Chapter 9 – Messed Up Plans

“CAN we please stop here for a moment?”

Blaze glanced around. Aside from the street food vendor who was peddling near the park, there was nothing else to see. But when he looked at Mikaela and saw how her eyes glimmer while looking at the vendor’s wooden cart, he stopped the car.

She was a strange woman. Her eyes did not shine that way when she was in front of the French dishes inside the hotel. Should he be offended now?

“I haven’t had a taste of fish ball, kikiam, and kwek-kwek yet since my bodyguards wouldn’t let me eat them. Mom’s orders. There was a time when she freaked out when she caught me about to eat them. She nagged me so much after that saying that they were bad for my health. But our maids told me that they taste great, too. Please wait for me here. I’m going to get some. I’ll be quick.”

Before Blaze could answer, Mikaela quickly opened the door and went straight to the vendor. She was like a little girl who was so excited to explore new things.

This was not a part of his plan tonight. If only she was not Mikaela Dela Cerna, there was no way he would let her call the shots. He was the one who was supposed to set the rules between them and yet, he found himself stepping out of the car. He followed her to the cart and caught her eating so merrily.

So… this was what she looked like when she was happy. Her eyes were twinkling that he felt like he could almost see the stars through them. Did Sylvia even know this side of her own daughter if she had deprived Mikaela of the things, she, herself, had experienced when she was still a Vampire?

Sylvia was a carefree Vampire who used to travel around the world as if she was in a constant search for something.

“I haven’t tasted them yet, too,” he said when she eyed him. “’Might as well try some-“

Mikaela cut him off by quickly putting a fish ball inside his mouth. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The fish ball and the sweet sauce complemented each other. He stared at her while eating.

Mikaela looked proud of what she just did. She was still smiling while munching on her food. She was not this enthusiastic while they were at the restaurant. “It’s tasty, right? That one was fish ball. Kikiam is this sausage-like dish while Kwek-kwek was made of hard-boiled quail egg covered in orange batter and was deep fried. Guess what? Mr. Vendor said that you can dip these foods in any sauce here and it will still taste amazing. The one you had tasted sweet, right? Mine was spicy,” she added as she put another fish ball in her mouth. “Try this sauce, too, Blaze. It’s good.”

There was something about those lovely mouth of hers that caught his eye. He had noticed it earlier, but Mikaela looked hot even when she was eating. After the kiss they had shared inside his car, he had been trying to control his devious urges. But they came back more intense than usual now. He wondered what it would feel if those lips would… He shook his head and struggled hard not to think of such sinful thoughts in front of the food, in front of those eyes who were looking at him so innocently.

Get a hold of yourself, Blaze! You are acting like an animal in heat!

But when Mikaela licked the sauce off her upper lip, Blaze had lost it. He grabbed her tiny waist, pulled her close to him, and pressed his lips against hers. He closed his eyes and savored the remaining hot sauce on her lips, the one that she was bragging about. It did taste nice, but only because he was tasting it straight from her luscious little mouth.

Blaze had met a lot of women, but he had never felt this intense desire towards a woman before. That’s why this greed, this intense thirst for Mikaela, this desire to hold her, to kiss her senselessly, and to wolf her up was new to him. And this desire overwhelmed his entire system.

When she licked the sauce off her upper lip earlier, he almost heard the sound of his self-control cracking. He had never been this hard towards any woman that he could burst through his pants. He glared at the vendor whom he caught looking at them as if he was watching a movie. The latter immediately went back to cooking.

Blaze closed his eyes and held Mikaela tightly. Since last night, even if he was with the Night King, all he could think of was this wild need to take Mikaela to his bed, own her, have a taste of her smooth skin, kiss every part of her body, every crevice, and marked them as his. And tonight, she was doing it again. She was transforming him into a whole new being who wanted to take her and devour her, all of her, until the beast inside him was satisfied.

Blaze’s hand went up and down Mikaela’s back while his other hand firmly held her waist. Damn, if only they were not in a public highway, he would rip all her clothes off and pin her to the nearest tree. And do all the things he imagined doing to her until she begged him to stop. He wanted to mess her up until her mind was full of him. When he felt her soft, moist lips reluctantly moved against his, he had almost lost his mind. He hungrily sucked her upper lip. When she gasped, he deepened the kiss, and pushed his tongue inside her mouth.

What was this feeling? It seemed that the more he kissed and touched her, the more he craved for her.

Had it not been for the rumbling thunder, Blaze would not have stopped. Mikaela was in a daze when he released her from his embrace.

“S-something hard is poking my b-belly.”

Instead of moving away, he grinds his erection against her abdomen. Her eyes widened. “This is your fault, Mikaela. Take responsibility. My place is just around here. Do you want to come with me?”

She blushed although the heat in her eyes remained. He could tell that she wanted this, too. A little more push and he was sure he could make her say ‘yes’. Looking at her face suddenly made him remember his assistant’s report.

“According to my research, there are many ways to torture humans, your highness. You do not have to kill them and dirty your hands with their blood to make them suffer. You can make them do it instead. You can break them until they wished they were dead. I heard that it is the most painful way to punish humans,” Gilmore said a few days ago after Blaze had sent him away to study more about humans. Blaze may have protected the North and the humans from the Rogues along with other supernatural beings, but he still knew nothing of the human ways. “You can do it through inflicting physical, emotional, or psychological damage to them, your highness.”

“Physical damage?” Blaze’s thoughts went back to Mikaela’s face while leaning on his swivel chair. He shook his head. “No. Let’s skip that part.”

“You can try making the target fall in love with you, Your Highness. Be her Knight in Shining Armor. Female humans like that. And when Mikaela had fallen for you, ditch her. In human terms, drop her like a hot potato. That would devastate her. I researched that many humans could not handle a heartbreak. If you wanted to inflict pain to Sylvia, then I suggest that that was the best thing to do it. Destroy Mikaela’s hope and the light in her heart. There is nothing more painful than a mother watching her lovely, innocent daughter hope, fall in love, and then fall apart in the end.”

Making Mikaela fall for him was a walk in the park. The way her eyes shone each time their eyes would meet was more than a love declaration. This was progress. Her reaction meant that his plan was working on her. But how should he be happy when it seemed like that same goddamn plan was working on him, too? Damn it.

Blaze took a harsh breath and caressed Mikaela’s lips. They were now a bit swollen from his kisses. “You were right. The sauce tasted good. Aside from sweet and spicy, are there other sauces we can try?”