Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 42: Answer Me

Chapter 42: Answer Me

Letting her sweet scent rule over his senses, Alec crouched to let himself inhale more of it like a candy he wanted to devour slowly. The tip of his nose was almost touching her hair as he dipped his head down, his provocative fingers playing with her mermaid curls that felt like silk on his hand.

Lauren stayed silent and unmoving as Alec scooped her hair and kept it on one side so he would have access to her neck.

But after her back was exposed to him, she felt him stop. He stayed still for the next moments.

With the cold air embracing her exposed skin and the eyes watching behind her, Lauren felt a shiver run down her spine. She never liked the feeling of being vulnerable in front of anyone. But she knew she could never hide certain things forever. It was a rule of nature one had to accept.

When she opened her eyes again, her words came out distant, almost indifferent, "I will not be surprised if a man like you who is used to touching flawless women is repulsed by my flaws."

While she waited for him to speak, she thought it must be the first time he saw a woman having a number of scars on her body, especially one who was a royal. It was normal for soldiers to gain scars from the battles they fought, but for a woman with servants on her feet to assist her with everything she needed, it was something different.

Alec didn’t reply. He only stared at her back. The moment he saw the unsightly lines and flaws a woman would rather die than have, a tint of red flickered in his eyes, and for a second, an unknown emotion crossed his soulless orbs.

Now Alec knew why he saw no pity nor fear in her eyes the moment she saw his scars. Because she had her own.

With Alec’s silence, Lauren snapped. "If I am no longer needed here, I shall take my leave-"

"Who did this to you?" he cut her off.

"It is not for you to know," she answered quietly and was about to move away but Alec’s firm hold on her waist did not allow her to.

"You are not to leave until I say so," his words were firm and full of authority.

From her waist, she felt how his hand slowly made its way up, brushing the tender skin below her breast, before it went to her back to trace the uneven surface of her skin due to the scars left by a tragedy in the past. His fingers which had killed countless lives without mercy were strangely gentle as he touched her skin, and she wondered if it was because he took pity on her.

"Answer me, Lauren. Who did this to you?" he asked, his tone quiet and lethal.

"I refuse to take your pity if that is why you want to know the origin of my scars. I didn’t ask about yours and I expect you to do the same."

"Is it your family?"

Lauren’s jaw tightened.

"Come to think of it, I never asked you what is your reason for wanting to ruin the royal family. I thought it was greed for power, for validation, because all your life you were shunned by people for being the King’s mistake. But it seems like it is not the case."

Still hugging her knees, Lauren glanced over her shoulder. "We agreed not to oblige ourselves to answer questions about our personal lives. I have my reasons for doing things, you have yours too. Let’s just honor our agreement and leave some things as they are."

"You broke a rule first, dear Lauren. Why can’t I do the same?" he whispered above her ear, his ironclad arm still on her waist leaving her no room for an escape. "Let’s even the scores. Tell me who gave you the scars."

Lauren didn’t want to relive that memory of her dark past. She had gone through a lot of difficulties but perhaps one of the things that one would never forget was those painful memories with visible proof one had to carry throughout a lifetime.

"It was my father."

The lining of Alec’s irises turned dark red. Since childhood, his eyes had seen how much cruelty their world had. Families killing each other, deception between wives and husbands, rivalry between siblings, envy between friends, but there was one thing he could never understand. Why do people keep on bringing children in such a cruel world if they would just end up ruining innocent souls?

"Since I have answered your question, you should let me go now," Lauren said.

"I am not yet done with you."

She held her breath when his fingers played with her left breast, his thumb flicking on her nipple tenderly. Lauren had been touched by a man, but not this way, not with her bare skin directly in contact with his, not when she could barely grasp the sensations going all over her nerves and driving her mad.

When Alec’s lips touched her neck, she knew he was going to pierce his mighty fangs onto her skin. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain that was about to engulf her being.

And when it came, she pressed her eyes more. It wasn’t as painful as how it did during the first time, and it also didn’t take long. Alec really took just one sip like what he said. For a greedy vampire like him, she was surprised he didn’t take advantage of her submission.

He allowed her to go after that. She went out of the bathroom first and after randomly picking a dress to wear, she went down to have dinner. Alec did not go downstairs until she was done.

When Lauren went back to the bedroom, Alec was nowhere to be found, and she assumed he must have gone to his study to read case files all night again.

As Lauren lay alone in bed, the door of Alec’s study flew open and his first commandant, Matthias, went in.

"How can I serve you, milord?"

With his fingers playing with a gold lighter, Alec answered, "Dig every dirt King Martin has. Which of the members of the court are his men, who are his enemies, everything."