It was also a room filled with people. Royalty, dignitaries, politicians, billionaires...so much power, so much influence in one place.
They were announced, and then it began. Introductions and handshakes. Pleasantries and carefully worded welcomes that didn’t sound welcoming at all.
Once they’d made their way around the room, Vasili excused them and spun Helia onto the floor. It was an invitation for everyone to join them in dance. But Vasili didn’t care about that. He just wanted his wife in his arms.
‘Everyone is looking at us...it takes a little getting used to,’ Helia said as she placed her free hand on his shoulder.
With his palm on the small of her back, he tugged her a little closer, leading her through the ebb and flow of the swirling melody. Perfectly in sync.
‘I’m not surprised that they’re looking.’ He bent low, pressing a kiss to her cheek. ‘I have the most beautiful woman in my arms.’
He smiled at her blush. Helia had shown such strength and intelligence in the weeks since they had married. She was a force in her own right, but he still loved being able to make her blush and then watch her go from blushing to being demanding and enthusiastic in bed. He got to see all the many facets of Helia, and he wasn’t sure he deserved the privilege.
But now he knew what everyone else would be seeing. He could feel it between them. An energy that caught everything around them. The current in their touch and the electricity in the air.
‘I want to take you to bed and have my way with you.’
Helia wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer until her lips were at his ear. She said, ‘Well, you’re just going to have to be patient, Your Majesty.’
‘Not a virtue of mine. In fact, I’m not very virtuous at all—you should know that by now.’
‘What I know,’ she said slowly, ‘is that the longer I keep you waiting, the happier I’ll be later.’
‘Tease...’
‘You wouldn’t have it any other way.’
She pulled away from his embrace and with a sly smile over her shoulder made her way back through the crowd. She was right—he wouldn’t have it any other way. She was perfect, and somehow she managed to make him feel lighter than he ever had before. Somehow she managed to help him not just to accept being King, but to like it. She had opened his eyes, and now he had the power to effect change.
Vasili kept an eye on Helia even as he was drawn into group after group of guests. After what seemed like the thousandth conversation along similar lines, he lost sight of her.
She was still within the palace walls. Safe. But he couldn’t ignore the way her absence grated on him. It was ridiculous when he had known her for such a short time.
‘She’s doing well tonight,’ he heard Andreas say beside him.
Vasili wondered what it had cost Andreas to admit that. ‘Yes, she is. She has been all along.’
He glanced at his private secretary knowing he wouldn’t get any response. It was then that the crowd parted, and he caught sight of her with the Queen of a neighbouring island kingdom. As if she had a sixth sense for where he was, she turned and smiled at him from across the room, never once halting in her conversation.
He wanted her back by his side, so with sure steps Vasili crossed the room.
‘I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to steal my wife away.’
Vasili slipped his arm around Helia’s waist, pulling her closer in a move that was unapologetically possessive. It was not missed by the woman in their company.
‘My apologies, Queen Arianna,’ said Helia. ‘It was lovely to meet you.’
The visiting Queen smiled in a knowing way, waving off Helia’s apology. ‘I too was once young and in love. I hope to see you soon.’
Vasili heard Helia promise that she would, but his mind was firmly fixed on that one word.Love.It wasn’t love that he felt. He didn’t love. It wasn’t possible to feel something one knew nothing about. What he and Helia had was pure passion.
He led Helia out onto the cool, brightly lit balcony. Soon he was kissing her with an urgency that she returned. Proof that he was right.
Helia frowned at him when they broke apart, a question in her eyes, but before he could address it, they were being approached by a group of men he hadn’t thought of in weeks. Hadn’t heard from or contacted.
‘Vasili,’ his friend Stavros greeted him.
‘KingVasili,’ another corrected.
