kinky king lover

It was spring and the trees were responding, doing their assigned duty by slowly propelling their leaves forward and unfurling. This left a fresh, earthy smell to the air; one of growth and new life. 

All the good things that Melina ever remembers happening in her life, happened in spring. It was a time she always looked forward to. It was also a busy time for her closest and most loyal friends, the bees. She looked down at the jars of honey in the basket, smiling proudly at the work they had achieved, like a mother would beam at the fingerpainting her toddler lovingly created, pouring every ounce of effort into it. 

Melina took no credit, she hadn't made the honey, only harvested it. It was the purple thyme blossoms, yellow irises, the sage and wild lavender that were responsible. They did the hard work of growing, while the bees flew on tired wings to find and collect the nectar and bring it back to the hive, passing it along to the house bees to store. And of course there's the queen to oversee her workers. Melina was the last step in this intricate process, collecting and extracting the honey and carefully placing it into jars.

She shifted the basket once again. Spring trips were always the most difficult. By summer, her arms would be tanned and strong, toned muscles easily bearing the weight of the basket. Her feet, too, would be so accustomed to the trek to the great house, she could do it in her sleep. But for now, she watched the way carefully. The dirt path overgrown in areas from lack of use and her memory not quite as sharp as in the fall, after months of walking the trail.

The sky was showing her the lateness of the hour, the pink hues flirting with the blues and she sped up, worried she might be too late to make her delivery. 

This was an important year for Melina and although her family had provided honey to the great house for long before she was born, the new Duke and Duchess had moved in with their baby, only recently. She didn't know their names, she never had a television or a radio in their old shack in the woods. She only heard the odd bit of information in passing, on her trips to the market to fetch the few things she couldn't grow in her garden. That and the note from the cook she received last week asking that she make her delivery early, told her the house was once again occupied and she was glad for it. 

She heaved the basket to the other arm again, wiping the beads of sweat from her brow that appeared from her hurried pace. The path was wet in spots, last night's rain pooling in dips in the trail  where the foliage from the leaves blocked the sun from drinking it up. She was working hard to avoid these spots in her haste but felt the cool wet mud splash up onto her ankles on more than one occasion. Her sandals, brown and worn were her only pair and the mud darkened the tan leather, soaking her soles. 

"Dammit", she breathed as her foot landed squarely in a puddle, splashing up and soaking the hem of the blue floral dress she wore. She set down the basket and tried to catch her breath, the light amber strands of her long hair sticking to her face. She spotted a piece of long grass growing beside a nearby pond and walked over, swiftly breaking it off. She held the grass between her teeth as she pushed the hair back off her face and folded it into a braid, wrapping the grass around the end until it was secure. Then she lifted the bottom of her skirt up and tied it in a knot, keeping it away from the mud. Her mother would not approve, but neither would she be pleased about her daughter showing up covered in mud. Besides, she was no longer on this earth to reprimand her for her tomboy ways. 

Melina picked the basket up once again and hurried toward her delivery.

Drake and Riley smiled, sleepily as they joined Liam in the sunroom of Valtoria. 

"We're so glad you came to visit, Liam," Riley greeted.

Drake yawned loudly and Riley subtly jabbed him in the ribs. 

"Sorry," he murmured. 

Liam chuckled, "You two look exhausted. Is my niece that much trouble?" 

"No...no. She's wonderful." Drake and Riley grasped hands and smiled warmly at one another. "She just hates sleep," they chuckled. 

"Perhaps you should employ a nanny to help. At least with overnights?"

Riley shook her head. "I know we could, but I just don't want to miss any of it." 

Drake nodded, "I feel like a zombie, and I'm not sure half the time if I'm dreaming or awake, but then I hold her and..." he shrugged as they once again shared a look that communicated such love and understanding, it was perfectly clear that they both felt exactly the same. She was worth it.

Liam urged them to get some rest while the baby was sleeping and once they had reluctantly agreed, Liam went to his room and slipped into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It was early, far too early for him to go to bed, and he did not want to give into the temptation to work.

This trip to Valtoria to visit Drake and Riley had been planned as an escape for him. The social season had ended with Liam ascending to the throne, but without a wife. He had planned to choose Riley, but while he was focused on figuring out a way to fit her into the role of queen, Drake and Riley had been building a relationship and unbeknownst to either of them, falling in love. 

This came as a surprise to Liam, certainly, but in hindsight, he never loved Riley or really even knew her. He had loved the idea of her, of having someone in his life that was unlike other nobles and could keep him tethered to reality...not so different from Drake, in fact. Which is why it made such sense they would find each other. They both existed in a different world. 

Liam was happy for them both and it brought him true joy to see his best friend in love and happy. But, it also left Liam alone, with the rope that both Drake and Riley had each held at one time, keeping him grounded, now blowing freely in the breeze.

Liam felt the impact in recent months, as he settled into a routine on his own. He rose early, exercised, worked until the sun went down, taking his meals in his office or over hurried business dinners. At night he retired alone to his suite, his eyes tired and mind exhausted. 

He didn't mind the empty bed, so much. There were plenty of ways for a man like him to have a warm body beside him, if he chose, but what he longed for most was someone to occupy his thoughts. It was in the absence of yearning that he felt most alone. And as he wandered through the gardens surrounding Valtoria in the early evening, it was this he was thinking about. 

Melina arrived at the back door to the grand house at dusk. She wasn't sure what time it was, she had never owned a watch and wouldn't remember how to tell the time now,  anyhow. She simply judged the time by the sky.  Noting the position of the sun on the horizon, the brilliant pink and orange hues now overtaking the blue, she knew it was much later than she had intended to arrive. 

She hesitantly knocked on the heavy wooden door at the back of the house, the one that led to the kitchens. There was shuffling inside and she could hear the stairs creak as someone made their way down to the back door. 

Melina had never been beyond the stairs that lay behind the door. The goods were stored in a large room just off the landing, but on more than one occasion, when she made this trip with her mother, she could hear the clang of pots and pans and the smells that made her mouth water wafting down those stairs. 

She assumed the kitchen must lie at the top  and as a girl, she would fantasize about what it must look like up there and what sort of food they must be cooking to make such unfamiliar but delectable smells. 

Melina's shack in the woods held a wood burning stove, a cast iron skillet and an old metal pot. Her mother had always managed to make a meal from what they had in the garden or what she could trade for the honey. She appreciated the meals, especially now that she had to cook for herself and could never quite get them to taste the way they did when her mother made them. But even with mama's extra touch of love, she had never tasted anything that could belong to the smells she had smelled at the great house.

The door strained to slowly open, as the petite woman inside battled with the weight of it. Finally, when it was open the woman she recognized as Gladys stood before her. Melina averted her eyes, speaking meekly. She had met Gladys before and it's not that she was mean, but she had a sharpness to her that made Melina feel like a schoolgirl being reprimanded by her teacher.

"Hello ma'am. I'm Melina, here with the honey you requested." 

Gladys huffed, "I know who you are, girl. And you were supposed to be here earlier. Cook has already left for the day."

Melina was not surprised that Gladys had called her girl.  She was no longer a girl, in fact she had not been for several years, celebrating her twenty second birthday last October. But to people like Gladys, Melina appeared childlike, unsophisticated and stupid. It said little about Melina's age but was meant as an insult,  a way to make certain Melina knew that Gladys was high above her in rank. As if a woman that lived in a shack in the woods needed reminding of her station.

"I am sorry ma'am. The trip took longer than expected."

Gladys looked Melina up and down and she hurriedly tugged at the knot in her dress, realizing she'd forgotten to undo it in her haste.

"Well, cook left instructions that you would be coming. He seemed confident you would be here despite the hour. You can put the goods in here." Gladys stepped aside and allowed  Melina to enter before leading her into the storage room. 

When Gladys flipped the switch, Melina smiled in wonderment at the sites before her. She had been in this room before, but this time it was filled with brightly colored jars, cans, packages and boxes. She had never seen anything like it and she wondered what the cook could be using all these treasures for. 

Gladys pointed to an empty spot on a shelf and Melina walked over, sliding the jars of honey, one by one onto the shelf. The strange labels and bright colors pulled her eyes in every direction and she giggled to herself as she imagined the kitchen, a bright rainbow of colors, with cook flipping boxes upside-down until they were empty, pouring the contents of cans and emptying jars into massive pots. 

And then, "crash...crash crash."

Melina gasped, looking down at three jars of honey that lay broken at her feet. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the tireless work of the bees, oozing across the dark cement floor. 

How had she been so careless with their creation?

Then she felt her eyes on her.

"Don't just stand there and watch it! Clean it up, girl."

Melina shook her head, bending down and carefully scooping the shards of glass back into her basket. Gladys handed her a rag and Melina stared for one more long moment, her heart breaking for the loss, before she wiped it away.

Liam was standing on the veranda looking out at the sky. It was startling the colors that he could see when he really looked. There was orange and yellow, but red, pink and purple too. He couldn't remember the last time he had really watched the sky at dusk and he wasn't even sure what had compelled him to do so this time. But when he heard the screech of the old back door open, his eyes easily left the sky to study the woman exiting.

She was wearing a long flowing dress and he could see that she was thin but strong. Her hair was strawberry blonde and pulled back into a braid, although several strands had escaped and were flying wildly around her as an evening breeze blew in. 

Liam was mesmerized by her, watching her walk purposefully across the gardens and towards the forest. He had not even seen her face, but with each step she took away from him, a feeling of panic began to rise in his chest. He stared, fighting the urge to call out or run after her, to somehow stop her. But no words came, so he simply watched, until she was gone, disappearing into the trees.

Liam exhaled, realizing he had been holding his breath. He instinctively clapped his large hand over his chest, feeling his heart wake up, like a bear hibernating for a long winter and suddenly coming alive with the spring. It confused him, having such a reaction to the sight of a woman that he merely watched from a distance, but there was no denying it. 

Once Liam found his footing, he stepped inside the Walker estate and found Drake sitting at a small table in the sunroom. A smile pulled on Liam's lips as he took him in. There were two glasses of whiskey poured on the table, untouched, and Drake’s head rested against the hard wood as he snored loudly, the noise echoing through the room.  Drake had clearly come down to have a drink with his friend but the pull of sleep overtook him. 

"Drake," Liam gently nudged his friend, trying to wake him without success. "Drake!" He tried again, and was answered with a snort. Liam sighed, realizing he was going to need help. 

The house was quiet, the staff minimal and Liam wandered through the halls looking for someone, preferably Bastien, who had agreed to stay quiet and out of the way this trip. Liam was met, however, with a face eager to help.

"Gladys," Liam smiled as he spotted the majordomo. 

"Your Majesty," she curtsied, ``what can I do for you?"

"Do you happen to know where Bastien is? I could use his help with something," he paused, "an extraction of sorts."

Gladys sighed, "Oh goodness, the Duke fell asleep again, didn't he?"

Liam chucked, "I'm afraid you are correct."

Gladys shook her head, "Why those two won't get a nanny to help is something I do not understand. They are wearing themselves ragged."

"They certainly are, but they seem to be enjoying it."

Gladys offered a soft smile, her voice lowering like she was about to tell a secret. "I've never seen two people so in love with a baby. It's like they are afraid that if they sleep they'll wake up and she'll be grown, and they will have missed it all." She shook her head with a sigh, "Bless them for loving her." 

Gladys caught herself smiling and quickly corrected her grin. "I'll get Mr. Lykel for you, Your Majesty. Is there anything else?"

Liam shook his head and then stopped. "Actually yes, there is one thing. On my walk earlier I noticed a woman leaving through the back door."

"That's right," Gladys nodded, "she was making a delivery." 

"May I ask what she was delivering?"

Gladys tried to hide her initial response, but a look of odd curiosity slipped through as she stared at the king.

"She delivered honey for the cook."

"I see," Liam rubbed his chin, contemplating. He had so many questions buzzing around in his head. He wanted to ask her name, where she lives, how he could find her, when she would be back? But he knew none of these were appropriate, so instead he nodded, thoughtfully.

"I think I might like to try some of that honey with a biscuit tomorrow morning."

Gladys grinned, "Certainly Your Majesty. Now let me get someone to help the Duke to bed."

That night, while Liam lay in bed, for the first time in a long time, his mind was not on his work or his country and he didn't collapse into a restless sleep. Instead, he folded his strong arms behind his head, a smile playing on his lips as his mind swarmed with questions, about the woman with the honey.