Chapter 50: Cannot Be Reckless
Reaching one of the racks, she exhaled sharply, pressing a hand to her chest to steady the frantic rhythm beneath, ’Oh goddess....at this rate, he’s going to give me a heart attack,’ she thought, as the heat still lingered on her cheeks. She drew in another breath and forced herself to focus, she scanned the shelves with determination for something... anything that would be enough to justify the excuse she’d made to get away from him. And after a couple of minutes, her eyes landed on one placed on the upper rack.
As she stood on her toes and reached for it, she suddenly felt an icy presence behind her. A hand reached out and picked the very book she’d been trying to grab. Her eyes widened and as her feet flattened on the ground, her back pressed against a strong, unyielding chest. Her breathing hitched and as she turned her head to the side and realised he was already looking at her, with his face far too close to hers.
For a moment, Eve was at a loss of words as she gazed into his equally intense eyes that seemed to have stolen the air from her lungs. Her eyes drifted over the sharp features of his face, the curve of his lips and she remembered all too vividly, the last time she was this close to him. How her fingers had traced his skin, how the warmth of him had lingered against her touch. And as if her hand had developed a will of its own, it began to rise toward him.
Just as she could bring it closer to his face, the sharp thud of a booking dropping a couple of racks away shattered the moment. She blinked and she quickly took the book from him in her raised hand and murmured softly, "Thank you.." Unable to say another word, she turned around and left his side, heading back to their seat.
Ivan’s expression was unreadable, but his jaw clenched with the tension coiling inside him. He had a feeling like he knew exactly what she had been about to do and to his own frustration, he didn’t want to stop her. It was as if he had almost been waiting, inviting her to touch him. Letting out a low, frustrated sigh, he raked a hand through his perfectly styled hair and thought, ’What is this woman doing to me? Is it because I haven’t tasted her blood that she seems so damn appealing?’
Then he wondered if it was time to finally have a taste of it. With an unreadable expression, he started back towards his seat only to spot Oliver, another lumen, standing beside her. Oliver had been trying to approach her whenever Ivan wasn’t around.
Ivan had already investigated him and learned he was the son of a duke from the Kingdom of Luminear, with no link to the drugging incident. That didn’t stop the flicker of irritation that sparked when he caught the way the man leaned towards her, with dirty blond hair falling carelessly over his eyes as his brown eyes lingered on Eve with far too much admiration for Ivan’s liking.
His eyes darkened when he caught the words uttered by the man.
"So...does this Saturday sound good?" asked Oliver.
"Actually, I do have some prior engagement on that day, but I can make time after lunch," Eve replied lightly.
Oliver’s eyes brightened at her response and he asked excitedly "That’s great, then I’ll pick you up at two o’clock?"
Eve was about to respond when her gaze slid to Ivan, who stood not too far away watching with a look that could freeze blood. Remembering what had almost happened between them a couple of minutes ago, she forced a small smile and said, "Yes, that would be perfect."
Before Oliver could say more, Ivan appeared and dragged the chair out with a loud scrape that made both of them look at him. Oliver straightened instantly under the weight of Ivan’s presence and said, "I’ll leave you to your studies then, Your Highness." He gave her a small bow first, then another stiff bow to Ivan before retreating under the cold steel of Ivan’s stare.
Eve’s gaze lingered on Oliver’s retreating back, but Ivan’s sliced through the air, low and laced with something sharper than annoyance. "Making weekend plans already...and forgetting you have training?"
Her blue eyes turned to him. "The training is in early morning and I’ll be free before eleven, so I don’t see any harm in going to the mar-"
"Seems like you’re far too confident," Ivan cut in, his voice slicing through hers, "and forgetting what happened the last time you wandered off without thinking?"
The sharpness in his tone struck a nerve so she straightened, refusing to wilt under his gaze. "Your Highness, I am well aware of what happened in the past, which is why I plan to take Cece and Edward with me, as they had already asked me about this earlier today."
"And how exactly will they help if you run away again the moment you feel another call to the darkrots?" His voice was low and taunting, as if daring her to deny it.
She met his gaze and replied back. "Last time I recall, I still came back in one piece."
Ivan’s eyes narrowed. "That doesn’t change the fact that you almost got discovered."
"It doesn’t," she admitted, then asked with utmost sincerity, "Does that mean I’m not allowed to see the world out here and should stay locked up in my room?"
Then, in almost a whisper, she added, "Didn’t you say I don’t need to be afraid anymore?"
Ivan’s jaw tightened, at her sincere question, and for a moment, he didn’t reply and just stared at her, stretching the silence between them. He did tell her that she didn’t need to be afraid anymore, but the thought of her going out with another man, letting him close...it made something dark and hot coil in his chest. Anger, yes, but threaded with something he refused to name.
Reining in his simmering anger, he said in a cold, clipped tone, "Fine. Do whatever you want, but remember, if you get in trouble again, your companions might not be able to save you next time."
Evelyn pressed her lips together and watched him gather his books and walk away, leaving her alone.
She sat there for a while, staring at the space where his back had just disappeared.
Truthfully, Eve had spoken to Oliver only a couple of times after the ball, and she found him decent but had no real interest in him romantically. But with what almost just happened by the racks with her body unconsciously reaching out to Ivan made alarm bells go off in her head, reminding her just how dangerously the situation was getting.
When Oliver had approached her earlier and asked if she would like to attend a fair in Crimson Hollow this weekend, she had only agreed because Cece had already asked her before and with their written tests ending on Friday, it felt like a perfect chance to get away from Ivan. She needed space to breathe, to think... to flush his effect from her system before it consumed her completely.
She needed to put an end to this madding attraction towards him because she knew what might happen if she didn’t. She might become more reckless and Ivan was one man she couldn’t afford to be reckless with, a man who had made it painfully clear that he didn’t do relationships, that he only tangled with women who already understood his "rules."
Although Eve didn’t know what these rules were, she figured that he didn’t like to be tied to anyone emotionally and would likely only want physical connection, nothing more. But the thought of other women with him, twisted her stomach into sharp knots. She hated the way it burned through her chest, hated the way she cared at all.
Since she couldn’t ignore him entirely and didn’t want to, considering all he had done for her, she thought maybe interacting with another man might help take her mind off him. "Ah, I wish I knew how to stop this." she whispered breathy.
