The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

He was finally done checking me when he noticed my frown. His facial expression changed that very instant to a much colder one and he glared at Fabian.

“What is the meaning if this?!” Gideon almost growled, “I thought we were done with this?! You gave an oath.”

“I did,” Fabian replied calmly, “That’s why I followed her when I notice she wasn’t going in the direction of her own room. Turns out she was looking for the dungeons. But luckily, she has no idea where they are.”

“Lara, does he say the truth?” my stepbrother switched his attention to me.

“What do you think, Gideon?” I sneered, “Does it sound like the truth?”

“That’s enough,” he snapped and started dragging me somewhere, “Thanks, Fabian. I will take it from here.”

I didn’t try to stall him. It was useless anyway. And when he felt that I relaxed and followed him, he let go of me and tried to entwine his fingers with mine.

“There is no need for that,” I flinched away, and we walked the rest of the way in dead silence. At the door of my room, I turned to face him and wave him goodbye. “Good night, Gideon,” my tone was dry and emotionless as I entered my chambers, but when I tried to close the door, he blocked it with his hand.

My lips parted in shock when he walked inside as well and locked the damn door behind him.

“Wh-what are you doing?” I was stepping back as he was coming closer.

“Lara, where do you think I live?” he smirked, and a bad feeling started lingering inside of me.

“You are not serious!” I gasped, trying to keep a distance.

“I am dead serious,” he undid the clasps of his cape and threw it to one of the chairs, “The Red Emperor is generous to us but he is not that generous. The palace is overcrowded now, so my fiancée and I get only one room to share.”

The realization was horrendous. He already was way too comfortable here and I wasn’t sure what was happening while I was unconscious. I wasn’t even sure how many days I was out.

“Well, you can sleep on the sofa then,” I tried to sound brave but it only made him chuckle.

“There is a perfectly nice bed in here and I don’t see why I should avoid sleeping in it,” he responded with confidence. As if he anticipated that question and had all the time in the world to think about what to reply.

“Very well,” I huffed and marched to the little and elegant couch that I spent so many wonderful hours reading in, “then I will use it.”

It was too small to lie down in it properly but I didn’t care. It was a matter of principle.

“No, you will not,” Gideon came closer. So close that I could feel his breathing on my bare shoulders. “You will sleep next to me in the bed.”

“No!” I clenched my fists.

“This is not a request,” he informed me, “You need to start getting used to the changes in our life, Lara.”

“I will never get used to it!” I promised him.

“What’s the big deal anyway?” he snorted, “Back at the White Archipelago when you had nightmares, I was flying into your room from the balcony and held you in my arms until you felt calm and could go back to sleep. You used to love it.”

“Because I didn’t know what kind of thoughts were in your head!” I turned to face him and for the second time today, I saw the real fury in his eyes.

“And what’s so terrible about that?” he stepped closer and I backed away, “We are not related by b***d. You are not my sister no matter how we grew up. Yet we clearly love each other.”

“You are delusional!” I shook my head, “This is not love!”

“Love is not black and white,” he stretched his hand to me and his thumb brushed over my lower lips, “It comes in all shades and colours. You thought you loved me as your brother even though we were never siblings. You loved your friend Bria even though you were never true friends…”

I opened my mouth to protest but he only chuckled, “Just trust me on that one. Bria would throw you off the roof of the tallest building without wings if she could.”

I wanted to disagree with it but then remembered how Bria squeezed my arm painfully before drinking from me. I brushed that thought away. That was what Gideon loved doing – throwing me off the track, changing the subject, and making me forget what he wanted me to forget. Only now I saw how manipulative he could be.

“Stop it!” I warned him, but he only came closer, backing me into a wall and pinning his hands at both sides of me.

“Are you afraid of me, Lara?” he looked slightly hurt but I was not buying any of it anymore.

“Yes, I am,” I chose to reply honestly this time, “Because it feels like I don’t know you anymore!”

“But I am still the same…”

“That’s what scares me the most,” I confessed, “It turns out that I didn’t know you at all…”

Gideon distanced himself from me and I let out a sigh I didn’t know I was holding. He took off his jacket and started to unbutton his shirt, while I just stood there, not knowing where to hide.

“Well, the good side of this situation is that now we can finally get to know each other better and explore our feelings for…one another,” he kept undressing calmly, his back towards me. “You are sleeping in the bed with me. And, please, don’t provoke me to make a scene and…punish that insolent maid of yours, for example. I will treat you the best way possible, Lara. But even my patience has limits. I will not touch you until you agree to accept me. However, you will marry me and sleep in my bed. Those things are non-negotiable.”

“You wouldn’t,” I whispered.

“Kill that maid?” he turned to face me when he was already wearing next to nothing, “I only left her alive since she could be useful. If she is not…”

The silence in the room was telling me more than anything else. And I swallowed a lump in my throat.

“I see,” I went to the wardrobe room, “I will be ready in a moment.”