Chapter 80: Sand in the hourglass
Anastasia’s mouth fell open at the sight of the rose floating on the wavering water. She said,
"That was my flower. I would have added the bath oils—" A gasp escaped from her lips when she felt Dante’s fingers squeeze the finger that had been crushed beneath the chair yesterday. "That hurt," she complained with a frown.
"Barely," Dante responded, with a glimmer of glare in his red eyes. He asked, "Are you pretending to be oblivious? Or are you intentionally provoking me to punish you again?"
"You are the one who chose to sit in the bathtub," Anastasia retorted, not understanding what he was talking about. It wasn’t her, but him, who was looking for ways to punish her. She inhaled sharply when she felt him squeeze her finger again to discipline her.
"How annoying," Anastasia heard Dante mutter under his breath. He then clarified, "Seems like it can’t be helped. Let me make it easier for you to understand then. Don’t wear things offered to you by other men. Be it anything, for that matter. Flowers, accessories or otherwise, because I will either throw them away or break them, so you cannot use them again."
Blood and heat rushed up to Anastasia’s face. Her lips trembled at the words that were uttered by the prince, not knowing how to respond to him. She understood his words, but she didn’t understand the reason behind them.
"Does it still hurt?" Dante asked her, his eyes falling on her finger. The next moment, she saw her finger disappear into his mouth, feeling the wetness and the light bite designed to hold her attention on him.
Wide-eyed, Anastasia swiftly pulled her finger from his grasp. Prince Dante was leading her into uncharted territories, entangling her, and before things could get complicated, she turned, attempting to get up and leave. But before she could do so, Dante’s hand snaked around her waist and yanked her to him, preventing her from leaving.
"I told you not to run," Dante’s words fell on the shell of her ear.
"I merely turned around," Anastasia replied with her eyes closed. When his breath hit her skin, her body began to recall the time he had bitten her ear. She wanted to shield her ears from the prince’s teeth, but her hands were trapped under his arm. Her voice came out as a whisper as she asked him,
"Why me?"