Boy Time

Since Mark had been one of the guards staying close to Katherine during her father's funeral and her coronation, a random guard she had not met before had been placed to watch over her room.

He gave her a nod as she neared, letting her know it was safe, and she told him he was excused and that he could go grab some dinner with the others. Since he saw that Jasper was on Katherine's heels, he gave her a quick bow and started to go on his way.

Katherine was glad he did not argue to stay. She would hate for anyone to overhear what was about to happen in her room.

She walked into her room and immediately took off her crown and placed it on her dresser. She did not want the heavy thing in the way.

Right as the crown hit the surface, Katherine heard her bedroom door close.

She turned and saw Jasper's ravenous blue eyes fixated on her, and the hunger in them made her freeze in place. She knew her green eyes probably reflected the same desire.

Without taking his eyes off of her, he locked the door, the click of the lock being the only sound in the room until Jasper swiftly closed the space between them and captured her in a kiss so strong that she had to take a few steps back to keep from falling from the momentum of his movements.

He used his hands that were now wrapped in her hair to pull her head to the side as he trailed kisses across her jaw. Katherine unclasped her cape, let it fall to the floor, and started to undo the buttons on the collar of her dress that had prevented Jasper from being able to reach her neck and continue distributing kisses.

She must have not been going fast enough though, because Jasper moved his hands to the front of her dress and ripped it from the center, completely shredding it and causing the lace and silk layers to fall off of her.

A gasp escaped Katherine's lips, and soon after, Jasper's mouth was back on hers, as needy as ever.

Since she was now in just her undergarments, she figured it was only fair if the same could be said for her handsome guard, so she moved her hands to his front and pushed his suit jacket off as he moved his arms down to let it fall.

She started on the buttons of his shirt, and apparently that was taking too long as well, so Jasper ripped his own shirt off the same way he had ripped Katherine's dress off.

His need for the immediacy of being with her made Katherine break the kiss in a giggle against his mouth.

Jasper pulled back in confusion to see Katherine grinning as small laughs still escaped her lips. Her big smile caused him to smile, and he delicately tucked one of her wild curls behind her ear.

Her smile started to fall slowly as she whispered to him, "I've missed this so much."

"Me too. I'm sorry I've wasted so much time trying to pull away," he sincerely said.

"Well let's not waste anymore," she said right before she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled his face back to hers.

It did not take long for them to shed the rest of their clothes and completely entangle themselves in each other.

After nearly a year, they became one again, and relished every stolen second together knowing that their time was nearing an end.

Once they both were completely satisfied, they laid in bed, Katherine snuggled up against Jasper's chest, enjoying the feel of each other's warmth on their bare skin.

"It was so nice seeing everyone so happy at dinner. After the attack, the staff have been so down in the dumps. It was exactly what everyone needed," Jasper said after a while.

"I'm glad they seemed to enjoy it. I think we all needed a little jump in spirit," Katherine replied.

"You're already the best ruler all of Titanus has seen. I doubt any of the rest sit down with their staff the way you did tonight," Jasper said in admiration.

"I'm sure Charles does. He loves his people so much. Honestly, I find it quite strange," Katherine instinctively said, not thinking of who she was talking to.

She had never censored herself in front of Jasper before, but she had actively been trying to avoid any mention of Charles around him, knowing he was a sensitive subject. However, she had been so comfortable in bed with her guard down, that she had completely let it slip.

At the mention of her future husband, Jasper stiffened under her before he scoffed. He let out a long breath before he said, "For obvious reasons I don't like the guy, but I think you're probably right. Helios will be lucky to have him as a King soon."

Now it was Katherine who became stiff. "I'm going to shower," she announced as she threw the covers off and got out of bed. She wanted to avoid another fight or any sad feelings that she knew the topic of Charles would eventually bring up.

She walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. As she waited for it to warm up, she took a second to look in the mirror and take in her appearance.

Her hair was a mess and her makeup had been ruined. Her lips were puffy and her lipstick smeared, all thanks to Jasper's wild kisses.

Katherine even noticed the little red marks running down her body from where Jasper had kissed or sucked a little too hard. She smiled at the little love bites, but was grateful that she used the shower as an excuse because she looked like a walking disaster.

When steam coated the clear shower doors, she walked in and let the warm water run down her sore body. It had been a long day, and she was finally feeling the effects of it all.

She scrubbed the makeup off of her face and was about to attempt to detangle her hair when she heard the shower door move, followed by the feeling of Jasper's arms coming in around her waist.

He kissed her neck and slowly explored her body with his hands.

"You're insatiable," Katherine said with a laugh that came out more like a sigh.

"You seem to have that effect on me," he replied against her cheek where he planted another kiss.

They had their fill of each other yet again, and when they were done exerting themselves and washing away the day, they dried off and went to bed to get some much needed rest.

Jasper fell asleep, and Katherine laid in her bed, totally relaxed, as she listened to the sound of his steady breathing.

She had made sure to keep herself awake, though, because at midnight she would sneak away to the secret garden to meet Charles.

For obvious reasons, she could not tell Jasper.

For starters, he would be upset, jealous, and would not understand why Katherine would want to spend time with Charles. Also, he would probably insist on coming with her to guard her, and it was time she really wanted to just get away from being a Queen.

She quietly and gently rolled over in her bed and looked at her phone on the nightstand to see what time it was.

It was nearly midnight, so Katherine got up and put some clothes and shoes on in the dark before she unlocked her door to sneak away. She made sure to take her phone with her in case there was an actual emergency and she needed to call someone for help.

She took one more guilty look at Jasper before she closed the door as noiselessly as possible. She knew that the progress they had been making the last week would be ruined if he found out about her little rendezvous, but after the hellish day she had, she really needed the peace that the garden brought. She had been pulled away from it too soon earlier before dinner.

As she snuck out, she was even more thankful that she had sent the guard away, or she would have never been able to get out so easily.

She tiptoed down the hall and made her way outside to the secret garden to meet Charles.