บท 31: Making myself comfortable
Music recommendation: Michele Morrone - Feel It
.
Calhoun looked at her fiery brown eyes that glared at him that had him smiling. Leaning forward towards her by bending down to the side of her face where she continued to struggle with gritted teeth, she felt his warm breath on her ear, "Who knew I was going to have you in my bed this soon. You need to know not to poke a lion. Just because the lion is quiet doesn't mean it's not going to pounce on you."
With her under him and this close, Calhoun could smell the rose-like scent that wafted from her, and he couldn't help but move closer.
When he pulled back, there was a broad smile on his lips that had made Madeline worried. She knew it was a wrong approach, but it was worth knocking every door and window to find a way out of this. For a moment, a streak of fear appeared in her nerves when he had pulled her to the bed and with him hovering on top of her in this compromising position,
"Are you going to get off of me?" she asked him. At the same time, the grip of his hands tightened around her hands.
"I think you are forgetting something here," he said with a thoughtful look on his face before his eyes shifted to look back at her, "Where is the magical word?"
She knew what he wanted to hear, but she was stubborn, "I don't think I did anything wrong here."
"Are you sure about it?" he tested, his hand about to touch the side of her cheek and she shut her eyes close. She was nervous as if she was able to feel his hand that only hovered near her but didn't touch her. When Madeline's stomach growled because of hunger, Calhoun ran his tongue over one of his sharp fang and got off of her.
Pulling the table back to its position, he took a seat at the table.
Madeline sat up quickly and scrambled away from the bed, making her dress right before going towards the table and taking her seat. Her cheeks had turned red.
"Seems like you liked what we did in the bed," he commented with a small smirk on his face, he picked up the glass that was on the table to take a sip from it.
Trying to keep herself calm as more blood rushed up to her cheeks in embarrassment, she said, "I would request you not to phrase things that might mean something else when nothing happened."
He placed the glass on the table, "Why have you turned red then? You look as if I have whispered something unruly that I am going to do to you," grinned Calhoun.
"Have you no shame?" she asked him, feeling the next wave of embarrassment.
"Once you discard it, there's no word called shame, Maddie," he then brought his hand to wave at the food in front of them, "Eat. If you skip your meal with me, you will end up starving."
"I will have to look at you every day," muttered Madeline under her breath.
"If your feet hurts from walking from your room to mine we can have you shift here," this overbearing man...it seemed that she would have to play this game on his terms else she would end up as a worn-out pawn.
"No, thank you."
"That's what I thought. Feel comfortable to change your room," when he picked up his fork and knife, Madeline did the same.
Eating crab would need breaking its outer shell before she could eat the meat inside it which would make things messy on her plate. And eating lamb would mean clean eating. In reasonable condition, Madeline would have picked to eat the lamb as she wasn't at home. But right now she felt like she was cornered and she was in the mood to rebel.
She picked up the fork and knife, she moved the knife around in her hand, bringing the crab in the middle of her plate, all the while feeling Calhoun's eyes on her. Holding her knife tight, she started to beat the crab that was on the table that made loud cluttering sound. One hit after another that had the crab move all over the plate as the room filled with her action.
The servant who was outside heard the sound and opened the door to bow his head before he was dismissed immediately with a small wave of the King's hand.
Calhoun's eyes narrowed, "What do you think you are doing?"
"Making myself comfortable," she answered, and Calhoun's lips twitch. Who knew cornering her would bring this side of her, which he was enjoying. He found her far more entertaining than any women he had ever met until now.
"You have a very peculiar way of making yourself comfortable. I have some ways myself if you are interested," he proposed, and she quietly pushed the crab aside before cutting the softer meat that was on her plate.
The rest of the meal Madeline stayed quiet, obviously not interested in starting a conversation with this man but that didn't stop Calhoun from not looking at her. And he could tell how self-conscious she was turning out to be because of the way his eyes looked at her. Thankfully this time, unlike this noon, he was eating the meal that was served.
"When will I next see my family?" asked Madeline, trying to be polite so that he wouldn't refuse her words right away.
"Once I know you have earned my trust."
"You're supposed to first trust and then like the person," she tried to enlighten him but she should have known this was no ordinary person.
He raised one eyebrow of his, "Who likes to follow the normal route, Madeline," he said raising his fork to his full lips before putting it into his mouth, that grinned at her.
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
ash_knight17
ash_knight17 Do consider voting if you like the book~ Next chapter coming up in 1-2 hours.
บท 32: Interests
Finishing the meal, Madeline dabbed the napkin on her lips gently before putting on the table. Now that dinner was complete, Madeline couldn't wait to rush back to the room she was given to sleep. Far away with enough walls between them where they wouldn't share the same space. The servant entered the room to clear the table and take the trolley back.
"I shall return to my room now if there's nothing else to do-"
"Stay," Calhoun poured water on her plan of going back to her room quickly, "It would be unfortunate if we didn't share some time," weren't they doing that just now? Asked Madeline to herself.
"Okay," she agreed.
"Don't look so sullen, Madeline. Life in the castle isn't as bad as you think it to be," Madeline had to bite her tongue thinking about the death that took place in the courtroom but that didn't mean Calhoun didn't pick her body language, "Did the death intimidate you?" he asked her, his eyes looking at her challengingly.
"Isn't death always intimidating?" she questioned him.
"If you have seen enough death and taken many lives, death is barely something to be considered. Once your hand is dipped deep and down in blood, there's nothing to be intimidated about," Calhoun answered her, his eyes lazily watching her and his lips parted, "When you're dealing with court and your subjects, things like these are the most common."
Didn't she come under his subjects too? Asked Madeline to herself.
"Don't be frightened. You are safe," seeing the sharp canine that appeared from one side didn't feel convincing at her, "You will get used to it."
"What if I say I don't want to get used to it?" asked Madeline, "You need to understand that this is not how I grew up…"
Calhoun tilted his head to the side and asked her, "You haven't seen anyone be beheaded in the scaffold?" Madeline shook her head, "How did you miss it? If I am not wrong, every village and town has a hearing on what crimes have been committed. Depending on these actions are taken."
"I had no interest in looking at people hang or to see them beheaded. With what I have heard, the punishments are always barbaric," Madeline replied to his question, "There was a woman who had nothing to do with the brawl, but she was dragged into it, and she was set on fire."
Before someone got killed, Madeline and Beth had always been ushered out of there by their parents though Beth used to sneak out to see how the proceedings went. She had heard people scream and cry in pain when it was their blood who stood on the scaffold, ready to be killed.
"People are caught doing some things they are not supposed to do, and there are some who get caught even without doing anything."
"You agree that innocents are killed," it was more of a question as she looked into his eyes that were staring back at her before a smile broke on his lips.
"One might think that person is innocent while the next person might not, we all see things in our point of view and the order of execution is run after trails of questions and votes on what is to be done. If it is labour, imprisonment or to be sent to death row," he answered her questions, "But then there are some, that can be manipulated according to our own will."
Madeline couldn't help but wonder to herself on how many people this man would have sent on death row or how many deaths lied in his hands. The King who had offered her a room, clothes to wear and shared dinner, the same man had killed a person this noon.
"Thinking about Benedict? The man who was planning to invite you to his quarters," Calhoun reminded who Benedict was, "Benedict was an efficient man when it came to working in the ministry of relations, but he wasn't as smart as I thought him to be."
"You killed him without a trial," stated Madeline.
Calhoun chuckled, "People like that don't need to be trialled, especially not when it concerns the King and his interests. You weren't expecting me to slide it now, were you?" the smile on his face had fallen, and his red eyes looked at her, "I won't tolerate any man talking to you in such tone or intention, or even looking at you. With today's action, word will spread for everyone to steer clear away from you."
He was giving her protection, but the irony was that there was no one to protect her from the Calhoun himself.
"As of what I heard, there has been no man trying to pursue you, but if he is, you should forget about the man you were planning to get engaged," there was an underline threat in his words, "I guarantee to keep you safe with me but not another man."
When she finally got to leave his room, bowing her head, she released a sigh of breath after reaching the room and closing the door behind her. She heard the footsteps go from the front of the door, which was of the maid who had led her back to the room.
Madeline changed her clothes and sat next to the window. Her head was leaning against the window as she wondered how the events in one day had turned everything upside down.
Away from the castle, in the vicinity of the village and at the rise of the sun, a person walked on the side of the road to reach the shop that made dresses.
An envelope was handed to the assistant that was addressed to the owner of the shop Mr. James Heathcliff.
ของขวัญ
-- ได้รับของขวัญแล้ว สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
200+ การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
298 หินพลัง คุณอาจชอบ
ความคิดเห็นย่อย