Chapter 17.1

 Jason opened his bleary eyes and stared at the white ceiling above him. Birds chirped from the balcony as the door that led to it was wide open. The light springing from the large windows brightened the room and the curtains that covered the balcony entrance danced to the wind's breeze.

"Huh, an unfamiliar ceiling," Jason muttered the words he always thought of every time he awoke in a strange room. He detected a presence next to his bed earlier but ignored it as he didn't sense a threat. Now that he was awake, Jason turned to look at the presence, his impassive eyes shining like black opals.

A woman that was well past her thirties, stood elegantly in front of him. Her black hair was held behind her ears by a white headband. She was wearing a maid outfit that settled a little lower than her knee. The sides and center of the end were split, no doubt to allow her to move flexibly without hindering her. The white apron on top of her black uniform reached below her hips hugging them well despite her uniform being loose.

"Young master," the maid bowed slightly but her hazel eyes did not leave Jason's face. "I am Meredith, the head maid. Madam Sage has asked for you to join them for breakfast."

"Hmm."

Meredith continued studying Jason after he nodded. The silk sheet covering his body slid away as he sat up. His scarred body and taut muscles shifted as his biceps flexed from his stretches. Meredith looked away in surprise: she was shocked at how scarred his body was.

Burns, melted skin, and scars of deep gashes were apparent all over his body.

"Please inform her that I will join her shortly," Jason said stiffly.

"Yes, young master," Meredith bowed and walked to the exit when Jason called out again.

"And next time, have that other maid wake me," Jason said to her. "Mmm … what was her name again? The one that follows Alina around."

"Katelyn. As you wish," Meredith answered politely.

Jason freshened up in his bathroom before walking out. He was wearing a silk sleeping robe that was tied by a waist sash. The simple black robe had an electric blue trim, and his perfect upside-down triangle figure was displayed as the robe hugged his upper body exquisitely while his sculpted chest was outlined splendidly. His legs also peeked out from the robe as he walked, showing off its muscular structure. With his damp hair that was pulled back and his relaxed look, he was the perfect eye candy for everyone.

"Young master," Katelyn, who was waiting for him outside, bowed her head slightly when he walked out. Her maid dress was similar to Meredith's, however, they were much longer, indicating that she did not need to do much work such as cleaning.

"Ah, you're here," Jason said, smiling seductively while thinking on how fast Meredith caught on. "But please, call me Jason."

"Master Jason," Katelyn replied.

Her sweet voice was blunt while her face seemed expressionless, but inside she was nearly bursting with both nervousness and admiration: admiration at his mind-boggling looks and nervousness due to interacting with him.

Since she was young, Katelyn was never good at interacting with people: she was always shy and nervous, especially when it came to the opposite sex. To combat her weakness, she created a cold exterior to hide behind and it was for this reason many considered her being cold and unapproachable. However, just being in close proximity to Jason caused her to scream internally; he was too attractive and she needed to control herself from blushing.

"Nuh-uh," Jason leaned closer to her and she pulled back until she reached the wall. Jason smiled and placed a hand on the wall behind her, trapping her underneath him, while leaning ever so close. "Only Jason. No young or master, just Jason."

His voice was extra husky from waking up, and Katelyn felt a shudder run past her, like a finger running down her back, tingling her spine when she heard him. His musky scent mixed with a spicy perfume tickled her nose and made her knees feel weak as she considered whether it would be improper of her to lean forward and breath in more of him. Once more, she screamed internally while exposing none of her true emotions.

"I -"

"Hey, are you bullying Katie?" a child's voice, full of righteous anger, interrupted them, causing Jason to click his tongue and pull away; Alina who was still half asleep and in a pyjamas glared at Jason from under her hood with her hands on her hips. Her pajama was shaped like a bear's head, and she was demanding to know what he was doing by pushing Katelyn to the wall.

Oh thank God, Katelyn thought as she tilted her head while her face remained detached and expressionless. Any later and I'd have done something we'd both regret!

"Calm down, kid, I was just trying to get her to call me by my name," Jason said while trying to pacify Alina.

"I'm not a kid!" Alina said while stomping her foot, even more annoyed as she puffed her cheeks like a blowfish.

Katelyn didn't realize it, but she had a smile while she watched Jason pull back from an angry Alina. It was amusing to see a tall adult being pressured by a little girl who wasn't even half his size. Jason turned to look at her and smiled back, his breath-stealing smile made her focus on his full lips, she couldn't help but wonder what they would feel like, what they would taste like, if she kissed him.

"See? She's smiling. When was the last time you saw that?" Jason pointed out to Alina, who turned just in time to see Katelyn's smile which was directed at Jason by now.

"Yeah, you're right," Alina said in surprise. She even rubbed her eyes before double checking Katelyn's face "I've never seen her smile before."

"And that's why I was so close to her," Jason continued with a sly smile. "I was only just trying to, uh, get closer to her physically, y'know?"

Jason's ambiguous words caused Katelyn to squeal inside, a crack formed on her reserved exterior as a hint of blush warmed her cheeks and she looked away, hoping to avoid seeing his satisfied smirk.

"What's wrong Katie? You look like you have a cold," Alina asked, not realizing that she was blushing.

"Yeah, 'Katie', it looks really bad," Jason added, a hint of mischievousness danced through his obsidian eyes as they twinkled brightly and Katelyn shuddered when she heard Jason call her nickname in an endearing voice. He turned and he looked at Alina. "Tell you what, kid. You go on ahead, while I take Katelyn here to the docs. You do have an in-house physician, right?"

Alina nodded and told him where the doctor was located and Jason smiled before turning to Katelyn. To others, his smile was gentle and full of concern. To her, however, it looked like the devils. That smile of his was no doubt filled with deviousness. Katelyn tried to control her heart which was threatening to leap out of her chest and focused on remaining calm however Jason's next sentence cut her last lifeline.

"Well then, that sounds perfect," Jason said in a low husky voice before turning to Alina. "Don't worry, she'll be in good hands. My hands, specifically. Now run along and keep, your mom, Madam Sage busy. I'll join you two shortly."

Alina thought for a moment before leaving, fully confident of Jason's abilities while Katelyn wanted to call out to her, asking her to wait when she felt Jason's breath on her neck. Like a deer in headlights, she froze completely as her mind tried to process what was happening.

"Now that that's settled, let's get back to where we were," Jason muttered, his breath tickling her neck as he spoke. He took in a deep breath as his lips almost grazed her delicate neck, the natural floral scent of her body made him giddy and aroused. "You smell lovely, by the way."

Katelyn pulled back quickly, trying to gain some distance from him while Jason looked on bemusedly.

"Master Jason -" Katelyn was about to ask him not to be so passionate when he interrupted her.

"That's strange... Hmm, maybe I should test it?" Jason said out loud in a cold voice bereft of the warmth he previously displayed before moving quickly towards Katelyn.

Jason's eyes turned cold and Katelyn felt like she was drowning in a cold lake when he focused his killing aura on her while raising a hand. His index and middle finger were stretched out and aimed at Katelyn's eyes; he was aiming to gouge her eyes out.

Reflex kicked in and a dagger slipped out from Katelyn's sleeve which she threw at Jason with amazing accuracy and speed. He caught the knife aimed at his arm easily, the outstretched fingers that were aimed at Katelyn's eyes closed themselves in on the blade.

"Ah, see. There it is," Jason said. He turned to look at Katelyn closely while twirling the knife between his fingers. "I knew you were skilled in martial arts. It makes sense, considering that you're so close to Alina and you may need to protect her. But what I don't understand is why you didn't fight back previously."

"I -" Katelyn hesitated to answer. In truth, she was skilled in fighting because she was meant to be Alina's bodyguard. But her empathy prevented her from seriously harming her opponents. This affected her skills as she would always hesitate during a battle, letting even her instructors best her.

"It's alright, I understand," Jason said softly as he handed her the knife back. He then settled his hand on her chin and slowly raised her head, his eyes full of gentle warmth. "I'll do the fighting and killing, you do what you're best at, alright?"

What I'm best at? Katelyn understood what Jason meant and nodded while looking away, a blush reappearing on her face, making Jason smirk when he noticed that. Breaking the embarrassed Katelyn's impassive barrier was more fun than he imagined. Still, he was reminded of Elizabeth whenever he saw her eyes, and because of that, what he wanted was to see her serene blue eyes stare at him openly with the emotions she tried repressing.