Again, a repost...

I don't own Voltron...

Chapter Four

In the Castle of Lions…

The rest of the day goes by without event. There were no outings scheduled and the guys take this opportunity to rest as much as possible. Hunk and Pidge take the time to make sure that the change in Blue's tracking system, Unfinished thought I think.

and after the balcony incident, Allura takes time to go to the castle library. Entering the room, she heads over to the law books and pulls the edition that speaks about governing laws. She moves over to the couch overlooking the gardens and settles in for a long day of reading. As she is perusing the laws concerning royalty and their obligation to the general public, Nanny knocks on the door.

"Princess, Princess are you in there?" she calls and Allura sighs. She wanted to get some peace and quiet…

"Yes, Nanny, you can come in." She puts down the book and prepares for the tiresome conversation that is bound to come. Nanny has been hounding her for an engagement for months now and she has to keep fighting to keep her at bay. Allura knew ever since that day the explorers arrived that she was destined to be more than what her father was and be a different type of leader. It was a little time later that she admitted that her heart had been captured by the gallant leader of the Voltron Force, the very instant that he kissed her hand and stared at her with those handsome brown eyes. Unfortunately, her thoughts were interrupted by the inevitable chattering of her governess. "There you are. I was hoping you were taking the time to get back into your lessons. You have been putting them off too long and you need to have them memorized for any meetings that may come up."

Sighing, Allura responds, "Nanny, there is more to governing than just being able to speak properly. The defense of this planet is my responsibility…"

Nanny frowns, "That is why you have the Voltron Force. They can do it, and you can call Sven back to take your place in Blue Lion. You should have never started that piloting business…" but Allura cuts her off.
"I will not go through this with you again…the argument is getting old. I am not going to give up piloting Blue and I resent that I have to keep hearing this every chance you get." The princess stands and moves over to her father's desk and picks up the paperweight shaped like the castle's coat of arms. "If my father had a problem with it, I'm sure that he would let me know."

She spins around hearing Nanny mumble under her breath. "What is it you said?" The older woman blinks furiously and grinds out, "He is not here and you need to be more worried about state affairs than traipsing across the galaxy!"

"That's enough. I really need to finish what I started, so you can leave now." At any other time, she wouldn't be this short with her, but her nerves are on edge and she can't take anymore badgering.

"As long as I'm your governess, you WILL hear what I have to say!" and with that, she leaves in a huff. Allura waits for the door to slide closed before she takes the paperweight and throws it into the fireplace. All the anger and frustration she has been feeling with this conflict between herself and Nanny comes rushing forward, making her light-headed. She falls forward and leans against the desk, wishing the dizziness would fade. She slowly walks back over to her seat and sits, resting her head against the back of the chair. There will be no more reading now as she drifts off into a sound sleep.

Night falls on Arus and the team gathers for dinner. The jovial remarks and ribaldry cease when they enter the dining area and see the angry look on Nanny's face.

"What's eating her?" questions Lance quietly. Pidge hits him on the arm as a warning. "I don't think this is the time to be funny."

Hunk nods, "I agree. Let's just get to the table before she decides we DON'T eat tonight!" He moves over to his seat and quickly begins to fill his plate. The others follow suit, but Keith notices someone missing. "Where's the Princess?" he asks. No one answers, so he asks again. "Has anyone seen the Princess?"

Nanny turns, "She was in the library a while ago." The captain recognizes the haughty tone in her voice and realizes that they must have had a horrible fight. He stands, not worrying about what her hang-up is and heads out. He calls back, "Leave us something…that means you, Hunk!" Laughter fills his ears as he heads through the sliding doors and down the main hall. The bright moonlight shines through the blast windows as he hurries into the library. Not hearing from her for such a long period of time raises the level of fear in him. Every time they lose track of her, she goes missing…usually at the hands of Lotor. With that thought, he runs, praying that his instincts are wrong. He presses the button to open the door and quickly scans the room, looking for her. He looks over to the window and sees her sleeping on the couch. Releasing the breath that he had been holding, he moves over to her. Once he's next to the couch, he stops to look at her; watching her chest rise and fall with her even breathing, the way her eyelashes cast a light shadow across her cheeks. Her mouth opens slightly as she sighs and tries to reposition herself to get comfortable. His mouth goes dry as he watches her shift and her neckline moves, giving him a glimpse of the curve of her breast. He clenches his fists, trying to remain in control of his urges, but the control slips when he hears her barely whisper his name. Unable to just remain there anymore, he kneels beside the couch and lightly touches her hand.

"Allura, wake up." She moans, but doesn't awaken. He gets a little louder. "Allura!"

She jumps up with a start and blinks to get her bearings. He smiles at her trying to focus on where she is. "What…what's going on?" she asks, confused.

He places his hand on her cheek and says softly, "Dinner is served." She hadn't even actually realized that he was in the room with her and tries to clear her haziness. Her expression softens when she recognizes his soft touch. "Keith…"

Keith moves to sit beside her and takes her in his arms. She sighs and snuggles into his chest, enjoying his body heat and strength. After a few moments she asks, "Do we have to go to dinner?"

"Afraid to face Nanny?"

She sits up. "No, but I don't want to hear anymore browbeating today." Her eyes narrow and she runs her finger along his jaw line. "Besides, I can't think of a better reason to skip eating than to spend a few hours with you."

His blood races at her touch and his eyes darken with desire. "Allura, they are going to wonder where we are."

"Not if I do this…" She picks up her com link and calls Coran. "Coran, Keith found me in the library and informed me of dinner, but I don't feel too well. I'm going to my room to lie down."

A gruff voice answers her back, "You need to keep up your strength, Princess. I can send a servant to your room with something."

"That will be fine. I'll see you in the morning," she returns, but Coran asks her one more thing. "Where is Commander Keith?" She smiles at the question and thinks quickly of how to respond. "He said that he was going to check Castle Control, then head to his quarters."

"Good. Have a good night, Princess." The com goes dead and Allura turns her shining eyes on her companion. "Let's get to my room." She stands and waits for him to join her. He takes her hand and stands with her. "They're going to know I'm there."

"No, they won't. I can disable the cameras for the time we're there. They won't know the difference." A shocked look appears on his face, "How did you figure that out?"

She shrugs, "I hated the fact that Nanny and Coran could look on me at any given time…that gave me no privacy, so I caused a time loop on my cameras so I can still be seen sleeping, but I can do what I want without having to hear about it." Keith folds his arms across his chest and nods, not at all amazed at the discovery. On his patrols, he had noticed moments where the cameras seemed strange…but decided to leave it alone. He knew instinctively that she had something to do with it.

"You continue to impress me, Princess," he says. She smiles, taking his arm to lead him out the room. "You promised me that we could spend time together tonight, before I go to bed."

He stops outside the door and pulls her back into his embrace, sending her a smoldering look. He looks at both ends of the hall, being careful to watch for roving patrols. He turns her to face him and flashes his most devilish smile. "That I did…and I always keep my word," he says in his silky voice. He turns her towards the East Wing.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The door to Allura's private chamber slides open and she enters to turn on the lights beside her bed. With Keith intently watching her every movement, she moves over to a secret panel by the bathroom door and opens it, pressing a few buttons and flipping a switch. When she sees the red light turn green, she moves to the center of the room. Keith stays by the door, waiting for a signal from his beautiful princess but is hardly able to contain himself. "Keith," she murmurs quietly and she puts her hand out to him. He only hesitates a moment longer before he moves toward her. Her breath catches as she watches him come closer; stalking her with the panther-like grace he exudes with every step. Her body shivers in excitement as he moves within an inch of her, eyes blazing. He takes her hand and raises it to his lips, planting a soft kiss to her palm. Her gaze flashes and she feels a strange warmth invading her secret recesses. Gasping quietly, she waits for him to continue…and she doesn't have to wait for long. Keith slides his hands up her arms to her shoulders, then down her back to pull her against him. His eyes lock with hers; uttering a plea that only she can answer. "My love…" she whispers and he slowly meshes his lips to hers. Allura feels her body weaken yet again; her hands grasping at his shoulders. He places his tongue on the edge of her lip and she eagerly takes it into her mouth. A deep, guttural groan erupts from his throat as he deepens the kiss even more; grasping the nape of her neck while pulling her closer with the hand on her waist. She throws her arms around his neck and slides her tongue against his with a wild abandon, stoking the fires within them to an inferno. Her legs buckle and Keith pulls away to gain a better grasp on her.

"Are you alright, Allura?" he asks into her ear. Feeling wicked; he can't help finishing his question with a sweep of his tongue on her earlobe. She squeals a little and grasps tighter to keep from falling. With all the feelings swirling in her, she's speechless and looks at him pleadingly as if asking him what she should do. He picks her up and carries her to the bed to lay her down. Alarms are going off in the back of his head, but his body refuses to listen. As he settles her among the pillows, he sits next to her and leans his body over hers. His hand gently caresses her shoulder, carefully avoiding the urge to move his hand across her body. Allura's eyes have yet to open; she's too submerged in the waves of passion each one of his soul-rending kisses creates for her. Her head rolls back and forth on the pillow, her breath coming in small pants. Keith can't help but exude some male pride at being able to give her such pleasure. Smiling slowly, he takes possession of her soft lips once again; causing her breath to catch and tempting her to run her fingers through his thick, silky hair. His lips move tortuously to her neck, alternately sucking and licking to taste every inch of her creamy skin. She moans, whispering nonsensically for him to do…what it is she can't tell. Her hands travel down his body, feeling the svelte muscles along his back and arms.

Her innocent touches are driving him insane; his tenuous grasp on self-control evaporating with every kiss and sound. The alarms are blaring now, trying to get Keith to pull back. If he doesn't stop now, he won't be able to. With a herculean effort, he pulls back; the movement causing her to finally open her eyes and stare at him with burning questions in their starry depths. "Allura…I…we have to stop," he says huskily, hating that he has to say it.

She can only stare at him, her emotions are in turmoil. The feelings he was introducing to her are addicting and she wants…no, needs more. Sitting up, she rasps out, "Keith…" and she places her hand on his chest, "What's wrong? Am I doing something wrong?"

His jaw drops at her statement; this was not what he wants her to feel. His gaze softens and he gently runs his finger over her soft lips. "You could never do anything wrong, everything about you is perfect…" A frustrated frown forms on him as he continues, "…but, this is going to go too far if we keep this up. I want you, but I don't want to rush you." Seeing the comprehension coming over her features, he smiles gently. "I love you too much to just let desire rule us tonight. I want it to be right."

A tear forms in her eye as she realizes how much control he must have to rein himself in like this, and it's all for her sake…for their sake. "Oh, my love…I want this as much as you do. I need you…"

"As I do you, but not tonight. My darling…I can't take advantage of this." She frowns and he tries to reassure her in that damnably sexy voice, "We don't have the freedom to…not right now. When we are ready, I want to be able to show you everything; to love you completely without having to worry about making anyone upset. I want to be able to enjoy every sigh…whisper…and touch when we can finally be together." He punctuates each word with a brief kiss, finally sliding his lips on hers once more when he finishes. Allura moans deeply as she grips on to his biceps; her heart tightens at the smoldering look that comes across his face when they finally comes up for air. Of course, he's right…but she can't help but feel a little resentful. Her body starts to shake with overwhelming emotion as she holds him close and lets the tears fall.

"It's not fair. All I want to do is be able to love you like I so desperately want to," she sobs and he holds her closer. He kisses the top of her head, "There are so many reasons why we need to take it slow, and it doesn't just stop with Coran and Nanny…" he explains, "…Lotor will be unforgivable when he finds out that he can never try to claim you, and to know he lost to me…well, we know what he's capable of."

She looks at him strangely, "Is that why you stopped? You don't want Lotor to find out about us?" Her expression turns cold and distrustful, prompting Keith to make her understand. "I stopped for the reason I said…I don't want any interruptions and we would have some tonight. I want you all to myself…I need you to be completely mine when we make love; I want to be able to wake up with your body pressed against mine and not have to worry about having to get up to leave."

Her body quivers at the mere thought; her desires skyrocket at the very image of her lying in his arms, feeling their bodies sliding against one another, his hands teasing her in those secret places that only he will know about. She swallows hard, "I am yours…I have been ever since that day in the old castle. There has not been and never will be anyone else but you, my handsome Lion Knight."

Feeling a lot better about the situation, but just as suddenly feeling a sharp stab of hesitance, he stands; hating himself yet again for not allowing her to feel what desire can do for her…for them. "I think I better get back to my room. Can't have Coran deciding to come and find me and I'm not there."

She can't let him go…not yet. "Keith, will you stay just a few minutes more? Just let me get ready for bed…you can tuck me in."

He groans, but he has been given a chance to remain a little while longer. Hesitantly, he agrees with a slight nod. Allura jumps out of the bed and heads for the bathroom, fully understanding what he has told her about his restraint. But, she can't help wanting to push the envelope just one more time.

She searches around frantically, finding what she's looking for and changes into the sheer nightgown; blue in color with a daringly low neckline. She forgoes any other undergarments and turns to look into the bathroom mirror. She gasps at the change she has in her features; the darkened irises and kiss-ravaged lips. Her face looks more mature; the awakening passion surging through her, making her senses more attuned to everything around her. But, she can't keep her gorgeous protector waiting any longer. Flashing her most wicked grin, she slowly moves back into the bedroom, pausing at the doorway to gain his full attention.

Keith feels her reenter the room and his eyes are drawn to her lazily leaning against the wall, his mouth falling open. Her smile converts into a sexy smirk and she purposely imitates him by executing her own feline stalk. Having the presence of mind to pick his jaw up, his eyes start smoldering and his manhood hardens as he stares while she knowingly teases him unmercifully. She holds her head high; licking her lips and swaying her hips saucily. The gown is dark enough to protect her hidden treasure, but the rises of her breasts are proudly displayed and his loins tighten. Desire rages through him and he uses all the concentration he can muster to remain passive as she performs a seductive walk that would rival Scheherazade.

Where in the hell did she get that from?! He can't help but imagine those enticing breasts; nude and pressed against his chest. In his mind's eye, he can see his lips travel a fiery path from her mouth, down her neck to the tip of one of those…

"You don't play fair." The Commander bites out; determined not to touch her. There would be no turning back if he did…

"No, I didn't intend to. I just wanted to show you what you were going to miss tonight." Her lips curl into a mischievous smile. She stops within inches of him and looks into his passion-glazed eyes. This was all done to inflame him, but the plan backfired; it's taken all she has to not throw herself in his arms and ravage him like her body dictates.

Using a steel-will that amazes even her, she stands on tip-toe; placing a soft kiss to his lips and then heads for the bed. "Goodnight, my love," she whispers and she climbs in, getting herself comfortable under the covers. Keith is still frozen; trying to assimilate all that has just happened; not knowing if he wants to leave or take her up on her unspoken challenge. Reason finally breaks through his haze and he releases his breath. "Goodnight, my princess," he returns in a strained voice. He turns quickly and heads out the room. He stops just outside the door and listens to the light tinkling of her laughter as it slides closed. What a woman…he thinks to himself. He knows that she is an innocent, never being with a man the way she was just with him, but with the display she was determined to show him…makes him all the more anxious to show her how deep his love is for her; have her feel what heaven on earth can be..

Minx… is the last thing he thinks as he heads back to his room…for a much needed cold shower!