Page 74 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
His kiss took Alezya’s breath away, and from his mouth on her forehead, a wave of warmth spread throughout her whole body. Something in her awoke, something she’d thought was long extinct... Her heartbeat quickened, and Alezya felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and to her extremities. His lips... Alezya felt almost endangered by them, and the sensations they provoked in her.
Suddenly, she felt all too aware of Kassein’s presence, in a different way. Of his large body, his warm hands, his hot breath... his thick lips. She was so shocked by her own thoughts, it took her a second to mentally slap herself out of it.
Thankfully, Kassein’s lips left her skin, and he didn’t seem to notice her turmoil, as he pulled his hands too, and gently helped her move into a lying position. Alezya was desperate to hide her troubling thoughts from him and let herself be manipulated like a doll, obediently lying down as he pulled the blankets over her.
What was she thinking?What was she thinking?!
How could she harbor such thoughts…? Had her father’s horrible plan gotten to her? She was troubled beyond words by Kassein’s kiss.
Maybe he hadn’t even thought much of it, maybe it was a custom in his world. Maybe this was just a meaningless gesture toward a woman he found all too pathetic...
Alezya’s heart was in for a tumultuous race again in her chest. She could barely dare to look at him again, and she awkwardly tried to wipe the remains of her tears off her face as an excuse to hide her shameful eyes. It was only getting worse. Now she felt too aware of his bare skin... and the sensations in her stomach. Was it because he’d acted too kind to her? Was she merely troubled by his disarming kindness, too inexperienced to resist?
Kassein didn’t seem very aware of her trouble, thankfully for her. Or perhaps he thought her blushing was on account of the crying.
Once she was tucked into his bed again, he simply sat next to it.
Except this time, he didn’t just put his back against the far end of his bed but sat right next to where Alezya’s upper body was, facing her, dangerously close. Not only that, but he also put his arm on the mattress and held her bandaged hand.
He probably didn’t think much of it, but it took Alezya a little while to steady her heart again. She tried to slow down her breathing and focus on Kassein’s hand holding hers. Her handwas pale and bandaged, while his was warm, large, dark, and in some areas, punctuated by orange scales.
She wondered if his dragon was still outside... She hadn’t heard it growl in a little while now. Or had Kein gone with the sister? She still couldn’t believe she actually knew a dragon’s name... nor that she had seen one up close. Kassein’s thumb gently rubbing her hand brought her thoughts back to the present moment.
Finally, she felt safe enough to look into his green eyes again. He gave her a faint smile, and leaned even more against the bed, staring at her. What an odd man... A warrior who let a foreign woman have his bed, and simply sat beneath her. Who was content to hold her hand for as long as she needed it... A madman, she thought.
She wondered how different her life would have been if she’d been promised to a man like Kassein. Would he have believed her, if she’d given birth tohisall-white baby...? She wondered how Kassein would react to Lumie if he ever saw her. Would he think she was an abnormal creature too? Would he suddenly feel disgusted by her if he knew she’d been married and rejected? No man she knew would willingly take a “used” woman...
She pushed those thoughts aside to focus on her and Lumie’s survival. She was safe with Kassein, and Lumie was safe as long as her father believed she could bear another child. What was she to do now?
For once, Alezya felt thankful for the language barrier between them. If it wasn’t for that, she would have had the difficult choice of whether to tell him the truth or not... Would she have confided in him, telling him the whole truth and asking for help, if she could? Or would she have kept it all to herself and acted like she hadn’t been married before, like she wasn’t part of some horrible scheme for her daughter’s sake?
“...Kassein,” she muttered.
She got his attention, and he slightly lifted his eyebrows, staring at her even more intensely.
How she wished she could read into those deep green eyes and know his thoughts. She held on to his hand, a bit tighter.Don’t let me go, she wanted to beg him. Let me trust someone, one more time... but Alezya couldn’t believe her own hopes. She knew she didn’t have that luxury, for if she was wrong, Lumie would be the one to pay the price, and she couldn’t have that. What was she to do? Use Kassein, like her father wanted? But she knew she’d have two children to protect, and she didn’t want to flee, carrying the child of an innocent man who’d shown nothing but kindness to her.
Moreover, she knew nothing of his world, and if she was honest, she knew too little of him too. Once they got closer, if they got closer, would he simply let her go?
She couldn’t abandon Lumie, so she would have to go back, no matter what. And once she got back, what would she do? Her father would only use her like some vessel while she grew his revenge plan in her womb? She tried to think of a way, any possible way she could fight back and protect her child, or children. It was insane to plan as far ahead as having to protect a child she’d conceive with Kassein, but Alezya knew she had to think about it now. She knew that her father wouldn’t be fooled, and he’d definitely have the clan’s Healer confirm if she was pregnant or not. He was definitely not going to take her word for it. Alezya knew he would check, and she couldn’t think of any way to possibly fool them. They wouldn’t allow her back until they were sure she’d accomplished her part of their horrible plan. Whether she would lie with Kassein or not would have so much weight on Lumie’s fate.
Worse, she knew it wasn’t madness nor that far-fetched, not with the way Kassein looked at her, cared for her... and yet, sheknew how dangerous it would be to fall in love with him. Her own heart was barely listening to her anymore, would she be able to do anything if she gave in to him even more? Her only certainty was that she would never, ever abandon Lumie.
But what of Kassein? What would she do if they got any closer than this? She would potentially put him through so much... and he had no idea. He couldn’t have known she was some viper sent by her father to use him... Could she be that cruel, that selfish? She was so desperate to protect Lumie, and yet, her heart was already aching for him. She couldn’t possibly protect them both, and she refused to leave her fate in his hands either. She’d been deceived by men too many times, she couldn’t believe in him so easily. Alezya knew how kind Kassein was now, but the man she had been married to had once been kind too... and she didn’t have it in her to take any more risks.
And even if, by some miracle, Kassein truly was as good of a man as he’d been acting all along, would he be willing to take on all the risks that would come with it? Did she have what it would take to protect him too?
“Alezya.”
He had simply whispered her name, but without knowing, Kassein made her heart ache even more.
Why? Why was he so kind and caring? Things would have been so much simpler if he was just another heartless brute... Alezya let out a long sigh. Her head ached a bit, and she felt sore in various places. She moved her body closer to the edge of the bed, closer to him, holding on tight to his hand.Just don’t let go, she wanted to say. But she didn’t have the words for it...
Should she give it a try? Just to learn a bit about his world. She despised that her hateful father would have seen an opportunity from it, while Alezya was just trying to find ways to survive. Somewhere in her heart, there was a faint hope thatmaybe, just maybe, that man would be the solution to end her suffering.
And once again, she shut that down. Hope was ever so quick to disappoint. She let herself drift to sleep while staring into Kassein’s eyes, wondering if that man had any secrets of his own.
She awoke later, and the pain in her leg had gotten worse.
