Chapter 204

Chapter 204 A dance for the ages A pathway separated immediately as William led Doris to the middle of the dance floor. Everyone moved off to the side to allow them their space. Doris stared forward and silently prayed that her face wasn’t as red as she felt. She tried not to think about the whole palace about to watch her dance—when she had no idea how to. “I’ve never danced before.” Doris whispered to him. She squeezed his arm tightly. “I don’t think this is a good idea, I’ll step on your feet. Perhaps we should go sit down, I’m getting rather dizzy anyway.” The side of his mouth lifted a little. “That’s the plan, you step on my feet.” “What” William stopped in the middle of the floor and she gasped when he pulled her against him. He gripped her waist and lifted her slightly until she stood on his toes. “What are you doing—“ “I’ll lead us, just hold onto me.” He whispered back. She could barely hear him over the music that grew into a smoother, louder beat. “I—I don’t know if this is a good idea, everyone is watching!” She whispered but he only shook his head to silence her. Doris gripped onto his shoulders as his hands held her waist firm.

She swore it wasn’t going to work, she swore she was going to fall off and make a giant fool of herself in front of everyone. But —then he started to move them. His movements were almost natural. She should have guessed that a prince-or a king-would know exactly what to do on a dance floor. They had classes at the palace for all young royalty to take for occasions like this. Doris was told that they started from a very young age so they didn’t look like fools at balls. Meanwhile, Doris had always been too busy cleaning up after others.

Every step he made, she came with him. He moved to the beat of the song as if it knew it by heart and not one step was off. They spun around the dance floor, her skirts moved around them like a sea of silks and it felt as if she was in a fairytale. He lifted her off his toes and twirled her around before he pulled her right back against him where she belonged. Not once did their eyes break contact. He stared at her as if they were the only two people in the room. Not even others joining the dance broke his gaze from her.

He never moved them close enough to the others, she was in his own world. Doris smiled widely. She laughed a little as they moved. “I feel as if I’m dreaming!” “Why do you say that?” He asked against her ear. The music slowed and their movements did as well. She swayed against him as he held her tight. .

“I’ve never danced like this before. And… and this dress. I feel like a princess.” She admitted as quietly as she could against his ear. “I’ve never felt like this before. Only in my imagination.” William pulled back a little to look down at her again. “You should feel like a queen.” Doris froze in his grasp but he kept moving them as if she didn’t. He knew how much his words weighed, and she had to push them away before they overwhelmed her thoughts. William suddenly smiled at her. A real smile. No ghost, or half pull. He smiled at her as if he meant it. It stopped her heart in her chest, she wanted to kiss him and have that smile painted immediately so it was never forgotten. She wanted a portrait to hang above her vanity to brighten each day. Slowly, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Come with me.” Doris felt her blood heat at his words. He stopped their sways and led them through the crowd as he slipped past the people that wanted to stop him for more conversation. She couldn’t hear the excuses he gave them, her ears pumped louder than his words. In just a few breaths, they were alone in a long hallway that Beth and her had been in just minutes before. His guards didn’t follow William in for once. William led them down the long hallway and made a sharp right turn towards a darker area. Doris knew that an old storage room was the only place at the end of this hallway, she wondered if William knew exactly where he was going. She wondered if he had been here before with someone else. Doris shoved the thoughts far from her mind before any jealousy or insecurity followed like it normally did. It didn’t matter what he did in his past, she was in his present and in his future. He pulled open the door and all she saw was darkness. He reached his arm up to turn on a swinging light to reveal piles and piles of white towels that lined the shelves. When the door closed behind them, she didn’t realize how dim it would be. But that didn’t matter in the slightest, he found her mouth just fine. William pressed her back against the wooden shelves and she had to catch herself before she tripped. He gripped her waist and pulled her body against him as he kissed her hard. Doris gasped. “You won’t be able to get this dress off me, it’s too much.” “I just needed a taste of you.” He said against her lips. “I can have the rest later.” William caught her mouth with heat. His tongue slid between her teeth to find her own. Doris groaned when they collided and fought for dominance in her mouth. It was useless to ever try to win against him, but he made it so fun to try. Especially when she bit his bottom lip just to hear his moans.

A tingling rippled though her body. She arched her chest against him as he lifted her up. If her dress skirts weren’t so thick, she would have wrapped herself around him and let him do whatever he pleased right there. Even with hundreds and hundreds of people waiting for their king to return to them. He kissed her until she was dizzy, when he pulled away she groaned. “Don’t stop.” She begged. His hands traveled up her bodice slowly. “I would much rather be in here with you.” Doris felt the heat fade away slowly when she looked at him. His crown was tilted on his head and his lips were a little swollen from her bites.

He looked like a dream, but her heart was swelling with something other than lust. “I’m so proud of you.”

She whispered. “You’re king now, William.”

William lowered her back to the floor and leaned his forehead against her own. They both closed their eyes and let the moment settle around them. “When I pictured myself being crowned king, I never saw anyone at my side.” He admitted. “Not even a brother and certainly not a lover. I thought it would always be me up there alone.” Doris said nothing to that. So he continued. “When I looked down at you in the crowd, I realized something.” “What?” Doris breathed. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. A part of her still didn’t know what to expect when William spoke. He had the power to break her if he wanted. “I realized that when I looked at you… for the first time it felt like home. I always thought home was a place that people slept in at night. But when I saw you there, looking up at me as if you were so proud, I realized that home could be a person.” 3 Doris felt as if her throat had closed up entirely. She opened her eyes to gaze up at him. But he kept his own closed still. “William—“ “Let me finish.” He said gently. Doris closed her lips. “I know that I haven’t been the easiest person to love. I know that I wasn’t what you had in mind when you saw your future… but I wanted to tell you that you are so much better than what I imagined mine would look like. I close my eyes and see you with my children. I see you always there, even if you don’t want to be involved with the politics. I still see you there for me.” “I’ll always be there for you. I love you.” Doris whispered. She wiped the tears that fell down her cheeks.

William finally opened his beautiful blue eyes and cupped her cheeks. A loud bang almost made her flinch out of her skin, but he held her tight. “Your majesty? Are you alright?” William rolled his eyes to the ceiling and straightened himself. Doris bit her lip as she leaned up on her toes to fix his crown. “Yes. I’m coming.”