The Dragon Prince's Bride
Chapter 22. You will see and know me.

Chapter 22: 22. You will see and know me.

Neriah could now see it. She was a liar! One with the highest ranking even. She hadn’t even planned for it, she hadn’t even thought about it, and she had no idea where those sweet untrue words had come from. But they had.

They said some people were born liars, some called it an ungodly gift. She felt like she had that gift, just that she had never really used it before tonight. She had just moved with the emotions that overwhelmed her at that very moment. And she had found the words. Words so untrue. And she said them out loud. To him.

The man who had carried her from the floor and onto the wide bed.

The man who was slowly peeling off the fabrics from her body.

Her cloak had fallen to his treacherous hands first. Then her upper bodice soon followed. He was clearly very accustomed to women’s clothing. . Either that or he had been studying her dress all night long and had already stripped her of the materials in his head that it was no problem doing it in real life.

For some reason, Neriah felt like it was both. He had definitely known other women before her, and he had been studying her all through the night too.

She was grateful for the darkness. Since no one was putting wood in the hearth, the charred woods failed to ignite themselves. She was in the shadows. He wouldn’t be able to see how much she flushed. He wouldn’t be able to see the lies in her eyes. He wouldn’t be able to see her facial expressions when he kissed that part on her collarbones.

She’d never been more grateful for darkness in her life.

"Riah," she heard him whisper. A low guttural whisper. A whisper of a hungry man. He had stripped her down to her very thin undergarment. Suddenly, his kisses were no more. His touch was gone, and he wasn’t on her body any longer. She suddenly felt empty, incomplete, alone, shy and ashamed.

But what followed these feelings was horror.

Horror as lights suddenly began to flicker on all around her. Slowly, the darkness which was her solitude, her hiding place, her shield from the man before her. It was slowly lost. The room was brightened to its brightest. She had thought there was only one candle in the place.

But she hadn’t noticed the extra candles around the room. And the huge chandelier that was filled with candles on the ceiling just above the foot of the bed.

He had turned on the entire candles with his powers. It was still night, but it was suddenly like the sun was inside the room. It was bright, too bright, everything was clear. Her hard nipples that he could possibly see from the stupid and sorry-excuse for an undergarment she had on. He could definitely see the full forms of her breasts too. He could also probably see her skin was red like embers.

Her hands instantly jerked for the covers, but it was quickly yanked out of her hands.

"What in hell do you think you’re doing!" she cried out. Her arms fell over her vulnerable figure, trying to cover her breasts and any other part of her body that the stupid short undergarment was doing very little to cover.

He was staring back at her with careless eyes. He stood at the foot of the bed, hands on his waist, looking at her from head to her knees.

"What are you trying to do? What do you think you’re covering up?"

"Why did you light the candles? I don’t want the light."

"You should see who you’re making love to."

"I am not making love to you!" She countered.

"Call it whatever you will. But you will not hide in the darkness. You will see and know me." He hissed. Looking at her with ruthless eyes. Eyes that held no mercy. "You will know every curve and stroke, every line and contour. You will know me, Riah!" It seemed like an order.

"What is wrong with you? I do not want the light! Turn them off."

"That is not going to happen."

"I am not doing this! It was a stupid idea in the first place." she suddenly said, trying to reach for her clothes, but he yanked everything from the bed before she could reach them.

"Hey!" she cried.

"Too late to back out." He told her and tossed her clothes to the far end of the room. Then suddenly, his shirt was over his head. And her heart began to beat crazily. Like it would escape out of her chest. She had felt it, but his chest was wide and broad without the shirt. Hairless and smooth, with winged tattoos on them. She swallowed.

Next thing she knew, his hands were on his belt, and as quickly as his shirt had been tossed, his belt followed. Now she stared at him, and he looked at her too. A sly smile slowly climbed on his lips. She could see the evil glint in his eyes, the teasing fire there.

And she was suddenly unconscious of her body. At that moment, her eyes seemed to be the only parts of her that needed to be shielded. So she threw both her palms over her face. Deeply burying her poor eyes there.

Maybe she should have blocked her ears too, for she heard him step out of his shoes, and then she heard his trousers rustling.

She then heard him step out of his trousers. She knew she just had to cover her eyes. All she had to do was cover her eyes and she’d be fine. But curiosity got the better part of her, and she peeped. Through her fingers. She didn’t mean to peep, but damn that thing called curiosity.

From between her fingers, her eyes widened, her heart cut and her hands fell from her face. She’d heard of it of course! She’d even seen her little brother’s before. Hell they’d educated her that it could look a little different from a baby’s own, that it was just a wee bigger than a child’s, but!!!

"Ahhhhhh!"