Is It About To Be A Kiss?

"If you're planning to become my wife, you'll have plenty of time to find out.”

I simply stared down at him for a few seconds, unable to process how unbothered he sounded.

The royal court around us looked even more uncomfortable than before. One of the servants quickly lowered his head, while another turned his gaze away as if he had suddenly become intensely interested in the cobblestone floor beneath 

his boots.

I almost laughed out loud. This man was sitting in a wheelchair, surrounded by servants who looked utterly terrified of offending him, yet he had just answered my crude question like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

I folded my arms tightly across my chest, looking him up and down. “You're surprisingly calm.”

Rowan's lips curved upward slightly. “Should I be nervous?”

I looked at him carefully, taking in his relaxed posture and steady breathing.

“No,” I admitted. “But most men would be.”

“Most men aren't me.” 

That answer made me raise an eyebrow. Oh? I took a slow step closer to him, deliberately invading his personal space until I was standing right between his knees. “And what exactly makes you so special?”

He didn't pull back, nor did he flinch. He simply looked straight up into my eyes.

I leaned down until my face was only an inch away from his. I could see the faint trace of amusement dancing in his dark eyes, and for some reason, that smug look annoyed me to my core.

I moved a little closer, close enough that everyone standing in the courtyard probably thought I was actually about to kiss him right then and there. Someone behind me let out a quiet, shocked gasp.

I smiled wickedly against his skin. But just before our lips could touch, I yanked myself back.

Rowan didn't even blink. His face stayed completely still.

I straightened my spine and laughed out loud. “You really thought I was going to kiss you?”

“I wasn't sure,” he replied smoothly.

“You should have been worried.”

“Why?”

“Because I might have.”

His left eyebrow lifted slightly.

I grinned, flashing my sharp teeth. “Would that scare you?”

“No.”

I almost rolled my eyes into the back of my 

head. What the hell was wrong with this man? I glanced down at the iron wheels of his chair again. He looked perfectly comfortable sitting there while I stood in front of him making a fool of myself. If anything, I was beginning to feel like he was the one playing with me.

I wasn't used to that at all. Back home, people either feared me, hated me, or pretended to love me while secretly wishing I would vanish off the face of the earth. Nobody looked at me like this. 

Nobody remained this calm when I deliberately tried to provoke them.

I stepped forward again, placing one hand heavily on the wooden armrest of his wheelchair, and leaned down toward his ear.

“Maybe you're deaf,” I whispered softly. “I asked if you could handle me.”

“I heard you.”

“And?”

“I already answered.”

I smiled, my face resting inches from his neck. “No, you didn't. You gave me a smart answer.”

“Perhaps that's the only answer you're getting.”

I laughed out loud. This man was actually getting interesting.

I pulled back and looked around at the crowd of people standing nearby. They were still watching the two of us like they were standing by, waiting for something terrible to explode.

I pointed a finger at them. “Why does everyone look so scared?”

Nobody answered me. The guards stood like wooden statues.

I turned my head back to Rowan. “Did I scare them?”

“You have that effect,” he said quietly.

“I like them already.”

He actually chuckled. A real, deep sound that caught me off guard. I paused, blinking at him. So he could actually laugh? That was completely unexpected.

I moved slowly around his wheelchair, pacing in a circle to study him from another angle like a predator inspecting strange prey.

“You don't look like a prince,” I noted aloud.

He glanced over his shoulder at me. “And what is a prince supposed to look like?”

“Someone who can stand.”

A few servants gasped in absolute horror at my blunt words, but I didn't care about their weak feelings.

Rowan only offered a calm smile. “That's unfortunate.”

“Why?”

“Because you're going to be disappointed for a very long time.”

I laughed so loudly that even a few of the royal guards looked at each other in confusion. I really liked his answer. Still, there was something about him that bothered me deep down.

He looked physically weak. I could see that much with my own eyes. His legs remained completely still beneath his heavy royal trousers, and he made no attempt to hide the chair. But there was something else beneath the surface. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Whenever I got close to him, I felt like I was missing something important. It was as if my dark vampire instincts were prickling at the back of my neck, telling me to pay close attention. I didn't like that feeling one bit.

I took a step back and crossed my arms over my chest again. “So you're really the prince my family sent me to marry?”

“Yes.”

I looked up toward the massive stone palace, then back down at him. “And nobody thought to mention the wheelchair before I rode all the way out here?”

Rowan smiled faintly. “Would you have come if they did?”

I opened my mouth to shoot back a quick response, but nothing came out. He actually had a point.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I still would have come.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm curious.”

“About me?”

I smiled slowly, letting my eyes trace the line of his jaw. “Maybe.”

For the first time since I arrived, his calm expression changed slightly. It was a tiny shift. So small that anyone else would have completely missed it.

I leaned down close to his ear one last time. “Careful, Prince Rowan,” I whispered. “You might make me curious enough to stay.”

His dark eyes remained fixed directly on mine.

And this time, as I stood back up, I couldn't shake the heavy, strange feeling that I wasn't the only one studying the other.