(From Ella's Perspective)
I did not answer him. There was no point in saying that this was the best life I ever had. In my family, I was treated like trash. Here, even though I was at risk of losing my life at the Orgades' hands or perhaps Leandro's as well, but at least I got someone who cared for me. Perhaps he did not care for me too much, but it felt good to know that he did even in the slightest.
I was surprised that he told me about his sister. It meant he surely trusted me. I was glad. I never expected him to tell me something like this. But I liked the fact that he wanted to let me know.
"Thank you," he said suddenly.
"For what?" I asked, astonished at his sudden slightly warm behavior.
"For worrying about me," he said in a low tone.
I glanced at him. His eyes were not cold as before, there was something in his eyes that was evident he meant what he said.
"Welcome," I said smiling even though I did not feel like doing so. I felt something inside me. A smile was never enough to express that feeling. But I did not want to show that.
"But Leandro, what are you going to do tomorrow night?" I asked. "They will come here to kill you. The man said that they are first-class shifters. They are powerful. They are going to be a lot in number. But you will be alone."
"I will manage," he said.
"You will manage? That's not a proper answer, neither is it a good plan. You said that most people don't know you. I mean, they don't know your face. You can hide somewhere in the locality."
"Where?"
"In the pub or the brothel. No, not in the brothel. There will be shifters there as well. What if any of them recognize you? You better..."
"I'll be fine, Ella," he cut me off. "But you can't come back here tomorrow night. You'll stay at... with Jed."
The way he said seemed he hated saying this. It seemed as if he did not want me to stay with Jed, but he did not have any other choice.
"But what about you?" I asked.
"I told you I'll be ok."
"How?"
"Don't worry, Ella. They tried to kill me before too. It did not work. It won't as well this time," he said as if he was sure of it.
"I don't..."
"I'll be fine," he said reassuringly. "Can I ask something from you, Ella?"
"What?"
"I know that our deal is that I can kiss you per meal. But can... can you make an exception tonight?"
"What do you mean?"
"Will you let me kiss you? Not as a deal. I just want to kiss your lips and throat. That's all. I won't touch or do anything else," he said.
I felt bubbles bubbling up in my stomach. I was eager, but I was also wondering why he would suddenly want to do it.
"One kiss?"
"No. I want to kiss you for as long as I want. I mean, for tonight only. Will you let me do that?"
I did not know what to say. My head was filled with uncertainty. No sound came out of my throat even though I tried to tell him something.
"Alright then. Let's make another deal. If you let me kiss you tonight, I won't kiss you again," he said.
"What about that deal of one kiss per meal?" I asked.
"I won't kiss you for a meal anymore then. You will have to let me kiss your lips and throat tonight."
"Only tonight?"
"Yes."
"As much as you want?"
"Yes."
The thought of not being able to feel his kisses anymore after tonight made my heart sink. But I knew it was the right thing to do. His kisses were slowly making me crave more. I suspected that it would not be long before I would say yes to him. But I still did not know if he truly liked me or wanted me merely for my body, to take advantage of me, to leave me when he was done having enough taste of me.
Even though it would be hard for me to live without his kisses, it was for better. Thinking about my decision again, I found myself saying, "Okay, I agree."
His expression darkened again, removing the slight hint of warmth that was there a while ago. His eyes turned cold again as his gaze stopped on mine, letting my body heat up instead of cool down.
"Put that book away and lie down on the bed, Ella," he said, his voice icy.
I gulped and put the book on the bedside table. His gaze never left mine as I lay down on the bed, my fingers trembling slightly and my heart thumping hard at the utterly disturbing silence.
I was still wearing the dress I wore in the castle. It felt uncomfortable to be in this, but I did not say anything as my eyes found a sight to savor. He slowly took off his shirt, revealing his gorgeous athletic torso that was worth gawking at. I wanted to ask him that he did not need to take his shirt off to kiss. It was not like we would do something else. I was not going to say yes to him no matter how much my heart would plead. It was clear to me now that if he kissed me, my heart would tell me, again and again, to say yes. But I was not going to give in to this kind of desire.
I would only say yes if I found out that he cared for me, he wanted me not for my body only, but for myself, my soul, my existence.
He climbed on the mattress, the force of his knees on the mattress jolting me out of my thoughts. He climbed on top of me. I saw that he was still wearing his pants which I was grateful about.
"You're not going to bite me, right?"
"I thought you weren't scared of my Beast," he said, his voice freezing but teasing.
"No, I'm talking about my lips. You bite them while... kissing," I mumbled.
"I won't if you cooperate."
I pursed my lips. How was I supposed to cooperate without letting him find out about the effect he had on me?
"Will you?"
"What?"
"Will you cooperate?" he asked.
I nodded. He gulped, not in a normal way, but more of a creating an erotic scene. Or perhaps it was just my mind that was seeing things differently. Suddenly it came to my mind right the moment he was about to bring his face down.
"Leandro!"
"What?" he asked, surprised.
"I almost forgot to tell you. I have to tell you right away or I will forget tomorrow morning. After I say this, you can kiss me," I said breathlessly as if time was running out. "You need to be ready at around eleven tomorrow night because they are going to attack you at that time. And well, the two men who I heard talking were saying that two months ago, the Beast went to that alley and killed ten shifters and three humans. Do you remember that time?"
He clenched his jaw. "Sorry, perhaps I shouldn't have asked that," I mumbled quickly, worrying if he was angry.
"They tried to kill me that day as well. I chased them out of the forest and reached that place, at least that's what I think I did. I don't remember fully. When I regained my human shape, I was in the forest in front of my cave, drenched in blood," he said.
"Oh. I'm sorry I asked. I was just curious. It came to my mind all of a sudden, you know. I had to ask now, or I was surely going to forget. You don't mind, do you? I mean, I interrupted. You are not angry, are you? You're not going to bite me, are you? Your monster is not planning to come out, is he? It's not like I'm scared. But I need to get ready to see those red eyes again. I like them, you know that? They have the same color as the sky during sunset. Do you know Peeta? Peeta Mellark? Oh, how can you know? He is a character from the Hunger Games trilogy, kind of handsome, but a bit laid back. Anyway, his favorite color is orange, soft like the sunset. Well, your Beast's eyes are not exactly like that, but there are similarities. It's not my favorite color. But I have to say that the color has a warm vibe, like fire. And..."