26
1129 Words
Pearl Gem
After Riven’s words faded into silence, his footsteps retreated, leaving us alone again. His Majesty kissed me once more. Soft, lingering before he slowly pulled back, regret swimming in his eyes. But I wasn’t ready to let go. Not yet.
I reached up, gently wrapping my arms around his neck and drawing him back to me. He let me take the lead, matching my rhythm until my fingers slid to the hem of his shirt and pulled it up in a flurry of desperate need.
“Kade…” I breathed his name, completely lost in him until suddenly, everything froze.
He stopped moving.
My eyes fluttered open. He was staring at me, his lips red from our kiss, his expression unreadable. That’s when it hit me. What I had said. His name.
I stepped back quickly, slipping down from the table and putting distance between us. My heart thundered with panic.
“I…I apologize, Your Majesty,” I stammered. “I didn’t mean to be rude… to address you like that.”
Silence.
He just stood there, still watching me. A part of me feared the consequences. An omega calling the Alpha King by his name. It was a grave offense, a daring line crossed.
Then, without warning, his lips curved into a smile.
And he laughed.
My heart leapt at the sound. It was rich and soft, like silk brushing over skin. My breath caught. I had never heard him laugh like that.
“By the gods,” He murmured, straightening from the table. “You have no idea how long I have waited for you to call me that.”
He let out a soft sigh and stepped closer.
“Kade. Kade King. It sounds better on your lips. The first time you said it was when you were furious on the phone. I remember how it felt. Foreign. Strange. Powerful. That name means nothing until you say it.” He chuckled again, then leaned against the table. “You should call me that more often.”
I stared at him, unsure whether to be amused or terrified.
“If I start calling you that in public, I will end up in jail,” I said with a dry smile.
He didn’t laugh this time. His gaze settled on me, serious now. Calm. Intense.
“You are already confined, Pearl Gem,” He whispered, and the way he said my name sent shivers across my skin. That will be the first time he address me with it. “You are bound to me. There won’t be a way out. I won’t allow one.”
I tried to focus on the sound of my name, his lips forming it so gently, for the first time. I held onto that instead of the weight of his words. I already knew how this would end. No chains could hold me, only death.
Kade King stepped forward again and brushed a soft kiss across my lips. Gentle. Tethering.
“You will call me by my name in private then,” He said quietly. “If it slips in public… so be it. That’s an order.”
I swallowed hard at his words but didn’t answer. My gaze wandered back to the painting.
“How long have you been painting?” I asked. “None of the books or records say anything about you having this kind of talent.”
“I’m a Majesty,” He said simply. “My father considered it a waste of time. An insult to the bloodline. When I was younger, I painted a portrait of his throne for his seventieth birthday. Gold-brushed. I worked on it for a week without sleep. He threw it in the fire.”
He paused. I turned and caught the flicker of sadness in his eyes, brief, unguarded before his usual blank expression settled back into place.
“What made you start painting again?”
“You.”
That one word. So soft. So quiet. So final.
“Today,” He said, “I started again. The room was untouched just like I left it five years ago. The cleaner did an amazing job. No dust. No cobwebs. I came back to paint for you. But it seems you don’t like it.”
“You are right,” I said, nodding slowly. “I don’t like it.”
He didn’t react. His face stayed perfectly still. Emotionless. I admire that about him. He won’t display his emotions so easily. That’s what a King does.
“I love it instead,” I added.
His eyes flickered to mine.
“Can I take it home?” I asked suddenly.
He stared at me for a long moment before a smile curled across his lips.
“No. I’m greedy with my art. I won’t give it away that easily. But I promise you will see it almost every day.”
“Every day?” I blinked. “We won’t be coming here every…”
His phone buzzed at that very moment and He stepped back.
“Excuse me.”
I watched as he walked to the window and pulled out his phone. Whatever message he read shifted everything in him. His jaw clenched, the humor drained from his eyes.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket.
“Riven will drive you home,” He said. “Tomorrow morning, a car will be at your door. You are coming to Majesty Corp.”
He paused, then added,
“Do you have clothes?”
I nodded, my voice caught in my throat, silently appreciating his concern.
“Yes. I do.”
“Eight a.m. Be ready.”
He turned to leave.
But I spoke up quickly, my voice softer than I expected.
“Who will drive you to the Royal Castle if Riven’s with me?”
He paused, turned back, and raised an eyebrow.
“You are worried about me?”
I took a breath.
“You are my boss now. I need the paycheck. If you die, Her Grace will come for me instead of a paycheck.”
He chuckled, shaking his head.
“Me dying should be the least of your worries. I can’t die. Come on.”
He opened the door wide, but I couldn’t move. Not yet.
“You didn’t answer,” I whispered. “How will you get home, Your Majesty?”
He sighed, walked back to me, and kissed me. Soft, deep, silencing everything.
“My Beta is already on his way,” He murmured against my lips. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
He pulled back and looked into my eyes.
“Text me when you are on bed, ready to sleep. Or else I will fret. And I will rain hell.”
- Writer
