In his room

Liana's POV 

 I stirred awake with a groan, slowly peeling my eyes open. My vision was nothing short of a hazy mess in the first couple of minutes, but I blinked back, again and again till my vision had cleared completely. 

A dull ache formed at the back of my head, and it throbbed badly too. I felt like the back of my skull was about to crack open, and just at the middle too. 

"Make it stop." I groaned, before turning to my side. Surprisingly, after a couple of seconds it worked and I couldn't have felt any more grateful. 

A couple of seconds passed, before I realized I had no idea where I was. However, one look at my surroundings, was all it took to hog my memory. 

I was in Kieran's room.

I jerked into a sitting position immediately. I blinked again, just to confirm I was t being delusional, but nothing changed. The same satin sheets I'd left on his bed were wrapped around me, and I couldn't help but wonder how I'd ended up here again. 

Didn't I storm out of the palace yesterday? I had no memory of coming back here, so how the hell was i suddenly in Kieran's room? 

All of the many thoughts running through my mind at once made my head hurt all the more, but before I could put myself through any more form of distress, something caught my attention. 

It was a faint noise, and when I strained my ear, I realized it was coming from the direction of the secret room. As gently as I could, I got out of bed, and passed towards the secret door. I tried my possible best to be as quiet as possible, but imagine my surprise when I found the door wide open. 

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw in there though.

My mouth hung wide open as the sight of Kieran handling a paintbrush graced my presence. He was hunched over what seemed to be a canvas, his perfectly structured back bulging in my face. I had no idea I was even staring, until he called me out on it. 

"You could always take a picture you know?" I jerked at the sound of his voice. "Staring at me like that from behind only makes you look like a creep. You're not obsessed with me now, are you?" 

"What?" I stuttered, completely unable to do anything about the heat creeping up my neck and face. "you have no idea what you're talking about. I wasn't staring…I was just…"

"Admiring." He finished up for me. "Same thing." 

"Asshole." I muttered under my breath, before heading further into the room. I waited till I was standing in front of him before I asked. "Why are you in here?" 

"I don't think that's the right question." All he did was throw a glance in my direction, before turning back to his paintings again. "You're not even meant to be asking anything. A simple thanks should have sufficed."

"Thank you?!" I scoffed, not being able to believe my ears. "You must be joking. If you hadn't made me angry, then I wouldn't have had any reason to storm out. So you see, it's all your fault." 

"Right." He smirked, getting off the little stool he was previously on. Before I could fifhut out what the hell was going on,he dropped his brushes, before swooping me up in his arms. 

"What are you doing?" I was stunned. "Where are you taking…"

"It's not what you think, princess." His smirk widened as he took us both into the room. 

"Bed." I uttered immediately. "Just lay me on the bed." 

He did so, and his gentility took me by surprise. As he lowered me against the sheets, I couldn't help but catch how soft his eyes were. 

"Thank you." I muttered. 

"Is that all?" He asked again. "Or do you need anything more?" 

I had no idea if he'd meant that as a rhetorical question or not, but before I could get the chance to answer him, he was on top of me. 

He pressed his hands on the duvet, just sturdy enough to keep his weight from crushing into me. How signature scent wafted through my nostrils, and I suddenly found the clean smell of aftershave with a mix of something else completely intoxicating. His eyes bore into mine, and with how his hair had fallen over his face, I fought the urge to run my fingers through it. 

For a quick second, I imagined his face, all scrunched up while I tugged at his roots, hard. 

Stop that. I mentally chided myself. 

Those were not the kind of thoughts I needed to be thinking about right now. I had other important things to do, like one, get away from from the incredibly handsome man hovering over me. 

"Let me go." It took everything in me for my voice not to come out as a squeak, but it was useless in the end, and I didn't miss the amusement twinkle in his eyes. "I need to go."

"No, you don't." He pressed me down in a minute. His touch was sturdy but gentle, and I found myself leaning into his touch. 

"If I had handled you firmly the other day," His voice dropped to a whisper. "You wouldn't have walked out on me, and into trouble." 

I wanted to speak, to bite back that he couldn't control me how and whenever he wanted, but it was next to impossible, thanks to his fingers trailing down my side. 

"Did you want to say something?" He leaned in , just close enough for his breath to fan the shell of my ear. "Or am I interrupting you?" 

I parted my lips to speak, but no words came out. My breath hitched in my throat as his fingers traveled further down, before lifting my shirt slightly. His fingers slid upwards again, and I nearly lost it. 

"You're flustered." He chuckled, a low and incredibly sexy sound. "Do you know how pretty that makes you? Even the goddess knows how fucking beautiful you are." 

"You smell so good too." He hummed. His fingers moved down to my thighs, and callr crazy, but I could swear I felt him brush against my entrance. "I could bury myself in your all day long." 

I gasped. I was a heady mess, and it made my heart hammer in my chest. Alongside the excitement and thrill that Kieran brought, I couldn't deny the fact that he scared me too. 

No one had ever made feel this way without doing too much, and if that wasn't scary, then nothing else could come close. 

"Oh Liana." He muttered, as he trailed the shell of my ear with his nose. He did that over and over again, before suddenly pulling away. 

"Come on." He was out of the bed in a matter of seconds, and I would be lying if I said I didn't miss all of the body heat he took a long with it. "Get up, you need to eat. I'm sure you're hungry."

"What?" I stuttered again, for the second time. It was happening way too frequently and I didn't like it one bit. "what are you talking about?"

"You've been out cold since last night." He shrugged nonchalantly. "And heaven knows how long ago you had your last meal. So you need to eat." 

I couldn't believe my ears. Embarrassment raced through my skin, before burning across my cheeks. I wanted to disappear, and never see Kieran's stupid face again, but even I knew that was a fairytale that would never come to pass. 

I was stuck here and….

"Oh, and one more thing." He added, his voice cutting through my thoughts. "You'll be sleeping in my room from now on.'

"What the hell?" I spluttered. "what do you mean by that? Why…"

"No!" I shook my head furiously. "I'm not sleeping in the same room as you. Over my dead body." 

"You don't have a choice, sweetheart." I shivered at his nickname for me. "The pack isn't safe right now and if you want to feel the least bit safe, you'll have to stay with me. Got that?" 

Something about the way he said that made my skin crawl, and I just knew it wasn't up for debate. His words were final, and it made me realize one thing. 

I was stuck with him. Literally.