As she heard him, one corner of her lips curled up like a natural seductress. But just then, Ivan heard a rustle from the other side of the tree, followed by a whisper:
"Hey, do you think we're not alone? I think I heard something," the man asked.
The girl whispered back in panic, "Oh my god, what if someone saw us?"
The guy quickly adjusted his clothes and said, "Wait here, let me go check."
Moments later, a disheveled man cautiously emerged from the bushes, followed by the girl after she fixed her clothes. They headed towards the very tree where Eve and Ivan were hidden. Before they could get too close, a sudden gust of wind rushed past them.
Startled, they paused. When they finally peeked behind the tree, the spot was empty and sighed in relief.
"Thank gods, there was no one. Maybe I was just imagining it." said the man.
With that, they slipped away, eager to continue their second round.
Little did they know, their little escapade had been witnessed by not just one but two unfortunate peeping toms: a feared vampire prince and a beautiful, innocent lumen princess.
....
Ivan had to use his vampiric speed not only to save all four of them from embarrassment, but also because he couldn't stand the idea of another man seeing Eve in such an aroused state. Just before the guy could come around to take a peek, Ivan swooped Evelyn into his arms and rushed past them, before they could even register what happened, since they were humans.
He thought once he dropped Evelyn off at her room, he'd go find Cece to take over and finally be relieved of this ordeal, but how wrong he was. As he entered her room, while making sure no one noticed, he quietly closed the door behind and helped her stand on her feet near the bed.
A little disoriented from the sudden shift in space and with the potion still in effect, she held on to him to steady herself. Then she looked up at him, taking in his incredibly handsome features under the warm glow of her room's light and felt completely dazed.
Ivan noticed her silent stare and said softly, "I'll go call Cece, she can help you with your bath. Why don't you rest till then?"
As soon as he uttered those words, Evelyn suddenly panicked. Her grip tightened around his arms and as she cried out, "No! You said…you'd be with me." Her eyes searched his desperately.
When his brows furrowed and he remained silent, her eyes began to fill with tears, "Do you…also want to abandon me?" she whispered.
She gulped softly, and this time she wasn't seducing him, she looked truly vulnerable, as if her deepest insecurities had chosen the worst possible time to surface.
"I'm...sorry," she uttered softly. "Pl-please don't go.. I-I just don't want to be alone right now."
Even in her barely coherent state of mind, Eve somehow found safety in Ivan's presence. She didn't know why, she couldn't explain it, but with him around, she felt protected. And she wasn't ready to let go of that fragile sense of safety just yet.
The trauma of being abandoned, first by her mother, father then her nanny and everyone in the castle had left her with a deep, paralyzing fear of being all alone. Of dying alone, with no one by her side. That was Evelyn's greatest fear.
Now, in this utterly vulnerable state, where even her own body felt foreign and out of control, with the tension coiled within her, along with the ache for release, didn't make it any easier. Yet in midst of all the confusion and discomfort, she didn't want anyone else but Ivan around.
The very thought of someone else seeing her like this, so exposed, so vulnerable, terrified her.
So she clutched at Ivan's clothes with trembling hands, her voice fragile as she whispered apologies, saying anything she could….anything to make him stay. To keep him from leaving her alone.
On seeing Eve with such a broken expression, begging him not to abandon her, twisted his heart and he didn't like the feeling one bit. She looked as if a single wrong word from him would be enough to shatter her completely.
His mind was at war, torn between what was the right thing to do and what was necessary. One side told him to be heartless and walk away, she was in a drugged state and Cece would be a much better choice to take care of her from here.
But the other side…the side that looked at her tear-streaked face, her trembling hands, her quivering lips, saw no seduction, but someone on the verge of reliving a deep-rooted trauma. And that struck a cord with him, that made him want to protect her, to stay for her peace of mind. Not because he had to, but because leaving her like this felt like another kind of cruelty.
'Why is it that nothing is ever simple when it comes to this princess?' he thought.
"Okay..I'll stay…but only after you confirm these two things I ask of you," he said, his eyes locked on hers "Do you agree?"
She nodded immediately, "Y-yes"
His voice was firm but gentle as he asked, "Are you in the condition to take a cold bath on your own? Will you be able to manage alone?"
"A-Alone?" Panic immediately flickered in her eyes.
"Yes, alone in the bathroom," he clarified patiently. "I am a man, princess, to protect your own dignity, there are certain lines I shouldn't cross while you're in this state. I can only help to a certain extent. So, will you be able to have a bath alone? It...might help you ease some of the discomfort you're feeling?"
Evelyn tried to register every word he was saying, after a long pause, she murmured softly, "I'll need help…with my dress o-only"
Ivan gave it a thought and then gave her a slight nod before continuing, "Second, I want to make it clear that I won't be able to relieve the discomfort you are currently feeling. I'll stay in this room, but I cannot help you beyond that."
When he saw the flicker of disappointment in her eyes, the corner of his lips curled faintly. He lifted a hand, gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and whispered softly, "Trust me, this is for your own good, Evelyn."
And as her name rolled off his tongue so effortlessly, it had the same effect on her as it had the first time. It compelled her to listen, she gulped softly and she gave him a silent nod.
Seeing her finally agree, Ivan exhaled a quiet sigh of relief and replied "Good."
"Now, sit on the bed while I prepare a cold bath for you." As he said that, she reluctantly released her grip on his clothes and stepped back.
He gave her a glass of water which she gulped down greedily before asking for more. By the time she was in her third glass, she finally began to slow down. Ivan then took off his coat and necktie, tossing them onto the sofa. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, as well as those along the sides and rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt, revealing his strong veined arms.
All this while, he could feel Evelyn's eyes on him. When he was done, he finally turned to look at her, and the moment he did, she looked away and took a shaky, deep breath.
She had stopped crying, but she still shimmered with that raw, exposed vulnerability. And Ivan could see clearly just how badly she was trying to fight whatever influence she had been forced upon.
Looking at her fragile condition, he knew someone must have tampered with her drink. Someone with a rotten heart. Someone who wanted to take advantage of Evelyn. Someone with a death wish. Just the thought of what could have happened, if it hadn't been him, but someone else who found her in state boiled his blood to the point that he wanted to burn the bastard alive.
As he headed to her bathroom and turned on the faucet to fill the tub with cold water. He thought to himself, the only reason he wasn't already tearing this place apart to launch a full investigation and catch the filthy rat responsible…was only because of the frightened woman sitting in the room.
'Soon' he thought to himself and his eyes flashed a dangerous shade of molten orange, as if engraving the promise into his very soul.