Hey Guys! Sorry this has taken so long! I had piles of homework dumped on me this week…but the new chapter is here! Yeah!!! Its short, but I'm not really a long chapter person. I promise the next chapter will come faster (as long as you keep reviewing…so click that button!) -e
Finally the music began to quiet and the quests began to filter out the door, leaving the grand room empty. Clarisse wandered out on to the terrace and watched the last of the cars pull away. "Hot tonight isn't it?" Joseph appeared in the doorway and leaned against the frame. Clarisse turned to face him, "Yes it certainly is. I should have had the maids change the sheets. Silk is too heavy for weather like this." Clarisse smiled, laughing at herself for making such a comment.
"Two whole hours and not one time could I get you to dance with me. I think my feelings are hurt." Joseph smiled mockingly. Clarisse laughed along with him. "Well, fine sir…may I have this dance?" Clarisse bowed low, looking up at Joseph from underneath her lashes. Joseph walked slowly toward her, taking her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist. They began to sway in perfect time. Clarisse rested her head against Josephs shoulder breathing in his scent. She loved the smell of his cologne mixed with his sweat, it felt like home. She pressed her body into Josephs, allowing his arm to pull her close to him. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, dancing to the rhythm of each other's hearts.
That night Clarisse lay in bed, the sheets sticking to every part if her, sweat creeping into every crevice. She desperately needed relief from the heat. As she lay in bed, she wondered whether Joseph knew what he did to her. Every time he spoke to her in his husky voice, she went weak at the knees, and every time he touched her back to guide her through a crowd she felt a shiver run up her spine. Ever since he had set foot in the Palace on his first day of work she had been drawn to him. He had an aura about him, calming and comforting, and in the midst of ruling a country, it was exactly what she needed. If she could only feel his touch on her skin and feel his lips on hers, she would be in perfect bliss. His body against hers…Clarisse tried to calm her mind, tried to settle down, tried to stop thinking about him. She lay there for a minute, waiting for the sandman to dump buckets. Giving up, she untangled her legs from the mess of sheets and swung herself out of bed. "Somebody must have waylaid the sandman." She thought to herself as she crossed the room. She reached the doorway and opened in onto a dark hallway. Clarisse could almost hear the walls sleeping, it seemed as though everyone was sleeping except for her. She walked barefoot down the long strip of carpet, down the grand stair case, onto the balcony where she had danced with him less than five hours ago, and out into the gardens. She wandered down the paths, stopping to smell the flowers and to let her hand dangle in the fountains. The cool water felt wonderful on her skin. She let her feet carry her to one of the many gazebos and she sat down on the stone railing. Clarisse looked up into the sky. The moon was full and stars were scattered like a blanket across the midnight. A breeze blew through the air. She welcomed it as it licked across her skin. She untied the robe she had been wearing and let it float away. The queen sat all alone in the gazebo in just a silk slip, feeling freer than she had ever felt.
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