Hello everyone, I just want to thank you all for reading and to those who have already left reviews, but where have you all gone? I appreciate all your thoughts so much and hope you all return one day as I have really missed reading what you think of the latest chapters :) it's the highlight of my day and gives me some much needed motivation.
Anyways, here's the next chapter for you all, hope you enjoy it ;)
"What? Where?" Clarisse exclaimed in shock and shook her head in disbelief. How could this be? He couldn't have a tattoo, could he?
"Between my shoulder blades," Joseph replied and put his glass down on the table.
"You don't, you're pulling my leg," she exclaimed and shook her head with a laugh. "I would have seen it last night, surely."
"Not necessarily," he smirked, remembering their first night together last night and how, many times, she had grasped hold of his back. Her nails digging into him as they made love. "We were a little preoccupied making love, don't you think?"
"Well, I, yes I suppose we were," Clarisse said as she looked away a moment, a blush creeping over her features as she too remembered their special night together, before looking back at him. "But a tattoo?"
"Yes, a tattoo," he laughed.
"I can't believe that, I mean you have a tattoo," Clarisse said, still in shock.
"Yes I do," Joseph laughed, "and I will show you later on."
"When did you get it?" She asked, taking a drink of her champagne as she sat back in her seat and put her glass back down on the table.
"About fifteen years ago, in honour of my mother after she died," Joseph said sombrely and Clarisse nodded. Knowing that he had been close to his mother and was heartbroken when she passed away. She remembered how she had wanted to be there for him at the time, but circumstances and Royal protocol wouldn't allow. "She loved you, you know. And would have been over the moon to know that we married."
"I don't doubt that, although I am certain, knowing her the little bit that I did, she would have been rather upset and mad at us that she wouldn't have been here to witness it personally," Clarisse said and watched as her husband looked down with a laugh.
"She would have been mad, definitely," Joseph said and looked up at the sunset for a moment. Remembering his mother and the time they spent together with nothing but fond memories.
"She was a great woman, and was so very proud of you, Joseph," Clarisse said softly as she sat back up and reached her hand out, placing it on his thigh as he looked back at her. "Remember that."
"Thank you," Joseph said, sitting up and leaning closer to give her a quick kiss before picking up his glass from the table and taking a drink of his champagne.
"You're welcome," Clarisse said before giving him a small smile. "Now, how have you had this tattoo all this time and never told me, and how have I not seen it before, especially in the summer when it's hot and you, um, you take off your top," she said, waving her hand about in front of her, trying to keep herself composed as Joseph laughed. "You've taken your top off in the summer surely? To cool down and to swim. I have seen you by the pool."
"Ahh well yes I have," Joseph smirked, placing his glass back down on the table and leant closer to her, resting his elbows on his knees, "but you see, working where I was, and for who I was, meant I had to be extra careful with what I bared. I couldn't just walk around without a top on, it wouldn't have been proper. Not when my Queen was in residence."
Nodding, Clarisse tipped her head to the side with a smile. Trying to imagine him with a tattoo. "What is it off?"
"It's an outline of a cross, so easy to miss from afar," Joseph smiled, putting a hand on her knee.
"Ahh well there you go then, that's why I missed it, especially from afar," Clarisse smiled and picked up her drink. "I just can't believe I didn't see it last night."
"Well we had other things on our mind," Joseph said, a twinkle in his eye, as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over her knee.
"Yes we did," Clarisse smiled and raised the glass close to her mouth, "I can't wait to see it later."
Smiling, Joseph watched as she took a sip of her champagne. "Now what about you, tell me something that I don't know about you."
"But you already know everything there is to know about me," Clarisse laughed and placed her glass back down on the table. Leaving her hand down beside it as she bit her bottom lip and looked back up at her husband.
"There's gotta be something," he smiled, watching as she looked at her glass. "You don't have any secret tattoos do you?"
"No," she laughed with a shake of her head, "no secret tattoos for me I'm afraid. I'm not that rebellious. But I do love that you have one though, it adds to that bad boy image you have going on." She said and he laughed.
"Oh well, there's something I didn't know about you," he smirked as she laughed. "I didn't know that you think of me with a bad boy image."
"Yes I do, and I find it very attractive, even more so now I know that you have a tattoo," Clarisse smiled and leant forward, crossing her arms in her lap as she studied her husband's face briefly. "Now that I am nearly free and can therefore do as I please. Do you want to know something else about me? Something you won't know already, because I have never told anyone. It's been kept secret in here," she said, her voice sultry while placing her hand on her heart.
"Go on," Joseph smiled curiously, watching as she lowered her hand back down in her lap.
"I have always wanted to make love outside, on the beach, under the stars, in the rain, anywhere. Just as long as it's outside," she said and slowly sat back while picking up her glass, taking a sip of her champagne as Joseph gazed at her intently.
"In your rose garden?" He asked as she placed her glass back down on the table before thinking a moment, contemplating his words as she bit her bottom lip once again and averted her gaze over his shoulder to one of the pavilion columns behind him, imagining them making love right there in her rose garden.
"Clarisse," he smiled, pulling her from her thoughts and smiling back at him. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," she nodded and licked her lips in anticipation as Joseph leant forward. "Even in my rose garden."
Cupping her face in his hand, he smoothed over her lips with his thumb before looking into her eyes. "I'm sure that could be arranged," he said seductively, a mischievous smile on his lips as a breath hitched in her throat.
"Le dîner est servi, Votre Majesté, Monsieur," announced the butler as he appeared with two footmen.
"No privacy," Joseph said, a smile playing on his lips, as he lowered his hand from Clarisse's cheek and looked up at the butler.
"You've been around Mia too much, my love," Clarisse said and they both laughed before she looked up at the butler placing a tray on the table. "Merci," she smiled.
"De rien, Votre Majesté," said the butler with a bow of his head.
After a moment the butler and footmen were gone, and Clarisse and Joseph were alone once again. "I love it when you talk french, it's so captivating and oh so very sexy."
"Merci, mon amour," Clarisse smiled as she leant forward and placed her hands on his thighs. "Je t'aime."
"Moi aussi, je t'aime," Joseph smiled and leant closer to kiss her before they both turned to the table. "You know you said that you have always wanted to make love outside?"
"Yes," Clarisse replied suspiciously as she picked up her glass of champagne.
"Well, I have always wanted to make love in front of a raging fire," Joseph said and watched as she took a long sip of her champagne, as if she was considering his words, before holding her glass in front of her. "I find it so romantic, the heat from the fire on our bodies, the crackle of the flames mixed with moans of pleasure."
"I'm sure that could be arranged," Clarisse teased, a flirty smile on her lips, as she placed her glass back down on the table and looked back up at him. Watching as he laughed.
After enjoying the delicious dinner that Joseph had arranged for them, and starting on the second bottle of champagne, they turned the fairy lights off and moved to sit on one of the stone benches between the columns facing the garden to star gaze. "I'm glad you brought these blankets out for us," Clarisse said as she pulled one tightly around her shoulders. "It's getting a little chilly now."
"I am too," Joseph nodded as he turned his head to look at her. "If you're cold though, we can always go back inside."
"No, not yet," Clarisse said with a shake of her head. "I'm not ready for this evening to end just yet."
"Okay," Joseph smiled and watched her a moment as she tipped her head up to look up at the night sky before finally looking up himself.
"Can I ask you something?" Clarisse asked a moment later and looked back at her husband.
"Sure," he replied and turned his head to look back at her with a smile as she put a hand on his thigh.
"You're a handsome, strapping man, who could've had absolutely any woman he wanted. So why did you choose me? What did you see in me? When you could have had a wife and even a family of your own long, long ago." She asked.
"Everything, and that's how it's always been," he answered softly, without hesitation and turned to her on the seat. "For years I see a woman yearning to be loved. But not only that, I saw the most beautiful woman in the world. I saw the woman who claimed my heart when I was just twenty years old, even though she was already spoken for and I stood absolutely no chance. But what about you? I could ask you the same. I'm classed as a servant to the Royals. So why did you pick me, when you could've had any man with a title you wanted? You are gorgeous, and I know for a fact that there are so, so many men out there who would fall at your feet for you. That would do absolutely anything to be with you."
"I know, but I didn't want just any man. I wanted you. Because you're different to everyone else. You make me feel wanted, and needed. You make me feel loved, and appreciated. All the others would have only wanted me because of my status, but you? You saw me for who I'm meant to be. Not who I am. You saw me as Clarisse Andrews, not Queen Clarisse Renaldi. And I love that about you. You're such a caring, attentive man. I really couldn't have asked for anyone better to be my husband."
He nodded, knowing exactly to whom she was referring when she talked about feeling wanted and needed. And it broke his heart that he, his King, had the audacity to treat her the way he did. "And you have me now, and I not only see you as the woman you're meant to be, but I see you as Mrs Clarisse Elizondo too," he said as he reached his hand up to cup her cheek. "My very gorgeous wife. My love. My always forever. My absolute everything."
She knew it shouldn't, but hearing him saying her new married name out loud only fueled her desire for her husband even more. "Say that again."
"What? Mrs Clarisse Elizondo," he said as seductively as he possibly could and smiled as she bit her bottom lip before leaning closer and kissing him. Slowly. Sensually.
Pulling back a moment later, Clarisse licked her lips and looked up into his sparkling eyes before saying quite brazenly. "Let's be a bit spontaneous and reckless."
"What, my love, do you have in mind?" He smiled mischievously.
I know the first one is correct, hopefully the others will be correct too, if not I apologise. I used Google translate so blame them haha
Merci - thank you
Le dîner est servi, Votre Majesté, Monsieur - dinner is served, Your Majesty, Sir
De rien, Votre Majesté - you're welcome, Your Majesty
Merci, mon amour - thank you, my love
Je t'aime - I love you
Moi aussi, je t'aime - I love you too
Thanks for reading :)