The last part of Cynthia's words was spoken in a smaller voice, but it had not been inaudible. This made Daemon also think back to the confirmation of their relationship, and a smile played on his lips as he reminisced about the taste.
His eyes went to her lips, which she noticed. She smiled, but only inwardly. She did say she forgave him, but she had to avoid showing Daemon a good face for the moment.
"Today, you can't take back the compensation you promised me. You have to accompany me."
Daemon raised an eyebrow and commented:
"You seem to have everything decided already."
"Of course. Take it as a punishment for ignoring your fiancee."
The car got on the road and got lost in the throngs of vehicles going to different destinations.
_ _ _
_ _ _
It was the end of afternoon when Cynthia stopped her car in the underground parking lot of her apartment building. She got down and took many bags with her before throwing a smile at Daemon.
The latter looked a little helpless when he got down.
The punishment Cynthia had planned for him had involved keeping her company as she went around doing girls things.
It had included going to the spa, doing beauty care, shopping and other things. It was as if she had wanted him to taste the feeling of being ignored. The saving grace was that her three best friends had not been invited along, or it would have been worse.
Though, it could also be said that she didn't totally ignore him. Throughout the day, she never forgot to play the seductive game to tease him.
They took the elevator. Inside, Cynthia turned to Daemon:
"Can you hold the bags for me?"
"Sure."
When he took them from her, she raised her hands to her bundled up hair.
After a moment, the freed hair fell down, turning into a flowing golden stream. She shook her head to adjust it, before taking her bags back.
"Thanks."
*Ding*
The elevator arrived on her floor, and she left it with sway in her gait.
Daemon smiled and shook his head.
Cynthia also had the smile of a triumphant general as she opened the door. Going inside, she asked without turning around:
"Will you leave immediately after taking the clothes?"
He followed her in.
"I should go back and rest. Tomorrow might be tiring, and no matter what, it has been less than two months since I woke up."
Cynthia's smile disappeared. She went into her room, and came back with the bags in her hand exchanged with the clothes she bought for Daemon two days ago.
She came to a stop in front of him, not far from the entrance door left ajar, with her face decidedly unhappy.
"Humph. Take it and go."
Daemon looked from the outstretched hand to the displeased face. With a smile, he asked;
"Why are you making a face? I thought you forgave me already."
"Of course I forgave you. Do I look so petty to you?"
Looking at the lack of sincerity on the beautiful face, Daemon's smile deepened. He took a step forward, making Cynthia step back, unnerved.
She asked with a forcefully steadied voice:
"What are you doing?"
Daemon ignored the question. Instead, he asked one of his own:
"Why do I feel like you are still punishing me?"
Cynthia stepped back until her back was against the wall of the corridor. With her personal space about to be invaded, she presented a strong front:
"Humph. If I don't punish you, will you ignore me when we are engaged, or even married?"
That was what she said, but she only returned to sulking when he said he would not stay and spend time with her. And that meant she was just being unreasonable.
Daemon eliminated most of the remaining distance between them. He pushed aside the outstretched hand that had been placed protectively in front.
When only ten centimeters separated their faces, he spoke in a low but steady voice:
"Then, I think the punishment is enough. What do you say?"
"I refuse."
"Do you want to stretch it till the engagement tomorrow?"
"Why not?"
"Really?"
He paced a hand on her chin, raised her head to face him, and brought his lips to hers.
He met a small resistance in the beginning, but it soon gave way to an active participation in the exchange, which then turned into a proactive stance trying to take the lead.
He used one hand to press her hand that was holding the bag of clothes against the wall, leaving her front open. As for the second one that had been on her chin, it used the lack of defense to slide down, passing by her neck, going over her chest, as if he would go all the way down, before switching lanes and going over the side of her abdomen to hold her soft waist from behind.
Meanwhile, Cynthia's reactions turned less tame, and her participation deeper. Her free hand that used to try to push away Daemon at first, changed its job to inspecting the shape of his front muscles.
The atmosphere got more heated, to the point the exploring hand arrived at the edge of the shirt Daemon wore, and tried to go underneath.
Daemon blocked the offending hand with the one that had been holding the soft waist.
As he broke the exchange and put some distance between their lips, Cynthia looked at him in confusion.
"Can you reconsider my proposal now?"
Cynthia, struggling to follow his rhythm, tried to steady her breathing. With most of her attention on Daemon's lips, she asked:
"What proposal?"
Daemon halved the distance he had created between their lips and replied:
"The one about putting an end to the punishment."
Cynthia looked at his dark eyes, then back at his lips, and replied in a voice that spoke of her suppressed desire:
"Alright. No more punishment."
Daemon's smile widened, and she smiled too, when he resumed the kiss.
"Hm~"
Before she could be confused at her hand that had still not been freed to continue its exploration, Daemon took the bag of clothes from her other hand. Then, he took a step back, and left after flashing a smirk.
Only the sound of the door closing brought her out of her daze.
"Ahhh. You rogue!!!"
She would have thrown something at the door had her hands not been empty. Even her expensive phone would not have been spared if it had been in her hand.
When Daemon returned to his hotel, he was about to take a shower before looking for something to eat when his phone rang to indicate the arrival of a new message.
It was from Cynthia, and when he opened it, he saw only one line of text:
"I still don't forgive you."
He smiled, before throwing the phone on the bed and moving forward with his earlier plan.