Chapter 42 Surrender
\[Lilia\]
I could no longer move, nor could I breathe properly.
This durian fruit is the best fruit I've ever had in my entire life. Although the smell is a little overpowering, it had no effect on the creamy, sweet, custard-like flavor.
Overall, the cuisine is far superior to what I had anticipated, and I am completely satisfied with my meal.
“Have I already told you that you eat like a cow?” Val remarked on my side, looking at me with such an unbelievably long stare as he took a quick gander at my empty plates.
Yes, I did told them I could not finish the whole platter, but I had grossly miscalculated the power of my appetite, so much so that I, even to myself, was surprised.
And, yes, I did finish everything served before me, but of course, with Val’s meager assistance, very little, I should say.
But I'm not going to admit that.
“Hey, don't put the entire blame on me. You also had your part.” I jested, putting back the dirty plates on the table cart and pushing it to the side. I swung my legs on the edge side of the bed and exhaled loudly, trying to make room for my lungs to expand.
Val only chuckled, lifting his legs and propping them on the mattress as he leaned back on the chair he sat on.
“Sweet cake, I only ate two slices of beef and a smidgen of mashed potato. That was all,” he said, darting his glance on the cart for a moment as he sent on with his remark, “but you? Nah...”
I followed his gaze and saw his point. Suddenly, I feel a little bit embarrassed to admit that he was painstakingly right.
“Fairly.” I shrugged, swinging my legs like a happy child, looking around the small confines of the clinic and wondering.
“By the way, where are we? Are we still inside the dome?” I asked, sweeping my gaze back on him.
“Yes,” he nodded, “boss still has some transactions to get done with.”
So we aren't done in this place yet? A long sigh escapes my lips as I struggle to keep a groan of dissatisfaction from escaping. I really wanted to get back to my own room, where I could relax and soak in the bathtub, which I had filled with loads of bubbles. To get me out of this dreadful dress and loosened up some strained muscles.
The last time I saw the hour was when I caught a glimpse of Kael’s wristwatch, but now, I don't even have any idea what time it is.
“How long was I out?” I asked him again, wondering how long I had been unconscious.
“Roughly two hours,” Val folded his arms across his chest and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
Well, that wasn't so bad, lest I hadn’t been unconscious for a day.
I stayed quiet till then, waiting for Kael to call for us when we were to go home, and it wasn't that long before he finally did.
Val led me out of the clinic, and as I thought it was a typical clinic, I was wrong. It was a casino, and that small confine was only used for exclusive VIPs. Kael, on top of that.
Val filled me in on all that information.
Yes, I was amazed, but it wasn't that unexpected.
The people gambling there throw me their lascivious gazes, but soon as they see who I am with, they immediately turn around as though they have seen a ghost.
I even remember Tasha calling Kael as “king.” I don't know what that means, nor do I care.
He can be the king of the world, but he's still a ruthless monster to me.
“Kukla.”
Speaking of who, the sound of Kael's voice abruptly shook me out of my trance. Suddenly, my gaze is drawn in his direction as he calls me. We were now in his car, riding back, hopefully to the mansion.
“What?” I snapped, feeling exhausted about how this day went, and I am still quite mad at him for everything that happened at the dome.
He humiliated me in front of everybody, but he also saved me from being molested by that old man.
Now that I have come to discern it, Kael keeps putting me in a situation where I would find myself in a precarious predicament, and then when I am about to lose my shit, he'll be coming to save me, leaving me feeling obligated to him, over and again.
I hate it. I hate him for muddling all my feelings, and I am starting even to hate myself for having no choice.
“Come,” he said, raising to open his arm, directing me to come crawling to his lap.
The scene that happened between us this morning came to my mind, and I had to keep the blush from coming up to my face and look at him dead in the eyes.
“Kael, I am tired, please. Everything that happened today, I don't think I could endure much.” I say to him, my voice weak and almost imploring, my head subtly shaking, “All I want is to take a rest.”
He stares at me oddly, and his brows dipped, eyes sharp with puzzlement. Then, the realization came through his gaze, and he inhaled sharply.
“I am too,” he tells me, his arms remaining outstretched, cocking his head. “Just come.”
I look at him, contemplating whether I would heed him or not, but then I know there will be repercussions if I reject him.
Begrudgingly, I crawled right across our seats and then cradled into his lap. Kael encircled his arms around me as I cuddled even closer to his chest in his embrace.
He's so warm, and I fit right perfectly, curling like a cat into him. His chin is resting above my head. My ears pressed on his chest, listening to the cadent rhythm of his heartbeat, which enticed me into a lull with its alluring tempo. His massive hand came up to my face and cupped the underside of my jaw. His rough fingerpad grazed so softly on the surface of my skin that my eyelids immediately closed under the outline his big thumb traced on the feature of my lips, sensually waking up my inner turmoil of desire. My forbidding need for him.
“Rest, kukla,” Kael whispered, his chest vibrating as he spoke deeply.
I swallowed hard, fighting back a moan that was clawing at the back of my throat, and raised my gaze to him.
Kael's mossy green eyes locked into mine, his face so near to mine that I believe I am breathing the same air as he exhaled, fanning all over my face. His fingers extended across the back of my head, raking through the locks of my hair as he bent down and kissed me on the forehead, all the way down to the tip of my nose, then hovered his lips dangerously close to mine.
A low gasp slips through me, my mouth slightly parting, waiting in sheer anticipation as the ghostly remembrance of how his kiss felt so great.
My hands curled against the fabric of his collar sleeves, trying to keep myself composed as Kael set havoc through my senses.
“You felt so right, kukla. Felt so right.”
The tension grows thick and palpable, making it hard for me to breathe. Like he was taking all the air that surrounds us. He’s inhaling my entire being.
I panted for no plausible reason but my desire for him.
I had no idea what had passed right through me or what had caused my body to become deaf to all of my commands, for my intrusive thoughts won. I unexpectedly close the distance between us by crashing my lips against him to a deep passionate kiss that bursts my chest, overwhelming my emotions.
And he reciprocated it with the same amount of aggressiveness that I had shown.