Lucian stared at the woman across from him.
Celine's face was blank, gazing at the ceiling of the carriage with a red rim around her eyes. She cried so loudly that every person they passed by would know about the incident. About how Baron Varrin had accused her wrongly, and of course, how terrified she was. (Lucian didn't believe it and thought she had some grudge with the Baron and decided to deal with him personally.)
"..." Lucian remained silent as he listened to her story, not saying a word. He was still trying to process everything that had happened. Selling him out for money?
Celine didn't reveal her identity because what if Baron Varrin had bad intentions and tried to hurt her, or worse, kill her? The best option was to wait to be saved. She even had the foresight to act as a poor girl who was in desperate need of money to survive.
Lucian was amazed at Celine's ability to spin a tale. 'As if I would ever pay someone to be with me.'
He didn't like how he was being portrayed as a desperate man with unrequited love (Lady Bianca). It made him look pathetic and weak. Like a loser. Add Celine, who was 'disgusted' by his touch to the point of pretending she was sick, and he was a big fat loser. The rumor about him prefering men at least sounded fun (unfortunately, his men wiped them out as fast as they appeared; they didn't want to play a part in their Boss' rumor).
That's what everyone would remember and gossip about. Not the death of a Baron, but the fact that Lucian Arclight had to buy his women and that they all left him in the end, anyway.
Lucian rubbed his temple. 'I can't even counterattack with finding the most beautiful woman in the world to be my wife,' he thought, 'Because people will assume I'm paying her as well.'
Celine hiccuped, "I don't think I've ever been more scared in my life... I need to be held...and reassured..."
Lucian didn't move.
"Lucian," she whispered, "Hold me."
He leaned against the cushion of the carriage seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Done with your dramatics?" he asked.
She closed her eyes, then opened them. Her gaze met his, and they were silent for a moment. Then, she sat up and reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck, straddling his lap, "I really mean it. I was so scared. So, so, so, so scared, Lucian," she sniffed, "When Inky flew toward me to investigate..."
Inky was the bird that appeared with her after he was ambushed and had guided her to him.
Celine puckered her lips, motioning for him to lean down. He did, and she kissed him, her tongue moving inside his mouth, and sliding along his teeth.
"I thought you hated my touch," Lucian said.
"I lied," she kissed him again, her legs tightening around him.
He let her have her way with him, not kissing her back, just letting her vent her frustration. Her tongue went deeper, and she swallowed his saliva, letting her own collect in his mouth.
He swallowed, too, his throat moving, "Did you kill him?" he asked.
"I don't think so," she said, pooling the rest of her tongue's saliva into his mouth.
He swallowed again, "You are lying again."
"...hehe...mmm..." she kissed him again, and he reciprocated this time, letting his own tongue meet hers, "Mmmh...ow, ow, ow!"
"I could have done it myself," Lucian said, his closed lips brushing hers, "Don't run around seeking death… Not for me."
"You wish," she said when he held her head in place with a tight grip of her hair, letting her know there won't be any kisses if she didn't answer him properly, "Just play my hero, and let me be your damsel. I'm not seeking death, I'm just a weak woman who can't protect herself and needs her big, strong man to keep her safe."
"...you think you're cute, don't you?"
"Adorable, even," she said and puckered her lips. He didn't kiss her, and she puffed them out again, "Kiss me, Lucian. I'm traumatized."
"You're going to traumatize yourself to get kisses from now on?"
"Is it working?"
Lucian shook his head, "No."
"Your eyes say yes," she said.
"My eyes say you're a lunatic."
"Your eyes say you want to kiss this lunatic."
"..." Lucian leaned down and let her lips kiss his left cheek, "Seeking death is not cute," he said when she was done with the first cheek, moving to the second. "The next time you put yourself in danger, I will not rescue you."
Her smile froze and her hand against his cheek trembled. For a second, he thought she wouldn't do it.
A hard slap that landed on his cheek proved him wrong, and Lucian felt the sting. "..." His mouth was open, and his tongue moved over the insides of his cheeks. His eyes were wide, and his head was turned to the side.
"There, satisfied?" Celine's lips were in a snarl, and she yanked his chin back toward her. "What did you say? More? Is that what you want?" she asked, "More reasons to hate me? More reasons to leave me?" She slapped him again, "Here. Have some. Keep pushing me away, and I'll keep proving you wrong!"
Lucian caught her wrist, licking the inside of his mouth, "Does it feel good hitting me?!" He squeezed her wrist harder. Why did she decide to hit him now? Was it because he wanted to make sure she would not take advantage of him?
She tugged at her wrist, "Your reflexes are so slow. How are you going to dodge attacks on the battlefield if you can't dodge a measly slap?" She scoffed, reminding him of the loses in a physical fight against his opponent, "You're not an idiot to not expect me to retaliate, which means you let yourself be slapped."
His ears and neck turned a bright red, dropping his forehead on her shoulder. "..." Why did she always have to say things like that? Why did she always have to make him feel so exposed and naked? Indeed, there was a little voice at the back of his mind that kept on testing her motives, trying to prove itself right.
'She hit you. Hate her.' The voice in his head told him, 'She dared to hit you. She deserves punishment.'
He turned to face her, biting her neck in retaliation, nibbling and sucking until she squirmed and a red hickey appeared. "Now we are matching," he said, satisfied.
Used to getting under other people's skin, they were not used to being denied their will. What now? Do they continue to fight to have their way, or do they learn to compromise?
╔═══ Author's note ════╗
Lucian provoked Celine into hitting him many times (wondering when she would snap again), but he didn't expect her to hit him just because he refused to play her hero, lmao. He is a bit of a narcissist by how he is trying to make her look crazy and at fault, isn't he?
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