My Royal Romance

“King Lucas,” I tease as he envelopes me in his arm, “that has a nice ring to it.” “Queen Amanda,” Lucas says in return, smiling at me as he holds me close. It’s odd hearing him call me Queen, I was only a Princess for a few days, and I’m not sure how many times someone actually referred to me that way. Lucas frowns and I feel like he’s read my mind but he looks over my head, staring out the window at the storm coming in. “What’s wrong, King Lucas?” I smile once again, trying to keep the spirit's light. “Am I ready for this? I want to make my dad proud,” Lucas’ eyes brim with tears as he stares out the window. I reach up and cup his face in my hand, gently guiding him to look at me. “You are ready,” I start and Lucas smiles at me, barely. “I may not have known your father for very long but I do know that he loved you so much and he was so proud of you. He knew you would make a wonderful, extraordinary King.” Lucas sighs and I feel him relaxing under my hands. His muscles tighten as he picks me up, tucking his arm under my knees. I put my arm around his shoulder and giggle. I adore it when he carries me bridal style across the threshold of our little cottage. He has insisted on doing so every night since we got married. “I miss him,” Lucas says softly when he places me back on my feet now securely inside the cottage. “I wish he had been there when I was coronated.” Lucas looks so down that my heart aches for him. I take his hand in mine and he looks down at me. A soft smile appears on his face but it doesn’t follow to his eyes. “Come on,” Lucas gives me a much bigger smile when I pull him into the bathroom and turn on the water for the tub. “Let me draw you a bath to relax.” “Only if you join me,” Lucas pulls me against his chest and he plants a kiss on my forehead. I rest my chin on his chest and look up at him. “It’s a deal,” I smile at him and raise up on my toes to kiss him. We linger in the kiss for a few seconds before I pull away to check the water. “Okay, strip,” I order and Lucas gives me a look. “Are you trying to boss around the King?” Lucas raises an eyebrow at me but begins to take off his official uniform. “Actually, I am bossing around my husband,” I grin at him and this time the smile reaches his eyes. “Your husband?” Lucas pulls me against his bare chest. “I like the sound of that.” “It’s weird, right?” I chuckle, pretending I don’t feel his hands fumbling with the zipper of my dress. Lucas pauses and captures my mouth with his, making me regret my words. “Weird in a good way,” I say breathlessly when he finally pulls away. Lucas spins me around so he can see the zipper and I giggle at his attempts. “It is weird, a great weird,” Lucas grunts, still struggling with the zipper. “Can I just rip this?” “Noo!” I proclaim and swat his hands away. “Let me handle it.” I unhook the clasp then tug the dress up high on my neck and pull the zipper down, then drop the dress and flip my arms to pull the zipper the rest of the way down. I shrug the dress off my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. I kick it aside and turn back to face Lucas. “Wow, that’s impressive,” Lucas comments, watching me while I work. “What? The zipper or my body?” I gesture down the length of my frame and raise my eyebrows. “Well, I meant the zipper, but this is most impressive too,” Lucas takes a step back to admire me and it makes me blush. “Beautiful. Absolutamante asombrosa. Mi bella esposa,” Lucas flows into Spanish with his sexy accent and I feel the heat on my cheeks. Lucas steps back to me and once again pulls me to his chest. “So, what smell of bubbles should we use?” I ask and Lucas lets out a bark of a laugh and rolls his eyes at me. “What?” “I was trying to be romantic, Mandy,” Lucas picks me up and I wrap my legs around him. I kiss him softly and feel him stiffen under my thigh. “We will get to that,” I whisper and kiss him again. Lucas groans a little, climbs into the bathtub, and lowers himself into the water. The water is hot and burns at the first touch but soon feels amazing. I detach from Lucas and he helps me turn around, spreading his legs so I can sit between them. I grab a bath bomb off the ledge nearby that is lined with them. I lower it into the water and soon the water is filled with color and bubbles are surrounding us. Lucas turns the water off and we sit in silence. I’m leaning against Lucas’ chest and his hands begin to rub my shoulders. I move my hand throw the water, moving the bubbles around the tub. We sit in the hot water, just being together and appreciating the peace and quiet. After a few minutes of silence, Lucas and I start talking. We try to keep the topics light but I can hear the stress and worry in his voice. I lean forward and we play games. Lucas puts bubbles on my back then writes words and draws small things for me to guess. We aren’t very good at the game but it makes us laugh and relax a little. When the water grows cold, Lucas kisses my shoulder. “I think it’s time for bed, mi amor.” “That sounds lovely,” Lucas helps me stand up and I begin to shiver as he grabs towels for us. He wraps me in a big plush towel and kisses me before wrapping himself up. Lucas drains the tub as we dry off, then hands me a nice warm robe. “How is this warm?” “Something about the material, I think. My father got me one of these robes a couple of years ago and it’s just amazing, I thought you should have one too,” Lucas smiles at me and I pull on the warm robe and wrap my arms around myself. “Thank you,” I smile at the loving thought and gesture. Lucas grabs the tie of the robe and pulls me close. “Anything for you, mi amor,” Lucas leans down and plants a kiss on my lips. I smile up at him then giggle as he scoops me into his arms and carries me to the bedroom.