198: Consuming Kiss

Consuming Kiss

She sensed danger, the kind of danger a prey instinctively feels when a hungry predator was breathing down on its nape. Like a broken puppet, Oriana froze like her strings had been cut. Slowly, ever-so-slowly, she turned around to look over her shoulder.2

"Oh…"

The source of danger. He had somehow soundlessly appeared right behind her, giving off a dominating presence that forced her to turn around to face him, placing her hands between them in a feeble attempt to ward him off. 

'Wasn't he sitting down just now?'

"Uhm, Your Highness…' She took a step back under that heated gaze of his. "Your Highness, please sit back down—"

Thud!

"Ah!" She was pushed back against the door without any warning, taking her by surprise.  The prince's right hand was holding her shoulder, keeping her pinned against the door, while his left arm stretched to the side of her head, caging her in, not leaving her a way to move as his face slightly leaned down towards hers.

It was as if a storm was brewing within those drunken eyes. Oriana could not help but gulp. 'Is he angry at me? Why does it feel like that?'

"Y-Your Highness, uhm, any, anything the matter…?" She gathered some courage to speak, but  inside, she was panicking like a prey about to be devoured. 

To her question, the prince gave no response. However, the storm in his eyes seemingly caused it to darken even more, smoldering and intense, causing her heart to almost leap out of her ribcage. 

As he drew closer, not leaving much distance between their bodies, his hot breath overwhelmed her senses, as if he was sharing his intoxication with her. The space between their faces diminished even more, the air growing charged with unspoken… desire. 

Yes, desire. Raw, insatiable desire. 

Only now did Oriana understand the raging storm in those ocean blue eyes, and escape was no longer possible.

At this point, his face was so near to hers that the tips of their noses were almost touching, their breaths intertwined. That gaze made her knees grow weak. "Your Highness…"

"You belong to me."

Those words came out as a low growl, his voice hoarse yet firm. 

Wordlessly, she looked at him, those words…she didn't know what to say in response. She wanted to refute, to chalk them off as a drunken man's nonsense, but those words caused her to feel something…something she could not understand. 

Oriana belonged to herself, and no one else. But for a moment, that resolve faltered. As if her proud self wouldn't mind it if it was this man laying claim on her.

'But why…?'

She did not understand. The handsome man was staring down at her with an expression of…desperation? Vulnerability? That pair of blue eyes, they looked at her with blame and accusation. She really did not understand the reason why this man would hold such an anguished expression, so contrary to his usual confident self. 

"You are mine, and mine alone."

An order. A claim. It was if he was branding her that very moment.

At these words, Oriana felt her knees lose strength. If not for his hand holding her, she might have collapsed on the floor. 

It sounded like a… confession. 

Just as she reasoned against her own guess, his next words made her mind go blank.

"How dare you look at another man?"

She dared not believe what she was hearing. Against her better judgment, she squarely met his gaze, despite her heart beating so fast she could barely force out her next words. "What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"How dare you… look at him …? How dare you… offer… to that prince…?"

Oriana had a realization. For some reason, instead of feeling offended, she found herself compelled to explain things to him. 

She collected her thoughts, which was hard because his handsome face was a great distraction, and replied softly, "I was observing Prince Cian's injury and I could not ignore it. It would worsen if untreated—"

"You should care for no one but me," she heard him say, her heart skipping a beat at his words. 

She realized the hand holding her shoulder was gone. Instead, his hand reached out to gently cradle her cheek, his touch both possessive and tender.

The tips of his warm fingers softly caressed her cold cheek, making a light gasp leave her lips. "Your Highness—"

"These eyes should look at no one but me," he interrupted her, his intense gaze not leaving her eyes. 

His thumb moved over her soft, plump lips, gently brushing over them, causing her lips to slightly open as she breathed through her mouth. 

"These lips should smile at no one but me."

Her entire body froze when she found his hand moving from her cheek, and along with his gaze, his touch went further down, gently brushing along her neck, making a shiver run through her body. Her heart picked up a pace, faster than it should be allowed to. That warm, rough hand didn't stop at her neck, and her senses began screaming at her when his fingers trailed below her collarbones.

Out of reflex, she held his wrist in a tight grip, but his hand already hovered over the left side of her bandaged chest. He did not even seem to mind that she grabbed his hand and looked at her shocked and accusing gaze, as his hoarse voice reached her ears.

"This heart of yours should beat for no one but me."

Her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest if not for his hand resting against it. 

This man, what was he doing to her? And why, deep inside her, she didn't want to stop him?

He neared his face closer to hers. Overwhelmed with his seduction she shut her eyes close in reflex,  a move she soon regretted when she realized it only heightened the rest of her senses. His warmth. His scent. His very existence. Her heartbeats thundered in her ears. But it was too late.

His face moved closer to get rid of all the distance and she found the tip of his nose brushing against hers as he spoke in a low and husky voice. 

"Every breath you take belongs to me. You entire self, every inch of you belongs to me and me alone."

—and then he dipped his head to capture her slightly parted mouth into an all-consuming kiss.

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