Chapter 86
His dark lashes, lowered slightly, looked like they were holding a heavy weight. The blue eyes gazing into the distance were almost haunting.
What is he thinking?
Rosetta felt a little uneasy, wondering if he regretted their night together, a relationship he’d tried to avoid at all costs, but had been forced into through sheer stubbornness.
What if he really regrets it?
“…You’re awake.”
Rashid turned to look at Rosetta, realizing she was awake. Her breath caught in her throat as she met his blue eyes, and her mind quickly went blank as so many things from last night came flooding back.
“Are you feeling okay?”
His voice was soothing and sweet. His hand stroking her face was meltingly soft.
Rosetta had always wondered what happens when a man and a woman spend the night together. She’d wondered if the mere act of sharing a body would change anything.
But now she knew for sure. The intimacy of sharing something secret with just the two of them, the satisfaction of giving and receiving everything they could give each other, was beyond imagination.
And then it became clear.
I can’t live without this man anymore.
He belongs to me and I belong to him.
“…I’m okay.”
Her whole body throbbed, but it was bearable. Rosetta pushed herself up and Rashid helped her to sit up. Strangely, he looked more handsome today. She always knew he was handsome, but now he looks like he’s not even washed properly and is wearing rumpled clothes.
Unlike Rosetta, who admired his good looks, Rashid stiffened and averted his gaze the moment their eyes met. Rosetta’s heart sank heavily as she realized the emotion on his face.
This man really regrets what happened last night.
“I shouldn’t have done that yesterday.”
When he finally said it, Rosetta felt like crying. It was heartbreaking to realize that what had been a happy time for her wasn’t for him.
“I was so emotional, I don’t know why I did that….”
He let out a long, deep sigh. Rosetta held back her tears and quickly composed herself. She mustn’t put any more pressure on this man.
“I’m okay….”
“So forget about last night. The second time will be different.”
At the word “second,” Rosetta paused and her eyes widened. Rashid stroked the back of her hand reassuringly and took her hand in his.
“I’ll hug you properly, not like this, but in the right place. Where you’ll have only good memories.”
Rosetta realized then that what he regretted now was the fact that they had spent the night in this place so hastily. Even though it wasn’t something he’d pushed for.
“Even a village girl would have a proper place for her first night, let alone you, a princess…”
“I-I liked it.”
Rosetta said quickly, trying to stop any more guilty words from coming out of him.
“It wasn’t as bad out here as I thought it would be, it’s open and cool and….”
“…….”
Rashid’s mouth was gradually opening. Rosetta realized in hindsight that her desire to comfort him had led her to ramble on. Rosetta closed her eyes tightly.
“…Pretend you didn’t hear what I just said….”
Her face burned hotter than ever. Rosetta finally had enough and covered her face with her hands, then Rashid burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha!”
Rashid grabbed his stomach and started laughing. Tears welled up in his eyes. Rosetta was a little startled by the cave-ringing laughter, but quickly raised her eyebrows.
“Don’t laugh, I told you to pretend you didn’t hear me!”
But he didn’t stop laughing at all. In fact, he started rolling on the floor. Finally, Rosetta clenched her fists and lunged at him.
“That’s too bad! I thought you were so upset, and I was trying to comfort you, but when you laugh like this….”
Rashid took a few punches from Rosetta’s fists before she fell back in his arms, still laughing, and he grabbed her face and kissed her.
After a moment, he pulled his lips away and said, “I’m sorry, I won’t laugh anymore.”
“You’ve laughed enough already!”
His voice, still dripping with laughter, was so annoying. Rosetta gave him another slap on the shoulder as a final punishment, then rose from her seat.
Rashid barely contained his laughter and pulled himself up after her. Rosetta turned to him, realizing that her hair, which had just dried after last night’s rain, was a mess.
“Do you have a hair tie?”
Rashid untied the one he was wearing. Just as he had done when they first met. But this time, instead of snapping his fingers and ordering her to come, he walked over to her.
“…Why doesn’t your hair look any different than it did yesterday?”
Unlike her disheveled hair, Rashid’s hair was as neat as ever. Rosetta ran her fingers through her tangled, unruly hair in frustration.
“If my hair was straight, life would be so much easier….”
“No, I like it better the way it is.”
Rashid went back behind Rosetta and ran his fingers deep into her hair instead. He gently brushed it back, slowly untangling it.
“You like my unruly curls?”
“Yeah. Your eyes, your lips. I like everything just the way it is.”
The corners of Rosetta’s mouth twitched upward, considering he was rather stingy with his words.
Rosetta giggled, remembering that this was the third time he’d tied her hair.
“At this rate, you’re going to tie my hair better than Benny.”
“Benny’s on the verge of losing her job, but if it weren’t for her, I’d be late getting here, so let’s leave it at that.”
Rosetta tilted her head a little. “What do you mean by that?”
“Because Benny came to the castle in a hurry on horseback to tell me. That you were in danger. She was in such a hurry that when she got off the horse, she fell face first.”
“Oh, my God, is Benny okay?”
“She’s fine, and so is the child you were trying to save.”
“Thank God….”
Rosetta clasped her hands to her chest. She felt a great sense of joy that she had saved the little child’s life.
When Rashid was finished, he parted her hair on either side, exposing the long, white nape of her back. He lowered his head and pressed his lips to it. Rosetta flinched at the sudden rush of hot breath. Rashid hugged her from behind and whispered huskily.
“But don’t you ever get yourself into anything dangerous like that again. Rosetta, if you do, it won’t end with a warning like this.”
He reached out and grabbed both of Rosetta’s wrists with one hand.
“Then I may tie them together and lock you in your room. If that’s the only way I can keep from losing you, I’ll do it. So please don’t make me that crazy.”
The words were a mixture of dark possession, threats, and pleading. Instead of being terrified by his words, Rosetta shivered with an unknown pleasure.
He wants her so badly, and he’s terrified of losing her. The realization that she felt pleasure rather than pain at his distress over her made her a little afraid for herself. What a dark mind. What if he finds out about this dark side of me?
Rosetta nodded. She learned from this that if she was in danger, he was too, so she must not do anything dangerous, even for his sake.
“Okay. I won’t do anything dangerous again, I promise.”
With a soft sigh, Rashid lifted her chin with his fingers. Their eyes met. His intentions, so vague before she’d known about the affair between a man and a woman, were now clear. He wants to devour me now, she thought, feeling it so clearly.
Rashid’s lips covered hers again. He parted them firmly and sucked in her breath, and when that wasn’t enough, he angled and dug in deeper. The erotic tension built at once. His hands caressed her breasts over her clothes as her deep moans and breaths mingled, and then Rashid suddenly withdrew his tongue. His fists clenched and he shook his head.
“Oh, no. We’d better get out of here, or I’ll end up lying here with you again.”
Rashid immediately sat down in front of Rosetta with his back to her. Rosetta realized what he meant by that and backed away.
“Rashid, I can walk on my own now….”
“Sika told me that women have a lot of trouble with their firsts, unlike men. Are you going to turn me into a fool who doesn’t know what he knows?”
Rosetta smiled, remembering Sika’s words long ago, when she’d left the tent after a night with him.
Without further ado, Rosetta plopped down on his back. Rashid carried her lightly and left the cave.
Unlike the day before, the forest was bathed in brilliant sunlight. There were beautiful trees and flowers all around. The scent of flowers wafted on the wind.
As Rosetta admired the scenery of the forest, where not a single monster could be seen, she told him many stories. Of her family, of her childhood, of what little she remembered of it.
Rashid mostly listened, occasionally asking questions, and later he told her stories of his own. Mostly about Elder Calante, Thelma, and Sika.
Then, as they neared the entrance to the forest, Rosetta confessed that someone had shot an arrow at her in the forest. Rashid listened to her with a stony face, then spoke in a low voice.