Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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I sat up in bed, my shirt halfway up. My hand was struggling to reach behind me as I was trying to put the pain relief patch to the sore region on my back.
“Aaow!” I winced as my fingers touched the bruise, the searing sting making me cringe.
The exertion had caused sweat to gather on my brow. Every movement brought a new pulse of anguish, and I couldn’t help but feel absolutely helpless in that moment.
My breath caught as I struggled to properly position the patch, cursing under my breath in desperation. “Son of a motherfucking douchebag!”
“So, he did hurt you.” The voice cut through, dark and heavy, making me freeze for a while. I didn’t need to glance in its direction to know it was Kaiden.
I pulled the fabric of my shirt back down quickly, feeling a sudden rush of awareness flood my senses and turned to face him. He had already entered the room, without knocking, without any care for boundaries. Mannerless!
He approached my bed and soon sat on the edge. I instinctively scooted back, feeling an unfamiliar tension in the air.
“May I?” His voice was calm now, almost respectful, as he reached for the pain relief patch in my hand. He met my gaze, his eyes dark yet patient, as if asking me for a consent–leaving it entirely up to me. The weight of the moment settled between us, and I couldn’t quite place the mix of irritation and something else–something softer–bubbling inside me.
“Why bother asking?” I shot back. “If I say no, will you leave?”
A smirk pinched at the corners of his mouth. This time, it wasn’t the obnoxious, confident smirk I’d come to expect–it was gentler, even understanding.
He carefully tugged my shirt up, displaying the bare skin on my back but stopping just short of disclosing more than I felt comfortable with. The cold touch of the pain relief patch on my back made me shudder. The chill was pleasant in its own way, but I couldn’t deny that his proximity increased the experience.
With him so close, I felt vulnerable–both physically and emotionally. My breath seized in my throat, and I willed myself not to flinch, not to let my fragility overwhelm me. His proximity, the quiet tension that crackled between us, made every inch of my skin hypersensitive. It was as if I could feel the heat from his body even though there was still a small space between us.
“Done,” he said, his voice breaking through the flurry of thoughts and drawing me back from the forbidden sentiments that had began to arise.
I ripped open the second packet of pain relief patches and offered it to him. “Put this one as well,” I said, just above a whisper. I attempted to maintain a steady voice, but the words felt thick and heavy, as if they weighed more than I expected.
I heard his smirk before he spoke again, his voice taunting but lacking its customary sharpness. “As you wish, your highness.” His words came teasingly, but his actions were unexpectedly decent, as he carefully applied the second patch to my back. His fingers were light as they worked, and I found myself unusually calm in that moment–I was expecting something nasty or wrong from him, but he stayed courteous.
“Thank you,” I said, a genuine note in my voice along with a little note of suprise. I felt my forehead crease at the absurdity of it. Never in my life had I imagined thanking Kaiden, but here I was–feeling an unexpected sense of respect for him.
“By the way…” I turned to face him completely, curiosity rising within me, despite my best efforts to suppress it. “How did you know I was in trouble?”
“Actually…” He hesitated for just a beat, as if sorting through the words before speaking. “I didn’t. I was just getting bored, and then I noticed the time. It was right around the moment your practice was supposed to end, so I thought… why not shock you by picking you up?”
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Chapter 31
His explanation was blunt, almost too simple. Like it wasn’t some grand gesture, but just something that could actually happen, something I could imagine him doing.
I couldn’t help but feel a tiny pang of disappointment, not for the lack of a dramatic answer, but because it wasn’t the beric story I had secretly hoped for–something like a psychic connection, a sense of urgency to save me. Maybe I was going insane, looking for something more.
“Oh, thanks to your surprise. I’m in a single piece and alive,” I joked, trying to shake off the odd feeling settling in my chest
His jaw clenched for a split second, and I thought I saw a shadow of something darker pass over his face–something raw and fleeting, like the edge of a storm. But before I could understand it, he softened his features and gave me a faint, dimost reassuring smile. The difference was tiny, but it was there, a brief lapse in the armour he wore so effortlessly.
Then he stretched out, touching my head in a gentle, unexpected gesture that caused my heart to almost stop. It was a touch that went against all I thought I knew about Kaiden. It was so out of character for him, and so gentle, that it left me surprised and off guard.
“Don’t worry,” he replied, his gaze focussing on mine in a way that made everything else blur. His hazel stare had a depth and quiet intensity that captivated me, as if his eyes were a pledge, an unsaid tie between us. “He won’t disturb you anymore.” His voice, low and firm, held the weight of an unbreakable promise, the kind that lasts long after it is spoken.
In that simple gesture, I felt something shift–something I couldn’t quite name but couldn’t ignore either. That soft, unexpected touch triggered something deep inside me. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever experienced with him, it wasn’t hate, thrill or lust, it was butterflies. I could feel the butterflies flutter in my stomach, as if they were having a celebration of their
own.
To be continued…
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Chapter 32
