la princesa

Her eyes went sympathetic and she sighed. “Oh no, I’m sorry. You’d think they’d be better at keeping things like that.”

“You would, wouldn’t you?” she asked rhetorically before letting out a long sigh. “It’s very frustrating.” 

Phoebe had over heard someone in obvious distress, and she turned the corner to see it was Katherine. She hoped she wasn’t being intrusive, but she wanted to make sure things were fine. “Are you okay, Katherine?”

Katherine shrugged her shoulders. “No,” she responded. “My florist no longer has the flowers I wanted for centerpieces and won’t be able to get them.” She let out a sigh. “And here I thought I was in the home stretch.” 

“Is something the matter?” Poppy frowned as she approached her friend. They were meeting for cocktails, and it was unusual to see Katherine so worked up.

Katherine smiled wanly. “My florist has...decided she no longer has the flowers requested for my centerpieces. And the wedding is in less than a month.” She let out a heavy sigh. 

His hands stroked her hair as she lay across him, looking up at him. She really was an adorable creature. “I suppose I do,” he said, musingly as his thumb traced her jaw. “Which is probably for the best considering we’re getting married in the near future,” he chuckled.

Suppose. She wasn’t exactly sure how to take his words. It was not a huge declaration of love, certainly not nearly as romantic as she might have envisioned, but she supposed it was honest. Honesty had been the basis for their relationship for many years and she did not want to deter it. She smiled at him as his thumb moved along her jawline. “Well,” she said softly. “I had always hoped I’d love the person I married. And that he would love me.” She’d thrown that thought to the side years ago and the thought of having it in her grasp thrilled her.

His smile couldn’t help but reflect hers. As silly as it might be, Thorfinn liked to please Katherine, and make her happy. She had such a lovely smile. And, frankly, it took so little to please her sometimes. 

Kissing her back, Thorfinn tangled his hands in her long hair, holding her against him. She pulled back and he bit his lip, holding onto the smile. He leaned up, nuzzling his nose against her neck. “You know, darling, I think I love you too,” he said, pressing a kiss to the sensitive spot on her neck, just under her jaw. 

Katherine loved the feel of him against her and she enjoyed the way his lips moved against hers, the way his hands tangled in her hair. She smiled against his lips and when she heard him speak against her skin, her smile widened. Truthfully, she’d not expected him to translate himself and she might think on it later, but for now she merely allowed herself to be happy.

The brunette bit her lip and looked down at Thorfinn as her fingers tightened on his skin. “You think?” she asked him teasingly, her lips moving over his jawline. “Or you know?” She kissed her way across his collarbone and relaxed her body, her chin jutting out as she looked up at him.

He arched his neck a little as she teased him, her lips above his, but not touching. “I think they know,” he commented with a chuckle. “I haven’t ‘stepped out’ with anyone else since we came to our little…understanding.” And once they had decided to make a go of it, well everything had gotten better. But Thorfinn had to admit he particularly enjoyed this possessive side of his fiancé.

The smile that came to her lips could only be described as incandescent. While Katherine had had her own suspicions, hearing the words come out of Thorfinn’s lips made her happier than, well, she could ever remember being. She leaned down, her lips hard and passionate, trying to convey everything she felt in that moment, trying to make him understand just how validated she felt – both as his fiancée and as a woman. When she pulled back, her voice was soft and low, the words flowing almost as if by instinct. “Te amo,” she murmured.

The hand that had been resting on her hip gripped it again. He loved hearing the translation in her husky, fierce voice. His body shifted. “I’d like to see that,” he said, voice low, gaze heavy with arousal.

She could feel the change in his body, could see the familiar gaze in his eyes, and Katherine leaned into his grip. Though she was possessive, it was not a trait she regularly showed, at least not when it came to her relationship with Thorfinn. “I’m sure you will at some point,” she murmured, lips moving closer to his. She leaned into his neck, pressing a kiss to it, teeth slightly grazing, before pulling back. “Hmmm,” she teased. “I wonder if I should mark you. Then they’d all know you’re mine.”

“If you’d continued your sentence,” he retorted, though he accepted the kiss to his lips. His lips quirked up a little and he pinched her hip. “Are you going to tell me what you just said or let me make it up in my mind?” he quipped.

She smiled down at him, sweetly, hair draping over his skin. Katherine so loved it when he smiled and she jumped only slightly when he pinched her hip. “I said,” she murmured softly into his ear, lips pressing a kiss just below it as one hand stilled on his lower abdomen. “That I would fight anyone who tries to take you from me.”

He sighed in exasperation and annoyance, rolling from being over her onto his back. “I just said I wouldn’t want to be married to a woman who hated me, didn’t I?” 

Katherine disliked annoying him, but she supposed that came with the territory. As it was, she was much too sated to argue. She propped herself up on an elbow so she was looking down at him, her long hair brushing over his skin. “I was simply teasing you,” she murmured softly as she pressed a kiss to his collarbone, moving up his jawline. “And if you’d listened longer, you’d have heard that you’re stuck with me regardless.” She kissed his lips lightly. “Yo lucharía contra cualquiera que intentara tomarte de mi,” she whispered fiercely, not caring if he could not understand her words.

“Yes, and you wouldn’t want to be like anyone else, would you darling?” he asked with an affectionately exasperated sigh. He pushed her hair out of her face, hand stopping to cup her cheek. “I am glad of it,” he said simply, honestly. No flowery words, just the truth. “I wouldn’t want to be married to a woman who hated me,” he added, unable to keep from teasing again a little. 

“Of course not,” she responded, closing her eyes for a moment as she allowed her cheek to lean against his hand. She opened her eyes and smiled, free hand moving to play with the hair at the base of his neck. “And I am glad of you,” she murmured, content. Her laugh was louder than she’d expected. “I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t hate you, isn’t it?” she teased right back. “Though if you want to find someone who will...” she trailed off with a smile.

He caught the annoyance in her tone, felt the way her body tensed. It was familiar to him after all, considering how many times he had annoyed her over the years. With a sigh, and a rueful shake of his head, he leaned up and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You are mine, and I am yours,” he confirmed. “Even with your overly romanticized terms of endearment,” he added, teasing. “Which are lovely,” he added. He kissed the tip of her nose, “My sun.” He kissed her neck just under her ear. “My moon.” He moved to kiss her lips. “My stars.” And then, taking it a step farther, he slid his lips down her jaw, her neck, to her collarbone, biting it gently. “My heart.” 

Katherine did her best to stay placid, knowing that Thorfinn and jealousy, even unfounded jealousy, were not exactly things that went well together. She drew closer to him as he kissed her and the words that came out of his mouth made her smile, lips widening as he confirmed what she felt. She closed her eyes in delight for a moment, reveling in the attention he was bestowing upon her. “I tried to be somewhat unique,” she teased him. “And simply saying you’re everything seemed rather passé.” The kisses made her grin, though his words made her pull him closer. “Yours,” she whispered, her eyes unguarded as her hand moved over his spine. “You’ve no idea how proud I am to be yours.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t mean what he’s saying,” Thorfinn replied impatiently. He knew without a doubt that Lucius admired Katherine. He didn’t admit to knowing what it meant, glad that she went on before he had to think of an answer. He nodded, leaning down so his face was pressed against her neck partly because he wasn’t sure what to say and partly so she couldn’t see his face. “Good,” he said against her skin. He sucked lightly at her pulse point. “Because you are mine.” His hand slid down her side, down her leg. 

His impatience did little more than annoy her and Katherine did her best to temper it. “He’s also five years younger than I am,” she murmured with an annoyed tone. “In what world would I choose him over you?” The thought was a silly one and Katherine looked at her fiance carefully. She had to admit that she was slightly disappointed in his response - she had always been careful not to translate certain things that she said and Katherine merely leaned against him, hand still drawing patterns on his skin. “Of course I am yours,” she said softly. “I would not want to be anything else.”

He kissed her back, glad that there was passion in the kiss she pressed to his lips. He leaned over her, one palm laid against her back. “He would,” he corrected her with a growl, his thumb brushing over her lower lip before he met her gaze again. “Even if he does like to annoy me.” Even if Lucius was just trying to get a rise out of Thorfinn, it didn’t change the truth behind Lucius’ words. “Are you upset by it?” he asked, sitting up higher, looking down at her. His eyes searched her face. He wondered if she said it was all right, but was bringing it up because…it wasn’t. He didn’t care whether Lucius thought him possessive, but he disliked the idea of Katherine and he speaking about it. His worries pushed aside the enjoyable feeling of hearing her say she was his and he was hers. 

While things had not always been easy, Katherine also knew that her life had long been planned out for her. And she didn’t mind. The growl that came out of her fiance’s mouth surprised her and as she looked over at him, her eyes softened and her fingers drew patterns across his back. “Of course he does,” she pointed out. “You play into his hand each time.” As Thorfinn sat up higher, Katherine belatedly realized that he legitimately felt insecure by the comment. She bit her lip as she looked up at him. “Mi corazón,” she murmured softly. “Do you know what that means?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Quite literally, it means “my heart” in my language,” she said. “You are that. You are my heart. You are mi sol, mi luna, mis estrellas - my sun, my moon, my stars,” she translated. “I like knowing I am yours. You being very demonstrative of that fact does not upset me.”

“No? It’s not too late to change your mind,” he said, giving a sharp nip to the skin between her shoulder blades. It excited him that not only had she not given any of herself to another, but she had never wanted to. Though the image of her flashing and leaning in to catch something Lucius had said that night–as well as Lucius’ constant remarks about Katherine–had him feeling a flash of jealousy. “I know Lucius would snap you up in a heartbeat.” He managed to keep his tone mild, but barely.

“Why would I want to?” she gasped as he nipped at her skin. Katherine turned her body toward him, her eyes meeting his as she leaned in to kiss him, passionately, before pulling back. At the next comment, the brunette furrowed her brow, looking perplexed. “Lucius?” she asked him incredulously. “Oh, he would not.” She ran a hand down Thorfinn’s side, fingers gripping him. “He likes to drive you mad is all.” Katherine pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “You know, he offered to say something to you tonight when I mentioned your possessiveness. He was afraid that I was upset by it.” The brunette scoffed at the thought. “I told him it was unnecessary. I am yours. You are mine. Anything else is unthinkable.” She smiled softly, hand stilling.

His fingers played idly with the ends of Katherine’s hair, splayed over her back. He nodded as she spoke, hiding his amusement as she tried to find the words to avoid sounding too judgmental.  He knew that Katherine was not overly fond of his sister these days, but she still didn’t want to risk offending him. “Really? Only one?” he asked archly, one eyebrow going up. He appeared unaffected by her words, but his heart beat faster just at the thought. He was the only one she had kissed. She was his, and only ever had been. It was a heady thought, one that Thorfinn quite enjoyed, even if it had been more Katherine’s strict moral code that kept her ‘faithful’ to him over the years. 

The disinterest lasted only a few seconds before he turned on his side, his front pressed against her side body. His grin was wide, pleased. “He’s a lucky man,” he murmured, leaning down to press kisses to Katherine’s bare shoulder and back. 

She allowed her eyes to close as he played with her hair and Katherine enjoyed simply existing with him. While she did not dislike Sienna, per se, Katherine always felt that her every comment was being weighed and measured. It was difficult for her to understand, especially since she had known Sienna since before the other girl had even gone to Hogwarts. At Thorfinn’s question, Katherine’s lips curved upwards. “Just one,” she murmured softly, slightly unsure of her next words. “Even when things weren’t…as good as they are now…” she trailed off for a moment. “It’s not as if I’ve ever wanted another.” That was true – even if she could admit others were good-looking, there was not another man she had ever truly wanted.

The grin on his face was one that she returned, slower than his, of course. Katherine’s lips curved upwards as he pressed kisses to her shoulder and she looked at him, unguarded. “I’m incredibly glad he thinks so,” she murmured as her hand moved up to run through his hair.

“I shall be sure to keep that quip close to hand next time I am accused of arrogance,” he smiled, only a little arrogantly, at her. He was oddly touched by Katherine’s apparent faith in the way she and Thorfinn belonged to one another. He wondered how she could be so certain, seeing as they had not chosen one another - but he did not think it prudent to ask. “Does he become very cross, then? Perhaps I should ask you to dance, see if we can’t get some steam coming out of his ears,” he teased. 

Katherine laughed, a genuine laugh that bubbled out of her throat. She took another sip of her champagne. “You do that. Let me know how it works for you,” she teased him, tilting her head to the side. “Oh, slightly cross, but I know how to handle that,” she responded smoothly. “Is that you asking or you wondering if you should?” she parried back to him. “As long as your hands don’t wander, I hardly can see why he’d be upset.”