Biting the inside of her cheeks, Belle willed herself not to move from the spot, even though she wanted to do just that as he walked towards her like a predator would to a wary prey. She wanted to run to her chamber and lock the door so she would never have to face him.
When he stood in front of her, close enough that she could scent his erotic, spicy scent, she held her breath and shut her eyes. Perhaps this was where she would die. She wouldn’t even live long enough to betray Nightbrook for Aragonia, or go back to Jamie and give him back his ring. She didn’t even get to retrieve the ring!
Belle felt his hand move and saw the shadows through her closed lids. She saw herself being strangled to death or even ripped apart like the guards who had escorted them in her childhood when they were traveling and got attacked by rogue vampires. She imagined all sorts of things, but none of what she imagined came close to what he did.
His hand that moved did not go to wrap around her neck; it did not rip off her arm or slap her. Instead, it went under her chin, and he used his warm, gloved index and middle fingers to raise her chin so her head was tilted up.
He seemed to be standing so close that when he spoke, his warm breath fell against her face, making her sandy lashes flutter from the faint breeze. The sensation fanned her skin and sent a strange warmth through her insides—one she couldn’t quite understand.
"Open your eyes, Isa," he commanded with an emotionless, deep voice that made Belle even more nervous. She would rather not open her eyes, but then his words of command left no room for disobedience.
Swallowing hard and trying to ignore the warm finger that still remained under her chin, she opened her eyes but regretted it immediately, as his mesmerizing face was indeed right in front of her, making her heart stumble over in her chest. And those dark eyes, though not looking into her own, were too intense for her peace of mind. And God, his presence was too bad for her poor heart!
How could one be so scary and inhumanly handsome at the same time? She blinked up at him and willed herself not to move her chin away from him in order not to displease him further and anger him into really strangling her. She felt his fingers trace her chin, and then his lips parted as he questioned,
"What did you think came over you to pick and drop my plant? Curiousity?" His expression looked somewhat annoyed, his creepy, mischievous smile nowhere on his face, and she belatedly realized she would prefer that smile to this annoyed look!
"Don’t you know that a bunny who gets curious about the wolf’s den ends up getting devoured? What led you into my den and even dared you to touch my treasure?"
"I..." she began to say, but he wasn’t done talking. He cocked his head to the side, his lips turning up coldly at the side as he asked, "But again, did you even break it like my dear cousin said?"
Cordelia frowned at those words and pursed her lips. Why would he ask such a question when it was obvious the stupid human had broken it? Couldn’t he see the mud on her hands and dress? And also, what happened to the human’s left brow? Cordelia wondered from Rohan’s side, as she could see Belle’s forehead clearly without the bangs, as they had been blown aside by the wind, giving her a clear view of the human’s half-missing left brow that seemed like a scar.
Cordelia frown as she stared at the scar.
"I...I didn’t mean to. I was only—" Belle began to say.
"Shh," he hushed her, with his gloved finger coming to settle against her lips and pressing down on them, causing her to tighten her grip on her dress and also feel the heat of his finger on her skin. She saw his eyes zero in on her lips when she made the mistake to move them against his finger, and she suddenly wished he would move back and let her breathe properly. Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her ears like the drums of sacrifices!
Rohan’s eyes hardened instantly, but then they turned blank as quickly as they hardened as he questioned again, "Are you certain you did, sweetheart? Whatever you say, I will take your words for it and punish you for my plant that will never be returned to me. Think again and tell me if you did or if you didn’t."
He could easily teach Cordelia a lesson that would make her never think of doing what she did today to his bunny or to his belongings, especially that plant he had given half of his life to see it sprout and was now lost forever because of her twisted ways to get him to kill his bunny. If only she knew that he would kill everyone but her. He’d never wanted something so much as he wanted to have this little woman and keep her under him.
But if he easily turned on Cordelia without this bunny learning to put herself first before anyone, she would learn nothing from this. And if she still chose to be selfless, he might just allow her to learn the hard way. When a kid tries to touch the flames, you let them have a taste of the heat, and they shall never go to it again, thought Rohan with a sigh. It would be no different for his wife, he would allow her to see what happened to those who chose to walk the path she was on, a path that, to someone like him, was self-destruction.
One should always put themselves first, whether they were guilty or not. Putting the blame on others was something so easy for him that he found it hard to believe there were people who would choose to take it. He had made this garden forbidden to people for a good reason, and Cordie had gone ahead and brought his bunny here. He would not let it slide without punishing someone, which was why he was giving Belle the chance to save herself and let the culprit be crushed.
Belle frowned at his words. What did he mean? She raised her head and looked toward the vampiress and saw for the first time that she looked nervous, as if she feared Belle would say something to blame her for breaking the plant. Though she might be angry with Cordelia, she couldn’t lie that she hadn’t broken the pot.
Lowering her head again, Belle said, "I broke it. I didn’t mean to do it. It slipped from my grip when I took it. I am sorry..."
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