Round 1

"Wa — wait, hold on…" 

"You look surprised, my lady. Do you think I won't take you up on that offer?" he cocked his head to the side with a misplaced innocence plastered on his face. "I told you, I'm constantly curious. I also want to know if this marriage has some hope."

"Ha ha… are you really going to kiss me?" I inquired, planting my fist on his shoulders. 

He gazed down at my lips and nodded without a second hesitation. How honest! This was not the first kiss I had imagined, but oh well.

"Let's make a deal first," I proposed as the side of his lips curled up into a smile.

"You don't have any idea of how to seduce a man, but you still know the perfect time to strike a deal? You really baffle me, my fiance," he spoke in his rasped baritone voice.

I frowned at his last remarks. I sincerely believed I had mastered the art of seduction I read the moment I heard I was going to marry, but I couldn't just tell him that.

"So? What do you want?" he queried while cocking his head lightly.

I bit my inner bottom lip while staring deep into his eyes. "Nothing," came out a whisper.

His brows knitted as he drew his head back a little. "Nothing?"

"Yes. Let's just get this done and over with." I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips against mine, but nothing came. I peeked through my one eye, only to see him staring at me curiously.

He wasn't lying when he said he was a curious person. Had he heard about the saying, curiosity kills the cat?

"What?" I asked, raising my brows.

"You make me… cautious, Lady Marsella," he uttered under his breath.

"Cautious? Not curious?"

"Mhmm." He nodded languidly while I knitted my brows. Was that a good thing or a bad one? The answer to that question soon came to me a second later.

"Just as I am a curious person, I am also the type of person who enjoys the thrill of danger."

My breath hitched as his eyes glinted dangerously. Luis bent over, tilting his head to the side. I couldn't even react as his soft lips touched the side of my neck.

Of all areas he could kiss… he chose the area where I was most sensitive. I could feel the heat rising to my face as my throat felt parched.

"This is how you seduce a man, my lady." I gulped and bit my lower lip at his remarks. "You actually become pretty tamed, huh?"

Luis drew his head back and sported a charming smirk. How could he tease me like this? Oh gosh, my heart. I never felt something tingling under my skin with just a touch. Even in my previous life, I didn't feel such a sensation.

"Did you learn this from seducing countless women?" I inquired, out of curiosity. Heck. I participated in the war in my previous life, so I knew men were vicious savages to fulfill their lust.

"Why? Jealous?" His brow raised as the side of his lips stretched wider.

"Why would I?" I looked away and let out a shallow breath. "I told you, I don't care if you take home thousand mistresses or fill the grand duchy with your women."

I patted his firm chest as a signal for him to get off of me. But alas, he feigned ignorance as he remained in his position. 

"Your Grace, I know I was very mischievous earlier. Please don't punish me by crushing me with your weight." I dawdled, frowning as my mood suddenly hit rock bottom. "I'm sorry. Please have mercy. I already learned my lesson and will reflect on it. I swear." 

"Marsella, listen to me." He looked at me straight in the eye while his thumb caressed my jaw gently. "You are my fiance and my wife soon. Marriage might just be a political card for the emperor, for Marquess Ross, or for you, but not for me."

"You might not be the woman of my choice. Despite that, I had taken an eternal oath to protect my wife and remain faithful until I take my last breath," he added under his breath without taking his eyes away from mine. "You don't have to worry about dealing with a mistress."

"Is this part of the seduction lesson?" I blurted out, bewitched by those dark, sincere eyes. 

"No. This is my oath to my wife-to-be."

There was a brief silence between us. I couldn't look away from his eyes. There was just something in it that kept drawing me in.

"Didn't you ask me what I see when I look into your eyes?" I queried, and he replied, "you said nothing," so I explained;

"Nothing, because all I see is darkness. In the dark, it doesn't matter whether you had your eyes open or close because you see nothing, Your Grace." I paused, clipping his cravat with my index and thumb.

"Were you scared of the dark?" he asked.

I shook my head lightly. "I always like the night, the dark, Your Grace. I liked the calmness it gave and just the simplicity and the depth of its color." Something in me urged me to pull his cravat lightly.

"In the dark, you might not see things, but in exchange, the rest of a person's senses were all heightened. For example, the sense of touch." My eyes slowly closed, lifting my head, and soon felt how soft and delicate the texture of his lips was.

I must admit, though. I lost miserably. This man had won this seduction round.