A/N: To everyone reading this story, thanks. To bee-327, Chelsietx and ClarisseMarie for taking time to leave wonderful reviews. Thank you a million times over, I appreciate it so much!
I have worked, as always, really hard on this chapter to bring it to you and would really appreciate your feedback/views on it, so please do keep those wonderful reviews coming for me :) it also serves as some much needed motivation.
Thank you, and enjoy…
Hearing the others laughing on the deck below a few moments later, Joseph smiled against Clarisse's lips before trailing kisses slowly down her jaw and burying his face in the crook of her neck, the scent of her favourite perfume intoxicating his senses as she loosened her arms from around his neck and moved one hand to grasp the back of his head. The both of them remaining silent, simply savouring those precious moments they have alone together in each others embrace.
"As much as I would love for us to remain alone up here, we should probably think about letting the others come up and join us," Joseph said softly against her neck a moment later before placing a kiss to the spot below her ear and lifting his head to look up into her gorgeous sparkling blue eyes.
"Yes, we probably should," Clarisse smiled as Joseph loosened his arms from around her waist and smoothed one hand to rest on her lower back. His other hand smoothing along her thigh to rest on her knee. After sharing a couple of quick kisses, Clarisse removed her arm from around his shoulders and put her hand down on his thigh as she turned and slowly rose to her feet. His hand smoothing down from her back and slowly over the curve of her bottom as she got up from his lap.
Smiling, Joseph watched as she picked up her cocktail from the table and turned to him while having a long drink of it through her straw. "I don't think I'm ready to share your company just yet," he said, reaching his hand out for her free hand and gently pulling her closer to him, still sitting on the seat. "Just a few more moments." He smirked cheekily up at her.
"Joseph," Clarisse laughed lightly and set her glass back down on the table before turning back to him and stepping between his legs while letting go of his hand, and placing her hands down on the top of his shoulders as she gazed lovingly down into his sexy, blue eyes. His hands now going to her hips. Watching him lean back to rest against the back of the seat, her hands now falling free from his shoulders, she shook her head. Realising what he wanted her to do. "We can't Joseph, your sisters and their husbands are just down there. What if one of them, or all four of them, came up here?"
"They won't, not until I let them know that it's okay to come up," Joseph smirked mischievously up at her, "besides, them being down there while we are up here is no different to how it was when we were out on the balcony back home with everyone else just inside your suite. Any one of them could have walked out on us then but didn't because they knew to leave us alone. And that's exactly how it'll be now, too. But if they do happen to come up, the only thing they will find is you oh so deliciously straddling my lap. Nothing else." He said seductively.
Contemplating his words, she found herself biting her bottom lip when she had an overwhelming urge to do what he had wanted her to do. Smiling, she leant forward and pressed her hands to his chest as she moved one of her legs to kneel on the seat beside his leg before putting all her weight on that leg and slipped her other leg across his lap so she was straddling him on the seat and slowly lowered herself to sit in his lap.
"Mm yes, this is perfect," Joseph smiled quite happily, his hands instinctively going to her sides and around to her back as they both laughed and she moved her hands up from his chest to rest against the sides of his neck, her thumbs resting against his jaw, and closed her eyes as she leant in, pressing her lips hard against his.
Feeling one of his hands smoothing up her back to hold the back of her head, Clarisse arched her back, and feeling his other hand deliciously cupping her bottom, she laughed against his lips. "That tickles," she said with a laugh and pulled back just enough to gaze into his eyes. "But it also feels nice, too."
"I thought it would," Joseph smiled and pressed his lips back to hers for a slow, sensual kiss. His hands now moving to cup her face in them before kissing her a couple of times and looking up into her eyes. "You taste fruity and delicious," he said, and Clarisse laughed while tipping her head forward.
"And you taste of scotch mixed with apples," Clarisse smiled and lifted her head to look very briefly into his eyes before kissing him once again and sitting up in his lap. Her hands now moving back down onto his chest, while his hands went to rest against the side of her thighs.
"That'll be from dessert," he smiled up at her as she nodded.
"Right, come on, we better stop now," she said and moved her hands back up to his shoulders for support as she raised herself up from his lap and leant to one side, to lift one leg from the seat to stand back up.
"Oh no, no, no, don't get up," Joseph exclaimed and quickly sat up, his hands going to her hips in an attempt to stop her as she laughed and shook her head. "I love it when you straddle my lap like that."
"I do too," she smiled while stepping between his legs and wrapping her arms loosely around his shoulders, her hands grasping the back of his head as his arms wrapped around her waist. "And had we been back at the holiday home and alone, I would have stayed there, but unfortunately we're not. We are on your brother-in-law's yacht. Who, might I add, is right down those steps with your two sisters and other brother-in-law waiting to join us."
"Oh I know, I know," he nodded and smiled as she lowered herself a little and kissed him. "Shall I go down and let them know it's okay to come up now?"
"Yes, I think you should," Clarisse said, and they both laughed as she reluctantly took a step back from him and watched him slowly stand up in front of her.
"I'll be right back then," he smirked and reached his hand out onto her back as she turned back to the table and picked up her cocktail.
"Okay," she smiled and drank some of her drink as she turned to him. To watch him walk over towards the steps leading down to the stern deck where the others were before turning to look out at the scenic view of the ocean and pressed her free hand to her fluttering stomach. Her pulse raced. Her heart beating wildly in her chest. Why oh why did she, no they, why did they do this to themselves over and over. Knowing full well that nothing remotely intimate could happen between them until they were alone much, much later on that night.
"We brought you up another cocktail with us, the same as last time," Vee said a moment or two later as she led the group up onto the upper deck, pulling Clarisse from her thoughts and watched as she turned to her, her now empty glass still in her hand. "Good job we did too, because you finished the other one."
"Yes, only just though," Clarisse smiled and glanced down at the empty glass in her hand before looking back up at her. "Thank you for bringing me another. That first one was delicious."
"You're welcome, and there's plenty more where that came from," Vee smiled and handed her her fresh drink before moving to sit on one of the seats.
"See, didn't we tell you that it's never just the one?" Diego chuckled quietly as he stopped beside Joseph and turned his head to look at him.
"You did, yes," Joseph laughed a little while looking up at him then over at Clarisse as she placed her empty glass down on the table. "But they are enjoying themselves and getting along. That's the main thing."
"Yes it is," Diego nodded in agreement and watched him walk over to Clarisse before finally walking over to sit beside his wife.
"Are you okay?" Joseph whispered as he stood beside Clarisse and placed his hand lovingly on her back.
Nodding, Clarisse turned her head to look up at him and smiled mischievously. "Are you?"
"Oh yes, just about," he said, flashing her his gorgeous smile before gesturing to the seat they had been sitting on earlier on. "Come on, let's sit down?"
"Can I ask you both a candid question?" Juana asked and sat down on one of the other seats before looking up at her brother as he sat down.
"Of course you may," Joseph nodded and smiled to Clarisse as she took a drink of her cocktail before setting her glass on the table and sitting down beside him.
"As long as it's not too candid," Clarisse smiled as she shifted in her seat and crossed her legs while putting her hand out onto the top of her husbands thigh.
"It's not that candid, I promise," Juana smiled as everyone looked over at her. "But going from how long you have both known each other, when did you actually realise that, yeah, you loved one another?"
"Ooo that's an interesting question," Clarisse smiled across at Juana before turning her head to look at her husband and watched as he turned to her slightly in his seat while slipping his arm along the back of her seat with a smile. "Because you fell for me first, I will let you go first."
"Thanks," Joseph chuckled and watched as Clarisse took her bottom lip between her teeth before looking down at her hand resting on his thigh. "Well, I realised that I loved Clarisse the very first moment I saw her."
"Oh wow, that was a long time ago," Vee said in surprise as Joseph looked over at her.
"It was, of course, it was during my first week working at the palace, and I had been called to the then King's office to meet with him and the Queen. To go over a few details about the upcoming wedding and after about ten minutes in walked the most beautiful woman in the world," Joseph nodded and turned his head to look back at Clarisse as she lifted her head to look back up at him. "I remember it as if it were just yesterday, and I always will…"
"Joseph, your first official assignment as the future Princesses bodyguard will be, of course, on the actual wedding day. You will remain here at the palace until the bride, Clarisse, is ready to leave for the church, then you shall escort her and her father, along with your colleague, Charles, here," King Pierre said as he briefly averted his gaze to him sitting beside Joseph then back to the new recruit, "to the church. Is that understood?"
"Of course, Your Highness," Joseph said, with a bow of his head.
"You might also be wondering why we have hired someone as young as yourself to protect someone of such importance," Queen Genevieve said as everyone looked to her, sitting behind the desk next to her husband. Her hands folded together in her lap.
"I had wondered, yes," Your Majesty, Joseph replied.
"Yes, it is rare for us to do. But you showed great potential, and with such high recommendation, we couldn't let the opportunity to have you here working for us pass by. And what with you being close in age to our future daughter-in-law we thought it might help her settle much more quickly, having someone closer to her age than one of our other, older bodyguards," Queen Genevieve said and the King, and both Joseph and Charles all nodded.
"We all agreed," King Pierre said. "You have our full trust, Joseph. And we know that you will, of course, protect her with your life."
"I understand, and of course, Your Majesty, Your Highness," Joseph said, just as a knock came to the door.
"Ah, that will be Clarisse now. We sent for her to join us so that you two could officially meet," the King said, and everyone got to their feet. "Come in," he called and looked over at the door as it opened.
Clearing his throat out of pure nervousness, Joseph turned and looked over to the door and was instantly blown away as the future Princess entered the office. My god, she was stunning. Simply irresistible. And she looked absolutely gorgeous in her chosen attire, a flowy, blue plaid knee length summer dress, with her beautiful long hair styled so neatly in a side plait that hung down over the front of her lightly freckled shoulder. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He had never seen someone so beautiful before, and he felt an instant connection with her. An instant yearning.
Which, of course, was dangerous territory, what with her being betrothed to the crown Prince and were due to be married one week from today. But it was love at first sight for him, and for the next few moments, nothing else mattered. All he could think about was her, no one else, and it didn't help him, or the feelings he now had for her, when he saw her smile. A smile so sexy, so alluring, it all but turned him to mush.
"Clarisse, dear," Queen Genevieve said as she walked over to her future daughter-in-law and put her hands up onto the tops of the younger woman's arms. Leaning closer, they kissed each others cheeks before the Queen pulled back. "Thank you for joining us."
"Come," said the King, and both women turned to him, still standing behind his desk. "There's someone we would like you to meet."
"Clarisse, this is Joseph," Queen Genevieve said with a smile and slipped her arm through the younger woman's as they both slowly made their way over to the desk together and she gestured to Joseph. "He just started working here for us this week."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Joseph said nervously and bowed his head respectively before reaching out for her hand, to kiss the back of it. A hand so soft, so delicate. It felt like he was handling china. He had to be so careful, and it made his tummy bubble with nerves.
"And you," Clarisse said as she watched him kiss the back of her hand before looking up at her, but avoided eye contact with her as he let go of her hand and stood back up straight. "How are you finding it working here at the palace so far?" She smiled while clasping her hands together in front of her.
"Oh, I.. uh.." he stumbled, being completely taken by surprise by her question. Or, perhaps it was because he had made the mistake of looking into her eyes as she asked the question, and he had foolishly found himself getting completely lost in them. They were a gorgeous shade of blue, and the thought of looking into them, and finding himself lost again made him more nervous than he should be. Clearing his throat, he continued and looked to the King, then to the Queen. "My apologies, Your Highness, Your Majesty," he said and looked back to the younger woman, her eyes narrowing curiously. "I am enjoying it, of course, but still finding my feet."
"Of course," Clarisse said and nodded ever so slightly before looking to the King as he began to speak.
"He has it easy at present, of course. The real challenge will start on yours and Rupert's wedding day when he officially becomes your personal bodyguard," said the King, and as everyone remained looking at him, Clarisse turned her attention to the younger man.
Clad all in black, he certainly played the part of bodyguard alright. But how could someone so young, so naive, be hired to protect her? She couldn't understand it.
"Aww, did you know how he felt about you back then, Clarisse?" Juana asked and watched as Clarisse looked over at her.
"No I didn't, not back then. It was a good few years before I realised how he truly felt about me," Clarisse replied and shook her head.
"Were you surprised when you did realise?" Vee asked.
"Yes of course, I was very surprised," Clarisse said and looked to her husband with a smile. "But I was more surprised when I discovered, quite recently actually, just how long he'd had those feelings for." She said, and Joseph nodded. "I'd had no idea it was from that very first meeting."
"And this might surprise you to know, but she actually hated me when I first started working at the palace and she even tried to escape me on more than one occasion," Joseph laughed as his two sisters gasped in surprise. "I mean, you wouldn't think it now. Would you?"
"What?" Juana exclaimed as Clarisse looked back up at her husband.
"Actually, I didn't hate you as a person, just what you were there to do. You know that," Clarisse said matter of factly and looked back over at his sisters. "I mean, could you blame me? I was a twenty year old woman who loved her freedom and absolutely loathed the idea of having a bodyguard, someone following me and watching my every move. But unfortunately, with the pending wedding to the crown Prince, there wasn't much I could do about it. I had no choice but to have a bodyguard." She said, lifting her hand from Joseph's thigh and holding it out in front of him with her palm facing upwards while smirking up at him. "And enter your brother."
"I get that, I would hate having to have a bodyguard too," Vee said, nodding in agreement. "I love my privacy too much."
"Mhmm me too," Clarisse nodded and reached out for her glass, taking a drink of her cocktail before putting it back down on the table.
"It took you a couple of years to fully accept and trust me though, didn't it?" Joseph said, and Clarisse nodded as she looked back up at him. "Then we became friends and then eventually best friends. And now here we are, husband and wife."
"You were my confidant, my go to person and shoulder to cry on if I ever needed anyone," Clarisse said and studied his face a moment before he leant closer to kiss her cheek and rest his forehead against the side of her head as she bent her arm up in front of them to cup his chin in her hand. "You were my rock, and you still are."
"Obviously we don't know all the details regarding your marriage to the King, or what it was like behind closed doors for you, only that little snippet what you trusted me with the other night in the bar and that's enough for me, I don't need to know anymore," Vee said and shook her head as both Clarisse and Joseph looked over at her. "But can I just say that I'm really glad that you had José there for you during that time."
"As am I," Clarisse nodded and looked back at her husband as he smoothed his hand back and forth slowly across the top of her back.
"Me too," he said softly and kissed the top of her shoulder. Letting his lips linger there a brief moment before looking back up into her eyes and leaning closer to give her a quick kiss on the lips.