Under the burden of Dravenâs intense gaze, the poor girl continued to button his shirt, and as she finally reached the third buttonâ
âHave you thought of the answers to the questions I gave you?â
âDraven said something to tip the fragile balance maintained by her highly-sensitive nerves.
Hearing his dignified voice ask that, her already unsteady hand shook so much, that she could barely hold the button.
âAhh! Why is he bringing that up now? Iâm recalling things I donât want to remember!â
Ember stopped what she was doing with an awkward face. She didnât want to answer him and fervently wished for Erlos to return so she could run away from this man.
Her mate had made her flustered to the point she forgot her original purpose for comingâthat she was here to apologize to him for what happened between her and Morpheus.
âHave you?â
With his gaze staring at her fidgeting form, he asked again, knowing she had completely understood the reason behind his questions.
âIâ¦I have, Your Majestyâ¦â
Though he would have preferred if she raised her head, Ember kept her head down, and thus he was unable to see her expression. However, he caught the shaking of her hands still holding onto his shirt.
âWhat did you find?â he continued to prod, but that only made her feel more embarrassed. She didnât want to think about those answers as shameful images were flooding her mind, prompted not only by the intimacy she had with Draven, but also by the vivid wild images portrayed from reading those human romance books.
âC-Can I not say it?â she asked in a small, hopeful voice.
Draven didnât understand why she was trying to dodge the issue. âIs there something to not talk about?â
ââ¦Itâs embarrassing,â Ember admitted, but this only made Draven frown.
âThen how would I know if you understood or not? I already told you we canât consummate our bond unless you know what you want.â
Draven felt a strange uncomfortable sensation at her hesitation. He really could not understand why she was like this, unlessâ¦
âDonât you want to complete our bond?â
For some odd reason, Ember felt something hot brimming at the corners of her eyes. But she hurried to blink back the tears threatening to spill. She didnât want to cry.
Still, she was conflicted whether she should say âyesâ or ânoâ to his question.
Before, she had naively said she wanted to consummate the bond, but at that time, she didnât know what it exactly meant, but now as she knows, she could not help but hesitate. Embarrassed? Yes, she was, but it was more complicated than that. She was nervous and unprepared and scared, but also curious and somewhat eager to give in to what her body was demanding.
Was it wrong to feel conflicted?
The consequences of saying âyesâ were frightening, but saying ânoâ meant she would be a bad mate and Draven would suffer the pain that sheâs trying to prevent in the first place.
She took in a deep breath and let the air out through her mouth.
âYour Majesty, Iâ¦â She stopped and decided to not answer. She raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. âIsnât it enough that I understood?â
For the first time, Draven felt speechless in front of her. He was urging her because he was worried about her naivety and ignorance, but if she truly understood what it meant to consummate, then she was correctâ it was unnecessary for her to answer him.
Hearing her response, Draven felt that strange stuffy sensation inside his chest disappears. He wished to respect her refusal. However, a small part of him was disappointed. He had been looking forward to knowing her answers, as it was another way of getting closer to her.
âAs long as you understand and wonât be shocked three days from now,â he said, gazing deeply into her beautiful eyes. âYou do know what is the night of the full moon, right?â
Both were so close to each other, with her hands still holding onto his shirt, but it didnât matter as they felt like the world around them had become silent.
She nodded, still looking at him. âI know, Your Majesty.â
âHave you decided what you want on that night?â he asked.
She lowered her gaze once more, her reply sounding reluctant, âI am not sure butâ¦â
Draven could see she was not ready to accept it yet and didnât pester her more. He changed the topic.
âWere you waiting for me last night?â
âY-Yes, I was. I apologize for intruding, uhmâ¦â
Since she no longer had to answer him on that sensitive issue, she let out the breath she didnât know she was holding and resumed buttoning his shirt. The conflicted thoughts and her emotions made her forget about the scent, but now that she was normal once again, it started to affect her and she decided to finish buttoning the shirt fast.
âWhy?â he asked as she saw her resuming her work.
She felt hesitant but she was sure she wonât be at peace unless she says it. âI wanted to apologize for what I and Morpheus did.â
His eyes darkened a little and the muscles on his jaw tightened, but the sight of his naive mate asking for forgiveness made him pull back and swallow his anger. It was enraging to think that some other male had touched what was his, and he felt like he could just turn this entire world upside down in his fury.
Seeing his lack of response, Ember felt more guilty and was prepared to apologize properly. Sheâs even prepared to be punished if that could help Draven forgive her.
But as she lifted her gaze, for a split second, she thought his eyes looked darker, but then they were their normal shade of red. She wondered if the lights were playing tricks on her.
While his mate was staring at his eyes, those eyes were in turn stuck at her delicate lipsâthat sweet temptation that she used to kiss another male.
Every inch of her only belonged to him and only he should claim it!
âYour Majesty, I apoloââ
The rest of her sentence was stuck in her throat as the next moment, Draven kissed her. It was not a gentle one, but a rough punishing kiss, as if he wished to lay claim on her and swallow her whole. Though he had managed to suppress his anger from showing on his face, his actions brought it out.