Chapter 204
Chapter 204 A dance for the ages
A pathway separated immediately as William led Doris to the middle of the dance floor. Everyone moved
off to the side to allow them their space. Doris stared forward and silently prayed that her face wasn’t as
red as she felt. She tried not to think about the whole pce about to watch her dance—when she had
no idea how to. “I’ve never danced before.” Doris whispered to him. She squeezed his arm tightly. “I don’t
think this is a good idea, I’ll step on your feet. Perhaps we should go sit down, I’m getting rather dizzy
anyway.” The side of his mouth lifted a little. “That’s the n, you step on my feet.” “What” William
stopped in the middle of the floor and she gasped when he pulled her against him. He
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gripped her waist and lifted her slightly until she stood on his toes. “What are you doing—“ “I’ll lead us,
just hold onto me.” He whispered back. She could barely hear him over the music that grew into a
smoother, louder beat. “I—I don’t know if this is a good idea, everyone is watching!” She whispered but
he only shook his head to silence her. Doris gripped onto his shoulders as his hands held her waist firm.
She swore it wasn’t going to work, she swore she was going to fall off and make a giant fool of herself in
front of everyone. But
—then he started to move them. His movements were almost natural. She should have guessed that a
prince-or a king-would know exactly what to do on a dance floor. They had sses at the pce for all
young royalty to take for asions like this. Doris was told that they started from a very young age so
they didn’t look like fools at balls. Meanwhile, Doris had always been too busy cleaning up after others.
Every step he made, she came with him. He moved to the beat of the song as if it knew it by heart and
not one step was off. They spun around the dance floor, her skirts moved around them like a sea of silks
and it felt as if she was in a fairytale. He lifted her off his toes and twirled her around before he pulled her
right back against him where she belonged. Not once did their eyes break contact. He stared at her as if
they were the only two people in the room. Not even others joining the dance broke his gaze from her.
He never moved them close enough to the others, she was in his own world. Doris smiled widely. She
laughed a little as they moved. “I feel as if I’m dreaming!” “Why do you say that?” He asked against her
ear. The music slowed and their movements did as well. She swayed against him as he held her tight. .
“I’ve never danced like this before. And… and this dress. I feel like a princess.” She admitted as quietly
as she could against his ear. “I’ve never felt like this before. Only in my imagination.” William pulled back
a little to look down at her again. “You should feel like a queen.” Doris froze in his grasp but he kept
moving them as if she didn’t. He knew how much his words weighed, and she had to push them away
before they overwhelmed her thoughts. William suddenly smiled at her. A real smile. No ghost, or half
pull. He smiled at her as if he meant it. It stopped her heart in her chest, she wanted to kiss him and
have that smile painted immediately so it was never forgotten. She wanted a portrait to hang above her
vanity to brighten each day. Slowly, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Come with me.” Doris felt her
blood heat at his words. He stopped their sways and led them through the crowd as he slipped past the
people that wanted to stop him for more conversation. She couldn’t hear the excuses he gave them, her
ears pumped louder than his words. In just a few breaths, they were alone in a long hallway that Beth
and her had been in just minutes before. His guards didn’t follow William in for once. William led them
down the long hallway and made a sharp right turn towards a darker area. Doris knew that an old
storage room was the only ce at the end of this hallway, she wondered if William knew exactly where
he was going. She wondered if he had been here before with someone else. Doris shoved the thoughts
far from her mind before any jealousy or insecurity followed like it normally did. It didn’t matter what he
did in his past, she was in his present and in his future. He pulled open the door and all she saw was
darkness. He reached his arm up to turn on a swinging light to reveal piles and piles of white towels that
lined the shelves. When the door closed behind them, she didn’t realize how dim it would be. But that
didn’t matter in the slightest, he found her mouth just fine. William pressed her back against the wooden
shelves and she had to catch herself before she tripped. He gripped her waist and pulled her body
against him as he kissed her hard. Doris gasped. “You won’t be able to get this dress off me, it’s too
much.” “I just needed a taste of you.” He said against her lips. “I can have the restter.” William caught
her mouth with heat. His tongue slid between her teeth to find her own. Doris groaned when they collided
and fought for dominance in her mouth. It was useless to ever try to win against him, but he made it so
fun to try. Especially when she bit his bottom lip just to hear his moans.
A tingling rippled though her body. She arched her chest against him as he lifted her up. If her dress
skirts weren’t so thick, she would have wrapped herself around him and let him do whatever he pleased
right there. Even with hundreds and hundreds of people waiting for their king to return to them. He kissed
her until she was dizzy, when he pulled away she groaned. “Don’t stop.” She begged. His hands traveled
up her bodice slowly. “I would much rather be in here with you.” Doris felt the heat fade away slowly
when she looked at him. His crown was tilted on his head and his lips were a little swollen from her bites.
He looked like a dream, but her heart was swelling with something other than lust. “I’m so proud of you.”
She whispered. “You’re king now, William.”
William lowered her back to the floor and leaned his forehead against her own. They both closed
their eyes and let the moment settle around them. “When I pictured myself being crowned king, I never
saw anyone at my side.” He admitted. “Not even a brother and certainly not a lover. I thought it would
always be me up there alone.” Doris said nothing to that. So he continued. “When I looked down at you
in the crowd, I realized something.” “What?” Doris breathed. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. A
part of her still didn’t know what to expect when William spoke. He had the power to break her if he
wanted. “I realized that when I looked at you… for the first time it felt like home. I always thought home
was a ce that people slept in at night. But when I saw you there, looking up at me as if you were so
proud, I realized that home could be a person.” 3 Doris felt as if her throat had closed up entirely. She
opened her eyes to gaze up at him. But he kept his own closed still. “William—“ “Let me finish.” He said
gently. Doris closed her lips. “I know that I haven’t been the easiest person to love. I know that I wasn’t
what you had in mind when you saw your future… but I wanted to tell you that you are so much better
than what I imagined mine would look like. I close my eyes and see you with my children. I see you
always there, even if you don’t want to be involved with the politics. I still see you there for me.” “I’ll
always be there for you. I love you.” Doris whispered. She wiped the tears that fell down her cheeks.
William finally opened his beautiful blue eyes and cupped her cheeks. A loud bang almost made her
flinch out of her skin, but he held her tight. “Your majesty? Are you alright?” William rolled his eyes to the
ceiling and straightened himself. Doris bit her lip as she leaned up on her toes to fix his crown. “Yes. I’m
coming.”