Kissed

Pink, purple and shades of blue. The breathtaking azaleas spread out in a perfect flowery display throughout the famous planes of the Azalea. Taking in the freshest of air did nothing to harsh her pounding heart.

"He is mad, Olympia. Deranged, demented, insane!"

Princess Zaria still could not believe that Oscar sent her a letter. Her beloved horse only grunted and continued grazing.

"Who is, My princess?" the too familiar amused, husky voice asked. He found everything about her a breath of fresh air. Majority of royal and noble girls carried themselves like statues who acted and sounded the same. They displayed impeccable manners, meaningless smiles and had no opinions of their own. He called them mechanised royal robots.

She quickly turned around, startled. She had been too preoccupied and did not see him approaching. The smiling man before her seemed to be the greatest temptation of her life. His black leather pants were tighter than the previous ones she'd seen him wearing and the vest did nothing to hide what she was trying to forget. Taking a deep breath and wearing her straight face, she needed to convey her displeasure to his mischief without getting lost in his looks and charms.

"You hope I am having a good day?"

"You received it?"He beamed, showing off his breathtaking smile, but she was too worried to notice it.

He was playing with fire like an unsuspecting toddler, forcing her to be his guardian angel, but she was also compromised to take such responsibility.

"Do you have a death wish? The King or Queen could have gotten hold of that letter."

He chuckled, thrilled to know that she cared about his life. He had achieved his second goal.

"Writing to a friend is not an offence as far as I know, Your Grace."

She raised her eyebrow at his casual response. She was convinced with her assessment that this man was truly mad.

"Friend?"

"That's what you call a person you converse with in the middle of the night. A person you meet and have picnics with at the Azalea planes. The one you find provocative and who writes you letters."

No longer able to maintain a straight face, her cheeks started burning, forcing her to look away. Oscar was at it again. She had not gotten over the sexy, purely manly chest he revealed when he took off his shirt the other day and he knew it.

"You are making this more than what it is," she barely managed to say.

"This friendship?"

"I don't even know you."

That was something else that bothered her. Despite her denial, Oscar had become a regular in her life, yet she knew nothing about him besides his name.

"That's great, because I plan on telling you all about myself today. I hope you brought food."

She laughed and shook her head, defeated. This man was just too smooth and too dangerous to be around, yet she could not help herself.

"Oscar is the name. I am the Earl of Geon."

"Earl of Geon?"

"Yes. I'm twenty-eight years old, a Leo. I play a guitar and a flute. If you are really nice, I might play for you one day. I love horses, hate dogs, cats, stupid people and rules."

"Geon is not a kingdom, Mister."

His smile widened at her reaction. Being an object of her curiosity was everything.

"No, it's not, My Princess."

"How can you be an Earl then?"

"I appointed myself and my citizens agreed."

She shook her head and laughed. There was nothing at all conventional about Oscar. "How exactly did 'your citizens' agree?"

Wealthy men from different kingdoms who did not want to conform to kingdom laws moved with their families to Geon. She did not know much about the place but rumours were that each man was law to his property and did as he wished. It did not make sense that they would then agree to make anyone their Earl. That would be placing that person above all them since they had no king or nobles.

"I made a vow to the men not to seduce their wives and not to impregnate their maidans."

Her eyes widened. Somehow she did not doubt his statement. If anyone could blackmail wealthy men with such provocative words, was him.

"That's all it took?"

"I am a delight to look at, Your Grace."

"And you do not now the meaning of modesty!"

"Apparently, I am provocative and highly skilled in the bedroom."

"I don't want to know!" she exclaimed, her cheeks burning again.

Talking about bedroom matters was a taboo in her kingdom. She was even prohibited from accessing the section in the library with any sort of sexual books.

He read through her, never one to let the opportunity slip away, he went for jugular.

"Why not? It's not like anyone tells you how you could be exhilarated, lifted off your body to heaven and back."

"That's impossible!" Too naive and inexperienced, she fell right into his trap.

He laughed at her innocence. "You could be completely outdone and undone by one passionate…."

"Are you seducing me, Earl of Geon?"

"Seduce? You? No! That's not how I would do it."

She sighed with relief, but that was short lived. In a twinkling of an eyes he had wrapped his arms around her waist and passionately kissed her.

Breathless and shocked, she slapped him across the face. He had crossed a line he ought not have.

"Are you insane?"

Touching his tingling cheek, he could not say he did not see that one coming. As inexperienced as she was, she was still the most fierce woman he knew.

Anyone else would be on their knees begging for their lives, not him. He had discovered that she cared about him. He put on his pleading eyes instead.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I couldn't help myself."

Eyes blazing and still breathless, she glared at him.

"You are not in Geon and I am not your conquest!"

"I could never mistake you for anything else than the jewel you are. I just can not help my heart from yearning for you. I am aware that my presence around you is a deadly act, yet I cannot walk away. My thoughts, my heart, and my body long…"

She frantically shook her head.

"Don't."

"You need to know, Your Grace, then maybe your rejection will bring some sense into my head. Then maybe I will be able to go back to my home."

"My rejection? Are you crazy?"

Loosing his pleading voice, he took on a conquering demeanour. Transversing the hierarchy between them and looking her straight in the eyes.

"I feel you, Zaria. In the depths of my soul, I feel you. My heart rejoices just at the anticipation of hearing your voice."

"You can not say these things," her objection did nothing to stop him. He had long pushed her boundaries, and found them wanting.

"I can not keep my feelings inside anymore. I am not the type."

Her chest quickly rose and fell, dawning upon her that he had completely eliminated the gab between them and talking to her as her equal. Her curiosity about him made her vulnerable, something unacceptable in her books.

"We can never meet or speak again. This conversation never happened."

"Tell me to return to Geon. Tell me that this feeling is not real."

"Go back to Geon. There is nothing for you here," she snapped, walking away and approaching her horse.

"Kiss me, then."

His command was the strangest response she had ever heard. It completely took her aback and off her game. She turned around to look at him.

"What?"

"I will only know if you kiss me that you truly feel nothing for me."

"I know that you disregard rules and hierarchy, but know this: touching a royal is a punishable offence. You are not in Geon!" She yelled in frustration. Oscar was not taking her serious, it was like she was talking to a stone.

"I should have been punished the first day we meet, when I touched your ankle and your hand. And the day I caught you from falling off your horse. And.."

"Should I remind you that you are risking your life for nothing?" she cut him off. She did not need reminders of the many times he touched her because like an addictive movie, those moments played over and over in her head every time she was alone.

"I am well aware of the dangers, Your Grace. Let me worry about that."

"Your Geon citizenship will not help…"

"I know. Kiss me, please."

"GO HOME OSCAR."

She emphasised every word, but he couldn't. He had too much to lose and failure was no option.

"Kiss me, Zaria. If not to know how you feel, then to spite your fiancé."

She sighed, processing his statement before running back into his arms.

If it happened that all her plans fail and she ended up marrying King Vincent, he would not have her first kiss. She would do the most dangerous and ridiculous things to spite her so called fiancé and Oscar knew it.

She discovered the moment their lips met and his tongue parting her lips that none of it was about spiting her fiancé. The strange gasp and feeling of his arms around her waist as he explored her mouth was all so exonerating. His every move pulled her in, fulfilling every curiosity his sensuality raised in her. Weather she admitted it or not, that had nothing to do with her hatred for her fiancé.