Chapter 18: A Lesson
Even though he broke the kiss, Demetri continued to hold her face, caressing her gently. To Nora, it felt as if he was trying to calm an agitated pet. Meeting his assured gaze with her own confused one, she spoke slowly," I do not understand..."
It was unclear to her what she did not comprehend. Her reaction to him, his reason for initiating the kiss or her reluctance to break off the kiss.
Slowly, he explained," You are young. There is a significant age difference between us. We've had different lives and experiences. Someone in my position...it is expected that I would have a few conquests, for lack of a better word, under my belt."
"Very soon, you will be introduced as my wife to the world. Your youth and inexperience will be your biggest enemy and threat to the act we intend to pull off. Any show of weakness and the vultures will pounce on it, wanting to tear you apart. The people, whom I intend to deceive will not give you any consideration unless they firmly believe that I am deeply in love with you."
"They will attempt to make you doubt yourself. Instil the belief that my feelings for you are not genuine. That I am only interested in your body and there is no love. Fortunately, the contract clarifies this unpleasant outcome, and we do not need to truly love each other and endure pain. However, they will scrutinize us and our interactions like eagles."
"If you flinch even a second at my touch, they will know it and there will be rumours about trouble in our paradise. So, you have to not just get used to me touching you but also learn how to initiate intimacy. Consider this, just now, a lesson in intimacy. Your experience is limited to your ex-fiancé, a boy who was barely out of his adolescence, but you have to put on an act with me... you need to be prepared..."
Nora blinked at the explanation before she felt mortified. She had actually been so immersed in the kiss, that she had totally forgotten herself while he was merely giving her a lesson. As her face reddened with a blush, she tried to think of a way to quickly recover from her mistake.
On the one hand, she wanted to snap at him for taking liberties but on the other, she knew she couldn't blame him. He had already mentioned an expectancy of physical intimacy and she had even assured him that she was capable of acting as his lover.
"I... appreciate your honesty... I'll try my best to assimilate to you as soon as possible." Nora gave him a bright smile, trying to look as normal as possible. She would analyse her treacherous responses later.