Calais brings me down and closes the door behind us. I turn my back to him and look at his room. Green theme. A huge four-poster master bed. A desk and chair with documents piled up on it. Bedside cabinets. Light green heavy draperies. Swords hang on the walls and cabinets. Floor is even carpeted.
Suddenly, I feel him tugging in my ponytail. I flush again. What the heck?! Every time he touches me, I am getting so embarrassed, as if I am in heat! I should really stop feeling like this!
He turns me towards him and completely lets my hair fall. It cascades on my back and I look up at his face. There it is again. The desire for me is so clear as he gently touches my hair.
"You really are a work of art," he whispers, leaning down to smell my hair.
I pull back and cover his mouth with my trembling hands. "And so are you," I respond.
"Then that makes the two of us."
"Calais, let my heart rest for the remaining hours today," I appeal, my other hand clutching my chest. "You've been giving me too much excitement. Can you try it again tomorrow?"
Amusement flickers on his face. He takes my hand and kisses my open palm. I shiver at the sensation it creates. When he sees the reaction he gives me, he licks it. I withdraw my hand, but he tightens his hold.
"Seriously, Calais…" It is a breathless whisper, and my knees are feeling weaker the more he kisses it.
"You need to get used to this, Lyrica. You will be my wife soon."
Then he kisses my wrists. I step back, but instead, he winds his other arm around my waist and pulls me closer to his body. I touch his chest and I pause, forgetting all the embarrassment.
I realize that his heart is not pounding like the way my heart is. It's as if he's just doing his duty to make me pleased. Does he think he is going to become one of Lyrica's boy toys?
I purse my lips and swallow. My eyes drop. He does not love me. He only wants my beauty and body, and probably the prestige that comes with it, too. Since he can't marry Eliana, he chose the next rational move.
In the novel, he is an amazing guard to Eliana. He is witty and rational. He knows the world of the nobles and he knows how to play it. He'd done all of it to provide an advantage to Eliana and to save her from Lyrica—from me. Is this his way of giving something to Eliana too? Using me to that end?
I stiffen. He might have felt it too, because he stops kissing the length of my arm.
"What's wrong? Too tired?" he asks.
I clench my jaws and look away. He lets go of my arm and touches my cheeks, making me look at him. "What did I do wrong?" he asks.
Bluntly, I ask, "Are you planning to make love to me before you leave for the palace?"
"Do you want me to?"
"Only if I have even a small part of your heart."
Suddenly, there is a knock. "Master, the bath is here."
"Enter," Calais says and places some distance between us.
The servants come in with hot water, herbs, and soaps. And yet, I am still waiting for his answer.
***************************
Duke Lartius Dunnett glares at both me and Calais as he glances at my hands that are being held by Calais.
"What is this?" he asks.
"A promise of marriage, sire," Calais answers.
"You will marry my daughter once you return from the capital? After you get permission from the King?"
"Yes."
Duke Lartius massages his head. "I thought the two of you didn't like each other. What happened?"
"I have come to like your daughter, Duke Lartius. And I want her to stay with me at my estate before I leave. I am only asking for three days. Then she will stay here before our wedding while I am at the capital asking for permission."
"You plan to let her live in your house?" the Duke asks.
"Yes. And I promise that nothing will happen between us in these three days. I just want her to acclimatize to the surroundings so she will be certain of her decision to marry me."
Duke Lartius groans. "Her purity is not the problem here, General Calais. We all know she's no longer pure. You can even take her tonight back to your house. But my question is, why would you take her as a wife when you know full well what she is?"
I look down at my feet. It's not an insult, it's the truth of Lyrica's life. But it still stings hearing it from another person.
"Your daughter is changing. And I'd like to help her with that transition."
"A friend can do that too."
"You know she needs more than just a friend."
The two glare at each other again. Then Jonathan, who is on Father's right, whispers to him.
"Fine, I will let you. You can both play around with each other for all I care," Duke Lartius says.
I purse my lips, and Calais squeezes my hand.
"But I don't want to hear a rumor that she's ruined before her marriage, even if that's true since long ago."
I clench my jaws. He only cares about the reputation of the family's name, not my reputation. If Lyrica lived like this for years, then I am not surprised that she grew spoiled and rotten.
"That is understood, Duke Lartius."
Then the duke asks me, "So I guess you will not be joining the Queen Selection this coming February?"
"I won't, Father," I answer, keeping my gaze down.
Duke Lartius smirks. "This child. I am not sure how long she will act up like this. But in the meantime, I am warning you, General Calais Parcell. You might be known for your wit, but my daughter is not an ordinary woman you can just play around with," he says. "She can destroy you if she so wishes."
"You know I don't play around with women, sire."
"I know. Your record is speck-free. And that's why I worry. I don't think you can handle my daughter once she goes back to her old ways. And don't blame me if she does. I've already warned you. Once you marry her, everything she does will tarnish your family name, not mine."
"I understand, sire. I am prepared for that."
"You might get the honor and glory for marrying a Duke's daughter, but that's all the benefit you can get. Do you really understand that?"
"Yes, sir," he responds. "Also, about the dowry, can we talk about that too?"
"If I will be asked, just taking her off my hands is already more than enough. The nobles already know who she is, but for the masses, we need to have a pretense of a dowry. Besides, they just know her as a beautiful, prodigy magician daughter of Duke Dunnett."
"I understand."
"We can talk about the dowry once you return. You never know, my self-indulgent daughter might change her mind."
The Duke groans again and adds, "Actually, it's better if you touch her before the wedding. If she gets bored with you before the wedding, then you don't need to marry her. Somehow, I feel guilty that you are going to marry her."
This time, tears fall from my eyes. The Duke is talking as if I am not in the same room. It hurts even if he is not my real father. But this, maybe this is Lyrica, crying over the love of her father that she will never receive. It's as if I am a filthy being who is not worthy of any kind of love.
"Sire, please, once she becomes my wife, please refrain from insulting her. She will be mine then. And everything she is… will be my problem to resolve," Calais says.
I look up at Calais. He is furious, but it is an expression not fit on his face. Yet, I am grateful to him for being angry for me.
"Huh! This is the reason my sister is latching on to you, General Calais. You are too kind. Don't spoil her, you'll regret it," Jonathan interjects.
"I am not spoiling her. I am trying to treat her properly as an ordinary human being, the kind she never received before."