The King's Lover

A knock.

Rose moved away from Caius so fast she almost fell, having to use the table to support herself. His hand on her leg didn’t move, and his gaze darkened at her reaction. Rose knew it was obvious she was happy about the interruption, but she didn’t care—she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

"Your Majesty," Rose said softly. "Someone is at the door."

"I can hear that," he said. His grip on her thigh tightened, lifting her dress and it moved upwards.

"I have to go, Your Majesty. It might be my lunch," she whispered. Rose didn’t like the pleading tone in her voice, but she would do anything for him to let her go.

Caius’s gaze darkened as he realized something—he was skipping lunch to be here. Why? He hadn’t thought about it in that manner. He had simply wanted to catch her off guard by being the one who actually wrote the letter, and hadn’t thought too much about the timing or what he would be skipping to do this.

Caius slowly let go of her leg, and Rose sighed in relief. She pulled her hand from the table, curtsied to the crown prince, and fled to the door just as another knock rang out—this time, desperate.

.com

Rose got to the door and pulled it open a little too hard, straining her arm a bit. The force made the door open wider than it needed to, revealing the person behind it even to Caius, who was seated in her room.

"Mister ’Enry," Rose said with a half-forced smile. She was happy to see him, but at the same time, she was also worried.

"Rose, I was—" The rest of Henry’s words died out as he noticed the crown prince behind her.