After the break of her engagement, when she is bathing in the river of Pristin,
The men that save her from the wolves have come yet again while she is still in the water. She claims that she is sick and needs to bathe there once a while during the full presence or absence of the moon.
While she is yet bathing and her marks are still there, she hears the wolves. She screams holding herself down in the water as a dagger flies across the air and nails its target at the neck of a wolf. The wolf's blood taints the water and while the man fight the beasts, she stays under the water, near the edge and slowly takes her towel and wraps herself.
Once the fighting is done, the other men leave and she is left to thank the head of the vigilantes, Lance.
Her feet were wet and bare, with thistles prinking her soles. The man gently took her hands and asked her to place her soles on his booted feet. She refused, hesitating greatly, before confessing, "I am far too heavy for the average woman of society."
In man in response quirked a brow, "I lifted you up in my arms effortlessly when you first encountered the wolves, princess. You're finely shaped, should that ever concern you."
As she rested them on top of his, he slid a hand around her waist and the dip of her back, and held her securely to him so she wouldn't slip and lose footing. The damsel put her hand on his arm that was encircling her, to keep her balance.
A hot sensation tingled on her skin beneath the towel where he touched her and she desperately hoped he couldn't hear her breathing heavy. Her mind berated her, wondering what he would think when his arm could feel the rolls on her back.
She placed a hand on her chest to make sure her towel was in place, before looking up to see him gazing intently at her every move.
"Thank you so much for saving my life. I don't know what to even say. I wish I could give you something in exchange for all this effort and kindness", Amelia rambled, loosening her bun and letting her long hair flow down her back.
The man looked at her longer than he should have, like he was mesmerised by the moonlit glow of her lightly clad figure, before raising an eyebrow challengingly and saying, "So what do you wish to give me?"
Amelia blinked for a second. Feeling flustered, she stammered, "I-I'm sorry, I don't have anything to offer you."
"Well, you don't have to have something to give it", he winked.
The expression made her skip a heartbeat, but the damsel did not understand what Lance was suggesting. "I- like what?"
The man chuckled, before taking her soft hand that was holding her towel and drawing it up to his lips. Brushing a kiss over her knuckles, he looked into her eyes and said, "I believe I just gave you something I did not have."
A warm blush spread over her face when she realised the implication. A million fluttering sensations burst in her stomach and she couldn't meet him gaze. "O-okay", she managed to reply, although the words barely made it out in a whisper.
Lance seemed rather amused by the flustered expression as he slid his hand in his pocket and waited for the damsel in his arm to make her move.
With all the courage in her giddy body, the damsel hesitantly placed her hand on his chest, stood on her tip toes to reach his height and tried to give him a kiss on the cheek. His grip around waist tightened as he leaned down to receive it, for he was much taller than her, despite her efforts to reach him.
Her heart was thundering in her chest and as much as she hoped he couldn't hear it, she knew he probably could from the close proximity and the amused look in his eyes.
She hadn't realised when her hands had crawled up to encircle his neck, but the moment her lips tenderly brushed his cheek, she felt his other arm warmly land on her bare back and her breath hitched in a soft gasp.
Swallowing quietly, and hoping the man couldn't hear how obviously his every motion was affecting her senses, she closed her eyes tight and gently pressed a kiss against his cheek, before withdrawing. He turned to look down at her, his face so dangerously close that her nose brushed his.
"Cutest kiss I've ever received", he chuckled, before diving in to kiss her lips. He was gently, but growing passionate, and Amelia felt herself drowning in new feelings she could never have imagined before.
Her hands were in the tangles of his dark hair while one of his palms played with the nape of her neck, causing chills of excitement to run down her spine. As he let her go, she was breathless, and half dazed, like she was recovering her sense.
Amelia was realising that she had lost her self-awareness only when she was regaining her conscious feelings again.
Then, when she opened her eyes, she saw him gazing at her, with a tender expression in his eyes, but a rather amused smile tickling the side of his lips and a blush painted over his cheeks.
His grasp on her waistline eased and the damsel rested her heels back on his toes, until her head could only reach up to his chest.
His voice was low and husky when he chuckled, "Your moan was so cute."
"Huh?" her words came out in raw curdles as her cheeks burnt uncontrollably. She had not realised she had done what he was accusing her of, but there was nothing she could say in her defence for the damsel had barely had any control for those moments.
Groaning in embarrassment, she looked away, feeling flustered and vulnerable. Just then, there was the sound of one of the men, calling, "Sire", and she could see the flicker of irritation in the tall man's eyes.
"Coming", he answered, with enough impatience in his voice to have the men know that he wasn't enjoying their interruption.