She quickly turned her head away from me, embarrassed.
“You can look now,mylittle demon.” Now that she finally knew why I called her that, I could feel the shiver running down her spine every time the name left my lips, and it only made me want her more.
“What are these lines on your body? Tattoos?” She was really a curious little thing. I didn’t mind, especially not when she wanted to learn every single inch of my skin, which solely belonged to her.
“They are not tattoos; these are shadow markings that I inherited from my own power.”
“So, you are a shadow man or something…” she jokingly asked. I raised my eyebrow at her, her newly awoken cockiness was quite refreshing.
“I prefer the wordshadow daddy… Don’t you think, darling?” My eyes were too fixed on her, her entire being. Every part of her was so horribly beautiful, andmine.
“I would never call you that,” she declared haughtily.
“I guess when we really have sex one day Gwendolyn—and I promise you, we will—you’re not going to be able to form a single word, as you will be too driven by pleasure.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I told you we are bound together. Your soul yearns for me, and your body desires me. It’s only going to take some time to get your stubborn heart to accept it, too.”
“I also brought you breakfast,” I said, pointing toward the dresser.
I had no idea what her favorite breakfast was, but I noticed she tended to pick the sweet pastries whenever Marielle brought back the trays to the kitchen, so I ordered my servants to bake any sort of pastry they knew. I kind of went overboard with it, but I wanted her to have enough food to choose from.
“Thank you… could you… I mean… could you cover up maybe?” she stuttered; her cheeks started blushing again.
“Does naked skin make you so nervous… or is itmynaked skin?” I teased her. Instead of giving me a response, she just stared, bright red. I wasn’t shy about my body, especially not with her. She could look at me as much as she wanted to. Sooner or later, every part of me would belong to her anyway.
I caught the scent of her desire in the air, subtle, but unmistakably mine. Her gaze lingered on my skin, the feeling of her yearning for me just as much as I was for her was electric. I’d never believed my body had meaning.Not until her.Now, every inch of me ached to serve on purpose alone: to be hers, endlessly, without restraint.
Then, calmly, I threw on a white blouse with a ruffled collar, adjusting the red and blue bow tie at my throat like nothing had happened.
This business dinner wasn’t only about me and my realm anymore, but about her—the beautiful woman sitting on my bed, staring at me, indecisive about whether she was shy embracing me or liking it a bit too much.
I turned around to see Gwendolyn hiding her precious face behind her hands like she needed to force herself not to peek.
“You know, I don’t care when your pretty brown eyes are looking at me. In fact, I yearn for you to gaze at what is yours,” I told her. Although she still hid her face, I sensed that the last part of the sentence made her blush.
“But I don’t want to,” she said, which was obviously the biggest lie ever. I could feel the effect my presence had on her. She could try to deny the bond between us, her body, however, could not. It was only going to be a matter of time before she surrendered to me and I could lavish upon her, making every desire of hers come true.
“Do you like what you see?” My question seemed to take her out of her daydreaming.
She quickly looked away, her cheeks blushing again. I stood up and went to the dresser to brush my hair and adjust my red hairbands. I think I have been laughed at my entire life for this type of hair style. Neither in Marabour, nor at the court of my dad was it common for men to wear them. But here in Carnivalland I dressed however I wanted, and I would hope that one day Gwendolyn and I could indulge in pleasure without her being too afraid of what other people might think of her.
Then I noticed her looking at me in the mirror, her gaze locked to every one of my movements.
“Do you like what you see?” I repeated my question, with the sole purpose of forcing her to look at me.
“Xavier…” she murmured.
“Why can’t you just tell me the truth?” I loved how my teasing got under her skin so easily, it only made me more intrigued with her, if that was even possible. Instead of responding to me, she gazed down. Smart girl. She knew any response would only be a lie, and I felt she hated lies. Maybe because she was forced to put on a fake smile her entire life.
“My prince, your guests have arrived. It’s time,” one of my servants said, interrupting our conversation.
“I’ll come after I make sure she is ready. Now leave us alone.” My tone was loud enough to cause Gwendolyn to flinch. I didn’t want my anger or annoyance to affect how she perceived me.
“Do you need any help with your dress?” I asked as she fiddled with the fabric.
“No,” she said.
