Hope
The last time I saw Darius like this was the other day when he had been upset with me about Kyle. But this time there was no one here to tell me to run or bear the brunt of Darius’ aggressiveness but me.
“Let go of me!” I tried to wrestle myself free from his rough hold but he didn’t budge one inch.
“I said try again, princess. It seems I’ve been too lenient on you which is why you have the audacity to slap me twice in the span of a month.” Darius’ voice sounded husky and harsh. Like he was not himself.
I wasn’t a fool not to know that his Lycan side had taken over. What I didn’t know what how much time I had till the beast cut my head off my body.
“Just let go of me. I’ve said all I wanted to say to you so leave me be.” I lowered the pitch of my voice, hoping that it would somehow tune down Darius’ anger. It didn’t.
“That is not what I said you should do, princess! You’ve been acting all high and mighty these days, parading around with that lover of yours, and now you simply want me to let you go? Just like that? It seems like you don’t grasp the severity of the situation you’ve gotten yourself into.” Darius didn’t sound like himself at all.
His expression was crazed and manic. His voice was low and husky. Sweat glistened his face and the middle of his chest which I could clearly see from his loosened robe.
“Lover?” I tried hard not to scoff or chuckle. “Is that what this is supposed to be about? I was talking about my sister and you’re bringing up Kyle. What does he have to do with anything about this situation? Kyle is-”
“Do not mention another man’s name in my presence!” Darius banged my hands against the door, I whimpered out loud in pain.
Had he forgotten that I was human and could easily get hurt? I looked into his glowing amber eyes. Of course, he had. This wasn’t even the Darius I knew on a regular day. This was his beast. The part of him that I had never come in contact with until today.
I rolled my eyes, deciding to play with fire. “How hypocritical of you. You prance around the entire castle with Lady Annalise, shamelessly kissing and touching her all the time while I make friends with my guard, and suddenly I’m the bad person. You’re so pathetic, Darius. It makes me sick!” I spat at him.
He grew heavy with anger. I didn’t need to look at his furious expression to know that. His grip on my hands grew tighter and hotter. I felt like I could die any moment from now but that didn’t seem like enough reason to back out today.
I also felt hot. Inside me. Like my insides were burning. I couldn’t explain it.
“So you’re doing all of this because of Annalise and I,” Darius foolishly deduced.
“Really? Is that what you got from all I said? I want to make something clear to you, husband of mine. I am not a cheater. You might not have a single ounce of respect for me or self-control, but I am not like that. I have respect for myself and this sham of a marriage we somehow got ourselves into.
“I wouldn’t disrespect my body by sleeping with someone else like you have been doing with Lady Annalise. If you had even a sliver of shame, you wouldn’t be doing what you’re doing with her. I am not jealous of the two of you by any means. I’m just disgusted at the shamelessness you two portray.” I said.
Instead of burning with rage like I had expected, Darius wore a smug smile on his face. It irritated me.
“What?” I snapped.
“You say you’re not jealous, yet you’re burning with anger right now, princess. You think I don’t notice how you look at Annalise when I’m with her? You stare at her with envy. Like you want to be her. So badly.” Darius said.
“That’s not true!” I defended strongly.
He rolled his eyes skeptically. “Are you certain about that, princess? Why do you always want me to look at you when I’m with her? You feel satisfied when my eyes are on you instead of her. How do you want me to interpret that?
“You say we disgust you, yet you want what we have. That’s the real reason why you have that guard follow you everywhere you go. You want to make a statement. You don’t try to clear the rumors about him being your lover because you want the rumors to thrive deep down.
“Because you feel like they’ll hurt me. That I’ll get jealous of the two of you, the same way you get jealous of Annalise and I. Princess, your moves are too predictable.” Darius voice sounded so smooth. He spoke in whispers, aiming for my ear and my neck.
The heat inside me persisted. I felt like I was being burned from the inside and that somehow, Darius had something to do with it.
Unexpectedly, he let my hands fall to my sides. I was still trapped between him and the locked door but at least my hands were free.
Staring down at them, I said, “That’s not true. Everything you said wasn’t true. I don’t care about what you and Lady Annalise do. And I don’t bother about the rumors because I don’t care about them, not because I intend for them to make you jealous.
“You’re just making things up to feel just about your emotions. I wouldn’t agree to be like that with you even if you were offering the position to me on a golden platter. It is simply because, I do not care.”
“Are you sure about that?” Darius asked with a whisper, wrapping one of his arms around my waist and causing me to yelp in surprise.
“W-what are you doing?” I asked with a shaky voice.
He threw me a wolfish grin. His beast looking devilishly handsome. “Offering the position to you on a golden platter. Reject me, princess.”
The heat inside me burned. It burned like never before.
“Stop it. Let go of me.” I said, sounding breathless.
All I could see was Darius standing in front me, holding me. I was breathing the same air as him. The heat inside me felt like it was going to kill me anytime soon. I didn’t know what to do about it.
“You say that but your body says another thing. Why are you rubbing yourself against me?” Darius asked.
I glanced down to check and noticed that there was only a thin thread standing between me and mounting on Darius since my legs were nearly wrapping themselves around his thighs. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment as I put my body in order, leaving space between us.
“I didn’t say you should stop,” Darius raised my left leg and wrapped it around himself. I was thankful that I was wearing trousers and that the material stood between Darius’ hand and my bare skin.
I felt like I would run mad if it was my skin he was touching with that large palm of his. Wait a second… What was I thinking?! This was Darius in front of me. The man who had never done anything good for me. The same man who I met in the embrace of his mistress when I came into this room.
Grateful to my brain for reminding me of that, I tried to get Darius to let go of me.
“You’re crazy, Darius. If you think you can have me and Lady Annalise, you’re crazy.” I spoke with a feisty tone.
He didn’t seem to be bothered about my sudden change in attitude at the slightest manner. “So in that case, you want me to pick?” he asked with a husky voice.
My brows furrowed. I didn’t necessarily mean that but if that was where he was driving to, it wouldn’t hurt to my advantage. He would obviously pick Annalise over me, and maybe he would let me go and end this thing between us we called marriage.
“Yes. You can only have one of us because I will not be sharing my-”
“I pick you.” Darius interrupted me, and the rest of my words died down in my throat. He didn’t give me enough time to react to his words before he smashed his lips against mine.
Darius was kissing me!