Not an Ordinary Lady

"What are you talking about? You know who I am." Temari hoped she didn't sound suspicious even though she heard the shaking of her own voice.

The crown prince continued to stare at her as if he was trying to dig into her soul. She cleared her throat. "Why are you even here at this time? Is it your hobby to drag a lady in the dark or what?"

He arched his brows but the way he looks at her didn't change. "I should ask you that question. Why are you here in the middle of the night, Lady Temari? Surely, you didn't take a walk and unconsciously got here? This drawing room is too far from your bedroom."

Temari's throat and lips suddenly felt dry. She licked her lips to wet them. The crown prince's gaze lowered for a brief moment before he looked at her eyes again. He was waiting for her explanation.

She gave him one, though it was a lie. "I left something in the drawing room."

He arched his brow again. "You left something?"

"Yes. I just realized it when I was about to sleep. It was important to me so I came back to find it."

"Alone?"

"Yes. I don't want to wake up my lady's maid."

The crown prince didn't look convinced. He moved closer to her again that her heart skipped a beat. She pressed her back against the wall and stood to her full height. "What are you doing?"

"I need to confirm something," he said as he continues his approach.

Her eyes widened. "I was not lying. I really left something in the drawing room. I just haven't started searching for it because you suddenly grabbed me!"

"I didn't just grab you, my lady. Contrary to what you said, I don't pull ladies in the dark as a hobby. It was because you were trying to forcefully open the secret door," Rhys said.

He stopped an inch in front of her and continued, "Let me tell you another royal secret so maybe you can stop lying to me, my lady. All the hidden doors in the castle are enchanted. No matter where I am, I will know when someone is trying to open them."

Temari frowned. "How?"

Rhys arched his brows. "You don't have to know, my lady. If I tell you, I will have to kill you."

Temari shivered because she knew he was serious. "Fine. And that enchantment was the reason why you knew I was here?"

The crown prince smirked. "No. The enchantment is not that advanced. But the moment I sensed someone was trying to open the door here I just knew it will be you. You have a record of sneaking out at night. It makes me wonder if you are in the castle for the event or do you have a different motive…"

Temari's stomach clenched painfully. She could feel cold sweat forming on her neck. Is this finally the night that she will get caught and be sent to the royal executioners? Will she fail to steal the royal heirloom and die young?

"I sensed it when you first bumped into me and during the royal ball but now I confirmed my suspicion. You, Lady Temari, is not an ordinary lady."

She swallowed and licked her lips. She couldn't even think of a good comeback. She just stared at his forest-green eyes, trying to find a hit that he will give her sympathy if ever she admitted who she really was. Unsurprisingly, she couldn't see what she was looking for.

The crown prince then pressed his palms on the wall on either side of her body, caging her in. Temari flinched, waiting for that painful electric shock again. It didn't come. She looked at Rhys's face and realized that he was anticipating that too.

He frowned and moved even closer to her until their bodies touched. She gasped. "What are you doing?!"

"Figuring out why we had that spark moments ago. What did we do that triggered that?" The last sentence was almost a whisper as if Rhys was talking to himself and not to her. Temari stared at his face while he seemed to be lost in thought as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.

"Stay still." He was too close that his warm breath brushed against her cheek when he said that.

She didn't like the way that made her feel. "I don't want to –" Temari gasped when the crown prince snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer to him. She realized he was trying to reenact their position before that painful electricity shocked both of them.

"Why are you so curious about that spark, anyway?" Temari whisper. She intended to make her voice sound annoyed. Instead, it sounded breathless even to her own ears.

Rhys looked at her eyes. "Because I never felt that pain whenever I touch a woman before."

Temari didn't understand why but she felt a burning sting in her chest with the implication of that sentence. Of course, the crown prince has touched women before. He is an adult and he is the future king. He can get whatever he wants. Even now in this castle, there are dozens of women competing for his attention.

[And you should not care, Temari. You are here not for him but for the royal heirloom you are supposed to steal. You will get out of this castle as soon as you get what you need and never look back.]

"Maybe we just both imagined it?" Temari asked hopefully. "I mean, we are not feeling anything now, right?"

"That was too intense to be just our imagination, my lady. And it might mean two things so I need to make sure."

"Two things?" Temari asked in a frown. Then she gasped when he pushed one leg between hers, just like what he did earlier. His thigh brushed against her inner thighs and it made her body jolt. Her eyes widened. He saw her reaction because his gaze never left her face.

"You see, my lady. As the crown prince of Mowsland, there is enchantment cast on me," he said in a casual tone as he slowly brushes his thigh against hers. A shiver runs down her spine and her hands moved on their own, grabbing a fistful of his thin shirt on each side of his waist.

"First, you might have ill intentions against me. My protective enchantment will react to a person with a strong desire to kill me."

Temari's eyes widened. "I don't have any intentions of killing you!"

"Assuming you are telling the truth, it could also be the second one," the crown prince murmured close to her lips. Wait, when did their face get this close?!

"W-what is it?"

The crown prince stared at her eyes for a few seconds before he said, "You might become the reason for my future destruction or for my death."