The Different Types of Hunger

A gasp escaped Maria's lips as Arthur lifted her up and started to walk with her in his arms.

She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck so that she would not fall and breathlessly asked, "Shouldn't you put me down?"

"Hmmm, should I?" he teased as he continued on until they reached the dining hall.

Thankfully, everyone had already had their lunch, so they had the large room to themselves.

Arthur delicately placed Maria on one of the chairs before he walked back towards George, who had followed them, and instructed him to ask the kitchen to prepare them a meal.

He walked back towards her and took the seat directly next to her before he grabbed her hand that had been resting on her lap, and brought it to his lap to rest in his hands.

"The kitchen will bring us some food shortly," he said as he gazed into her brown eyes and rubbed her hand that was in his to keep comforting her.

She nodded but found herself getting lost in his beautiful eyes again.

She thought about how confusing the man next to her was.

One minute he was teasing her and making her feel so uncomfortable that she wanted to run away, and the next minute he was making her feel as if there was no one else in the world who mattered but her.

She started to feel that magnet inside of her pull towards him, and without realizing it, she started to lean in closer to him.

Arthur, noticing her getting close to him, leaned forward the rest of the way and placed a soft but firm kiss on her lips.

He wanted to make it abundantly clear to Maria that he still wanted her, and that he was not planning on going anywhere without her by his side.

She pulled away from his lips, but rested her forehead against his so that she could say, "Thank you".

"Anytime. I'll always be here for you, I promise. Now kiss me again."

Her heart skipped a beat at his words as she brought her lips back onto his and kissed him again.

A moan came out of the back of Arthur's throat, and he pulled from her lips to place a kiss on her cheek before he whispered in her ear, "I could just eat you up".

"Food is ready!" Dimitris announced as he and George entered, holding a plate each for Maria and Arthur.

Maria pulled away and heard Arthur sigh in disappointment over the fact that they had been interrupted.

She thanked the men and watched to make sure they completely left the room before she turned back to Arthur just in time to hear him say in a playful tone as he watched her, "I guess I will have to settle for the food instead, but maybe you can be my dessert".

Maria felt herself flush, knowing what he was implying, and she chose to look away and focus on her food because she had a feeling that looking into his eyes would make her blush even more.

He chuckled and turned to his food too, and the pair ate in a peaceful silence.

Maria completely cleared her plate and Arthur looked over at her when she was done eating and asked, "Feel better now?"

"Yes," she said with a satisfied sigh.

"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" he asked, facing her again.

She scrunched up her face because she had assumed by now that she would either still be with Leonardo, or back in her room bathing after playing a sport.

Arthur saw the conflicted look on her face, so he placed his hand on her thigh and suggested, "Why don't we just spend the rest of the day together? I've spent too many days locked up in my room, which might have been fun if you were locked in there with me, but alas I was alone...You'll be saving me from my boredom," he added so that she would think that she was doing him a favor, and not the other way around.

He knew that she could handle herself, but he also could tell that being alone would not be the best thing for her right now; plus, he would take as much time with her as he could get.

Maria felt part of her body just under her stomach clench at his mention of being kept away in his room with him and it made her feel the need to swallow.

She tried to ignore the feeling and instead tried to think of what they could do together, but she was entirely too distracted by the fact that he had so casually placed his hand on her thigh, making her stomach clench further.

She didn't mind that he had, but it brought on a fiery feeling in the lower part of her body that was hard to ignore.

"What should we do?" she asked when she finally found her voice, hoping that there would be no more talk of being in his bedroom together.

"Hmmm," He hummed as he thought about it, "Why don't you take me to your favorite room in the palace? I've been confined to my room and here, so it would be nice to have a change of scenery and get acquainted with my future home".

Maria felt her heart skip a beat with the thought of Arthur staying here and becoming her husband, but she still couldn't gauge if the thought of marrying him was a positive feeling or a negative one.

"Alright," she finally said as she stood up and made her way out of the dining room, "follow me".

"Gladly," he replied with excitement in his voice.

Arthur sped up to catch her, and when he did he reached for her hand so that he could hold it.

Maria allowed him to, but she also immediately noticed that the magnet feeling had returned; she swallowed hard and did her best to ignore the tingling in her body.

They walked together, hand in hand, all the way to the end of the hallway before she led him to the right and up the spiral staircase that led to the west-wing.

He made sure to look around and take everything in as Maria walked him to her favorite place inside of the palace walls.

When they arrived, she pushed open the doors and pulled him in behind her.