Madeline wanted to glare at him, but at the same, she didn't want to be put under another so-called punishment on her by Calhoun. The man was a master when it came to twisting and turning things that would turn in his own favour and somewhere Madeline wished she had the art to do it too. That way, she would be able to go head-on with this man rather than being caught and stuck in these kinds of circumstances.

He hadn't moved his hands away from the wall, trapping her just where he wanted while not caring one bit if any of the servants would find him and her like this. And one of the maids did step out of the kitchen, and though Madeline wished to move away from him, Calhoun was having none of it. He then moved his hands closer to her, as if closing the space that she had in a way where he invaded all her space.

"What shall I do with you now?" hummed Calhoun, "You said I could do anything I please. It is not every day that I get to hear you say something like that in my favour."

"You know I didn't mean it in that way…"

"Are you sure about it? Because with what I see and hear the words which leave from your delicate lips, you want me to do things," said Calhoun, the wicked smile playing on his lips, "I confessed to you that I am thirsty and you said to do what I please. How kind of you," he whispered to her.

Madeline who had seen Sophie leave this place a few minutes ago now wished she would enter back to walk through the very same corridor. Hoping that would get Calhoun to give her space. The man had conveniently skipped some words and had iterated only the words that worked for him.

"I am not ready for it!" she said when his face moved away from the front of her face and went to the side, his lips falling right next to her ear.

"Are you saying one day you will be? Shall I look forward to it?" came the question that Calhoun spoke into the shell of her ear. His words raised goosebumps on her neck, and when Calhoun's eyes fell on her pale skin, the smile increased to bring out the fangs in view. He could hear her heart beating in her chest, skipping beats in a rhythm which was music to his ears. The sweetest melody with every breath she took in and out. He noticed them all as he had never seen in any other woman before.

Madeline bit her tongue. Every word she spoke, turned not in her favour. At this rate, she considered to be mum and not speak another word to him.

But Calhoun was not having any of it. He wanted to poke her, wanting to commit mistakes so that he could use those mistakes to his own advantage. He was no saint but a person who was made out of cunningness, and he used it like no one else in the Kingdom of Devon or any other lands. Pulling away from her, he caught hold of her wrist.

She didn't know what Calhoun wanted, or maybe she knew, but she was not ready to acknowledge because it scared her. She felt herself being dragged away from the corridor. Calhoun's hold on her wrist was firm but not tight enough to bruise her skin as he tugged her through the corridors and Madeline followed him.

They crossed the corridors one after another, and she didn't know where they were going. The castle was a maze itself that would take a lot of time for a person to know where one was going without having to end up back in the same spot. Some of the servants who were walking had stopped to bow their heads, letting the King pass while not looking at him.

"Where are we going?" asked Madeline, her heart starting to thud because this was a place which she didn't know or hadn't been here before.

"You will see," came Calhoun's words which were calm and collected, a hint of mischief in there that turned her worried. Whilst she followed the King, her head moved left and right to notice the paintings that hung on the walls and the statues that were holding vases in their hands.

When they came to stand in front of the two large doors, Calhoun pushed it open and stepped inside a large room. Madeline noticed how the room was a large one and at the centre sat a lonely bed which was draped with silk-like curtains around the bedposts. Her legs turned nervous by the thought of what he might do. Because one slip of line which was purely innocent, Calhoun would turn it against her.

"Would you prefer bed or do you prefer the couch?" Calhoun's question was enough to let one single drop of sweat slide down from Madeline's back.

"W-why?" she asked him.

"Why do you think?" he asked, his head tilting to the side and the smile that was wide before appeared to be tame, but it didn't look any less daunting. Not when they were the only ones in the room, "Pick one," he ordered, his voice sharp and demanding.

Madeline wondered if she cried right now it would have Calhoun off her back but bringing out tears was hard in the stressful situation she was in. She wanted to glare at the man. Her expressions were nothing but a mix of emotions. She didn't know what he wanted from her.

Calhoun's expression changed and he raised his brow as he took a couple of steps away from her, giving the space she wanted before he would take it away from her.

"Do you think it is right to keep your King waiting?" he asked her. Madeline's hand clenched together, and her eyes moved to look at the bed, and then it shifted to look at the couch."I am thirsty," he added and Madeline realised why he brought her here.

"Y-you are going to take blood from me?" she asked him. Her head felt light as if she was ready to faint and she wondered if fainting was a good option, but he would know if she faked it. Doing something stupid was equal to asking for more punishment and obliging with the absurd ideas which he had in his head.

As much as she had heard scary stories about the night creatures who drank blood from the humans until they died, Madeline had to remind herself it was going to be okay. It was barely seven days since they first met each other.

Seven days, which was one week and that was all that had taken to lead them up where they were now.

When Calhoun didn't respond to her obvious question, she grew even more nervous because of the nervousness, she blurted,

"I said I was okay with you to drink from others. You can drink from them as much as you want and I wouldn't mind," she closed her eyes, hoping he would listen to her plea. This felt like a nightmare. Which sane person courted a girl they liked in this fashion?! The next time she opened her eyes, Calhoun stood right in front of her. Not the same distance before she had closed her eyes.

Madeline's heart almost slipped from her ribcage. She wondered if it was another ability of the King to be able to move this fast without a single sound. But then that's how all predators were. They first prowled towards their prey and then pounced on them.

"I won't take it as cheating if you drink from other women," she whispered, but Calhoun just stared at her.

Calhoun then said, "Are you going to pick one or shall I pick one for you because you are torn between which one to pick right now?"

It looked like there was no way out of this, "Take my blood after a few days. A month later?" she asked him trying to wiggle out of this situation. Who knew maybe things would change where he would not want to drink from her at that time.

"Do you like the bed?" he asked her, ignoring her previous words and Madeline's eyes widened.

"Couch."

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