Annalise stared at the ceiling of her room as she couldn't fall asleep even after trying for the past half an hour. The very moment she closed her eyes, Damien's image appeared in front of her, taking over her senses.
And if the Second Dark Lord was alone not enough to haunt her thoughts, she also kept thinking about her interactions with the other two lords.
On the other hand, the incident in the pool room was haunting her non-stop and that too in the most indecent way possible. Every time she recalled those kisses and touches, she felt her entire body burning with energy and warmth that surrounded her like a cocoon.
She was almost horrified at the direction of her thoughts as she kept recalling that one particular moment, as well as the reaction of her body towards those indecent thoughts. But that wasn't enough to stop her brain and body from reminiscing those moments.
She had finally met with all three of her husbands and each encounter had been imprinted on her mind. She couldn't help but think about them as she was now left alone with her thoughts.
A soft sigh left her lips as she turned to face the open window. A few minutes ago, she remembered noticing dark clouds emerging in the sky, but now, it looked normal as those clouds had disappeared at some point and the sky was now filled with millions of stars even though there was no moon visible at the moment.
She heard a knock on the door and it made her hurriedly jump out of the bed. She headed towards the door and opened it only to find Lord Kenric waiting outside with a cup of freshly brewed herbal tea in his hands.
"My Lord." Annalise greeted with a little bow and was immediately awarded with a frustrated sigh from him which made her look up at him in confusion. "Is everything alright, My Lord?" She asked when she noticed the frown on his handsome face.
"Didn't I tell you to call me just Kenric and drop all these formalities?" Lord Kenric questioned as he looked at her while arching his eyebrows in question. He didn't seem angry but the look on his face made him appear serious.
"Oh." Annalise realized her mistake and silently reprimanded herself in her mind. "I apologize for my mistake but I'm still not used to talking so informally. Please give me some time to adjust." She requested while keeping her eyes trained on the floor.
She took a sharp breath when she felt his fingers against her chin as he raised her face to make her look up at him. "It's alright. You can take your time." His voice was calm and the serious look on his face had also melted into a softness that she was slowly growing familiar with.
"Thank you." She whispered softly while waiting for him to let go of her chin. His touch was sending little sparks across her face and her breathing was anything but normal at the moment.
A few seconds later, he finally let go of her chin and handed her the teacup. "Valerius has brewed it for you. It will help you in sleeping." He told her as his eyes finally looked past her and noticed the changes in the room.
Annalise was both surprised and touched at their gesture. Lord Valerius went as far as to brew the tea for her and Lord Kenric brought it to her. If they wanted, they could have ordered Sera or Aunt Claire to do it.
But while she was touched by their thoughtful gesture, she was also curious to know how they found out that she was having a hard time falling asleep.
"Your room..."
"Huh?" Annalise turned to look at Kenric in surprise as she was too lost in her thoughts to pay attention to what he was saying.
"I'm talking about your room. It's looking so warm and welcoming, completely opposite to how it looked the previous night. You all have done a great job in cleaning up this place." Kenric complimented as he looked around the room from where he was standing at the entrance.
"You can come inside." Annalise found the words leaving her mouth even before her mind realized what she was saying.
She watched the slight twitch of his eyebrows that was almost unnoticeable as his expression remained neutral while he avoided commenting on her offer, and it only made her more self-conscious of all the words that she had been spitting in front of the Dark Lords without thinking straight.
It seemed like she was not only losing her control over her body when it came to her husbands, but also the control over her mind and mouth.
"I... uh... the room... yeah, it indeed looks much better. Sera and the others have done a good." She hurriedly changed the topic as she diverted her attention from Kenric and took a small sip of the hot tea that tasted just as good as it smelled.
"This tea is really good. Thank you." She voiced her appreciation for the effort that Kenric and Valerius had shown to her.
She was about to take another sip of the tea when she suddenly felt a warm touch on the back of her head and as she looked up, she found that it was Kenric's hand that was patting her softly on the head as if she was a little kid.
The gesture was so soft and comforting that it immediately filled her heart with warmth.
"It's getting late. Finish the tea and go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." He told her in his calm voice before he lowered his hand and left her alone, his silhouette disappeared in the darkness as he headed down the stairs.
Annalise stood there in silence, staring at the now-closed door of her room in wonder. The way Kenric left almost felt like he was trying to run away, which didn't make any sense.
Letting out a small sigh, she finished the tea and decided to not overthink things for a change.
She needed to rest because there was still ninety-five percent of the castle left that needed cleaning and decoration. Only if she knew the horrible news that was coming for her.