33 Bait *

This chapter contains mature content. Please read at your own discretion.

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She brought the blade closer, the light from the dagger reflected in her gleaming eyes.

"Would it slowly grow back?"

"You don't want to know." His voice strained, at the same time he wanted her small hands to remain over that area, he wanted something more. He wanted her to reach inward... He wanted to feel her soft fingertips without the barrier of the fabric.

"But it already did earlier when it grew back. Who had cut it the last time?"

It took Korbin a moment to register the meaning behind Daphne's words, and he stifled a laugh at her naivety.

Her innocent face held an expression of confusion laced with unintentional seduction, a deadly combination. He felt a throb from underneath.

"I want to rid of it forever so that you can't ruin any more girls.

So she knew what she was touching, Korbin thought. He had never expected this side of Daphne, and he wondered if she would remember any of it when the effects of the drug wore off.

Her cheeks flushed a peach-like pink, she looked to be a blossoming bud waiting for a gust of spring wind to help her unfurl her petals.

"I never ruined anyone." He admitted, but he doubted she would believe him. Even if she did, she wouldn't remember it later. He spent his youth fighting for the crown, his adolescence strengthening his position, and his adulthood waging a seemingly endless war. When he had been constantly worried for his life, the last thing he wanted was for someone to be physically close to him. After all, who knew who might bring a dagger to his neck? Only war books accompanied his lonely nights, and he would be out by the crack of dawn.

The last night he spent with her was the first time in years that he realized he could still be in bed when the sun was high in the sky. Per usual, he had awoken the moment the sun slipped past the horizon, but staring at her peaceful face, he had lost track of time.

For so many years, her face had been buried in the back of his mind... Now, she was right on top of him.

"Princess--"

She brought the blade down.

He pressed her fidgeting hands to the side, and the dagger fell to the ground in a clang. Holding her by her tiny wrists, he locked her body underneath his as he marveled how he could entirely wrap his fingers around her wrist.

Her struggles only brought their bodies closer. To counter this, he lifted his body to a plank position so that he wasn't pressed into her. As soon as he did so, his body protested against the intention, a certain part more so than others.

"Princess, my self-control isn't that strong." His amber eyes briefly glinted a shade of cherry red. "I don't know if I could--"

She raised her lips up to meet his.

He froze, not sure whether he was the one in the hallucination. Her tongue temporarily invaded his mouth, pushing through between his parted lips and past his teeth. Even her breath was sweet.

As her lips moved tenderly against his, grazing his skin, he let all of his self-control loose. Kissing her back, he gradually deepened the kiss until the two of them were both out of breath.

"Princess, do you really want this?" He asked, barely able to contain his lust from spilling into his words. This was so unlike him. Usually, if he wanted something, he would take it without much other thought.

"Does it care what I want?" Her voice suddenly trembled, and it was like the bubble she had been happily floating in suddenly burst. "Tell me, Your Majesty, when did you ever care about what I wanted?"

Their eyes met, and it was clear that the effects of the drug had worn out.

"You never cared when you killed my citizens. You never cared when you threatened to burn down my home. You never cared when you ruined my life. You never cared when your knives scarred Akira." Every single one of her words was biting. "So tell me now, why would you care about taking my body when you had snuffed out my life a long time ago?"

He lowered his head, but she only looked to the side.

"Does it make you happy? That I'm a shell of a human like you? That I'm forced to bend to your every whim and put down all of my pride?"

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she sniffed, trying to force them back. She tried so hard to hide her tears, but bead by bead, they rolled down the sides of her face.

"Does it make you happy that you finally broke me? Can you even feel happiness?"

Countless words floated in his mind, but as he fished for a specific one, they were somehow all out of reach.

He didn't know the answer to her question. All he wanted to do was to break her and mold her into submission. He thought it would make him happy, but if it did, he didn't seem to feel much from it.

She brought her lips to his again, but this time, her kiss was different from the one from earlier.

It was bitter, and she gasped for breath as her choked sobs stole her air.

He had never seen her like this. This was not the prideful princess that he thought she was: the royal figure who would always stand on a pedestal and look at everyone from above, the girl who prided her own image over everything else.

This must have been some sort of deception.

But even if this was all an act, if this was the reward, who was stopping him from playing the role?

Leaning forward, he closed his eyes as their lips met again.

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Seeing his expression, Daphne stifled a bitter smile.

Her plan had worked.