"I see that you're both friends already?" he asked, pushing himself straight and stalking towards her with a predatory look.
Eva wetted her lips and the small action didn't go amiss by his eyes. "He is nice to me."
He raised a brow and stared at her for a while. "I'm not nice to you?" said Theo, his face giving off a dangerous look to her eyes.
She knew that whatever she spoke and tried to explain, he would turn and twist it to his advantage and then corner her up to answer his nonsensical questions which would leave her baffled and annoyed.
This time, the urge to smack him had been transformed into something new. Something perilous. Something she knew she shouldn't attempt because the results would be harmful to her future.
The strong desire to be close to him, take in all his warmth, and run her hands through that mess of inky hair was making her want to submit. All she wanted to do was run into his arms and forget everything around her for a while. 'He is going to be the death of me...' she thought to herself with a troubled sigh as she stopped her feet from taking a step forward.
"I did tell you some time ago that if he was your friend, then he can be mine too. There is nothing more to it," she tried to make him understand and watched as he considered her words for a moment.
"Fine." At last he agreed and Eva let herself smile widely as she bowed her head to show her gratefulness.
There was pin drop silence in the corridor and Eva wished desperately for a maid to wander into the room to disrupt it. She fumbled with her hands, not knowing where to look, and worked her mind to think on what to say.
"I heard you have pets?" she asked, the words suddenly jumping out of her mouth as she remembered the maid who told her that on her first visit. She wasn't sure if a man like him could keep animals but then again, she had misjudged him on many things.
Theo smiled at her and Eva felt her heart stop beating in her chest. She was in so much trouble and the worst thing was that she didn't mind it at all. The thought of spending more time with him came off as an adventure. Every minute she spent in his company was neither boring nor dull. The idea made her want to run away and hide her face under a pillow and scream her heart out in frustration.
"Who told you about my pets?' he asked and Eva pursed her lisp before replying.
"A maid."
He nodded in realization and offered her his right hand, the one which was full of tattoos. She hesitated. Was getting closer to him a problem?
A huge problem. But what did she care?
Eva placed her small hand in his larger one and felt his fingers tighten around her fingers. It didn't feel like he was dragging her but the firm hold made her aware of his hand holding hers.
Their shoulders touched and Eva unconsciously tightened her grip on his hand. She recognized the path and realized that he was leading her into the gardens but in a direction that she hadn't explored yet. There were trees, some full of fruits while the others had birds perched on them. Eva gazed around mesmerized unaware of two eyes that stared at her.
A small cave-like structure came into her sight as their pace increased. Eva peered into it but only saw endless darkness with no sign of any living creature except for them. Theo stopped in his steps and she looked up at him with a question mark hovering above her head.
She watched as he opened his mouth and called out to them, "Atlas? Ash? " shouted Theodore but before he could open his mouth again, the ground thundered below them and Eve felt his arms wrap around her waist as he pulled her closer to his side.
"They try their best to make a dramatic appearance," he explained and Eva smiled in return, her eyes searching for any sign of the animals.
Soon, three massive dogs came running into view. Eva stood there staring at them and Theo wondered why she hadn't started running already. He had expected a lot of screaming and fainting but all he could see was shock and fascination.
Why the hell wasn't she jumping on him yet?
The trio paused at Theo's feet and sensing another unfamiliar presence growled at Eva, showing their teeth which had started salivating. Eva gulped, backing up and clutching Theo's arm in a tighter grip.
"They take time getting used to. Once they recognize you, they become most loyal to their owners," he spoke, crouching down and patting each of their heads one by one.
Eva gazed at the scene in wonder and amazement, surprised at how gentle he was with his pets. The dogs wagged their tongues at him and he looked up at her with his eyes shining like a galaxy.
"Don't you want to touch them?" he asked and Eva immediately crouched down beside him, locking eyes with the third dog.
Theo wasted no time in introducing them to her. "His name is Atlas." he pointed to the biggest dog of all of them who wagged his ears in reply. "He is Ash." she looked towards the medium-sized pup who had a furry dark grey coat on his body. "And this is Axel." his finger pointed to the third dog who was nearest to her. He seemed more gentle and smaller than the two with a silver coat of fur on his body as he silently stared at Eva with his big eyes.
Cautiously, Eva extended out her palm to him and watched as he hesitated for a moment before he poked his snout in it and sniffed her out. Theo watched the interaction curiously and smiled when he saw Axel nuzzling his nose against Eva's hand.
"He seems to have taken a liking to you," he commented and Eva excitedly bobbed her head in reply.
"My name is Eva, nice to meet you Axel." she greeted, and in return, the pup wasted no time in pushing her back to the ground and jumping around her body as Eva giggled in response.
The other two dogs watched the scene take place and approached Eva, nudging her on the shoulder and sniffing her hair.
"Nice to meet you too Atlas and Ash." Eva laughed out and rubbed their fur earning a whine from the biggest one.
"They might want to play with you. It's ok if you don't—"
"Of course, I'll play with them." Eva interrupted, beaming as she got up and looked around for something to throw.
Axel was quickest as he raced into the cave and came back a minute later with a bright red ball in between his fangs which he dropped at her feet and looked up in anticipation, his tail wagging.
Theo picked up the ball in his hands and offered it to her which she gladly accepted with an excited glimmer in her brown orbs. Theo watched as she aimed at the gardens and threw the ball with all her force. It went flying, disappearing out of sight and the hounds bounded away to reach it first.
"You liked them?" he asked, and Eva thought she heard uncertainty in his voice.
Staring into his eyes, she held his hand and nodded with a small smile.
"I love them."
.
.
A picture of Axel is posted in the comments. Do check it out ^.^! If you all want me to post Atlas and Ash too then comment and tell me ❤
Stay happy,
Moon ^.^!