Secrets Within (finale excerpt )

The old lady was quick for an old woman with a bum knee, Grayson thought as he rushed down the halls to find her. He seen her plump form dash to the stairs. The stairs that would take her directly to the King's floor. She knew! She was going to tell the King! Grayson panicked and raced after the old lady, grabbing her arm so that he could stop her from telling the King. But he lost his grip on the old woman's arm and her arms flailed in the air before she tumbled down onto the hard stone stairs. Down, down, down thirty eight stairs. Her head hitting the third step and blood pooling around her as she landed, lifelessly on the cold white floor.

Grayson rushed to the old woman's side, unaware that she was still very much alive. When he bent down to check she clawed at him with her gnarled hands. "You are a vial deceitful man!" she spat, blood coming from her mouth. "To sleep with the Queen, the woman married to your father!" Blood leaking from her eyes, she had one last thing to say before she finally succumbed to her death, "With my finale breathe, I curse you. Grayson, bastard of King David, you shall never have the love you seek. You have the Queen now, but the time will come when she will no longer want you. The one who loves you will never have your heart and the one who has yours, will be the death of you."

Secrets Within (exceprt) the beginning

Aireona waited to be announced, "Aireona Hemsworth." She didn't allow the announcer to continue with his needless talk of who she was and where she was from. It didn't matter one lick to her. She was here to have fun.

  Not unlike all the other girls here, but she wasn't here to find a husband. She walked to stand in line with the other girls. Hating the hungry looks she was receiving from some of the men.

  They could look all they liked, not one of them was going to get her to bite. She didn't want a man, nor did she need one. She was perfectly happy with her life the way it was. Her father doting on her and her mom cooing over her. It would be that way forever, she had decided.

  Being an only child, she knew her parents wouldn't want to kick her out. They would wait until she was ready. But she wasn't. If she were to marry, it could only be to the one she loved. Grayson.

  Though it would never happen. Not with Grayson being a "lower class citizen." Her mother's words when she found out about Aireona's "little crush." If she couldn't choose Grayson, than she would choose to be a spinster.

 Shaking herself, she reminded herself she was here to have fun. Thinking about Grayson saddened her. He had disappeared the night of their first kiss. Leaving without so much as a goodbye. So she tried to push him from her mind. The music began and a man walked up to her, introduced himself then held out his hand asking her a dance.

  Placing her hand in his, she walked with him to the dance floor. Once they reached the dance floor, he placed his other hand above her hip. Her other hand went to his left shoulder. She smiled nicely at the man but his touch didn't bring that same sizzle through her like Grayson's. Still she enjoyed the dance, and Sir William Endicott seemed like a nice fellow.

 She barely had time to catch her breath when another song came on and another man took her hand. Not even asking her permission to dance. Something very unbecoming of a man trying to find a wife. Especially if that wife was her. Not that she was interested. Looking up darkly, her brows furrowed and lips thinned, she sees Grayson.

  Her lips formed an "o" before they settled into a soft smile.Unlike William, Grayson placed his right hand on the small of her back. Still holding her hand, he leds Aireona into a slow dance. "Grayson." She breathed, not quite believing he was there. The music allowing them to be close for the moment.

  "Aireona," he says, breathing her in. "I have missed you." She had never looked so radiant. Glowing like the night's stars. So beautiful and out of his reach. But  not anymore. He had worked hard and was ready to court Aireona, so that one day he could ask for her hand in marriage.

  The tempo picked up and Aireona moved away from him. The music no longer allowing the closeness he craved. Her mouth fell and her movements were filled with fury. "You wouldn't have missed me if you had stayed." 

 Grayson pulled her close and whispered  fervently "If I had stayed things would have spiraled out of control and you know it."

 Aireona's cheeks flushed. "It was just a kiss." She dismissed..

 "Did it mean so little to you?" Grayson asked, his fingers digging into her back. "Do I mean so little to you?"

  "You're hurting me." Aireona whimpered, her voice full of shock and pain. Grayson's hands dropped and he started away from her. No you don't! Aireona thought. You're not walking away from me again!  Quickly, she grabbed his hand and returned it back on her back, threading her fingers through his hair. Not caring that the dance didn't call for that kind of closeness. "You mean the world to me," her eyes daring him to see that truth.

 People were watching the pair, as they danced around them. Grayson forgot who he was, what he was supposed to be and kissed Aireona. His lips taking hers in a kiss full of pent up hunger. Aireona, forgetting where she was, let out a soft moan. The world seemed to stand still while they kissed. The music surrounding them seemed to capture all the passion that their kiss held.

 But eventually the music stops and the room is abuzz with hushed whispers.

Secrets Within (excerpt)

Bloodied and weak from his days in the walls, he collapsed. The next thing he recalled was being called a hero. Something his father, the King, seemed proud of.

Clara had tried to be alone with him but Grayson would not allow it. He wanted nothing to do with her. But she was Queen and used to getting her way. Within a fortnight she showed up in not but a stitch of clothing.

Brass she was, walking the halls like a nymph in the night. He could not tell if she was crazy or brazen she walked into his room with only a thin cloth to cover her. "Grayson."she purred. "I know you are hurting but surely you will not send me away again." Sashaying her hips as she came into his room. "I have missed you and by the looks of you, you have surely missed me." Her gaze lowering to the thick bulge that had popped up as she walked into the candlelight. Her round breasts pushed against the thin white fabric of her gown. She licked her lower lip causing him to imagine her tongue licking him.

"I know." he croaked, still aching for her touch but, at the same time, repelled by it as well. She did not seem to hear him and she removed the covers from off his body. Now the only thing between them were his pants and her barely there gown.