Chapter 26
Damian’s long strides ground to an abrupt halt. I watched as he let out a faint sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He narrowed his eyes, looking down at me as he spoke.
Why state the obvious? Looking him square in the eye, I replied,
Damian gazed at me for a long moment before letting another heavy breath slip through his teeth. Shaking his head, he lengthened his stride once more and led the way out of the study. Walking side by side down the corridor, I racked my brain for something to say.
At my astonished question, he broke into a mischievous smile and whispered,
His tone was so sweet, almost as if he were reciting verse, that I pricked up my ears. I wanted to commit the words to memory and look them up later.
As I hurried after him with bright, curious eyes, an odd noise caught my ear. Hearing it too, Damian slowed his pace.
Ringing through the clatter of jostled metal tableware was a woman’s breathy, coquettish moan.
It was not difficult to tell whom the voice belonged to, even if it sounded softer, higher, and far more cloyingly seductive than usual.
My fleeting disgust with her vanished the instant I remembered who was standing beside me, sending my nerves taut to the point of pain. My heart hammered as though it would burst, and every drop of heat in my body rushed straight to my face.
Before I could even think of turning away, frozen in place, Damian moved. Even before I could look, his hands had clamped over my ears, pivoting me around. Clear, cool eyes were staring right into mine from inches away.
I could feel his breath. Through the hands cupping my ears, a fierce heat washed over my entire body. It felt as though my heart would tear right out of my chest. Meeting my gaze, his voice rumbled in a low muffle.
Unable even to blink, I stiffly raised a hand to point the way, as if manipulated by strings. Damian gestured with his eyes.
As his hands loosened over my ears, Laurel’s moans breached the gaps. Just before he pulled entirely away, I caught his hand. Staring straight at Damian as he halted mid-step, I called out to him.
His clear green eyes flickered. A faint smile seemed to touch his lips.
Watching him give a wry chuckle and a brief nod, I turned around. Then, catching an accidental glimpse of two bodies tangled as one, I broke into a dead sprint.
Even if he hadn’t told me to run, I would have. Lingering there any longer felt like it would make my heart burst and kill me. “Lord Kirhin! Ah, yes, ah, ah!”
Letting out a hot breath, Kirhin looked down at Laurel’s exposed white flesh. While he enjoyed the sensation of her squirming along with his movements, she was far too loud.
He had seen her working as a maid at a couple of banquets before. He remembered throwing a few flirtatious remarks her way and getting prim, proper answers in return. Most maids either blushed and scurried off or boldly tried to seduce him whenever he teased them.
He had expected her to hold out a little longer, but lo and behold, after just a few glasses of wine, her eyes had curved into a smile as she pressed her chest against him. Kirhin considered it bad manners to reject any woman who approached him regardless of status, but he still had his tastes. He likely wouldn’t take this woman to bed a second time.
More importantly, Lucy had seemed upset. That girl… she hadn’t gone and sulked over a light scolding, completely blind to her brother’s good intentions, had she? And after he’d bought her such a precious gift, too.
Kirhin knitted his brows as the woman’s moans turned into tearful cries, growing even louder. Thinking he ought to wrap things up, he braced his hands against the table and lifted his head, only for a scream to rip from his throat.
“Gaaah!”
“Kyaaah!”
Shocked by Kirhin’s shriek and his sudden retreat from her body, Laurel screamed along with him. Both of their gazes landed at once upon a shadowed figure leaning against the wall.
Gathering her unfastened dress to cover her exposed skin, Laurel took in the man standing before them.
She had never seen such a handsome man. He was tall as a pole, his shoulders were broad as an open plain, and his straight, chiseled features radiated commanding authority. Her lower belly, which had harbored Kirhin just moments ago, gave an instinctive flutter.
In truth, it wasn't a size anyone would call pathetic, but the flustered Kirhin hastily pulled up his trousers. His whole body felt drained. Kirhin asked in a rush,
Seeing his scowl and beckoning hand, Kirhin hobbled forward.
Lars’s low, rumbling voice scraped down Kirhin’s spine like an icy chill. Kirhin shook his head, offering a sheepish smile in mild protest.
Noticing the sharp cut of Lars’s gaze hardening into cold stone, Kirhin finally realized what he meant and recoiled in horror.
Furrowing his brows as though this brief exchange had disgusted him enough, Lars swept past, his cloak billowing behind him. Kirhin watched him go, then blew out a long breath and violently ruffled his own hair.
At his abrupt irritation, Laurel straightened her clothes and stepped cautiously toward him. Her gaze lingered on the shadow of the man who had already vanished.
Brushing her off with a wave of his hand, Kirhin turned and walked away, making it clear he had no intention of continuing. Laurel was left standing alone. Soon after, Nina appeared with a blunt, overbearing scowl.
Disdain was plain on the head maid’s severe face, but Laurel didn’t press her. She knew well enough that she wasn’t in any position to raise her voice. Still, she couldn’t contain her curiosity.
Straightening her posture, Nina turned back with a completely blank expression.
Put firmly in her place, Laurel dipped her head with an awkward expression. She appeared abashed on the surface, but her eyes bored intently into Nina’s back as the head maid turned and walked away. I cracked open my book, but the words wouldn’t register. The touch of his hands covering my ears and the warmth of his breath lingered so vividly, consuming my thoughts.
I tried desperately not to let Laurel’s heated moans taint those precious sensations, but it was impossible. It had all unfolded in the very same moment. Whenever I recalled those green eyes staring into mine, the image of those two bodies tangled together inevitably surfaced alongside it.
Seeing my own face overlap with Laurel’s pleasure-drenched expression, I sprang up from the bed. My whole body burned with heat.
Breathing heavily, I threw the window wide open, welcoming the cool breeze that swept into the room. Only after pacing around in circles ten times did the fever roiling through my head begin to cool. I stared blankly out the window.
‘If I return alive.’
Though he had brushed it off as a joke in the end, something was definitely happening next week. Something exceedingly dangerous.
Did it involve Kirhin too? If I asked him, would Kirhin even answer?
Frowning without realizing it, I gave my head a vigorous shake.
I had always known he was a womanizer, but witnessing it with my own eyes left me feeling dirty and uncomfortable. For the time being, I had no desire to look him in the face.
…Yet without Kirhin, there was nowhere else I could glean information.
As I stood with crossed arms, biting my lip in frustration, a knock sounded at the door.
