Mated To The Cruel Prince
Chapter 384: Offer Yourself

Chapter 384: Offer Yourself

Islinda had the best sleep of her life.

Wait a minute, did she just say sleep?

Islinda’s eyes flew open at the same time she jolted up and moved, only to find herself falling off.....falling off what exactly?

Oh shit, she was still in the middle of falling.

A scream erupted from her throat, and her eyes widened as she plummeted face-first towards the ground... but at the last moment, something intervened. Not precisely catching her, but rather wrapping around her midsection, preventing the imminent collision with the bare ground.

How?

How was this happening?

The last thing she remembered was hiding under the table and waiting for Aldric to finish his meal so she could.... Oh shit. She was found.

Islinda became aware as a thread of shadow caressed her cheek, inducing a shiver. She realized that Aldric’s shadowy apparitions were the ones preventing her from falling. Swiftly, they lifted her off the ground and placed her on the table... the very table beneath which she had been hiding!

She had concealed herself beneath it, so how did she end up on top of it?

Fuck! She had messed up!

Islinda recognized the moment Aldric’s shadows deposited her onto the table and released their hold, retreating into his body. Her heart raced as she met Aldric’s amused eyes.

"Hello, darling. I hope you do know that meals are served on top of the table and not beneath it," he said, wearing the look of a predator who had just found its prey. She was his prey. Islinda shuddered at the thought.

She tried to speak, only to realize that her tongue felt heavy as lead and refused to cooperate. What could she possibly say in this absurd situation?

"Oh, don’t be shocked. I would never refuse an interesting meal like you," he said, his tongue jutting out to lick his bottom lip.

Wait, what?! Islinda’s mind finally started working. What in the name of madness was this psycho Fae thinking? She was not his meal. Her position under his table was misunderstood. She was hiding from him, not offering herself. Who would even think that way?! Of course, only Aldric had such a distorted mind!

"Wait! I think you are —" Islinda tried to get down from the table but his shadows burst out from his body and pushed her back down.

Islinda tried to reach the shadows as if she could just grab it and toss it away but his magic was quicker and his annoying never-ending swirls of shadows bind her hand to the table, and then the other.

"No, no...."

Her right leg was bound first before the other. Thus, Islinda found herself tied up on the table like some lamb on the altar of sacrifice.

"Let me go!" Islinda cursed, pulling at the writhing shadows, which only tightened around her skin when they sensed her trying to loosen the bind.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Aldric tilted his head, watching her with a deep look as she squirmed like a fish out of water.

Islinda hissed at him, "Get these abominable things off me."

He said, bemused, "Children, you heard the lady. Get off her."

Islinda gasped as they instead tightened against her skin.

Aldric tutted, "See, they don’t exactly listen to me. Not when they’ve grown attached to you and would love to play with you right now."

"Aldric!" Islinda warned him, her eyes flaring with anger. Thank the gods there was no one in the hall to witness this mortifying situation. Yet, being alone with Aldric and his shadows posed its own disturbing problem.

"Fine," Aldric rolled his eyes, "You’re no fun."

With a gesture, the grip loosened, no longer biting into her skin, but she was still not free.

Islinda heaved a breath, "What is the meaning of this, Prince Aldric? What are you doing?"

Uncomfortable with him, she had to remind herself that the shivers down her spine were fear, not excitement.

"Me?" He appeared truly clueless, though she wasn’t fooled by his demeanor.

Islinda glared, "Stop this game and let me go."

His lips curved up, and Islinda forgot to breathe as he leaned over her, his body covering hers, with his thigh between her legs. "Do not think of his strong thighs at a moment like this, you perverted girl!" she scolded herself.

Islinda swallowed, her chest squashed by his, staring into bright blue eyes filled with naughtiness. Aldric would be the death of her.

"What game, Islinda?" he asked, his voice reverberating through her. She tried hard not to think about the butterflies in her belly ready to burst free.

This attraction was for Eli, not Aldric. They only share the same face, Islinda chanted in her head.

"I found you under my table, and I assumed you wanted to serve me a special meal, secretly waiting for when the others left. Well, they’re gone now, darling, so where do we start from?" he smirked.

It was the way his word "special" alluded to something she very much knew that made redness spread to her face and neck.

"There’s nothing like serving you a special meal, Your Royal Highness. If your desires need attention, there are plenty of Fae for that purpose. Besides, you claimed you couldn’t be seduced by me. So, please, if you would kindly get off me, I’d like to return to my duties," Islinda said firmly, concealing the excitement pulsing through her veins. Despite that, she maintained control over her body, refusing to make such a mistake.

"If that’s not the case, why were you under the table then? Or did you intend to look at my... " His roguish grin told her everything.

"Of course not!" Islinda shouted, wide-eyed.

She quickly explained, nearly stumbling over her words, "I couldn’t get in line quickly, and fearing you might punish me, I thought the better alternative was to hide under the table."

Aldric must have sensed she was telling the truth because he said one final time, "Well, next time you decide to hide under the table, make sure we have an appointment after that. I might not be susceptible to your charm, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t enjoy you scratching my itch." He punctuated his words by pressing against her, leaving Islinda stunned.

Still reeling from the shock, the shadows holding her captive retreated, and she was finally free. She nearly face-planted on the ground in her haste to get away from Aldric and whatever he did to her body. She was bewildered by her own desire for him.

"I’ll leave now," she said, bowing her head and turning to depart when he announced, "No more work for you, Islinda. We leave for the King’s palace in a few hours."