It was midday, and Vetta was tired of waiting for the king to wake. She had
checked on him countless times and even knocked several times in the morning, but
there had been no response.
She was glad that her house arrest was over. The past three days had been hell, but
Vetta was prepared to apologize. She would apologize to the king that she went
overboard by whipping his slave. She just needed to clear any doubt in the king’s
mind. She wanted their relationship to remain solid as usual, without any sort of
doubt.
Then she’d deal with Cone’s daughter. In her own time. In a different way, that
would never point fingers at her.
With those thoughts and decisions in mind, Vetta went to the king’s chambers and
knocked several times. But there’d been no answer.
They locked the door from the inside, and Vetta knew he was sleeping, which
surprised the hell out of her.
The king never slept, let alone overslept.
She’d come again at late morning, and Chad was standing at the closed door. He’d
confirmed that the king was sleeping and shouldn’t be disturbed. Chad’s face
mirrored his own surprise, too.
At midday, she was done waiting. She walked back to the door of the king’s
chambers and began knocking again, this time louder and more persistent.
King Lucien woke first at the persistent knocking at the door. He noted a lot of
things at the same time.
Another body pressed against his. The brightness of the day glared hard through
the windows.
That was when the events of the previous night flooded his mind.
He stared at Danika. She slept soundly beside him, oblivious of everything. His
eyes lowered to her naked body. To the privacy of his own mind-and even with a bit
of anger at himself for noticing-he admitted to himself that she had the most
beautiful body he’d ever seen. And he had seen a lot.
Red marks that weren’t there last night marred her beautiful skin in several places.
It reminded him of the way he’d had her. A crease of a frown knitted his eyebrows.
He’d released twice.
That was a first for him since Cone destroyed his body. He had remained hard even
after he’d released the first time, and he’d taken her again.
When the knock came at the door again, a much more glaring realization struck
him like a bucket of cold water. He stared at the windows. His eyes found the
hourglass at his desk; it was almost in half. Followed by the old wall clock hanging
behind his desk. It was midday.
He’d slept until midday. No nightmares. No sudden awakening with clear eyes.
He’d slept until midday while holding her close. And he’d overslept.
Lucien didn’t know what to make of such realization, and his brow remained
knitted together in a frown. He stared at Danika again, her breathing labored, but she
hadn’t stirred.
The knock came again.
He got up from the bed and threw the cover on Danika, which effectively covered
her up. Instead of the door, he went to his wardrobe and began sorting through his
clothes.
“Who is there?” he asked calmly.
At the sound of his voice, Danika stirred for the first time.
“It’s Vetta, my king.”
He took his time, withdrawing the piece of parchment he was looking for. Then he
walked to the door and opened it.
“My king, I—” Vetta stopped short when she took the first step inside his
chambers.
Danika laid on the bed, and she was only stirring awake. The smile disappeared
from Vetta’s face, and she suddenly felt faint.
That bitch had slept here! That bitch not only shared his bed but also slept here!!!
Vetta’s eyes darkened; her breath turned erratic. She fisted her hands at her side as
she glared at a waking Danika. She turned her stare to the king, who seemed to be
getting ready to run a bath for himself. That was King Lucien. Sometimes he did not
need to call the servants.
She stared at his back and wondered how the hell that was possible!? It was just
not possible! How was this possible!?
“What is it, Vetta?” he asked when the silence stretched. He stopped sorting
through his wardrobe and stared at her.
Vetta forced herself to remain calm. It took everything in her for her to maintain
calmness and wipe the aggressive expression from her face.
She forced a smile. “I wanted to see you, my king. I have something to say to you.”
Danika noticed that she’d slept until midday. Her eyes hurt badly from crying so
hard the day before, and they were swollen-she could feel it.
The king had let her sleep here, she realised, at the feel of the soft mattress. She’d
slept all night and morning. Oh no, what about Sally!?
Her eyes found the king standing in his wardrobe and the wicked mistress standing
at the door. Danika could see the hostility the mistress was trying to hide. She bowed
her head slightly in greeting to the mistress before she forced her legs to move. She
got down from the bed, her body hurting with every movement she made.
Danika stood on her feet-the aching muscles of her legs threatened to give out
from under her-but she bit the inside of her cheek and forced her legs to stand. She’d
never give this mistress the satisfaction of seeing her weak, and wobbly. She held the
bed sheets tight around herself as she walked to the place her clothes were and picked
them up.
Every part of her body hurt.