The rest of the afternoon, as Rhane had suggested for Jenna to enjoy "...passed by in a blur of dull routines, none memorable enough to compete with the memory of Rhane.
After speaking with Percy, she'd left to sit in one of the sheds, watching the servants come and go. Some noticed her, while others didn't, and Jenna preferred it that way. In a few days' time, she'd be leaving the place.
Jenna did think about what would happen if she stayed back and maybe became a lady of the mansion. Rhane's mansion. Would she be feared by the servants, as they feared Rhane, or would it be different? When she realized how deep her fantasies had rooted themselves in staying with Rhane, Jenna tried to shrug it off.
Happy endings and blissful moments end with marriage. Men waited to show the beast in them after marriage, and for all Jenna could care, Rhane also had the tendency. He was sweet, kind to her, and tickled her inner fancies but until when? And for how long?
Once he got her where he wanted her married and pinned, he'd unleash his hell like other men... like Gerald.
"Ehm—"
Jenna shuddered. She hadn't realized someone had walked up to her until now. "Kali?"
"In flesh and blood," Kali said with a grin. "Aw… is that disappointment I see? Were you expecting another?"
Jenna couldn't do much to stop her flushed face. Attempting to hide it, she rubbed her cheek. "Only startled. Not expecting," she replied dismissively.
Kali gave her an unbelievable stare with a nod. "I saw you from afar, sitting like a posh lady. You know… waiting for her knight to return from the war." She gestured at Jenna's sitting position.
"Did you even notice the sun has kissed the clouds goodbye?"
Jenna opened her mouth to reply, but not before glancing at the sky. Indeed, the afternoon was long gone, and dusk had arrived.
"It's... late already?" she muttered, a bit surprised at how much time had passed.
Kali gave her a smug smile. "Tell me about it. I mean the reason why you got lost in thought and even missed the passing of the day, eh? Is it Rhane?"
"No!" Jenna's voice sounded a little higher than she'd intended, betraying her inner thoughts. "I was only missing my servants… one of them needs me badly, you see?"
Pushing her leg up on a rock, Kali balanced her body. "You worry so much about your servants. It's rare."
Jenna smiled at the young woman's words. If she were being honest, the servants she had at the moment were now more like family than just workers. Despite the rumors about her in the streets, not once did they betray her.
"I'm just very lucky to have them," Jenna said in reply, with a small smile. "And I know Percy misses them too."
Kali moved her body up. "Speaking of Percy," she began, brushing her boots, "how is he still with you despite him being a half-wit?"
"Ouch."
Jenna and Kali turned at the same time when they heard Percy's voice.
"Lady Kali, I recall saving your life… what do I owe such insults?" Percy asked, placing his hand on his chest.
Kali furrowed her brows. "Did we meet on different occasions? All I remember is you slumping like a bag of horse dung at the mere sight of blood."
Percy scowled, turning to look at Jenna. "My lady, don't believe her. You see, I stayed back to watch out for her. She even—"
"Tch," Kali tutted. "And here I thought you were just a bloody coward. Turns out you have nuts loose too." She turned and began walking away.
Percy shifted his eyes from Jenna to Kali. "She did… My lady, she—" he ran after Kali, hoping to clear things. "I didn't pass out because I was... I was trying to save you!"
"Stupid coward!" Kali waved her hand.
Percy ran behind her. "Then that makes you what? You took out a dagger from your stomach?!"
Jenna blinked, thinking about what just happened. She watched the duo noisily leave her behind like she wasn't even there. They were chaotic and loud, two opposite sides that would never stay in a room without an argument.
Now standing alone, Jenna had time to think to herself without distractions. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Night has finally come," Jenna said softly, gathering her hair up in a bunch and tying it. She made her way casually inside the mansion, ready to settle in for the night.
It wasn't such a long day, but she felt tired already and wanted to sleep. The pain in her back was still there, and once in a while, she felt a little headache.
Getting to the room she'd slept in the previous night, Jenna stopped in front of the door.
"Why am I here?" Jenna stopped in front of the door, and her breath caught. Rhane's room. She hadn't meant to come here. Jenna hadn't thought about it, hadn't even realized her feet had led her like a sleepwalker to the very place she swore to avoid.
No one forced her. No one called her. Still, she came. Her hand was already on the knob. Gods, what is wrong with me?Jenna asked herself. Panic fluttered in her chest. She pulled her hand back like it had touched flame. This wasn't just madness. It was surrender wrapped in silence. She wasnot a moth, she told herself. So why did she keep flying to the flame?
"I must be out of my mind," Jenna mused, glancing down the hallway to be sure she was alone. Then began searching for the room she'd slept in the first time she arrived at the mansion.
It had to be something that possessed her, Jenna thought to herself as she searched for the room. A madness that had led her to walk to the wolf thoughtlessly. Even after knowing Rhane's strength and how he could possibly be dangerous, she still went by herself to his room.
Was it the kiss? Jenna halted and cringed. If she really went to Rhane's room because she wanted to be kissed so badly by him, then she was clearly losing her mind. The madness of Rhane was affecting her mind.
Jenna paused in front of the door, inches away, her hand trembling at her side. Don't, her mind whispered. Turn around. Go back to your own bed. This isn't safety, it's surrender. But her feet stayed planted, traitorous things.
Her body ached in strange places, not from pain but from want, from confusion, from the memory of his voice in the dark. Jenna clenched her fists. You're not like this. You don't need him. You don't want him. But even as the thoughts rattled like chains, her hand inched upward, drawn by something deeper than reason something that felt disturbingly close to need.
Rubbish! Jenna shrugged it off and grabbed the knob. But before she could twist it open, a warm, larger hand closed over hers.
Jenna froze. The breath that touched her nape was molten, a slow exhale that raised the hairs on her neck just before the voice came... low, hoarse, and laced with something perilously close to hunger.
"Going somewhere?" Rhane rasped, his chest pressed against her back.
Jenna swallowed, her gaze fixed on the door as if it might spare her. "I... I am merely returning to my room."
Rhane inhaled deeply, his lips hovering near her jaw just shy of contact, while his fingers traced hers in a maddeningly slow ascent, gliding up her wrist… her forearm… to the tender curve of her elbow.
Jenna quivered, her heartbeat loud enough to shame a drum. Every inch of her was aware of him... of his restraint, his proximity, his intention.
"You have two choices, darling," Rhane said, his voice quieter now, a velvet threat. "Your chamber, where you shan't be walking straight come morning… or mine, where we may finally settle for that kiss I told you about."
Jenna's lashes fluttered open, but before she could protest, his lips brushed her temple, and he coiled one arm around her waist possessively, until her spine met the hardness of his form.
"But I never—"
"Shhh now, little bird," he purred, the heat from him clouding Jenna's mind. "I choose the first." His grip cinched just enough to make her breath catch. "And you?"