A smirk appeared on Amber's lips, showing a bravado that she didn't entirely feel. However, her knowledge of Duchess Dash and the comfort of her needles, gave her some reassurance that she would be alright. After all, the duke would never kill an interesting toy immediately and she could always poison him if need be. Best to show a brave face so that he didn't lose interest too quickly. Now that it was too late to avoid his interest entirely. After all, it wasn't like she really had all that much to be worried about. Pretty soon Cray would catch his attention and he'd lose sight of everyone else. He'd start pursuing Cray instead of bothering with Amber. She might as well try to use his temporary interest in her to her advantage.
"This type of flirting leaves much to be desired. Although I'll give you a couple of points for originality," Amber said while making an okay sign with her fingers. "Top notch, good job," she said sarcastically. "If your goal was to gain my attention, congratulations. However, I'd ask that you release me now before my food gets cold. I tend to get grouchy when I'm hungry," she said while poking at the inside surface of the bubble with her pointer finger.
Duke Dreyfus stared at her without moving, with an expression of utter shock. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, since no one had ever talked to him in this way.
"Like, now," Amber said while flicking the inside surface of the bubble with her finger tips.
Duke Dreyfus chuckled deep in his throat while his eyes playfully glittered. "Yes ma'am," he said while lowering the bubble down to the ground and he released Amber with a pop. "May I know this enchanting woman's name?"
When Amber's feet touched the ground, she felt a small sigh of relief threatening to escape her lips. She held in her sigh, only showing a haughty look on her face.
"My name is Lotus," Amber said. She didn't know why that name popped into her mind, I just did.
"You may stay for lunch, but unfortunately I don't have enough food for your whole group. I wasn't expecting company," Amber said while walking away.
Amber looked over her shoulder in a way that she hoped was a slightly sexy expression, but also a bit stuck up. "Also, if you want to kiss me, try being a man, and actually make me want it first," she said before continuing to walk back into the tent.
She could feel his eyes boring into her back while he watched the sway of her hips as she walked. It took all of her concentration to keep her walk steady and appear unfazed. She didn't have a lot of experience with men.
Duke Dreyfus followed after Amber with a smirk on his lips and glittering eyes. He had the look of a predator on the hunt. It was good for Amber that she didn't look back at that time. She would have nearly jumped out of her skin if she'd seen that look. As it was, Amber was internally cringing. She wasn't used to flirting, okay?
As she and the Duke were sitting down to eat, he gradually motioned for his other people to leave the two of them alone. One after another, the area around Amber's campsite cleared until it was just the two of them eating an intimate meal. He complimented her profusely on her cooking. He felt quite grateful that she happened to cook some of his favorite food, and was relaxed and content.
At first, he was reluctant to eat anything she served, but she started eating first, and he had a strong sense for detecting poison. As they ate, she told him about her father being a merchant. Then how her parents and her used to travel around looking for rare objects.
During one of their travels, the three of them had come into this forest to look for some rare herbs. During their stay within the forest, her parents had gotten caught by a mafau and were dragged off. She'd waited for them to return, but they never did.
After waiting and then searching through the forest, she never found them. She assumed that they must have perished and eventually gave up looking. She had been lonely, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the forest. In the end, she decided to erect two tombstones for them near the river, since she'd never found their bodies.
As she told Duke Dreyfus this story, she allowed a couple of tears to pool on the edge of her lower lashes and trickle down her cheeks. She gently wiped her tears away, as if she were embarrassed by them.
After they were done eating, Amber created a soothing tea brewed with refined mana water, chamomile, rose hips, lavender, and honey. The aroma was heavenly and relaxing, she started to drink a cup of it first, and then offered some to the Duke. He took an experimental sip and sighed while continuing to drink appreciatively.
Although it wasn't exactly poisoned, there were almost invisible bits of metal in all of the food and drink that Amber had given the Duke. Amber could feel the little bits of metal traveling down to his stomach. Once resting in his stomach, Amber manipulated the tiny bits of metal to travel up his splenic artery and into his aorta. She then manipulated them to travel up to the arch of his aorta and into the walls of his left atrium, within his heart. A small pleased smile appeared on her lips when she had successfully secured the tiny bits of metal.
"What are you thinking about?" said Duke Dreyfus while comfortably lounging back, drinking his tea.
Amber lifted up her own tea cup and took a sip, hiding her pleased smile.
Amber allowed her eyes to gently water with a slight tilting up at the corner of her lips. She lowered the tea cup and gently held it between both of her hands, while turning her legs to face the Duke, and speaking with a gentle tone of voice. Her face was tilted down and so, she was slightly looking up at him with watery eyes.
"It's quite pleasant sipping tea with someone again. It's been so long since both of my parents died and I hadn't realized how much I missed interacting with someone else. I do hope that you forgive me for my earlier mistake and rude behavior. I hadn't seen another person for such a long time and you caught me by surprise," Amber said in a sweet voice.
Amber set her cup of tea down on the table and allowed herself to blush while purposely thinking about the incident.
"That was my first kiss," she whispered bashfully while fiddling with her dress between her fingers in her lap and looking down.
She was the very picture of a shy and demure woman. She licked her bottom lip and gently nibbled it until it was a pretty shade of pink and slightly swollen. Her beautiful little face peeked out from her curtain of shiny silver hair, like a wedding veil. It was such a moving sight, that the Duke couldn't bring himself to look away.
Duke Dreyfus felt his heart ache and felt moved while looking at this shy, delicate, and beautiful woman. He reached out to touch her hand, rubbing the back of her palm with his thumb.
Amber's heart jumped at the physical touch, but she resisted pulling her hand away. His fingers felt rough on her soft hand, scraping against her skin. She repeatedly played embarrassing scenarios through her mind in order to keep her eyes watery and the blush on her face. Her face remained tilted downward until she felt his other hand reach up and touch her jaw, lifting her face up. His deep green eyes focused on her eyes. Looking at her unparalleled beauty, he had a strong urge to firmly press his lips against hers.
He had a strong urge to protect her, make her his, and never let her go. While lifting up her face with his hand, he took the opportunity to rub his thumb across the side of her lips.
Again, Amber tried not to flinch away from the Duke's touch, wondering when the last time he had washed his hands was. The idea of tiny bacteria being rubbed all over her lips made her want to scrub herself clean. What if he hadn't washed his hands after peeing?
"Come with me," said Duke Dreyfus in a breathy voice.
He hadn't really thought about what he was going to say before saying it, but once it was out, he felt very sure of himself. This magnificent creature had clearly been alone for a very long time. Now that he had her, he certainly didn't want to just let her go.
Amber averted her eyes from his in a show of shyness. "Do you really think that would be alright? I wouldn't want to be a burden to you," she said quietly.
"You're anything but a burden," Duke Dreyfus said with a serious look in his eyes. "If nothing else, I should take some responsibility for you, since I took away your first kiss so abruptly," he said with a flirtatious and devilish grin.
Amber glanced up to meet his eyes and then quickly lowered her eyes again. She felt irritated with how close his face was to hers. His hot fishy breath was blowing against her nose, making her feel breathless and stuffy. She fought the strong urge to shove him away.
"I'm sure that such a handsome man doesn't have any need for a random merchant's daughter that he found in a forest. You needn't feel obliged to me if it's inconvenient," Amber pulled her face away from his grasp.
Duke Dreyfus frowned when Amber pulled away.
He didn't like the feeling of loss that followed and it confused him. He reached out and took hold of her curtain of hair. It felt as soft as the finest quality of silk to his touch. He lifted up the hair to his lips and kissed the soft strands.
"There's no need to continue discussing this tonight. Have a pleasant rest, my sweet little flower. I'll see you in the morning. My company's camp will be just outside your camp. If you need anything, including me, just let one of my men know," Duke Dreyfus said while standing up and releasing Amber's hair.