How could Celine think she could drive Lucian away after making such a confession (taking over the throne), which sounded like she had an unrequited love for him? Just because the whole world didn't know about them didn't mean they weren't bound together.
"It's not time to be acting shy," Lucian was speechless when Celine had the audacity to turn her face away. She cover herself with the blanket after he had said he would become a homewrecker if she ever got married to someone else, "My Lady, I saw all of you not too long ago."
She was more angry about being kept as a dirty little secret than about being drugged and kidnapped. Because who would continue to confess their love after all that, if not a mad woman?
They could forgive each other's transgressions like it was the most natural thing in the world, yet could hold onto the smallest of things like the last breath in their lungs. They were ridiculous, and he was being driven mad by his own ridiculousness for wanting her more than before.
Lucian placed his knee on the bed, his hand brushing her shoulder, "Should I take the blanket off for you? Or would you prefer it if I got under it?"
"Out," she replied from under the blanket, "I have no time to waste on you. I have a fiancé to prepare for."
Lucian got on top of the blanket and covered her body with his, his arms on either side of her. "I have a ship to catch and a war to win, yet here I am, begging for your attention."
Her wet hair was drenching the blanket, but he didn't mind. He nuzzled his nose against the back of her head when she continued to resist him, "I'm still hungry. Can I have a midnight snack?"
"I just took a bath... Get off," she grumbled, not budging from her position.
"I will lick you clean then."
"Your filthy tongue is the last thing I want on my body right now."
"I'm starving," he whined charmingly, "And my appetite can only be satisfied by you. I can't go to war on an empty stomach, My Lady. Have mercy on me."
"Don't act like you didn't get your fill already."
"I can never have enough of you."
She covered her ears, refusing to listen to his pleasantries, but he saw the temperature around her heart rising up, telling him that his words were working.
She still wanted him. Even after their fight. They were both addicted to the good time they had when their bodies and hearts were aligned. Unable to give up on the high it provided, they kept coming back for more. Ignoring the crash that would inevitably follow.
Lucian rubbed his cheek against her head, "A crumb of affection will do. I will live off of it until I see you again."
She clicked her tongue, finding the strength to finally turn around and face him. "One day, you will make me murder you, and I won't feel sorry for it."
He licked her lips, wanting to taste the sharpness of her words. She didn't shy away from him, instead, let him eat away at her anger, melting her into a puddle of desire.
She pushed his head down to her chest that was soaked from the milk she had leaked, as if saying to start eating from there.
Lucian unbuttoned her shirt which he had just buttoned up, all while badmouthing the Crown Prince, "I bet he can't even tell the difference between a woman's pleasure and pain, or find the spot that makes your back arch. You will end up sneaking to his friend's room next door, begging to be taken like a proper lady."
"Don't ever think about moving to the next room to him. I will skin you alive if I ever see you in the palace," she hated when he had to witness her act of pretending to be an idiot. It made her feel pathetic.
"Of course I will. As a good friend, I will check on his wellbeing and help him deal with the stress of being engaged to such an insufferable woman, and— "
She pressed her breast against his mouth, shutting him up. "There are too many eyes and ears in the palace. I don't want to be remembered for adultery, but a loyal partner, who, in the name of love, happens to make a few regretful mistakes in her life. So keep your horns inside your head, and only show yourself when you are ready to be seen by my side, not on the opposite side."
Lucian didn't like it, but he sucked on her breast anyway, his tongue playing with her hardened nipple.
There's no way he would let her spend her time with the Crown Prince and allow the man to grow on her.
Their hate for each other could easily turn into something else. People caught feelings, even when they didn't want to.
Celine's statistics weren't made up. One couldn't keep a person if they weren't willing to be kept, and it didn't matter how perfect of a lover one was.
The Crown Prince wasn't a perfect gentleman, or a perfect lover. Yet women still wanted to be kept by him.
One didn't have to give out their all to keep someone. They just had to give the right person the right thing they were missing. A thing they might not even know they needed until they got a taste of it.
Celine sighed, petting his hair as if she knew what was going through his mind. How he was implementing the above for his next move, and what strings he would pull to get his way with her.
But the strings between them were more like a spider's web, and they were both caught in it, struggling to get free, but only ending up more entangled.
"Stop thinking so loudly," she said, her fingers combing through his hair, "My nipple is not going to solve your problems."
"Should I stay back? I don't want to leave you to fend for yourself," Lucian kissed her nipple as she lifted his head and moved to her other breast, using him as relief to the pressure building inside. "How about I postpone it for a few more months?"
"You can?" she asked in surprise.
"I might have to add two years to the war, but it's possible."
"You would do that?" Her hand paused.
Lucian pushed her breast into his mouth again, answering with a "Mhm", while nodding. He needed to wrap her tighter around his finger, making her more dependent on him.
"How?" Celine asked, her curiosity piqued.
"The pink head. I can make her go to the South to help the injured, let her catch King Eon's attention, and then have the Crown Prince run around the Southern Kingdom for her."
If he couldn't take Celine to the South, he would drag everyone else there, keeping her enemies busy, while she was left alone to miss him.