Page 29 of The Promise Born
“I bet your dragon is beautiful.” He said, and my stomach fluttered.
“Asante-,”
“Sorry.” He held his hand up. “Dropping it now.”
“You’re acting like you like me.” I teased him.
“Am I?” He glanced at me.
“This is supposed to be a mutual arrangement, like a business deal. You’re not supposed to like me.”
“Well, maybe you should make it harder to like you.” He stepped away from me and I followed him.
“How can I do that?” I asked. “Tell me and I’ll do it.”
“I’m not sure.” Asante looked at me and his eyes darkened for a moment. “What if it’s not possible?”
“Maybe I can start making the desserts bad again.” I shifted the tone. “I could go back to making them how I did when I first got here.”
“Don’t you dare.” Asante reached out, pulling me closer to him.
I gasped as my chest pressed against his. “What are you doing?”
“Breaking the rules.” He took a deep breath, then lowered his face to mine.
“Asante.” I pulled back just a little, but not enough to break his hold.
“Will you hit me?” His brow raised.
“I-,”
A smirk lifted at the corner of his lips. “It’ll be worth it.”
He kissed me again. That time was different. As his lips lingered against mine, there was no pain to counteract the feelings. There was nothing to distract me from the taste of him, the way my body responded to him. And there was nothing to drown out the screaming voice in my head.
Oh god, I like him!
~*~
The next night, I sat nervously in my room after making hundreds of pastries and handing them off to the staff, who would serve them to the royals. The urge to run away, to disappear where no one could ever find me, gnawed at me constantly. That was the perfect solution. If they couldn’t find me, there would be no way to mistakenly encounter their guests. Asante gave me his word. I wouldn’t have to go to the party, but my intuition gnawed at me to take further precautions. I ignored that feeling, choosing to trust what he said and headed for bed.
I had just pulled the covers back on the bed when I heard the excited chatter of women approaching my door. Panic had me looking at the window. Could I jump out without breaking my neck? The answer was no.
Knock, knock, knock.
Time was up.
“Yes?” I opened the door as if unaware of why they were there.
“Your sweets were a hit! They can’t stop talking about them.” The woman entered my room and pulled the cloak from my shoulders. “I hope you aren’t leaving. They want to meet you!”
“Meet me?” I panicked. “No, I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t?” She reached for me, ready to start her work. “Now, let's just fix your hair and change your dress!”
The walls felt like they were closing in on me and I backed away from the woman, swatting her hands away from me. “Stop, don’t touch me.”
My lungs felt ready to explode in my chest. I sat on my bed and gasped for air. “I can’t do this!”
