How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 6- Little Problems

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"Where is Ria?" I asked one of the many palace guards. Ria being none other than Valeria, my Empress. We've been married for a few weeks and yet, most of the days I wake up, she is already gone from beside me.

Either my wife is a morning person, or she is just really shy after our heated night routines which take place nearly all the time, causing her to feel embarrassed and rush off at first light while I am still sleeping.

Even before we were married, I made sure that our lives would be nothing like an ordinary Empress and Emperor's, and the first step to take towards that life that I had been envisioning was to make sure that we would be living in the same chambers instead of separate ones.

"I believe that the Empress was spotted in the north-east garden a few minutes ago, your imperial majesty," The guard answered, his head bowed down but I was already walking towards the place he mentioned before he had even been given the chance to complete his sentence.

It was all going so well. From our first wedding night to the morning in which I found her still sleeping soundly beside me. But what do I need to do to keep her from running away?

Have the chamber doors locked? No, I know as well as any other man that Ria hates being confined in one place, she likes being able to be free. Then, restrain her in bed? No, that's even worse than the first option, worse for her.

Just outright ask her? That's possibly worse than the previous two options because when she's shy, no one is as good as Ria when it comes to diverting the topic.

I continued to think of solutions for my problem as I made my way towards the north-east garden but came up empty every single time and eventually when I found the cause of this said problem, my mind went blank.

Sighing a quiet sigh, I smiled at her cheerful self and crossed my arms, leaning against one of the pillars as I simply admired her beautiful self laughing and playing with the ball, her personal bodyguard, Linus, not standing far from her.

"Oh, well. I guess it is not that bad of a problem," I mumbled to myself before pushing myself off the pillar and walking towards where she was stood and it didn't take long for her to notice my presence, upon which a light blush graced her features.

"Good morning," She mumbled, tucking a strand of hair away from her face as she tilted her head down to try and hide her blush.

"It would have been a much better morning if I had woken up to see you by my side," I crossed my arms once more as I said that and her blush deepened but nonetheless, she looked up to meet my gaze and graced me with a cheeky smile. "But... Good morning to you too, flower," Chuckling, I leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked as I pulled away and I nodded my head which somehow caused her smile to widen.

"So... What are you doing so early in the morning? I have yet to eat breakfast," I said, realising how empty my stomach was feeling right now. With all the exercise I got last night, I guess I can understand why.

"I saw a few of the men playing ball today and it peaked my desire to do so too so Linus, being the lovely gentleman that he is, got me one to play with," I hummed, turning to look at the man who quickly tipped his head down into a bow.

"Hmm. Must you always compliment other men in the presence of your jealous husband?" I asked and she furrowed her brows, pretending to think about it.

"You should know better than anyone else at this point that I compliment anyone who deserves a compliment in the presence of anyone, and that includes my jealous husband," I frowned, grumbling something incoherent under my breath.

"But do not worry darling," She laughed, patting my cheek. "You are the only man that I will never get bored of complimenting. And your jealousy is always so cute to watch," And just like that, she got me tangled around her little finger even more than I already was.

"I'm not cute," Was all I could think to say and she laughed once more, getting on her toes, balancing herself by placing a hand on my shoulder as she moved to kiss my cheek, leaning back with a grin and I sighed a loud sigh this time.

"Now, let us go to eat breakfast. I am starved," Patting her stomach, she held my hand as we walked back into the palace, Linus following not far behind us.

As we sat around the table, I watched her eating her breakfast which consisted of wheat pancakes with dates and honey, taking a few sips of water throughout the meal until eventually, she pushed the plate away with food still left on it.

"You should eat some more," I said while sipping on my own cup of water.

"No, if I eat too much then I won't be able to move, and I'll get fat, and if I get fat then I'll move around slowly, and I don't want that," I hummed but stopped midway as I went over her words and all of a sudden, it all clicked into place.

The answer to my previous problem! Something that will keep her from running away from me in the mornings. Why did I not think of this before!?

That evening, I had picked her out of the large bath before she could even finish bathing properly and as we entered our chambers, I placed her blushing self on the bed and climbed above her, stroking her hair out of the way while kissing her soft lips.

"Again?" She mumbled.

"You know that I can never have enough of you," I whispered in her ear as she shivered, clutching onto the thin piece of fabric that clung to her body. "I do not want to wake up tomorrow morning without you by my side," I muttered and she blinked, staring at me with a confused glint in her hazel eyes.

"And so, I have thought up a countermeasure that will keep you from running away," I started while simultaneously playing a short game of tug of war with her as I fought to get rid of the silly excuse of cloth that covered her body from my view.

In the end, I won and she bit back a gasp when I leaned down, covering her body with my own and picked her arms up to wrap around my neck, leaning down to shower her flawless neck with warm kisses.

"What is the countermeasure?" I heard her meekly whisper into my ear as my hands trailed down from her breast to her waist and paused on one of her smooth thighs.

"I know how you love your freedom so tying you to this bed will do me no good, neither will locking the door because you will probably find another route to run away. So, I have thought up an idea that will willingly keep you by my side in the morning,"

"And... What is that idea?" She pushed, leaning back so that our eyes met.

A smirk climbed onto my face as I leaned back to stare at her awaiting face and then, I moved to whisper in her ears, my breath fanning her cheeks as small goosebumps erupted on her skin.

"Simple, I will make love to you until you are unable to move,"

And that is just what I did.

Because the next morning, she was still sound asleep when I had woken up and even when she woke up a few minutes after me, she was unable to run away as her legs gave out under her.

It was the perfect plan, the best solution to my now nonexistent problem.

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