A/N: Hi everyone, I just wanted to say a quick thank you, as always, to everyone for reading the latest chapter of this story (and all previous chapters if you've only just discovered it) and an even bigger thank you to danniso, Gast (guest), bee-327 and Chelsietx for taking the time to leave me such lovely reviews for chapter 15. I really do appreciate them and honestly can't thank you enough for the continued support! It means the world to me. Thank you so very much.
Here's the next chapter for you all now…
Arriving at the Winter Castle later that night, Joseph climbed out from the limousine first, and after closing his door, he made his way around to Clarisse's side and opened the door for her. Stepping forward, he extended his hand out to her with his gorgeous smile and watched as she grasped hold of his hand and carefully stepped out of the back of the limousine in front of him. "Thank you," she smiled, letting go of his hand and looping the strap of her handbag over her arm and onto her shoulder before lowering her hands and straightening out the skirt of her dress.
"You are most welcome," Joseph smiled. His eyes twinkled as she raised one hand up to briefly cup his face as she passed by to allow him to close the limousine door behind her. But when he turned to follow her across the drive towards the castle, he was pleasantly surprised to find her stood waiting for him. "You waited for me?"
"Of course I did," Clarisse smiled and looked down briefly at their hands as she slipped her hand into his before looking back up into his eyes. "I get to officially walk side by side with you now. Why would I go on in front and leave you, my husband, behind?"
His tummy fluttering at her words, Joseph lifted their hands up to his mouth and placed a soft kiss to the back of her hand before lowering them back down and stepped closer to her, to kiss her cheek. "Shall we?"
Smiling, Clarisse nodded happily, and they both began making their way across the drive towards the waiting staff as Shades, who had driven them to the castle, took their bags up to their suite. "Good evening, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness," the head butler said with a bow of his head. "On behalf of myself and all members of staff here at the castle, please accept our congratulations to you both on your marriage."
"Thank you, Bertie," Clarisse smiled up at him before glancing to all her staff waiting in a line leading to the double entrance doors. As they usually did upon her arrival to the castle.
"And as you requested, the vintage guest room has been prepared for you," Bertie began as Clarisse looked back up at him with a smile, "and a bottle of champagne, with two glasses," he said, flashing Joseph a quick glance before looking back at the Queen with a small smile, "and a bowl of fresh strawberries awaits you both."
"Lovely," Clarisse nodded as Joseph gave her hand a small squeeze, "thank you so much."
"You're most welcome, Your Majesty," Bertie said with another bow of his head, "and if you need anything else, then please do call down and I'll see to it personally."
"I will, of course, but I'm sure that we will be just fine until morning and won't require anything else tonight," Clarisse smiled.
"Of course, Your Majesty," Bertie smiled.
Just moments later, once they had finished thanking all members of staff for the well wishes on their surprise marriage, and had bid them a goodnight, Clarisse and Joseph, who were still happily hand in hand, continued on into the castle foyer. "Why, may I ask, are we staying in the vintage guest room and not in your own suite?" Joseph asked quietly, giving her hand a small squeeze.
"Because, and I have two reasons," Clarisse said, giving him a small smile as she glanced to him before looking down at the first few steps of the grand curved staircase in front of them as they approached and began to make their way up them together, "the first reason being, my suite here is the same suite where Rupert and I spent our wedding night when we married, and I didn't want us to share our first night together in the same suite."
"That's fair enough, I wouldn't want too either," Joseph said with a furrowed brow, remembering the events of that night as if it were only yesterday, and looked at her as they reached the top of the staircase and began to walk along the landing leading to the guest suite they will be spending the weekend together, "and what's the second reason?"
"Well, the second reason is, and don't laugh at this one," Clarisse smiled as they stopped outside the vintage suite door and turned to face each another, "but I thought, if we spent our first official night together in a different suite, then it would be like we are staying somewhere else, like at a fancy hotel in the country somewhere, and not actually here at the castle."
"Now I do like that idea," Joseph nodded and stepped closer to her while slipping his hands in the opening of her jacket and onto her sides as she took her bottom lip between her teeth at the feel of his strong hands grasping her sides. "I don't know why you thought I would laugh at that, though. It's a lovely idea. Thinking we are somewhere else, somewhere away from the life we know."
"Yes, even if it is for just a few nights, we are somewhere else, in our own world," Clarisse smiled up at him. "Tucked away from everything and everyone else."
"Starting our new life together alone," Joseph smiled, giving her sides a little squeeze, and took his bottom lip between his teeth as she turned a little and grasped hold of one of his hands on her sides, tipped her head back and laughed. A proper belly laugh. A sound so gorgeous that, without fail, it made his heart skip a beat and caused his tummy to flutter whenever he heard it.
"Come on, let's get inside and call home so they know we got here," Clarisse laughed a little and turned around to face the door, her back now to her husband, as one of Joseph's hands smoothed around her back under her jacket and onto her other side as she turned, while his other hand smoothed onto her stomach. Where it stayed for the briefest of moments until Clarisse opened the door and stepped into the room.
Stepping into the room after her, Joseph shut the door behind them and watched as she set her handbag down on the sideboard just inside the door and slipped of her shoes before removing her jacket and hanging it on the coat stand. "Hopefully they will still be awake," she said as she stood with her back still to her husband and began removing her earrings.
"I'm sure they will be," Joseph said and slipped his hands into his pants pockets as she turned to him, "would you like me to call? I don't mind doing it."
"No, it's okay," Clarisse smiled as she placed her earrings in a special bowl on the sideboard and turned to walk over to the phone sitting on a small table beside the end of the sofa. Picking it up, she glanced over at her husband before looking back down at the receiver in her hands and dialling through to the palace. "You can pour us some champagne if you like?"
"Okay," Joseph smiled contentedly and walked over to the table where Bertie had left the bottle of champagne in the ice bucket with the two glasses and bowl of fresh strawberries. Picking up the bottle, he popped the cork and poured them both a glass as Clarisse spoke to her mother.
Replacing the receiver a moment later, Clarisse let her hand linger on the top of it a moment before turning to her husband, to find him stood waiting next to the table with both glasses of champagne in his hands. "Thank you," she smiled and made her way over to stand in front of him while pressing a hand anxiously to her stomach. "And you added a strawberry to mine too."
"I most certainly did, I know you love that," he said and she smiled as he stepped closer to her, to give her a quick kiss on the lips before handing her one of the glasses. "Is everything okay back home?"
"Yes, everything's okay," Clarisse smiled and took a sip of her champagne before looking briefly up into his gorgeous, piercing blue eyes, causing her stomach to somersault in nervous anticipation. She knew what was coming, what would happen between them tonight, and she was starting to find herself growing more and more nervous with each passing minute.
"Are you okay?" Joseph asked, feeling slightly concerned over her silence and reaching his free hand out onto her side.
"Yes, of course," she nodded ever so slightly and looked down at her glass as she set it down on the table next to them. "She's going to let the boys and your mother know that we are here. And told me to tell you that she said goodnight."
"Okay," Joseph smiled and watched her step closer to him. To close the distance between them while raising her arms up. "I hope you told her that we said goodnight, too?"
"Oh, I did, of course," she smiled, looking back up into his eyes and snaking her arms loosely around his neck. "But guess what?"
"What?" He smiled, turning his head to the side and setting his glass down on the table next to hers before looking back into her eyes and placing his hand on her side, so both hands were now on her sides.
"We are finally alone," she smiled and placed one hand lovingly on the back of his head.
"Mmm, yes we are," Joseph smiled seductively and wrapped his arms around her waist to pin her body to his body as they shared a deep, hard kiss.
"Oh, worst possible timing but I just remembered something else mother said," Clarisse said a moment later as she pulled her head back with a small laugh and watched as her husband glanced down briefly to her now red and slightly swollen lips from the kiss they just shared before looking back up into her eyes and smirking. "Are they red?" She laughed, and he nodded. "Mm thought so," she nodded too.
"They are still gorgeous though," he smirked and leant in close to kiss her a couple of times before looking back into her eyes. "Anyway, what else did your mother say?"
"Oh yes, of course," she smirked cheekily and studied his face, "she said that we aren't to worry about them all back home, and that we are to just enjoy spending our first few days together as husband and wife. Getting to know each other better."
"Oh that's good," Joseph smiled as he moved his face closer to hers and kissed her a couple more times before continuing, "because that's exactly what I intend on doing. Especially since we don't know when the next time we get to spend some time alone together will actually be."
"Mmm, yes, me too. I fully intend on enjoying our first few days together alone too," Clarisse laughed a little and tilted her head as she reached up to kiss him deeply on the lips once again. Her eyes fluttered closed the moments their lips met and it was only when she broke for air a moment later that she realised one of his hands had moved lower and was now cupping her bottom while his other hand remained on her lower back. She had been so caught up in the need to taste him, to feel him, that she hadn't even noticed. Not that she minded, of course. If she were honest, she actually liked it. Liked how it made her feel, all warm and fuzzy inside. Something no other man had made her feel before.
Smiling, she left her hand cupping the back of his head, and smoothed her other hand now from the top of his back to rest against the side of his neck. "How about we skip the champagne?" She whispered softly and reached up to give him a quick kiss.
With that, and while leaving one arm wrapped around her lower back, Joseph squatted a little while wrapping his other arm around the back of her knees and scooped her up in his arms, causing her to laugh out in surprise.
"Joseph!" She exclaimed, locking her arms around his neck as he turned and began walking across the room towards the open bedroom doors with her in his arms. "What are you doing? Put me down." She laughed.
"No," he laughed and gave her a quick kiss before continuing into the bedroom. "It's tradition to carry your bride over the threshold, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. Carry you over the threshold."