“I’ll see you at four o'clock, Mamita!” I bellowed at my grandmother who was clemently watering her garden. Opening the small wicker basket where I carried my supplies, I double-checked the small first-aid kit: the towel, the white linen, the antiseptic, the needle, and a few apples which are all hidden under a neat white cloth."Where have you been going for the past few days?" My grandma asked in a calming voice, but I can sense that suspicion lingered in her tone.“Huh?” I gave her a breathy chuckle. “Just the regular old days, Mamita! For your good health, I shall be gathering some fresh pears and perhaps a bunch of berries too!” While tying a bright crimson scarf around my neck, I caught up on the day's headlines from the newspaper my grandmother left on the patio. A blizzard is on the way. ‘Gosh, I must hurry!’ I told myself. "Adios, Mamita!"“Cassidy! Wait—”I bolted out of the castle through our massive wooden door before my grandmother could physically stop me. When both
The way he calls me makes me feel like I’m not a lady. And it made me feel utterly insulted, made me feel wholly sick.My mamita once told me during my eighteenth birthday that I look like a lady. That I am now a lady. Any boy or young man would surely fall in love when they see my face and body. But the man in front of me is not a boy. I even doubt if he’s a young man. With that body built, I’m pretty sure every woman in their town lusted over him. That just means…“Don’t make me drag you out of here!” The strange man growled. I saw in the corner of my sight that his eyes were becoming redder and redder, as if he was ready to crush me with just a pair of his eyes. He was growling, snarling. I watch his shoulders move up and down, until I don’t. Frightened, nervous, and overjoyed emotions flood my system, and my heart feels like it would burst from my chest.Instead of saving myself, I asked. “A-Are you okay?” My body retreated as I questioned him. I shouldn't have ask
God, that was awful. I couldn’t stand lying in front of Mamita. Acting and lying in front of my grandmother is too awkward. She knows me well—too well. She knows me more than I know myself. She smirked because of my hysteria. “There could only be someone you meet in these treacherous woods of ours, Cassidy.” She turned towards me, my eyes yielded in shock, betraying me. “Who is it?”I didn’t answer. My blood suddenly boiled because images of the strange man’s blood-soaked body appeared in my mind. Even though his body needed a few stitches, he still looks smoking hot. Seductive. And I couldn’t bear the idea of me being swept away by his appearance.‘Why am I thirsting over him if I loathed him?!’ I cursed my own mind, even my own thoughts are refusing to obey my emotions. “It sure looks like you did,” my mamita whispered when I still did not answer, giving me a look that says she finally found the last piece of a puzzle. “Tell me what happened, then. I couldn’t stand the dolefulne
“Well, you have to listen to me attentively.” His finger pointed to me, firm and bold. “You have to stop coming here. I don’t have plans to have you in my bed anyway.” The way my right hand instantly flew to his face made a clapping sound in the air. But he’s still chuckling.My fist turned into a ball of flaming fury after that, and I saw the redness on my skin as it sting me painfully. His jaw clenched, but there was still the amused face I beheld minutes ago. “I was just helping you and—” I spoke to him in a louder voice now. “I hate you. I hate you so much!” “My pleasure. My name is Zarion by the way.”With that, hot tears pooled down my cheeks and I found myself running away from him. Again. But this time, I know I’m not going back to that cabin anymore. Not after what he said to me. Never mind if that is my own cabin, I will not return there again whether he leaves or recovers. That’s not my problem anyway.Yet…I still found myself—telling myself—that no matter how hurt I a
“Please, Zarion…” I moaned, my pink lips parting as a soft breath left me before he tempted me once more.A shudder rakes down my spine. Running the tip of my tongue over the opening of my lips, I let out a sigh of relief when the side of my bed pushed down because of his weight. Zarion’s thoughts were lewd, I know. He wanted me so badly just like what I wanted. I’m innocent and young, yes, even a virgin. But this thirst flooding my soul…he’s the only one who can quench it. He needed me so much, wanted me so much. I can feel he never wanted or needed anything or anyone so much in his life the way he needed and wanted me. For him, I was his personal sanctuary—the only one he could go to and feel calm, relaxed. Just being around with me was enough to take him out of his worst moods. Slowly, his hands covered the right side of my neck as the tip of his nose traveled down the nape of my neck. Erratic pulses of my heart beating from my chest resound in my ears. There’s no turning back n
“Y–yes…” I finally answered his question as he slowly lifted me up.“Hmmm, differentiate it, then.”I was so delirious just because of his touches, the heat radiating from his sweaty palms. He’s touching my body everywhere that I couldn’t help but stifle erotic sounds I’d never know I could hear from myself. “D-Differentiate, what?” I exhaled.“The difference between romantic and sexual feelings.” The fuc—what? I couldn’t understand anything anymore because his calloused huge hands were touching my tits. He was teasing it, the way he wanted it to, and damn if that doesn’t make me feel things inside my thighs. He was so good at making me feel these foreign things.These strange things that are making me delirious. “Now I think you don’t understand the difference,” he giggled darkly. “Do you want me to show you instead? Show not tell, as they say….” I gasped. No, I gaped. This man—he’s everything I hated. Yet, still, I ached for him, every inch of him. I wanted and needed him in all
I shifted, my curiosity taking over my body. Why was he injured and wounded in the first place? “Where do you live? Do you even have a family?” “I don’t have a house. And no, I don’t have a family.” That was all he said—that was all his answer to my question. “Please, just stay…” I begged. “If you don’t have a house, then maybe you could live in one of the rooms in our castle. We have a lot of empty rooms that you could use and occupy. I promise I won’t tell my mamita.”“No, thanks.” Zarion’s throat bobbed. “That’s not a good idea.”“Why not?” Before I could say anything, he cut me off. “I’m on a quest.”“A quest…” my brows met. “Like a mystery to solve?”He nodded. “I’m looking for the witch that will give me the information about who’s my mate.” Mate? I don’t understand. A witch? I don’t understand either. I’m pretty sure that only exists in fairy tales and fantastical stories. “Okay, but—” I scratched my head. “You could do that while living in our castle, right?” I hate how my
Her jaw fell open, silence possessing her very being now. I saw how her breathing quickened the moment I said those words. It’s true—I love Zarion. Deeply. This is not just some puppy love that I used to have when I was fifteen.The moment I laid my eyes on him, I knew he’s the one who will take care of my life the way my father took care of my deceased mother. They may not be here with me, but based on the stories my grandmother shared with me, I know my deceased parents lived their life to the fullest.And I want to live mine with him. “Mamita, please listen to me—” “I am not listening to any of these absurd things again, Cassidy!” “But—”“You are just eighteen years old!” She bellowed, veins bulging in her forehead.“And I’m old enough to indulge in these things!” “Oh yeah? You already knew it? Then, you tell me then—” She heaved a deep sigh and pointed the walking stick at my chest. “What do you know about love, child?” I was taken aback because of the term she had called m