Bedding My Vampire Mate

"I wish for your smile to sparkle and light up the whole world even as you grow older. Happy birthday, Joan," Joanna read the message that appeared on the screen after the earlier video ended.

"No matter what anyone says, this is undoubtedly the best gift I have ever received. Even if I don't remember it forever, I know I will recall this moment for a very long time," Joanna muttered. She guided her hands to her face and wiped the tears that had dropped from her eyes.

Just then the television went off and the lights in the room came on and standing at the stairs at her right-hand side was Kayden.

The first thing she noticed was his clothes. Instead of the royal regalia he wore earlier, he was now wearing a grey long-sleeve shirt and brown trousers.

At the moment he looked very much like the Kayden she knew.

"Because you didn't like my birthday present last year I thought I should give you something different. I believed you would love this gift. It was never my intention to make you cry," Kayden explained, his eyes fixed on the face of the lady standing below him.

Joanna watched him as he descended the stairs. The way she looked at him was as if this was their first encounter.

"I will have the maids clear it up if you don't like it..."

"This is how you have always been... as long as I don't like something or say no, you will always comply. It doesn't matter if you wasted a fortune or your precious time on it," Joanna said. She took the initiative and closed the gap between them.

"Since you are so good at listening to what I want, then why didn't you keep your distance when I asked you so many times in the past huh?" Joanna demanded fiercely, her stern expression focused on his face.

"Joan, if there is anything I did you disliked then tell me and I will change it right away but don't get mad ok?" Kayden beseeched. He reached out his hand to hold her hands but Joanna avoided his touch.

She turned her back to him.

"Your Majesty, I am scared of you," Joanna mumbled. Kayden's heart stopped beating the moment those words came out of her mouth.

"In fact, your love terrifies me... I love you no doubt but your unconditional love is so overwhelming. It scares me that I might never be able to love you as much as you love me. And even if I managed to achieve that, it might take so many years. This realisation frightens me out of my wits," Joanna continued emotionally.

The stunned Kayden was able to breathe again after he heard what weighed her down.

He raised his hand, grabbed her shoulder and turned her around so that they were staring at each other.

"The fact that you love me is enough for me, Joan. You don't have to love me as much as I love you..."

"But that is not fair to you," Joanna interrupted, forgetting that they were still in the palace.

"You have given me your everything, it's only right that I return as much as I have received..."

"Loving you was never a bargain or a business deal that you have to return as much as you have benefited. I loved you and did all those things willingly. Even if you didn't reciprocate my feelings in the end, I wouldn't have forced you or demanded all those things back..."

"Are you saying you would have gotten engaged and married to some other woman if I hadn't fallen in love with you?" Joanna asked. Her tender eyeballs turned fierce to show that her next reaction would depend on his reply.

"The ministers including the Queen Mother had always wanted me to get married. I guess I would have ended up succumbing to their demands after a while," Kayden replied. If not that he held back his laughter with all his might, he would have laughed out loud the moment he saw her expression darkened following his response.

"How could you say that to my face..." She choked on her words as he cupped her face with his freezing hands.

"That was only a probability. The reality right now is that you love me and that is all that matters," Kayden said as he stared at her clear purple eyes which all he could see was himself.

"Really?" Joanna asked as she squinted her eyebrows.

"Are you sure you won't get fed up trying to clean up my mess in the future? I mean you of all people should know the kind of household I come from and my position there," Joanna trailed off as if she was giving him one more reason to love her less.

"That has never been a problem. And whoever dared to bully you will answer to me. I wonder if there is anyone out there who can withstand the wrath of the King?" Kayden replied sternly.

The fierce look in his eyes reminded her of the two incidents that happened in the past.

He was wearing the same deadly looks on those two occasions.

"What if I say I don't want you to bring in any other women after we get married? Will you not slam divorce papers at my face and have me thrown out of the palace?" Joanna asked.

If only Joanna knew how much her questions made the faces of those standing outside flushed red then maybe she wouldn't have acted so clingy.

"No, I will..."

"Wait, does that mean you want to marry me?" Kayden put a hold on his previous reply and asked instead. His eyes shone brightly like that of a child as he waited for her reply.

"Why? Were you planning to eat my forbidden fruit and then dump me?" Joanna asked.

She brushed his hand off her body and moved to the couch looking very furious.

"You know that is not true," Kayden muttered and hurried to join her where he had set up a dining table in the middle of the room.

"Humph... how will I know what you are thinking when I am not inside your mind?" Joanna scoffed. She reached out her hands and opened the closed plates one after the other.