ELARA POV
"Stop pretending like you didn't know I was about to release you," I said to him as he laughed.
"I genuinely didn't know. Why are you doing this? What if I harm you? What if I am dangerous to be around?" he said, almost as if he was upset that I had actually trusted him. He had wanted me to trust him, right? Fine. That was exactly what I was doing.
"Trusting you. What? Don't make that face. What else do you want me to do? You want me to believe in you? That is what I am doing," I said, slowly taking a step closer to him.
"I also told you to go back when you first started this experiment. You never left. Why didn't you listen to me then? But now you are releasing me. I don't think you're doing this because you want to. I feel like you're doing it because you are being pushed into it," he said.
I did not bother responding to him as I kept moving closer.
"You said you wanted to tell me something. You said I should come and set you free. Now you are free. What did you want to tell me?" I asked him, trying to sound firm even though I wasn't truly provoked. I was scared, and I was venting that fear out in the form of anger. Before I could even grasp what he wanted or get a response from him, he pulled me so aggressively, pressing our lips together as he kissed me so passionately.
I couldn't believe a man held captive could actually behave this way. Before I could even collect myself, he pulled me closer by my waist. He was so rough yet so gentle, like he had been yearning for this for ages and had finally gotten what he wanted.
"Stop it," I tried to say, even though he wasn't letting go. But he only held me tighter. I could feel his heart thumping loudly against mine, his breath so heavy, as though he was unable to stop himself.
I knew I had to push him away if I wanted him to regain any control over himself.
"The cameras are watching," I muttered. But yet he still sucked on my lower lip as he cupped both my cheeks with his hands, pulling me so close. It felt so intense I could no longer control myself. I knew if he did not let go in the next second, I might be the one stripping him at this point.
"Stop it, Kael. Stop it," I said, trying to fight it. But he still would not let go. Before I could make another attempt to stop him, I realized he was already taking off my coat. I had no choice but to slap him hard on the face as he staggered backward.
Looking at me, he was breathing so heavily, his cheeks already red and his lips swollen from the intensity of it all. I couldn't believe I had kissed him back just as passionately as he had kissed me.
I stood there, covering my mouth with my hand, unable to say a thing as he wore that smirk on his face.
"You look flustered," he said, that same wicked smirk stretching wider as he drew a seat closer, sat on it and crossed his legs.
"Do you know you have been given one of the privileges every wolf in my realm fights for? Every female in my realm wants a chance with me, the king, the Lycan Alpha. And you received that. And you are pushing me away, slapping me. You wouldn't dare do something like that in the werewolf realm, I promise you that," he said as I tried to act angry, but I wasn't angry. I was stunned. Not just stunned, I was craving more of him and struggling to contain it. I wanted him so badly, but I could not act on it. Not because I didn't want to or couldn't take the first step, but because the cameras were watching, and the more I showed any feelings for him, the more they would manipulate me and use me as a leverage against him. I was not ready to put Kael's life in any more danger than it already was.
"Don't you ever do something like that again. If you want us to get through this, you have to stop," I said. He did not even bother responding. He always frustrated me whenever he acted like he wasn't listening to anything I said, like my words simply floated past him.
"Tell them to turn off the camera and watch what I do for you. Satisfy that urge," he said as my mouth fell open.
"What urge are you talking about? Because I have no urge at all. Stop forcing me to want you," I said. He laughed so loudly I was almost ready to rush toward him and cover his mouth before the guards thought my life was in danger.
"Stop it. Nothing about what I said is funny. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Each time you show them that you care for me, the more they make it complicated for you, the more leverage they have. The more tangled this gets," I whispered to him as he reached out and slowly let his fingers trail across his own lips.
He licked them gently, making it impossible for me to look away.
"If you don't want me to do it anymore, you can simply tell me to stop rather than staring at my lips with that much attention," he said as I laughed.
"Me? Paying that much attention to you? Oh, stop it. Don't flatter yourself," I said, picking up my coat, which he had successfully removed from me during that heated moment just minutes ago. I needed to leave. I was not even supposed to be here at this point. I had thought he was sick, and he was not sick. He had just wanted my attention.
I said it out loud, picking up my phone, ready to storm off and not look back. Not coming back here until tomorrow morning, and I would not, no matter how much they promised to add to my salary, work overtime for this.
I rushed to the door and knocked to signal for them that I was ready to come out, since they had locked it from outside.
He looked at me, and then I noticed something. He had actually picked up the shackles and chained himself back, both legs and hands. He sat down again and looked at me with that same relaxed smile, as though he was not in danger and had not been tortured for years.
"When you want more, tell them to turn off the camera," he simply stated.