He Wanted Her For Himself
“Haven’t you only met him twice? Yet he’s a kinder man? First, you accepted damned flowers from him, and even after I brought you enough brushes, you still found it necessary to accept his.” Rafael cocked his head to the side, his eyes gazing down at her. His voice lowered. “Are you trying to make me crazy on purpose?”
He heard her gasp.
“C…crazy? I…”
“Of you’re you know what the fuck you’re doing, don’t you?”
“I do not know what you’re talking about.”
He bit his tongue in frustration. Only her. It was only she who could push these emotions off him. Only she could make him so jealous, he could barely think straight. Before now, he'd never been a jealous man. In the past, he’d always had all he wanted, whether by force or by murder. But with her…
Somehow, he wanted to be the one she’d called ‘kinder.’ How dare the Viscount come to his fucking mansion and charm his wife by putting on a fake innocent mask? She seemed to be smitten by him and the thought alone made him spiral. He wanted her for himself. He didn’t want her to look or as much receive gifts from other men nor did he want her to think of other men as ‘kind.’
It made him want to cage her in the four corner walls of their room, to have her in his sight only. For some reason, he felt like nobody else deserved to be looked at by those forest eyes that did a lot more to him than stare.
Hell, she was messing up his entire being. He knew that she was dangerous for him, that he must stay away from her for his own good. Yet…just yet.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” he bit out. Pulling a hand off the wall beside her, he brought it to her cheek and angled her head so that she was forced to look at him. Elora’s breath heaved up and down, her eyes glued to his. “Let me make this crystal clear, princess. You can’t take gifts from other men. I am more than capable enough to provide you with anything that you need. Do you hear me?”
She didn’t know when her head bobbed in acceptance.
“Good girl.”
“And…and you have to promise not to ignore me anymore.”
Something flickered in his eyes. His hold on her chin softened and his lips formed a thin line.
“Forgive me.”
She nodded. “I have forgiven you.”
Biting back a smile, he dropped his hands off the wall and backed away from her.
“Come, let’s get your wound treated.”
This time, she didn’t try to resist. She let him lead her to the bed where she sat. He got on his knees. “One would think that you keep hurting yourself because you want me to treat it.”
She stuttered. “Th…that’s not true. You…you’re the one who’s jealous of me taking a mere gift.”
He cocked a brow. “I see.” He didn’t deny nor did he agree. After he was done applying ointment to the scratched spots on her skin, he rose from the floor and asked. “Are we good now?”
She hummed.
Silence reigned over them for a moment. But it was soon broken as Rafael rose and turned away from her. “And what would you like to do for the rest of the day?”
Her tiny voice whispered from behind. “Will you teach me archery?”
His throat bobbed. He needed to stay away from her and teaching her archery would do more harm to his already damaged mind and heart. But it seemed his mouth had a mind of its own as it replied. “I will.”
Her eyes lit up.
But before either of them could say anything, the door of their room suddenly flung open. In a swift motion, Rafael unsheathed his sword at his waist and pushed her behind him, ready to attack the intruder. Realizing it was only just Draven, he put it back in and scowled.
“Do you have a death wish?”
“Forgive me, your highness,” Draven apologized as he dipped his head low. “Bad news, your highness,” he spoke urgently, his voice carrying a hint of sorrow.
“Speak.”
“The third princess of Elyria has just been declared dead.”
Rafael stiffened, eyes becoming darker in a second. “What did you say?”
“Unfortunately, the third princess died during childbirth,” Draven continued. “It is near impossible for a vampire to die during childbirth.” It was rare. Almost impossible. The last occurrence was hundreds of years ago. “All of Elyria is in mourning. The princess’s death is surprising.”
“And the prime minister?”
“He’s yet to say anything about his wife’s death.”
“Get ready. We set out for the castle immediately,” Rafael commanded.
“Yes, your highness.” After a parting bow, he walked out of the room. Once he was out of sight, the prince turned to Elora.
“I’ll be back.” His voice was low. She stiffened when he took two steps forward, eyes locked with hers and he planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
Swiping his tongue across his lower lip, he began to retreat backward. Just before he could reach the door, Elora’s legs dashed toward him. Her fingers extended and she clutched the side of his coat.
He angled his head to look at her. “Will…will you be alright?”
“I’ll be back before you know it, princess.” With that, he walked out of the room.
Elora let out a breath, the bad news Draven had announced replaying in her head. It was unfortunate that she didn’t have the chance to meet the princess before her death. It made her wonder. What was she like? Was she like the first princess or the third?
Although she hadn’t met the princess, not even once, the news of her death made her heart sting. If what Rafael had said was true and vampires rarely die during childbirth, what could’ve possibly been the cause of the princess’s death?
“My lady.”
She raised her eyes at the sound of her servants. The three maids stepped into the room. Lia and Hula were at the front while Brenda walked behind them, her eyes glossy with tears.
“She’s more hurt because she served the princess for many years before getting appointed to serve his highness,” Hula explained.