Cassandra's breath was stuck in her throat for a while, the way this man was unnerving her was not ordinary. Such feelings didn't exist for her.
Clearing her throat Cassandra finally willed herself to step forward and address him.
"Let me arrange the guest chamber for you. You can wait here."
The slight tilt of his head and that deep inhale unsettled Cassandra even more. Instead of speaking he only stared with those gold-infused eyes. She wondered if he even understood the language.
Sighing heavily, Cassandra's always straight shoulders slightly slouched, and she let her arms fall. Turning around she began to head for the guest wing of their castle.
A few steps in she felt his presence right behind her. Abruptly turning around, resulted in his colliding with her. She flailed again, her mouth opened in shock but his strong hands caught her by the waist and had her flush against his naked chest.
'Two times in a matter of a few minutes, that's my personal best level of awkwardness of falling and being rescued by men,' Cassandra thought to herself while blushing all shades of red.
But there was a stark difference in how both men had rescued her. While her fiancé had simply stabilised her and let go instantly.
This male was holding her snugly against his glistening chest, her face was buried in his pectorals. She could feel the swirling heat, the unique scent and cords and cords of muscles that were perfectly packed on his torso.
Most importantly she could sense the static sparks that travelled from wherever he touched and made her skin tingle. Plus that intoxicating scent seemed to ooze out of every pore.
His embrace was gentle and warm in comparison to how rough his hands were. She could feel them through the fabric of her gown.
"Careful!" He slowly breathed on the outer edges of her ear, making her bristle in his arms.
The voice so dark, rich and almost sinful.
'So the beast can speak,' she breathlessly mumbled to herself and made the mistake of lifting her eyes.
The pools of gold held only her as they swirled and almost sucked her inside. Her breath was stuck in her throat as her lips slightly parted and she tried to detangle herself from his extremely thick arms.
A flicker of disapproval flashed on his face at her actions but he let her go. She seemed overwhelmed and they were in the open area.
She scampered away as soon as he removed his arms from around her and accusingly asked, but she wasn't ready for the answer.
"You can speak?"
"When needed," he instantly replied in such a deep tone that sent a pang of shiver running through her. A hint of tease could be sensed.
"Good to know. Why are you following me?" She asked with a scowl while trying to get her frantic heartbeat under control.
He didn't answer, only gazed at her, rattling her.
She began to walk again, and he followed but leaned in and whispered. The hot breath made the tiny hair on her nape stand erect.
"To save you from falling on that pretty ass and hurting yourself."
A deep shade of crimson was what Cassandra's face turned into. Even a tomato couldn't rival it. She abruptly turned to face him, the scowl transforming to a full-on glower.
'Did he just speak about my ass?'
'Is that what he had been looking at?'
"Stop! Looking at my ass. Keep your eyes here?" She pointed to her face with her other hand on her waist.
He seemed unfazed, almost amused, a slow smile was curling up on his fuller lips.
They were interrupted by a servant. She bowed her head and waited for their staring contest to end.
"Yes! Tabia," Cassandra finally turned her head to face her. She was her father's special messenger.
"According to your father's wishes, the guest chamber in the East Wing has been arranged for your Warrior. Your father says all his needs and requirements are your responsibility. There shouldn't be any slacking in his care," she informed Cassandra, almost haughtily. Servants didn't respect her, knowing that she wasn't her father's favoured child, the other two were. The lack of magic made circumstances even more difficult for Cassandra.
"I will handle it," she told Tabia in a calm voice, knowing they wouldn't help her and would only add to her misery.
But the man with golden eyes observed how she had spoken to Cassandra. The playfulness he had held while talking to Cassandra disappeared, replaced by flickers of disapproval and darkness. His annoyed glance flitted towards Tabia and she felt an immense surge of raging energy emanating within that strange man.
She instantly retreated and ran away like a wet cat.
"Come! I will take you to your chamber and will get you something to eat." Cassandra diverted his attention towards her and all darkness dissipated. The rest of their short journey went in silence as they arrived at the intricately designed wooden door and she threw it open from the silver knockers.
"Here! Make yourself comfortable, I will bring you food. You must be hungry," she said while remaining outside the chamber.
"Come inside, we need to talk. Food can wait." He stepped in and held the door open for her.
It was highly inappropriate for her to be alone with him in his private chambers. But then he had been literally thrust into her life, tied to her bed. What more could go wrong?
Not experiencing any negative vibes from him, Cassandra took a deep breath and entered the place. They had a lot to discuss related to the arena and she needed to talk to him as well and tell him how useless she was.
Pathetic to be exact.
He wouldn't treat her any differently than others.
Once she was inside, he closed the door and locked it. Making her heart leap.
The natural light from the window flooded the room as he sauntered over on his thickly muscled legs and planted himself on the armchair. Pointing to his lap he teased with a twisted smile.
"Come sit and I might tell you my name."
Cassandra's mouth opened and her jaw hit the floor at his audacity.