Confessions of an Imperial Concubine

Chapter Nine: I'm Trying Not to Let It Show That I Don't Wanna Let This Go

I don't wanna spend another moment without you again. Just tell me, tell me how to keep this, so it never ends.- Nothing More, If I Were

As one of the Kept, Sera had thought her dresses had been unusually revealing, but she hadn't ever considered the possibility that she would end up in the ones the Hetaera wore.

The one she was currently wearing was white with pretty leaf accents in gold. The skirt of the dress sat high on her waist, which was the only location where the skirt and bodice met, and it was made of one large panel in the back and a smaller one in front, leaving each of her legs exposed. The bodice was less of a bodice and more like two pieces of fabric covering her breasts, though it was sculpted to her body so as to hold them up and keep them in.

The first few times Paul had seen her in her new dresses, they hadn't ended up leaving his chambers at all.

Now that she was his Hetaera, he refused to let her leave his side for very long. "How am I supposed to bear nagging advisors and simpering courtiers without you next to me?" he'd asked her at one point.

And thus, Sera found herself seated beside him at every meeting. This was the first time he'd held court since she'd become his Hetaera. She'd suspected he'd insist upon her attending, but had assumed he would want her standing off to the side.

Not so.

"What're you doing all the way over there?" Paul demanded from the dais his throne sat upon when he noticed her standing in the corner of the room, trying not to be noticed. When she did nothing but blink back at him, he ushered her over. She cautiously stepped around the servants preparing the throne room for court, moving closer to him.

He smiled softly at her, and she was once again struck by his beauty. He wore ceremonial clothes and his hair was perfectly styled. She stood at the base of the dais, looking up at him with wide eyes. Smirking down at her, he beckoned her closer again. She glanced around nervously at the servants who were all looking very determinedly not at either of them.

Sera could've sworn the sound of her sandal hitting the first marble step echoed throughout the whole room, but Paul was looking at her expectantly and she couldn't very well refuse him. When she reached the top and stood directly in front of him, he grinned and held a hand out to her. She took it, unsure of what he was wanting until he yanked her into his lap. She yelped in surprise, her feet leaving the floor as he held her up against him.

"I want you near me," he murmured, nuzzling her affectionately. Then, "Look at me, dearest."

She did so, her face bright red. They were usually alone when he lavished such attentions upon her, after all. One of his hands was on her waist where her dress left the skin bare, the other reaching up to take her chin gently between his thumb and forefinger.

"So beautiful," he breathed. "My darling girl." Then, to Sera's surprise, he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that deepened very, very quickly. Before she could process what was happening, Paul was clutching her to his chest as he sucked her tongue into his mouth, eagerly swallowing her whimpers of pleasure. His hand found the base of her neck to hold her close to him, and she fisted her hands in his shirt, kissing him back with enthusiasm.

She forgot where she was; that they were seated on his throne in front of numerous people. All she could think about was how wet he was making her, how badly she needed him to fill her. Had they conceived yet? Oh, she hoped they had. The only thing she wanted more than to have Paul's children was to be near him.

The hand at her waist slid down to palm her backside as he trailed wet, open-mouthed kisses down her throat until she was panting.

Then—