Summary: A shared shower doesn't go the way Joanna and Liam had hoped.
Note: Basically the complete scene to the snippet of Joanna's memories from chapter 4 of 'Remember me'.
She heard the shower, slowly she entered the bathroom to find Liam in the shower as expected.
Water dripped from his hair, down his muscular back, to his well-toned butt. „Look at that, Adonis in my shower!" Joanna commented on the wonderful view with a mischievous grin.
„Joanna!", exclaimed Liam in surprise, instinctively covering his cock with his hands, which was pretty silly considering Joanna had seen him naked countless times before.
„I'll be done in a moment." Liam replied, clearly uncomfortable.
„Why in such a hurry?", with a mischievous grin. Joanna knew this was all new territory for Liam. He had confided in her that Cordonia had very strict rules about sharing a room. Joanna, on the other hand, had often lived with men in the past and was accordingly comfortable and shameless about the situation.
„I'm still dirty," he countered, trying to turn slightly away from her. Liam was used to facing people in perfect condition. Waking up drenched in sweat next to the woman he loved, let alone having her with him when he cleaned himself, brushed his teeth, or did other mundane things brought him a certain insecurity. It was a form of intimacy never instilled in his upbringing and provided a harsh contrast to the perfectionism instilled. The fear of rejection in these situations was immense, even though he only got positive feedback from Joanna.
„Great, then there are places where I can rub.", she replied, purring while undressing in the process.
„Joanna, I-...wow," Liam replied, wide-eyed as the last piece of clothing fell off Joanna's body.
Joanna joined Liam in the shower. „Now Your Majesty, show me where I can rub.", she purred and grabbed Liam's soap bottle.
Liam blushed in embarrassment as he felt Joanna's hands glide gently over his bare chest.
„Liam, look at me." Joanna's voice was soft, encouraging.
Liam slowly turned his gaze to Joanna. Inwardly, he prepared himself to see disgust and disapproval in Joanna's eyes, but instead a pair of blue eyes met his with adoration and lust. The sight made him relax a bit and slowly he felt the need to lather up Joanna as well.
Hesitantly he reached for Joanna's soap bottle, distributed a dab of soap on his hands and then also went on an exploration tour of Joanna's body. He started with Joanna's shoulders and slowly worked his way down to her breasts to fondle, knead and occasionally ping a nipple, earning encouraging moans of approval from Joanna.
He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice that Joanna's hands had begun their journey south on him. It was only when they arrived at the destination of their journey, Liam's manhood, that a surprised groan escaped him.
With one hand Joanna cupped his base, thumb extended. Then she put her other hand right next to it, to then push the outstretched thumb up towards the glans and back again with gentle pressure, while the other hand held it tight. Liam watched her through lust-stricken eyes while periodically letting out moans of approval.
Liam found himself getting closer to his climax after Joanna switched positions of her hands and arrived at his peak, now incorporating a massage of his foreskin. Not wanting to cum before he was inside her, he gently removed her hands from his manhood. His hands found her butt, with a jerk he picked her up and maneuvered them both against the nearest shower wall so that he had a reasonably stable footing despite the wet, slippery environment. Then he entered her.
His thrusts were hesitant and not particularly in rhythm, the previously applied soap had not been completely washed off by either of them, the shower wall was wet from the water that was still running. Wet and slippery met wet and slippery. Joanna removed a hand from Liam's shoulder and tried to find some extra grip on the shower wall while lowering one leg to the floor to give the two of them more stability. But Liam had other plans. Still united to her, he lifted Joanna's leg again...
„Be careful!", exclaimed Joanna.
„ARRGH!" Liam suddenly screamed in pain. Joanna was just able to catch herself on the wall to avoid falling full force on the floor or even worse on Liam.
She looked in shock at her fiancé, who was huddled in the corner of the shower, clutching his crown jewels, groaning in pain.
Joanna sighed in disappointment. So much for good morning shower sex. „I told you, be careful." Joanna growled sullenly, already involved in several shower accidents in her life, she skipped the shock and immediately entered problem-solving mode, turned off the water and left the shower.
„You're leaving!?" Liam yelled mortified.
„Someone has to reassure the guards that everything is fine or do you want everyone to storm in here!?" Joanna replied calmly and slipped into her bathrobe.
„No, please don't." Liam whimpered, shocked, in pain and at the same time embarrassed at the thought of someone from the staff seeing him like that.
Joanna grabbed a large towel and came back to Liam in the shower to cover him with it. „I'll be right back." Joanna promised, kissing his forehead lovingly and then exited the bathroom.
„Hurry up!" Liam croaked after her.
„Your Majesty? Is everything okay?" Lisa, one of the guards assigned for the day, asked concerned.
„Your Majesty, we're coming in now.", announced Monica, another guard, after they didn't get an answer to Lisa's question. And today, exactly, two female guards must be on duty, poor Liam.
„NOOOO! Stay out!", screamed Joanna, running the last few feet to the door.
„Everyone calm down!" Joanna said, trying to calm her breathing, while she opened the door.
„Your Grace, we heard his Majesty scream. What happened?", asked Lisa and looked alarmed at Joanna together with Mona.
„There was a little accident. I'm fine, but the King is injured. Please call a doctor and send me one of the male guards on duty and be discreet!" Joanna said in a firm voice that didn't tolerate any arguments and shortly afterwards closed the door to hurry back to Liam.
„Stop that! Get help!" Joanna heard Liam's pained voice panting desperately as she approached the bathroom.
Entering the bathroom, she saw Liam is lying on the floor in the shower in the position she had left him, one hand holding his crown jewels under the towel while the other hand was trying with pathetic looking gestures to stop Chance from licking his face.
„Chance, come here my boy! Go to your seat and stand guard from there!" Joanna commanded the little corgi and shooed him out of the bathroom, then grabbed a towel and began drying Liam, careful not to move him any more than necessary.
Liam's cheeks flushed and he avoided Joanna's eyes the whole time. Reflexively he grabbed the towel that covered him from the waist down as Joanna made a move to dry him there as well. „I'm going to take care of that."
„Oh yes? Alright then do it." Joanna replied in disbelief as she handed him her towel.
„Turn around." Liam ordered.
„I-…"
„Please." He whimpered.
Joanna sighed offended, but turned around anyway. Stubborn man.
Behind her, she heard Liam groaning in pain several times.
„How's it going?", she asked in a sweet voice, knowing he couldn't do it without help.
The only answer Joanna got from him was a dissatisfied growl.
„Are you ready? I asked a guard to come over right away to help me get you into bed so the doctor can examine you better. He should be there soon.", she provoked him, thinking he would accept her help before he hurt himself any more.
„Who of the guards?" Liam squeaked anxiously.
„I don't know." Joanna replied innocently. „I wasn't asking for anyone in particular. But If I remember correctly Monica and Lisa are on duty today."
„I beg your pardon? I can't face them both like that, that would be extremely inappropriate!" Liam's voice rose two octaves in horror and shame.
„Will you let me help you now?"
„Fine.", replied Liam through clenched teeth.
Mortified and embarrassed, he looked away from her while Joanna finished drying him, putting his shirt on and combing his hair. Since he had to be free from the waist down for the exam anyway, Joanna decided to dress Liam in a robe that covered him to the knees to give him some degree of coverage.
As soon as she was done, there was a knock on the frontdoor. It was Bastion.
„Bastien, nice to see you! Come in!" Joanna greeted him, exceedingly cheerful, knowing that Liam would certainly feel a bit of relief that, of all the guards, it was Bastien who would come to the rescue, although she would have preferred Marco herself.
Bastien, who was visibly irritated by the unusually friendly greeting, hesitantly entered the apartment. Joanna briefly explained what had happened and together with Bastien's help they put Liam to bed.
When the doctor arrived, Bastien opened the door for him and escorted him to the injured King, only to discreetly exit the room afterwards. Liam also tried to get Joanna out of the room with several arguments, but Joanna ignored his motions and stayed.
Although the doctor was very careful, the examination was very painful for Liam. He did his best not to show his pain, but every now and then a whimper escaped him. Joanna stood at his side of the bed throughout the exam, holding his hand and gently stroking his head. Liam was exceedingly grateful that she had stayed, even though he had sent her away, although he didn't show it, he was still too ashamed to look her in the eye while in this vulnerable state.
The doctor finally told them that he would like to check Liam with the machines at the hospital to make sure the injury doesn't require surgery. Joanna and Liam agreed with him. Liam insisted that Joanna meet his father and Regina in his place and then take care of a few urgent phone calls on his behalf. After a long discussion, Joanna reluctantly agreed, helped the doctor and Bastien with the preparations for the transport and then kissed Liam goodbye.
„Beloved daughter-in-law coming!", Joanna announced herself cheerfully, as she entered the conference room through the large wooden doors and sat down in the only vacant chair at the end of the table. „What are we doing today? What charities do we support, what alliances do we form, what enemies do we punish, and what intrigues do we hatch?"
Constantine and Regina sat across from each other and exchanged surprised looks. „Good morning, Lady Joanna, what a nice surprise. Don't mind me asking, where is Liam?" Regina said, obviously not amused by Joanna's inappropriate entrance.
„Oh, unfortunately he won't be able to attend today's meeting. He's in the hospital right now. I'll handle his entire schedule as long as he stays there." Joanna answered Regina's question calmly and helped herself to a glass of water.
„Liam is in the hospital!?", repeated Regina in horror.
„What happened?", Constantine asked horrified and started to cough heavily.
„Come on, Constantine. It's really enough that one of us already has to go to the hospital today." Joanna refilled Constantine's glass of water. „Now calm down, because it's not that bad. It was a minor accident, it's not life-threatening and he's only there for a few tests. At best, he'll be back in an hour."
„Thank you." Constantine ground out through his coughing fit and took a sip of water.
Joanna and Regina waited patiently for Constantine to calm down.
„I already know I won't like the answer.", Regina said with a deep sigh, earning an amused smile from Joanna, „But still, what happened?"
Joanna grinned mischievously. „Well, we were in the shower-…"
„That's enough!"
Joanna raised an eyebrow in amusement. „But I haven't gotten to the main part yet."
„We can figure out the rest ourselves. Thank you very much." Regina replied and turned the subject around to business.
Joanna spent two hours with her future in-laws in the conference room, where she was being prepared for the upcoming phone calls. Especially Regina gave her a difficult time in this regard. Just before the three went their separate ways, Joanna's cell phone rang. She had a message.
„Good news." Joanna squeaked in delight. „Liam will be discharged from the hospital before lunch."
Constantine and Regina turned to her happily. „This is wonderful news."
„Then you don't have to make the call to Lord Winston." Regina interjected relieved.
„Of course." Joanna replied with a fake smile, „Oh and Regina, it's bent, not broken. Sprained to be exact."
Regina made an indignant noise accompanied by a disgusted hand gesture, grabbed Constantine's arm and marched quickly out of the conference room.
Constantine glared at Joanna before letting Regina drag him out oft he converence room.
Joanna looked after the two with an amused smile. Worth it.
Liam woke up in pain. It was late afternoon, he was lying in his and Joanna's bed, his crown jewels propped up and fitted with an ice pack which had obviously grown warm, his meds having worn off. Tormentingly, he reached for the bell that stood next to him on his bedside table and rang for his nurse Amanda, who had looked after him since his arrival at the palace. But instead of Amanda, Joanna appeared in the doorway.
„You rang the bell?" Joanna asked with a smile.
„Where's Amanda?" Liam replied, surprised to see his fiancé in the doorway instead of his nurse.
Joanna eyed him skeptically. „She's off work."
„But-…" Liam began, horrified. I can't get up.
„Shall I bring you your medication?" Joanna asked calmly.
„Yes, please." Liam replied, looking down at his feet in embarrassment.
„Do you need a new cooling pad?" Joanna asked calmly.
Liam didn't answer her, only his cheeks flushed with shame in answer to her question.
„I'll take that as a yes." Joanna replied cheerfully and disappeared out of the doorway, only to come back a few minutes later.
„Your meds." Joanna handed him his meds.
„A glass of water to wash down the meds." Joanna poured water into the glass on his bedside table.
„And your ice pack." Liam was taking his meds with water when he felt his covers lift, immediately his free hand buckled out to stop Joanna, his hand unfortunatley landing on his groin and Liam yelping in pain as response.
Joanna flinched in shock, then looked at him in irritation. „What was that?"
Liam took a deep breath, trying to breathe away the pain. - Unsuccessful. „Can you please call Amanda?"
Joanna raised an eyebrow skeptically. „Why can Amanda help you, but I can't?" Joanna tried to keep her voice calm, impartial and free from the jealousy that was spreading inside her.
„Because that's her job." Liam replied in a firm voice.
„We want to get married.", she replied perplexed, „It states in sickness and in health."
„I don't want you to see me like that." Liam murmured in embarrassment.
„I don't want Amanda to do that. I only hired her because you pushed me to attend your appointments for you and I wanted to make sure you were well taken care of during my abscene.", Joanna paused for a moment to consider her next words, „I want to be the person who takes care of you. I want us to create a home here, a place where we can come back after all our royal duties, relax,… a place where we can feel comfortable and raise our children. Having servants is handy, but I only want them to take on such work in emergencies."
Liam looked at her hopefully. „You are thinking about having kids with me?"
„Of course, I'm your fiancé." Joanna paused for a moment. „Who else would you like to have children with?"
„You insisted on a trial engagement." Liam replied stoically to hide how much the memory that she hadn't accepted his proposal right away hurt him.
Joanna looked down at her feet in guilt, then she looked up at Liam. „You know I only said that because I was scared."
„And now you are no longer scared?"
„Of course I'm still scared, Liam.", Joanna answers frustrated, „I'm afraid that one day you will throw me out of the nest because you meet a noblewoman who is better qualified to be queen than I am or that something will happen and you are leaving me for 'my own good'."
Liam looked at Joanna ruefully. „I'm so sorry, my love."
„I know.", Joanna replied calmly, stroking his cheek affectionately, „That shouldn't be a reproach. I-...I'm just afraid you'll push me off you again."
Liam opened his mouth, wanting to tell her that this had been a one time thing, that it wouldn't happen again, that he had learned from his mistake, that she was the only one and that he would do anything in his power to make her happy, all she had to do was tell him; But instead of assuring her with words like so many times before, this time he decided to act. Hesitantly he removed the blanket from himself and looked at Joanna insecurely, vulnerable and yet reassuring.
Joanna's heart warmed at the gesture. She knew that this form of intimacy in a relationship was completely new to Liam and took a lot out of him. She carefully exchanged Liam's ice pack for the fresh ice pack in her hand, proud of herself when she did it without making Liam groan in pain.
„I have something for you.", she said in a soft voice as she gently tucked him in.
„What is it?" Liam asked curiously, looking at her uncertainly.
„Let yourself be surprised." Joanna purred, disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a small food cart.
Liam's eyes lit up with delight, his features brightened. „Is that a vanilla milkshake with... baklava?"
„Yes." Joanna replied, putting the food cart within his reach. „I hope you like it, this was my fifth attempt at baklava."
While Liam helped himself to the food cart, Joanna walked around the bed to join him from her side. She climbed into bed carefully, careful not to move the mattress too much, then snuggled into his chest. „I'm sorry, you hurt yourself because of me."
„I'm sorry, I didn't let you accompany me to the hospital."
She looked at him expectantly. „Care to share?"
Liam fed her a piece of baklava.
„Damn, this turned out better than I thought it would. Did I nail it?"
Liam chuckled. „Yeah, you nailed it.", he replied amused and kissed her forehead affectionately. „Thank you."