Page 65 of The Baron's Bride

“Why do you hesitate?” the Empress demanded.

“Well, first of all, Your Highness, a lot of what you want to see is usually done in bed,” Vik’tor pointed out. He stamped one bare foot on the floor. “And this is a pretty hard surface. It’s going to be hard on the knees and everything else, if you know what I mean.”

If he was hoping to stall a little, his plan failed.

“Is that all?” The Empress waved her hand and suddenly a plush golden mattress appeared in front of us. It was bigger than a king-sized bed, so there was definitely plenty of room to maneuver.

“Oh, um…” Vik’tor frowned.

“I think she just called your bluff,” I murmured to him. “Look, maybe we can just show her a few things and she’ll be satisfied—you know?”

“Yeah, right,” he growled, though he didn’t look convinced.

“Climb into the bed I have provided,” the Rainbow Empress demanded. She raised her eyebrows at us. “Unless you require further sexual stimulation before you can perform? Would you like to go back into the cleansing waters for a moment?”

“Er, no, Your Majesty. That won’t be necessary,” Vik’tor said quickly. He stepped onto the golden mattress and turned to offer me a hand. “Well, little girl?”

I took a deep breath.

“All right, let’s do this,” I said. And taking his hand, I also stepped onto the mattress, which was lying on the floor.

The minute we were both “aboard” the golden mattress began to rise into the air.

“Whoa!” I gasped, grasping for Vik’tor, who steadied me with both hands wrapped around my upper arms.

“Your Majesty, where are we going?” he growled, frowning at the Empress.

“I am simply raising the two of you to my eye-level, so that I can see your performance better,” she said coolly. “Do not be alarmed—you will not be injured. I have placed an invisible barrier around the bed to keep either of you from falling out.”

I put out a hand and, sure enough, my fingertips encountered something cool and firm that might have been an invisible wall around the sides of the bed.

“She’s right,” I muttered to Vik’tor. “There’s really something there. How is she doing all this?”

He shook his head.

“Don’t know, little girl. I’ve heard that the Tangellan royalty have special powers, but I didn’t know about any ofthis.”

“Whatever’s going on, I think we’d better give her what she wants,” I whispered back, turning my head to keep the Empress from seeing that I was speaking.

“You’re probably right. But you’re sure you’re really okay with this?” Vik’tor looked at me anxiously.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured him. “We’ll just…do what comes naturally.”

“Yeah, right,” he growled. “Only I’m not used to giving a command performance when I make love.”

His words sent my heart pounding. Were we really going to go that far?

Not if you can help it,I lectured myself.Just do a little at a time and maybe she’ll be satisfied.

I hoped, anyway.

The mattress finished its upward trip and I found that we were now level with the top step, though the Empress was still some distance away in the middle of the dais.

“All right now,” she said, frowning at us. “Show me what to do.”

“Well…there’s a lot you can do,” I pointed out. “What exactly do you want to know?”

The Empress looked thoughtful.