She had unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off of his shoulders before Josef had even realized it.

Sensing that he was about to say something she shook her head warningly as her hands ran up his arms.

"You usually don´t have so much trouble to know when it´s time for talking and when it´s time for acting, have you" she teased him, now digging her fingernails into his chest and Josef groaned as he tried desperately to control himself.

He caught her hands in his and she sighed, finally drawing back slightly.

"I know what you are thinking but it´s not like that- yes, I am rather upset about Rupert and this girl but that has nothing to do with this and you should know it."

"How?"

He pulled her back up into a sitting position, keeping his hands on her upper arms as he looked into her blue eyes.

"How am I supposed to know that, you never show me, you throw me little bits of affection now and then but that´s it, as soon as you stop needing comfort you turn back into a block of ice."

"Now that´s not a very nice thing to say" she told him in a mock hurt voice, batting her eyelashes.

"Could you be serious for just one moment?"

"No- I´m too drunk already to be serious right now, I can be serious in the morning, right now I just want to sleep with you, do you think that could somehow be arranged?"

Josef couldn´t help but chuckle, she was so deliciously shocking if she wanted to.

"You know damn well I can´t resist you- I have wanted you too long to say no to you and you´re shamelessly taking advantage of it."

She leaned forward towards him, granting him a most perfect look at her cleavage.

"How about you shamelessly taking advantage of my drunken state then?"

She whispered against his lips before kissing him again and this time Josef allowed himself to get swept away by her passion, kissing her back just as intensely.

It was him who pushed her back down onto the floor and she moaned when his lips left her´s and travelled down her neck.

"Now that´s the spirit- don´t you dare to stop again."

"Don´t worry, you can be very convincing if you want to" he mumbled against her soft skin, he wasn´t strong enough to push her away and he didn´t even really want to, this was all he had ever dreamed about and even if she told him afterwards that this would never happen again at least he would have this one time to remember for the rest of his life.

He explored her perfectly curved body while his lips brushed against her shoulder and to his delight she was like wax in his hands, the usually so self assured woman reduced to writhing helplessly underneath his touches.

The silence was only broken by their heavy breathing and the queen´s little sighs and gasps when Josef´s hands or lips found another sensitive spot on her flawless skin.

At some point Josef straightened up long enough to pull Clarisse´s nightshirt up over her head, he was rewarded by the most glorious sight imaginable and she blushed fiercely under his intense gaze.

"What a sight" he breathed as he slowly traced her collarbone with his fingertips, feeling the queen shiver.

She was panting now, her eyes sparkling in the light of the fire, her lips red and swollen from his kisses.

"Stop staring at me, Josef" she commanded with a hint of her usual fierceness in her voice, causing Josef to smile amusedly.

"As you wish, Madam."

He kissed her again while unbuttoning his trousers, then quickly undressed himself completely before taking Clarisse back into his arms.

"I never knew it could be like that."

The queen sighed dreamily as she lay in Josef´s arms in front of the dying fire.

"If I had known I would have seduced you much earlier."

Josef shook his head in disbelief while he kept stroking Clarisse´s hair.

"You are truly amazing."

"In a good sense?"

"I havn´t quite decided on that yet- I´m not complaining either way, though."

"Well, that is something- the fire will be out soon, shall we take this elsewhere?"

"Elsewhere?"

Josef asked, puzzled- he hadn´t even thought about Clarisse asking him to stay with her, she might be seriously angry at her husband but she was still married and would remain that way.

"Like to the bedroom- unless you rather want to stay here and freeze."

"I was rather thinking you would go to bed alone."

She turned in his arms and looked up at him, a frown on her face.

"Do you want to leave or were you merely assuming I would make you?"

"Well, if we try and be realistic I should- what if one of your maids walks in on us or worse your husband decides to try and apologize once more?"

"I´m not in the mood for being realistic, I´m too happy- and too drunk, come to think of it and I´d really like you to stay."

"Clarisse, what do you think would happen-"

"Frankly, I don´t give a damn."

Josef couldn´t help but laugh at the quote.

"You might have read gone with the wind just a few times to often."

"Probably- now let´s stop fooling around and go to bed before I fall asleep right here."

Josef awoke to the heavenly feeling of Clarisse´s soft lips brushing against his.

"Good morning" she whispered, slowly tracing her fingernails along his collarbone and making him shiver.

"It´s a very good morning indeed" he replied while pulling her fully into his arms before deepening the kiss.

They were soon lost in each other once more, neither of them wanting to think about the complications their night together doubtlessly would cause.

Finally Josef looked at the small clock on the bedside table and gently nudged Clarisse who was about to fall asleep on his chest.

"We have to get up, your maids will be here soon and I´d rather not explain why I´m in your rooms at this time."

The queen straightened up, a teasing smile on her face.

"You mean you´d rather not explain while you are in my bed and while you are naked."

"Obviously- so let´s get up."

"Oh all right" Clarisse yawned discretely, then rolled over and got out of the bed.

"Are you going to be in the ballroom later?"

She asked as she reached for a silk robe.

"Of course I will- I wouldn´t want to miss the fun, would I."

Clarisse laughed, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Too true."

She disappeared into her bathroom and Josef sat up, stretching before getting up from the bed.

As he looked around the room the reality of what he had done hit him full force- it had actually happened, he had slept with Clarisse, with the queen- God, if this ever reached the king he most certainly would be dead, literally.

Josef slipped out of the room to retrieve his clothes from the living room, taking Clarisse´s with him as he went back into the bedroom.

"Clarisse?"

"Yes?"

Came her voice from the bathroom.

"Do you know if Genovia has something like the Secret Service?"

The bathroom door opened and Clarisse looked at him, aghast.

"Secret Service? You mean like in the James Bond movies?"

"Well, yes, something like that."

She looked at him for a moment, then broke into a fit of giggles.

"Are you scared of Rupert?"

"Is that so obvious?"

"Painfully so- don´t worry, I suppose he would thank you that you have relieved me of my energy, he´s much more scared of me at the moment than you are of him."

"You think that´s possible?"

"Most certainly."