Watching Her Eat
Prince Rafael stepped gracefully into the dining hall and sat at the head of the table.“Sit,” he said, gesturing to the seat beside him. With her eyes trained on the covered plate, Elora slowly stepped forward and took the seat next to him.Once they were fully seated, the servants took off the plate covers, and as her eyes fell on the juicy steak before her, her mouth watered.Her gaze lifted and she noticed the emptiness on his side of the table. Aside from the goblet before him, there wasn’t a single food. “You don’t have any. Do you not like steak?” She curiously asked.“Because I don’t need it.”She glanced at the steak on her side of the table and then back at the man. Who didn’t need food? She wondered, her brows creased in confusion. But she did get her answer after he lifted the white goblet and took a sip from the red contents in it.Was it blood? Her eyes grew wide and she immediately retracted her gaze to her steak.How had she forgotten? He wasn’t human.Rafael watched her reaction and his lips curled into a subconscious smile. He thought her reaction was rather cute. Taking another sip from his goblet, he watched as she gracefully took a slice of the steak and brought it to her lips.The princess of Yvlies was well poised and adept at using cutlery. From what he’d heard, the princess was exiled on her fifteenth birthday five years ago. How had she learned to use cutlery in exile? He pondered. She had the manner and grace of every other princess and one would have never thought that she’d lived almost half her life outside of her kingdom’s castle and in an abandoned castle at the farthest path of the kingdom.His fist unconsciously clenched as he thought of the difficulties she must’ve faced years in exile. It brought a thought to him: why had the innocent-looking little princess been exiled? The little mouse before him looked like she couldn’t have committed a single crime.“Hmmm.”His eyes snapped to her at the moan that escaped her lips. She had her eyes closed as she savored the taste of the steak in her mouth.“It…It tastes really delicious,” Elora said, her eyes opening to find him staring. She flushed.“You like it that much?”She nodded. “I haven’t had meat in years.”His jaw clenched at her words. She spoke it casually, like it was normal, like it meant nothing.“Because you didn’t live in the castle?”She hummed and returned her attention to her steak. She took a slice of the meat and brought it to her lips. They parted to accept the slice.“It’s good,” she mouthed, letting out another moan of pleasure same time as a drop of juice slipped down the corner of her mouth.His gaze dropped down to her lips, to the juice, and to the way her tongue darted out to slowly catch the drop.He stilled.Heat immediately spread down his body and in an instant, the cuffs of his dress shirt were off and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.It wasn’t his first time watching a woman eat. There must be something wrong with his body to be reacting this way watching a mere human eat.His throat bobbled, his eyes lingering on her. The way her face filled with pleasure with each bite she took, the hollow of her throat when she swallowed, and the slight twitch and jiggling of her feet. He found her cute, beautiful. Ethereal even.He popped a few buttons of his dress shirt open. She couldn’t be seducing him, right?As if she could feel his burning gaze on her, Elora’s face lifted and her eyes met with his. Their eyes locked and for a minute, everything else grew non-existent.“Yo…you’re watching me eat.” Unable to hold his gaze any longer, she broke their stare, her eyes everywhere but him as she shifted uncomfortably.“You know what you’re doing?”“What? I’m only eating.” Her wide innocent green eyes peered up at him, confusion laced in them.“Hell,” he whispered to himself. Of course, she wouldn’t know.With furrowed brows and without thinking, she bit the lower side of her bottom lip. And it was Rafael’s final straw.In an instant, his chair scraped back and he sprang up from it. Startled, she looked up.“I’ll see you later, princess.” With that, he turned away from her and began to make his way out of the dining hall.“Ouch.”Just as the door opened for him, the sound of shattered glass and a pained cry from their princess stopped him in his tracks. He paused and in a blink of an eye, he was right beside her. “Are you hurt?”“My lady.”“My lady.” The servants rushed to her side.She clutched her palm to her chest, eyes moist, soft cries escaping her lips.“Let me see.” He gently took her palm in his. Blood. While trying to pour herself tea, the teacup had slipped from her fingers and had hurt her in the process.“Heavens,” he muttered and sharply snapped at the servants. “How dare you let the princess pour herself tea? Do you wish to die?” He roared. “Someone get me an ointment. Now!”The three servants dropped to their knees immediately. “Your highness, we have no…no human ointment yet.”