Chapter 4: A Night with the King

“Hello, darling. How was your day?” Lucas asks as he finally comes home to our little cottage. I don’t see him yet as I am in the kitchen preparing dinner for us. It’s past dinner time but I wanted to eat with my husband so I took the time to make a nice meal for us.

“Hello, Your Majesty,” I say when he enters the kitchen to find me. I turn to him and bow deeply then look up at him from my position.

“I don’t think I have ever been turned on by hearing that but every time you say, wow,” Lucas grins at me. He lowers himself into a bow as well, right in front of me. He plants a kiss on my lips before we both return to a standing position. “It smells amazing in here. Did you cook dinner?”

“Yes, I did,” I say as I turn to the stove to stir the pot then I whip around to look at him again. “Wait, you haven’t eaten right?”

“Not since eleven,” Lucas says, coming to stand behind me at the stove. “Besides, even if I had, that smells so delicious I would be hungry all over again,” Lucas says right as his stomach gives a low rumble. I chuckle and Lucas kisses my neck.

“You haven’t eaten since eleven? It’s almost nine now!” I look over my shoulder at him, shocked. I had been snacking all day and he hadn’t eaten since a meal at eleven? Hopefully, it was a big meal.

“Yes, so hurry up and finish because I’m hungry,” Lucas smacks my ass and I jump a little then turn to scold him.

“Hey, careful, don’t make me jump while I’m standing near the hot stove top,” I point the wooden spoon at him and he raises his hands.

“You’re right, mi amor. Lo siento, lo siento,” Lucas says and I lower the spoon to let him give me another kiss.

“Fine, you’re forgiven. Now, go change into something comfortable and the food will be ready when you come back,” I promise and Lucas gives me a kiss once again before he goes into the bedroom to change.

While Lucas changes, I continue stirring the pot in front of me. I set the spoon aside then pull another dish out of the oven and check the bread as well. The bread went in a lot later because I knew it wouldn’t cook as long but it still has another minute on the timer.

“What is this?” Lucas asks when he finally returns from changing. He’s wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, much different than his formal attire. I smile at my handsome husband. He smiles back and pulls me to his chest. He kisses my cheek and then turns back to the table where I’ve set everything out for dinner. “Is this Paella Valenciana?” Lucas hesitates in his question but it pleases me that it resembles the dish enough that he actually knows what I tried to make.

“It is! I hope it’s good. I’m not the best cook,” I shrug when admitting it. I try but I prefer to be the Sous Chef. I can follow a recipe pretty well though. “I also made bread. Well, the bread I didn’t make. I stole it from the Castle’s kitchen.” I chuckle and Lucas laughs a big, hearty laugh.

“White bread?” Lucas asks as he sits down at the table.

“Yeah,” I say and take my place across the table from him. “I, kind of, googled Paella Valenciana. I mean, we had it one of the nights my parents were here and it was so good, I thought that I would try it. Making bread is a tough process, well this was tough too, but adding bread as well. Yeah, so I just took it from the kitchen. Oh, but I googled what bread would go best with it so yeah, it said a few different options but white bread was the easiest to find in the kitchen,” I explain and I laugh a little. I tried.

“Thank you, mi amor. It smells great, it looks great, and I’m sure it will taste great as well,” Lucas reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. I smile at him and then serve us both a portion from the big pan on the table.

With one bite, I know something isn’t quite right. It isn’t horrible but there’s just something off about it. I take another bite to confirm and make a face but keep chewing. Maybe I forgot an ingredient? A vital ingredient.

“This is amazing,” Lucas mumbles around a mouthful of the dish. I stare at him over the centerpiece on the table and after a few seconds, he looks up and catches my eye. “What?”

“Seriously?” I ask and he looks at me confused. Either he is the best husband ever or his tastebuds are dead. Or he’s that hungry. “Nothing tastes off to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Something tastes weird about it. I mean, it isn’t horrible but still,” I sigh, dejected, and sit back in my seat, pushing the plate away from me.

“Are you sure? I think it tastes great,” Lucas insists and offers me a bite from his plate. I try it and it still tastes the same to me, slightly off. “Okay, maybe it doesn’t taste exactly like Paella Valenciana but it’s still great!” Lucas grins at me and is already serving himself a second helping. I smile and watch him stuff his face, which is disgusting but endearing.

I decide to try it again, this time with some of the bread. It tastes better, okay even. I know I’ll make this meal again but I will have to follow the instructions more closely, which I thought I did but oh well. Lucas seems to love it.

When dinner is finished and there is only a scoop or two left of the dish, I scrape it into a little Tupperware and set it in the fridge. I might take it to Lucas tomorrow, in the afternoon, in case he needs a snack.

“That was delicious,” Lucas says as he wraps his hands around my midsection, pulling my back to his chest.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I say, proud of myself.

“Oh, I enjoyed it, but not as much as I am about to enjoy you,” Lucas smirks at me and starts walking us to the bedroom.

I blush and tilt my head back to start kissing his neck. His hands work the buttons on my top while we continue the walk to the bedroom. When we get to the bedroom, he turns me to face him, pulling my top off my arms and letting it fall to the floor. My braid whips around and lands on my shoulder when he turns me and he takes the opportunity to grab it.

“This will come in handy later,” Lucas grins at me and winks. I laugh and wrap my arms around him. “I love you, Your Majesty,” Lucas says, calling me by my title. I grin back at him.

“I love you,” I say and Lucas narrows his eyes at me playfully. I lean in close and bite his shoulder then whisper against his skin. “I love you, Your Majesty.”