Chapter 47

My breath hitched as his handle came to a stop and pushed open. A hand immediately grabbed me and pulled me through the doors, before gently closing it while a towering body backed me against the now closed door.

I looked up to see those deep eyes staring down at me. I hadn't even felt a jolt of fear. Just... Excitement and a bit of nerves.

He was still dressed. Although only in his white shirt and pants, somehow, he looked incredibly alluring in just those. His hair, as always, wasn't combed and instead lay a mess of golden curls. And those red eyes that shot to me in excitement had my heart skipping beats.

"You came", he stated, face full of pleasant surprise.

I almost forgot to reply in my excitement.

"I promised", I grinned back at him, nerves resulting in my dress being creased by my tight grip.

"And you kept your word", he smiled, stepping closer to me.

"And if I hadn't?" I teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Then I'd be on my way to your room", he grinned at me, taking hold of my hands in his and pulling me along to his sofa. The warmth of his fingers seeping into mine.

His fireplace blazed lightly, warming the cold room. And to show that he indeed awaited my arrival, two glasses stood near a bottle of wine.

I sat down, leaning against the sofa's soft velvet and pulled a throw over myself. I could fall asleep right here if I hadn't been so excited.

"Do you want a glass?" he offered, already pouring the red liquid into the glass.

"I'm okay" I couldn't have cared less about the drink that could've bought at least a block of houses. "How long did you wait?" I asked, hoping to calm myself.

"Not long at all", he took a seat next to me, so close I felt his warmth on my shoulder. I leaned towards it, soaking in the scent of musk and pine. My shoulders against his.

He stiffened for a moment at my weight before he relaxed, and the chuckle he let out vibrated in my ears and body.

"You're being so forward?" he looked down at me, arms circling me slowly.

My cheeks warmed.

"I thought you'd like it", I replied, my eyes looking up at his rose coloured eyes and then resting on his lips.

"I do. I like it a lot, but your eyes are drooping", his words made me aware that I was starting to drift in the warmth of his chambers. I straightened up.

"I'm- I'm not! It's just warm in here!" I tried to stand up but instead tumbled into a strange position on my knees, still on the sofa and towering over Cain. His hands had grasped my waist to steady me from falling, resulting in this awkward position. My face heated at the closeness of our faces, but I still leaned forward.

His face full of startled surprise became a smug smile, eyes full of a warm emotion. Something so comforting and intoxicating.

My lips met his, like the ocean and the sea, crashing against each other like a hot storm. His hands were on my waist, pulling me lower towards him. And then I was looking up at the ceiling as he leaned over me.

He looked so much larger like this. Almost predatory. But his touch was gentle as if I were glass, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him towards me.

Our bodies entwined as we pressed into each other like we were starving for touch. Sparks seemed to go off the entire time. My hand played with his curls and his with mine, his right hand tightly holding my other hand. As if I might run away.

I could've laughed at the notion just then.

His lips moved down my neck, and I felt a moan slip past my lips; I heard it before I realised. He began to suck on the skin, just above my breasts. He was nibbling lower and lower as his fingers unbuttoned my dress.

I found the feeling so stimulating I found my tongue pressing against the skin of his shoulder blade. He shuddered against me. The taste and smell of him were so addicting before I realised I was sucking on his skin.

All the while, I could hear him moan my name in my ear, sending a rush of excitement through me.

Yes.

Yes.

More.

I wasn't sure when, but I had fallen asleep at some point in the middle of our kisses. The long day ruined all the fun I had been looking forward to.

But I didn't wake up to the sunlight. I found myself stirring awake at the sound of voices in the room.

It was Cains voice and the voice of a man.

A voice I hadn't heard before.

"You can't just dismiss your guards so some slave can slip into your chambers. Do you know the danger you exposed yourself to today? If I hadn't put her to sleep you would've died." the unknown voice scolded him.

Did he dismiss his guards? I realised I hadn't seen any on my way in, but even if I had, I wouldn't have cared in the state I was in.

"Do not call her some slave", Cain warned, warmth once again trickling my heart.

"That is what she is, Cain. Your mother did not die so you could make such foolish mistakes..." the other voice continued.

I could feel the anger in Cain's voice.

"Do not speak of my mother's death like it was part of some grand scheme".

"She sold her soul to me. She knew what was going to happen, and all so I could be in a lifelong debt to her son. You could rule this kingdom if you asked me. Then you could sleep with every woman who catches your fancy", that voice sounded eerily familiar, like the voice that whispers nightmares to children.

"If I needed a kingdom, I would've taken it myself long ago. After all, the royals currently ride off our backs. The reason I will not"-

"Yes. Yes. Because it'll be too much an effort". The voice cut him off. It sounded closer than before, "what is it about this girl that makes you resemble that batshit crazy mother of yours" a cold breeze slid down my face.

"Do not touch her."

It was gone in an instant.

"You resemble your mother so much right now", the voice taunted and then became silent, as if thoughtful, "that child. Keep her by you. It seems she's much more useful than she looks".

"What exactly do you mean?" the weariness in Cain's voice made it evident that he didn't trust the person he spoke with.

"You'll know in time, boy, much sooner than you think, so stop glaring at me", the voice sighed. I noticed a wise air surrounding the man who spoke. As if he was old. Very old.

"If you have any interest in her, then you can shove it up to your!"-

"I couldn't have less child. But I must say I'm quite intrigued at how this story will unfold", just as he stopped talking, a knocking, loud, and booming sounded the front doors of the mansion, "it seems you have some interesting guests. May I welcome them?"

The knocking continued.

"I can't have my guests shitting themselves when they catch sight of a creature of nightmares" I might've laughed if I had been fully awake.

"Very well", I wasn't sure how, but I could feel the lack of that strange person. I could feel the moment they left and once again drifted back to sleep.

When I awoke, it was to the feeling of my hair being brushed with nibble fingers and the sense of delicate kisses on my cheek. The constant whispers of.

"I love you", so soft and breathlessly as if they were unconscious.

I smiled when one tickled my nose. A warmness, foreign and strange, exploded in me as I turned to cuddle into Cains body. It was when I did that very thing that It hit me what I had done.

I had spent the night in a man's bed. The whole night...

"Cain?" I called, my breath bouncing against his bare chest.

"Yes?" his arm wrapped around me, hand on my back.

"This should be strange, shouldn't it?" I looked up at him when I asked the question.

He looked down at me, eyes doused in honey.

"Maybe to you, but I've only ever dreamed of mornings where I awoke to your face", he cupped my face, "my dreams pale in comparison".

Again that surge of warmth.

"If you had told me, then maybe I would've had this much fun much sooner", I giggled.

"I couldn't speak of it".

His face dropped, and his eyes were elsewhere, blaming someone who only existed in his mind. He sat up, the blanket dropping from him, revealing his well-toned body.

"Last night, we had strange guests". He stepped out of bed and began to wash in the basin of water—the water trickling down his face, through the lines in his chest. "I wouldn't have thought that my father knew such people, but we're all proven wrong occasionally. It seems they were friends of my mother and hadn't caught wind of her death at all. They were quite devastated".

"Who are they?" I asked, noticing that he spoke of them as important people.

"You'll find out soon enough, or knowing you, you may not", he teased, turning around to dress. I caught sight of his clumsy hands and made my way to give him a hand.

"You know that even if we have this strange relationship, I am still your maid" I felt the cold morning chill breeze over me. My maid dress was still on from yesterday, although slightly looser.

"You are. You will always be, but let me pretend... Just for a moment". His words, spoken through closed eyes and a twitching lip, seemed solemn. As if it was something he wished he didn't have to admit.

I buttoned up the shirt. And then, when I caught sight of his shoulder blade, marred in marks, I gasped.

He flinched, looking towards where I was gapping and smirked.

"That was all you".

"Did- Did that hurt?" I cursed my stupidity.

"Not at all. I enjoyed it, and I suppose you enjoyed yours too?" his finger pulled my loose dress down at the neckline, revealing the top half of the chest, which was scattered in the marks.

"Oh... From the kisses".

"Now we're both marked by each other, like unspoken vows", he grinned as he grabbed his suit that was usually worn in the face of high nobility; whoever had come to visit where vital. I couldn't have cared less with my face burning like coal over a flame.

"Yes..." I flushed as I touched the spot on my neck, once marked, then cleaned and then marked again. But I enjoyed these marks.