362 I Would Prefer If You Cooperate, My Lady
Prince Theron chuckled at her adorable reaction. He touched the tip of his nose with hers. “When you took advantage of my lips, I am sure I didn’t cause any inconvenience to you. You were free to do what you wanted. Don’t you feel bad for me?”
Esther didn’t react to his teasing and continued to keep her eyes and mouth close. Her appearance made Prince Theron think of a silly bunny in front of a hungry wolf, thinking that by closing her eyes the wolf will go away on its own.
He playfully bumped his nose against hers again. “If you insist on causing me inconvenience then we can proceed with the next punishment. The uniforms of the royal servants are tailored to be easy to put on and take off, for the sake of work convenience. Taking off your dress won’t be that difficult for me.”
As if to prove his point, he teasingly caressed the smooth line of her collarbone with a finger. Startled, Esther immediately opened her eyes and her pressed lips loosened.
He looked at her intensely and ordered in a low and husky voice, “I would prefer if you cooperate, my lady.”
Esther felt like her entire mind was captured by the hunger in his gaze, and his seductive voice was easily melting her flimsy resistance. She watched him lower his handsome face, and his lips slowly touched hers, his hot breath brushing against her face like an addictive drug. Her heart skipped a beat the moment his lips caught hers in a passionate kiss and…and for some odd reason, her body was urging her to respond in kind.
Her mind blanked. She had touched his lips before, but the kiss they have shared so far had never felt like this. Back then, she did it to save his life. This time, there was a sense of tension, of urgency, of burning desire.
It felt different. It was different. She didn’t wish to admit it, but it made her feel good.
The moment their lips touched, Prince Theron found himself turning greedy. What started as him slowly sucking and nibbling those soft lips of hers turned into a fiery dance for dominance. Her warm mouth made him groan as he claimed her lips again and again, hungry and intense, demanding equal passion. He remembered the touch of her lips though he was half-conscious at that time in the river, and again that time underground.
Unknown to him, he had imagined in his mind how it would feel to properly kiss this young lady, obsessing over her for those seven days he had not seen her, and now the moment was here, he realized his imagination held no candle to the real thing. Kissing Esther was everything he dreamed and more.
Esther felt the urgency in his movements, and she could only clutch onto his arms and moan in response. The taste of him silenced all her thoughts. It was as if time no longer mattered as she let the man savor her lips.
It was the first time for her to be intimate with a man like this.
As soon as their mouths parted, only then did Esther return to her senses. Both she and the Crown Prince were gasping for much needed air, and as she met his dazed eyes, she felt lost. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what to say…so she decided to stay still and wait for what Prince Theron would do next.
Prince Theron looked at the young woman pressed under him, who looked more alluring after the kiss they had. Her eyes were half-lidded and unfocused, her honey blond hair an attractive mess against his pillow, and her wet lips were partially opened, as if tempting him for one more sweet kiss. As much as he wished for more to happen between them, he knew he had to stop here. He didn’t want to be the kind of prince who forced their servant against her wishes. He didn’t want that kind of one-sided relationship between them. Closing his eyes for a moment to calm himself, he let out a loud exhale and peered into her beautiful eyes.
“For today, this much punishment should be enough. The rest, we should save up for later.”
Subconsciously, Esther nodded to what he said, as if she would say yes to whatever he would say.
Seeing her still dazed, he asked with a sly smile, “Do you want to get more punishment tonight?”
That smile brought her back to her senses and she moved to push the Crown Prince aside, but he had already moved back a little to give her space to sit up.
She climbed down his bed and bowed to him in a hurry. “I-I will—I should take my leave now, Your Highness!”
She was about to turn away but Prince Theorn stopped her. “Wait!”
She looked at him with a wary gaze, only to hear him say, “My knights are guarding outside. Do you think you can go through that door without them noticing you?”
“Rest assured, Your Highness. For the entire week—” She abruptly stopped and almost bit her tongue to curse herself. She was about to admit she had been coming to see Prince Theron every night for the past seven days. “I mean, I will be fine. I have my own means. Good night, Your Highness.”
She left in a hurry through the door while Prince Theron could only stare curiously at her retreating back.
“It seems all those dreams were real. I wonder how no one noticed her for an entire week. Are they not doing their work properly?” Prince Theron mumbled and stepped out of his bed. He went out of his bedchamber, only to find his two knights asleep while standing in their places by the door.
The shock it brought him made him unable to laugh or cry at the scene. This had never happened before. He could not get mad now because the one sneaking into his chamber was a lady he liked, but what if there was an assassin taking advantage of this gap of security?