both of our lives.
 

Then, savoring the moment, each time I went inside of her, she drew a sharp gasp. Inch after inch slid into her until I was at the very bottom of her sex. It was as much as she could take. Our union was complete. We were now one again. I continued moving in and out until her gasps became moans.

We shared an orgasm.

When she opened her eyes, she looked at me, and whispered, “I love you, King Rain.”

They were the first words that had passed between us since we lay underneath the moon.

“Queen Essence, you possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, a beauty worth fighting for, and a beauty that is core to which you have revealed to me. Your beauty can be felt and it affects me. I made the right decision.”

Her hand carefully traced the gold half-medallion that hung
around my neck.

“I still have the other half,” she said.

“Good.”

“What is it?”

I stared at her carefully. “My mother told me it's a special key. The two pieces, together, unlock something here in this castle. I don't know where to look. She said it only works with two people, one male and one female. She specifically told me to give one to a woman whom I would spend eternity with and when the day comes, together, we will unlock something.”

She frowned and replied, “If your mother was human, how did she get this? Does anyone know about this?”

“No one knows, but me. My mother was human, yes, but she was born to King Allemand and Queen Christione.”

She gasped, “So, you were destined to be the heir anyway.”

“Technically, Legend would've been the next heir, but the curse rearranged things.”

“And your mother was human?”

“Yes.”

“Born to vampire parents?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“How can a human child be born to vampires?”

“It was a birth defect. They hid her from the Préfet and sent her to New Orleans where she grew up with a human family that King Allemand trusted. When she met my father, he was a vampire. Because she knew all about her parents being vampires, she was instantly attracted. She stayed in her human form and gave birth to the three of us. Once word got out about her half-blooded children, they murdered her and my father. She already knew her destiny because she had powers. Though she was human, she had supernatural powers and could cast powerful spells. Her father, King Allemand, gave this medallion to her and he told her to pass it on
to her youngest son… He was the one that wrote the Divination.”

“Does anyone else know that you are King Allemand's grandchildren?”

“Mother and Father know, but my siblings do not.”

“All this time, Rain, you've known that you're a direct descendant of King Allemand?”

“Yes. That's why the Divination was written. Allemand knew he and his wife would be killed. He knew his daughter would be killed. He had to leave something behind so the government could make sure that only his heir would rule Pigalle Palace once again. Their bodies lay in a hidden tomb, somewhere in this palace.”

“Your mother's body, too?”

“Yes.”

“Do you plan on telling Legend, Onyx, or Azura?”

“I will tell them when the time is right. There is so much more I can say; only I'm uncertain. While I'm here, I'm going to find out everything there is to know. I want you to lay back and enjoy tonight. There's no need for you to worry about these matters.”

“I'm ready to go inside. Will you be joining me?”

“Yes, my love.”