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“Well, then. I guess we’ve both changed. I don’t remember you being this cold or contentious either.”
My mocking smile immediately falls from my face.
“What did you just say to me?” I seethe, stepping closer to him. “Remember your place, Levi. I am your queen, not some wench you’ve met in a tavern.”
“Believe me, I am well aware of who you are. And don’t be so dismissive of tavern wenches. The ones I’ve met have given me warmer greetings than the one you gave just now.”
I’m going to kill this man.
We continue to stare daggers into each other, the air between us tense and suffocating. His eyes scan my face, hatred bleeding from him, but when his gaze falls to my lips, the air around us shifts into something different… something electric.
My heart starts beating a mile a minute, my hands inexplicably clammy. And when he lets out a ragged exhale, his warm breath fans my face, leaving the scent of cherry wine to envelop me in its hold and successfully hazing my thoughts.
“You’re drunk,” I state as evenly as I can, considering every nerve ending in my body has suddenly sparked awake with life.
“Hardly,” he replies with a standoffish smirk.
Damn the gods.
He’s always had a beautiful smile, even when he meant it to be fierce.
I remember how as a little girl, I would do the most absurd things just to coax out one of his rare genuine smiles. Each time I managed to get one from him, it made me feel like I had won the most precious thing the east had to offer—its prince’s adoration.
And just when the air couldn’t get more tense, Levi bridges the small gap between us, until our chests are mere inches apart. He’s not even touching me in any way, yet I can feel the heat coming off his body in long, sluggish waves, intent on melting my glacial walls.
“Maybe you’re the one who needs a drink. I’ve found that wine can do wonders to heat up even the coldest of creatures,” he taunts brazenly.
“Remember your place, Levi. I won’t remind you again.”
“And what place is that, my queen? On my knees or right here where I’m standing?” He smirks, knowing full well his intimate proximity is unnerving me.
“Very well. I see that tonight we aren’t going to see eye to eye,” I state, feeling annoyed. “Maybe we should postpone this meeting until you’re feeling more like yourself.”
“I’m good.”
“Well, I’m not,” I reply curtly.
“I really couldn’t care less,” he deadpans.
Fury returns to me at how antagonizing he’s being.
Of course, I never assumed that Levi would welcome me with open arms, but I didn’t expect such hostility either. With the promise of marriage to his queen, a smart man would have played his part dutifully right from the get-go. Made sure to show me all his esteemed attributes and maybe even shower me with praise and embellished flattery during our first encounter.
I played out this scenario a million times in my head and none of them resembled anything close to what’s happening now.
His aggressiveness is taking me off guard.
I’m not sure what to make of this first interaction between us.
He’s just so… infuriating.
Even more so when he refuses to give me back my space. Having his large frame tower over me this way, makes me feel small. Delicate. Fragile.
Everything that I’m not.
Seeing that he’s not going to move, I break our staring match and turn away from him, rushing to a nearby table where a pitcher of ice water rests. I take my time filling up the glass with the cool liquid, coming up with a different strategy to defuse this perilous situation before turning to face him once more.
“I have to say, I’m a little disappointed.”
