Chapter 4: Temptation

DAHLIA:

I woke up to the smell of burning firewood and into the arms of someone clutching me so tightly inside a cave.

I yelped in alarm. For a few seconds, I had forgotten what had happened. I didn’t know where I was or how I got there.

“W-What?…”

“I see you’ve woken up.”

It was a man who was holding me close. I tried to look back at him, but he held me even tighter that I cannot seem to breathe.

“Who… Who are you?”

He didn’t have to answer me at all. At that exact moment, I remembered clutching a furry body as I fell down the cliff towards my death…

“Don’t squirm so hard, my lady… Otherwise, you’d get my body too damn excited.”

As soon as he said this, my body immediately stiffened. I felt every inch of my face turning red. Even the hairs at the back of my neck stood up when I realized that he was breathing right next to me.

“Ah, then why are you doing this?...”

“Because you were complaining earlier that you were cold. I thought this could help,” was his simple answer.

“I’m alright now… You can let me go,” I said. Not only was it uncomfortable. It was also very nerve-wracking to be in such an intimate position.

There was an awkward silence after that. I felt the heartbeat inside my rib cage going wild, more conscious that ever that he was still hugging me tightly.

He must be the white wolf by the cliff, for who else would have been mad enough to jump with me and save me?

“I’m going to let you go now, but, just to give you a heads up, I’m naked,” he whispered. Surprisingly, his voice was calm as he said this – a great contrast to my panic-stricken mind, which made a turn for the worse when I heard the word ‘naked.’

“If you don’t want to spoil your eyes with my nudity, then don’t turn around,” he continued.

He unclasped his arms away from my waist, and I was able to breathe in a bit, but I didn’t feel as relaxed as I had hoped…

Was he really warning me, or was he simply teasing me to look back? I can’t really tell what his intentions were, but I was deathly afraid of what could happen should I turn around and our eyes meet. I could still hear my wolf Eve whimpering inside of my head, calling for our mate, which was supposed to be this wolf behind me…

I tried to separate my mind away from such impure thoughts. I surveyed myself. I was fully clothed. Thank the Goddess! Nothing untoward must have taken place, right?...

“What happened,” I meekly asked.

“You lost your footing and fell down. Luckily, there was a river below us.”

“I – We fell down a river? But how come I am all dry?”

“I removed your clothing and hung them by the fireplace. Fortunately, they dried up fast, and you didn’t seem to have caught a cold before I put them back on you.

I felt aghast. “What did you just say – you removed my clothes – all of them?”

“And I put them back on – all of them,” he said back calmly. How can he stay so calm in such a damned situation?

“Then that means you already saw my -” Overwhelmed by anxiety, I turned sharply towards him, utterly forgetting his warning.

“Body…” I trailed off.

The moment I looked at him, my eyes fell on the chiseled parts of his chest. He was standing a few feet away from me. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but my eyes fell into his private part too, which was somewhat obscured by the shadows made by the flickering flames.

I yelled and covered my eyes before I saw more, but even though I had only gazed at the shadow of his manhood, it was enough to stir heat into my body.

Eve was dancing in delight inside of me, very pleased by what we just saw while I was utterly mortified beyond words!    

I had never seen a man’s body, and I never knew a man could possess such enormous parts down there…

I clutched at my face even tighter. What the hell was I thinking? Even if this wolf was really my mate, as Eve claimed he was, how can I think of such dirty thoughts?

“I told you not to look,” he said. I can feel him walking towards me, but I dared not to raise my head, or else I might see his glorious body again and die out of sheer embarrassment.

“Why did you look? Were you that curious?” He pulled out my hands roughly away from my face. He was now kneeling before me, and our eyes met.

He has got the most wonderful set of dark violet eyes that I have ever seen in my entire life. My heart thumped loudly. Moon Goddess, how can such a physically perfect man exist in front of me now?

“I-I’m sorry,” I mumbled. He put his face closer to mine. I can feel him exhale heavily.

“Are you sure you’re not tempting me,” he said in a low, raspy voice.

I can’t believe it. Even his voice was far too lovely!

I wanted to hear him speak again, so I answered without thinking, “What kind of temptation are you talking about?”

“The kind where I take your body and your lips for myself tonight,” he said. Before I can say anything, he moved his head closer towards me.

Was this it? Is he really going to kiss me?!

I inhaled deeply and took in his scent. My whole body trembled. I don’t know whether it was due to fright, or excitement, or both.

His lips had almost brushed into mine, but suddenly, he stopped. He looked straight into my eyes until I broke away from it out of awkwardness.

“Hah,” he let out an exasperated sigh and rested his head into the nook between the left side of my neck and collarbone.

We stayed for a while like this. I glanced sideways at the black hair that covered his head. I wanted to run my hands into them. They looked so soft, but I resisted the urge to do so.

I reminded myself who I was – I was the duke’s daughter, and more importantly, right now, I was still the woman that Kaist was bound to marry…

Despite the allure brought upon by finding my mate like this, I wasn’t going to lose my dignity for just one night of pleasure… But oh, how hard it really was for me not to be swayed as such, especially when this wolf was staying so close!

“Excuse me,” I finally said, “what’s your name?”

“Hmm?” Aside from mumbling like this, he didn’t speak at all. It was as if he was trying to fully concentrate on drinking my scent.

I cleared my throat once more. “I’m Dahlia… How about you, what’s your name?”

“I know who you are, Lady Hurst,” he finally said after what seemed like an eternity. He raised his head from my shoulder and stared at me once again. “I know you are the duke’s daughter and the soon-to-be queen of Talandor.”

It was my turn to be quiet.

“Then if you do know that, you must also know that I have to return home soon, right?” I spewed out my words with difficulty. Eve was thrashing about inside my head, She didn’t want to be away from him, and so did I, but what can we do?

Our lives were bound by obligations that we needed to fulfill. It’s the price Eve and I have to pay for being papa’s daughter…

“Is that what you really desire?”

I gulped back the lump stuck in my throat. This man, whom I still don’t know, had very luscious lips. I was almost regretting not sharing that kiss he had promised me earlier…

“Yes,” I finally said, my brain taking full control over my body.

“Are you sure,” he said, coming dangerously closer to my slightly parted mouth once again. “Are you sure you won’t regret it? I know that after taking you back home, you will end up rejecting me as your mate…”

I stared back at him. I fully understood what he meant, and it seemed like he also understood the ultimate consequences of my decision.

He lifted a strand of my locks and kissed its ends. “If I return you back to your father’s house, then you will eventually become queen, right? You are to wed the prince after all… Is that what you truly want?”

I held my breath. At this very moment, resisting him was becoming a very hard task to fulfill…