He smiled, enjoying the mixed expression on Kiera's face that was held within his hands. When he first laid eyes on her, he remembered believing she was the epitome of mystery. A person that would take time and extreme effort in order to begin unraveling every aspect of their facial expressions.
His thoughts back then couldn't have been any further from the truth.
Staring at her, Sam could pick out the various emotions that were dancing across her facial features. The subtle creasing between her brows- if he didn't know any better he would have believed she was expressing the beginnings of her displeasure. In the time he had wholly focused himself on getting closer to Kiera, he had learned that it usually meant that she was confused. She was in the process of thinking through his previous words.
He wasn't fooled though. He knew he was only able to see this part of her because she permitted him to. Otherwise, he would have seen only the part of Kiera that she wanted everyone else to see. The brilliant and young, but cold and aloof Beast General. A woman that was content with the notion of being alone for the rest of her life. Every bit of a stereotypical Lone Wolf.
Cute. It was a word he had never used in his life before, but somehow it sprang easily into his mind as he was staring down at her face.
He did not know when it first began. When she allowed him to touch her. All he knew was that he was grateful. With her face in his hands, he could clearly see into her eyes. The cobalt blue hues could very well haunt someone's nightmares if they ever had the misfortune of seeing them when they darkened. A sight so chilling, but at the same time so satisfying for him to watch.
Then it was her lips. He has kissed her so many times now that he had memorized their texture. The way it felt when her lips smiled sometimes when they kissed. Her lips were slightly pursed now, as she was still thinking about what he had said to her.
Naturally, he gave in to their pull and brought his face closer to hers. He kissed her pursed lips and when he pulled back, he gave her a smile.
"We should continue this talk somewhere else."
When the surprise of his sudden kiss wore off, she asked him. "Where do you have in mind?"
"Where else but my home? We won't be bothered there."
When they arrived at his palace, he and Kiera were greeted at the doors by his butler.
"Please grab the box from my study and bring it to the garden." He quickly told the butler, "You know the one." He tried to keep his voice lowered, but realized he had failed when Kiera looked at him quizzically.
"Is there something you want to show me?"
He laughed softly before taking her hand. "You'll see."
Leading Kiera to the back garden, he felt the anxiety within his chest. It was like a pocket of air was fully lodged inside his chest and not even clearing his throat seemed to help.
"Is this about this future you've told me about?" Kiera asked finally after she sat down at one of the outside chairs Sam had pulled out for her. They were perfectly hidden underneath the garden's gazebo, kept in the shade and out of the heat of the sun's rays. Sam sat across from her and nodded.
"I'll get to that."
"I have never been one to obsess over things easily, much less people. How could I when I never had the time to think about anything other than my survival." He couldn't quell the small sarcastic laugh that rose out of his lips as he said that. "That is, until now."
He looked at her then as she sat and patiently waited for him to continue. He didn't know if she had understood he was alluding to his obsession with her. She was silent so he resumed.
"Never in my life did I think I would find myself facing this particular plight. When I was younger I had assumed my father would choose a noblewoman to be my bride, and I can't help but be thankful he hasn't pushed me to get married yet." It didn't matter if he was a royal, no young woman's father would ever want their noble daughters to marry him. After all, he was the useless third prince, the stain of the royal family.
"Since I've met you all I've had are thoughts of how to keep you next to me."
This is when he heard the hurried footsteps of his butler as he rushed to the gazebo, a small shaped box in his hands. He was trying not to breathe heavily out through his nose when he preciously handed the box over to Sam.
"Thank you."
He stood from his seat and stepped beside her chair, getting down on one knee. He was close enough to her that his knee almost reached her leg.
"Kiera, if you would allow me to, I would like for you to stay with me, to see with your own eyes the future that I know I can build here in this kingdom." He carefully opened the small box in his hands to reveal a precious stone, one he knew she would recognize instantly.
"That's," her eyes widened at the appearance of the stone, one bead that was taken from a necklace. Now it was the stone that was inlaid on the obsidian-colored ring that he had sent out to be made.
"From where did you get a Spirit Bead?"
He smiled at her pure astonishment from seeing the bead on the ring. It was the first question she had asked him even when he was proposing to her.
"I had help from Jade. When I asked her about the beads, she gave me one of the beads from her necklace." This must have been an incredible thing, as Kiera seemed even more shocked. "It seems that I'll have to thank her more later."
"Sam, do you know what the meaning behind this stone is?"
"You said Beasts give their mates a stone like this."
She gave a firm nod of her head. "You forget that we aren't mates yet."
"But we are lovers," he shot back. "And I do cherish you."
He placed the box on the table, coming even closer to her. Then he brought his forehead to touch hers.
"I love you, Kiera. I want to spend the rest of my days with you. I can't imagine anyone else with me but you. What about you? Can you imagine being with anyone else other than me?"
He didn't know what he was expecting from her when he asked the question. Immediately, his heart plummeted when she moved her head away from his. The ice-cold expression on her face was enough to drive a freezing dagger into his heart.
"I can't imagine anyone, no."
It was his turn to be baffled by her response.
"But it is still hard for me to abandon my homeland."
"You wouldn't have to." Sam tenderly reached out to touch her cheek. "That is what I have been trying to get at. We could build a place for your people and mine. Couples like Byran and Clara could love freely here, our first citizens in this newly revisualized Solomon."
"How would you even begin to accomplish that?"
"By becoming King."
Kiera stared at him, nonverbally she read his face, gauging the level of his seriousness from his expression.
"Remember what you had asked me, that day you visited me here in my garden? You asked me what I would do if I were king instead of my father?" He laughed because he couldn't believe she had asked him that question way back then. As if she had somehow known his intentions then.
"You want to be king?"
He shook his head. "It isn't about me wanting the throne. This is about me wanting change in this kingdom. For years I have been in control of the court. Every move my family has made, they have only thought they have made out of their own free will. Why do you think Solomon has grown so prosperous in the past decade?"
"I would not have known anything, beyond the Forest I have never paid attention to the other Kingdoms. If what you say is true, then what has stopped you from taking the title of crown prince?"
"Before, I had intended to wait until the perfect time to strike, when I knew I could have my family dealt with without displaying any of my hidden cards."
"You are going to use the talks of the Golden Rose Treaty as a cover to distract your father and brothers so they don't suspect you until after you have already taken the throne."
"I am doing much more than that Kiera."
She was nothing short of amazed at him. Now that he has revealed his future plans, she couldn't hide behind her icy mask of indifference.
"I would make for a terrible Queen."
"You would be doing similar things as you're doing now as a Beast General." He grinned, "the only thing that I ask for would be your love, of course."
"How confident are you in this plan?"
"Confident enough to ask you for your hand in marriage." He took the box again in his hands.
"Kiera, could I ask you to let me become yours? Or at least wait until you are confident enough to make me your mate? In the meantime, you can take this ring as my promise to you."
He lifted the ring out of the box and waited with bated breath for her response.
It was like a dream to him when he saw her hand lift up into the air. She put her hand in front of the ring he held out, making her actions speak for her rather than her words.
Even though he was sliding the ring on the wrong hand, his heartbeat radically inside his chest all the same. Later on, he would take the time to explain to her where the ring should be worn, but for now, all that mattered to him was getting his ring on her hand.
Once the ring was on her, he ducked his head forward and planted a kiss on the back of her hand.
"I hope this ring reminds you of how much I love you, Kiera. Please wear it whenever you can from now on."
His heart nearly leaped right out of his chest when he heard her say.
"I don't think I could ever find a man to love more than I love you Sam." There was a sheen glossy appearance to her eyes, and it made him want to reach out to take her into his arms right then and there, but he found that he could not move a single inch.
"At this point, I don't think I could bear the thought of leaving you."
When a drop fell from one of her eyes, he sprang into action, finally wrapping his arms around her.
"Thank you for loving me Kiera." He said as he kissed her cheek where the tear had fallen. With the saltiness of the tear on his lips, he whispered sweet nothings to her until she finally gifted him with a laugh.