The Royal Contract

The entire day had been fun, exciting, intriguing, and tiring. But it also left several issues to think about. Not exactly ideal for a bride who should be relaxing and not having a care in the world, except the wedding.

At the end of the day, she laid awoke on the bed, staring in blank space. Her mind kept swirling around different thoughts that nagged at her since she left the king's company. 

"Will I?" She questioned herself, finally closing her eyes, still thinking of the question the king dropped on her.

It was an idea that never crossed her mind since Alex adamantly decided never to take the throne. But what if he did change his mind and finally accept the offer. 

Would she support him with his decision and be his queen? Could she just uproot her life and transfer? That would mean leaving everything, her family and friends, and all she had worked hard to build for herself.

"Dani, are you still awake?" A voice was trying to penetrate her bubble, but she chose to ignore it. 

She was already far gone in dreamland. Returning to reality was impossible when the illusion was better than what the present offered. Well, at least that was what her dream was convincing her.

"You still look gorgeous with your eyes closed shut." He mumbled, realizing that she was already in deep slumber.

He continued to stare at her face, kneeling by the bedside. He observed her face looked so peaceful, her eyelids slightly moved, and her lips partially opened. It might be an indication that she might be dreaming. 

Still, he enjoyed talking to her, telling her things that happened to him during the day. Although, he understood that she would not remember any of this when she woke up.

Eventually, he, too, succumbed to his own exhaustion, dropping down beside her in a deep sleep. Unlike her, he preferred the real thing as he reminisced every moment he had with her.

The morning light sipped through the windows, slipping through the glasses and landing on the two occupants, still passed asleep on the bed. But not for long.

"Hey, wake up, babe." Alex was the one to first open his eyes to the bright sunshine. He did not expect to oversleep since he did not have much drink last night.

But seeing her partner still sleeping at his side was a welcome sight. It was a future he was looking forward to every day once they were married.

To his friends, marriage was a death sentence to their happiness and freedom. But to him, binding himself to her was the epitome of the success of his dreams finally coming true.

"Hi," Dani opened her eyes, slightly covering them with her hand as the light partially blinded her sight. "What time did you come home last night?" 

It was the first thought that came to her mind, seeing that he was still lying beside her, wearing his clothes from yesterday. She did smell a slight hint of alcohol in his breath, a clue of what he did last night.

"You know." He smiled, knowing that she already suspected what he was busy with last night. "Just out with Marcus and the rest of the gang."

He did not lie but gave her a vague answer. Where he had been was not absolutely a good topic of conversation with his bride the day before the wedding.

But he would not lie to her if she persisted in asking her about his whereabouts. He did nothing wrong, so he had nothing to hide and be guilty about.

"Well, if out meant alcohol and strippers, I guess I expected more from Marcus. He is really going soft." She teased him, pretending to know where he had been.

She did not mind if it was true. After all, that was what most men do before taking the plunge. Besides, she knew she could trust him. He might have seen those girls in their skimpy bikinis or even naked, but he would never touch another woman.

Just like she did not try to look but failed. But one thing for sure, she did not want to touch another man ever in her life besides the man she was about to marry.

"Fine, you caught me. But I promise, I only drink with the guys." He put up his hand, swearing to her that he was telling her the truth.

Although he heard about the stripper in her party, he was not about to use that to call it even. He trusted her implicitly, and he would not make a big deal of this little silliness of their friends.

But he was curious about how she handled herself in that kind of situation. She might be intelligent and well versed in the world. But he knew that sexually, she was not very experienced.

"I trust you, Alex." She ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it out of her forehead and clearing her view of his face. "What about me? Aren't you going to ask about my activities yesterday?"

She had no plan of keeping things from him. If he was interested to know what she had been up to, then she was more than willing to spill it all out.

"Ok. Tell me. I know you are dying to share whatever Jacky had planned for you." Alex prompted her to continue, seeing the excitement in her eyes. 

He pulled her closer until she sat on top of him, pulling her hair on the side. He never broke eye contact with her as he waited for her to share her story.

He would prefer to be on top of her, but he also needed to listen to her. Whatever he wanted to do to her that he missed last night could wait. 

"Well, it was not actually that I was thinking about, but sure, why not." She was not surprised that he knew about that. "Jacky, my best friend, was very thoughtful enough to get me a very muscular and sexy stripper."

She decided to tease him by slowly unbuttoning his white dress shirt, then running her fingers on the lines that outlined his muscles.

Suddenly, she was sidetracked from her thoughts as he enjoyed the little foreplay they were playing. She could feel that he was starting to respond to her ministrations.

"And it appeared that you enjoy every moment of it." He replied, knowing too well that she was playing with him. But who was he to complain when he liked her hands on him.

He would have enjoyed continuing with their game, but he still would like to hear what she had to say about her night. He was sure that there was more to it than just dancing and drinking.

She was testing if he would take the bait and be jealous. But it would take more than that to make him see green. After all that they had been through, he had learned a few lessons along the way.

"I did. The man was indeed a good dancer. Although I think you can do better, would you like to confirm my assumption?" She challenged him.

She had seen him dance on a dance floor, and he was indeed a casanova with a woman in her arms. But, she had yet to see him dance for her on a closed door. 

"As much as I want to prove you right, I don't think this would be the right time." He answered, not biting her dare.

However, he was glad that she was beginning to be more open to him. He realized that they had come a long way with their relationship.

"Some other time then. But there is one more thing I want to share with you." She told him as she looked at him more seriously.

She had no idea if he was aware of her dinner with the king. But if he was not, she was not about to keep that from him. Especially the things that she discovered last night.

She would like to hear his opinion on the matter. Liked what the king said. His fiance's decision would definitely affect her life in the process, whatever it might be.

"What is it?" He was curious about what else she was about to say. 

Aside from the party, he was not aware that she did anything else. Then, he remembered she was with Jacky. Anything could happen.

He just hoped that it was not something she was regretting at the moment, based on her expression. He did not want some scandal overshadowing their wedding ceremony.

"I don't know if you were aware, but I had dinner with King Edward last night." She revealed to him, surprised to see him with a confused expression.

He stopped what his hands were doing and stared at her with narrowed eyes. She could see that he was trying to read her if he heard her correctly.

Judging by his reaction, she could already guess that he did not expect that at all.. It would seem that he was not notified by her secret rendezvous with the king.