Ensnaring his Dark Moon-Chapter 160: I have decided

Esme panted. The only lifesaver for her was the fact that he was out of breath too.

If it was not that dark inside the room, she would have found herself another lifesaver of a fact after noticing the huge bulge in his pants.

She slowly tilted her head and looked at his face as she felt his fingers sliding out of her. Her inner thighs were wet and warm.

Her unsteady breathing slowly calmed down but as she watched him put his fingers on his lips, something stirred inside her once again.

His tongue peeked out to lick her juices off his fingers, ’’How sweet,’’ he whispered, all the while looking into her eyes.

Esme gulped. She was embarrassed to move, embarrassed to speak, and embarrassed at the fact that she still wanted her hands all over him, that she could not get enough of touching him and being touched by him.

Was it too late to faint and act dead?!

She hoped not.

...

The next morning.

Aleister opened his eyes and glanced at the woman who was nestled in his arms.

He slowly pulled back from her and looked at her sleeping face. His fingers found their way to her hair and he gently caressed it.

Aleister couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked at her face. This woman... she was not at all shy while cupping his face to kiss him but she was awfully shy after everything happened.

He could still remember how stiffly she slept in his arms, reluctant to move, reluctant to talk. And in the end, when he pretended to be asleep to make her comfortable, he sensed her sneaking glances at him, touching him, and poking him.

What a sly woman.

Aleister kissed the tip of her nose. He adjusted her head on the pillow and walked out of the bed.

He opened the door and walked to sit on the chair near the fireplace.

As if on cue, two maids entered the room. Their heads were lowered all the while they entered the bath to prepare it for him.

The illusion prepared by Aleister still stood which meant they won’t be able to spot two beds in the room. But even if they did, they would still see Esme in his bed.

Both of them were getting anxious. They were worried if they made some mistake. Because it was unlike the Prince to lock the door.

He needed his bath ready early in the morning, every day at one particular time. So, they did not know what to do when they found the door was locked.

But then, surprisingly, the Prince seemed to be in a very good mood. They concluded as they looked at the man from the bath just before they pulled the curtains around the pillars.

The maids left the room after preparing the bath and Aleister pushed himself to his feet.

As the sounds of his footsteps got distant, Esme opened her eyes on the bed.

She rolled around the bed a few times before hugging the pillow, ’’Ah!!’’ she tugged at her hair and sat up on the bed. It was so stressful, pretending to be asleep when you are not.

’’I can hear you, love.’’

Her head whipped in the direction of the bath and she continued sitting in the bed quietly. ’’I don’t mind,’’ You heard more than that anyway. She thought back to all the embarrassing sounds she made and her face burned a shade brighter.

...

’’Brother...’’

’’I am not leaving you behind, Esme,’’ Adrian raised his hand and interrupted her, ’’...Not in this unfamiliar pace and not with that jaded jerk... Prince Aleister,’’ he cleared his throat and corrected himself when she glared at him.

Esme thought that he would leave today after everything but it seems like he had other plans.

’’If you have already made your decision then there is nothing I can do about it,’’ Esme lowered her head, ’’Brother, I just don’t want you to... This is your life, you should live it your way. I don’t want you to waste it like this.’’

’’Esme, a long time ago..’’ Adrian raised his hand to pat her head, ’’... I promised that I will protect you. I know what I am doing.’’

As she looked at him, she felt like she had never known him well. Esme frowned, ’’How do you know what you are doing? Even I am not certain about it. I don’t know why I readily decided to stay here,’’ One of the reasons was Aleister but then what...? Was she going to marry him? Sometimes, she felt like there was something between them but at times, all she felt was a huge distance.

Esme knew that she craved his touch, his words, his affection, everything of him, and everything that he could ever offer her. She wanted him. And she wanted to stay beside him.

But will he stay with her? She trusted him but what if he broke her trust? Since it can happen in her family where she spent years then what about Aleister? A man she came to know a few months ago?

She hated him, disliked his antics but all the time, she kept going to him like a moth being attracted to the fire.

And now there are times when she felt like he will disappear at any moment. He was so different from everyone she has ever seen. That face, those powers, his capabilities... he even took her to the past. Everything about him was so extraordinary.

How could she muster her courage to step closer to him when it felt like he might disappear any moment? Like he did not belong to this world at all.

She understood all of it and that was why she kept her growing affections for him in check. She kept shouting that she hated him.

But hate? Really?

Who was she pretending for?

How could she hate a man who would put his everything at stake to protect her?

A man who did not care that much about people was unfeeling, cruel but he would never once look at her with cold eyes. For her, there was always warmth in that pair of blue eyes.

He would tease her, bicker with her, act pettily, but the moment she felt low, she knew she could lean on his shoulder and cry her heart out and he would never mock her.

He knew how to calm her heart and she felt safe with him.

It felt like every inch of her body grew a heartbeat when he touched her. And she still kept shouting that she hated him. Who was she lying to again?

But as they say, the line between hate and love was very thin. One would not realize when they tumble off to the other side.

Her last straw was the reality of her mother’s identity. And in the end, Esme gave in to her temptations. She decided to stay here. But...

’’Brother, even I am not certain how everything will turn out in the end. I don’t know who I am and I don’t know if I will ever find out more about myself,’’ She looked at him, ’’The last thing I want is for you to waste your life on me. Do you want to stay and enjoy the beauty of Visteria? You can do that. But don’t stay here for me. As much as I appreciate your kindness, I don’t want it. It’s like a burden for me.’’

Adrian frowned, ’’Do you know what you are talking about?"

’’I know. I don’t want you to come to tell me years later how much you regret missing the important years of your life while doing nothing but just protecting me,’’ Esme stepped back from him, ’’I have enough guilt with everything Aunt went through. She had to stay away from her love for years just because she had me as her responsibility. If you do the same, I don’t think I will be able to live under that much burden.’’

Adrian’s jaws ticked and his fingers curled into a fist.

’’I am not a child. I know what I am doing and I will face the consequence of my actions,’’ she shook her head, ’’I don’t need you. I love you. You are my elder brother whom I look up to but you don’t need to be some shield for me.’’

As soon as she finished speaking, Esme turned around and ran out of his room.

She walked to the gardens and her footsteps came to a halt in front of the blue rose plants.

She planted them when she came here.

As she calmed down after her earlier outburst, a conflicted expression appeared on her face.

’’Do you feel like crying?"

She tilted her head and looked at the man behind her from above her shoulder, ’’No,’’ a faint blush appeared on her face at the reminder of last night.

The conflict in her eyes disappeared and the corner of her lips tugged up. She lowered her body and plucked a blue rose that was in full bloom. It seemed like the largest rose amongst all others.

’’Be careful. We don’t want you to be pricked by a thorn, do we?" Aleister frowned and reprimanded her in a light tone but before any thorn could prick her, all of them disappeared just with a snap of his fingers.

The smile on her lips continued growing and she tilted her head to look at him.

Aleister raised an eyebrow, ’’A penny for your thoughts?"

’’What do you think of this flower?’’ she asked and stepped towards him.

’’It’s beautiful,’’ As she took another step towards him, he stepped back.

’’What are your thoughts about the weather today?" Esme took another step towards him.

He tilted his head upwards to look at the sky, ’’Pretty,’’ there were grey clouds in the sky which indicated that it will be raining soon, as expected of the weather of Visteria. But those grey clouds resembled her eyes and he could not help but pause for a moment to admire them.

Esme took another step towards him and Aleister stepped back, ’’There there, Princess. You seem quite different today. Quite aggressive. Quite passionate. Do you want to pin me somewhere and do things to me? Like taking advantage of me?’’ he teased her.

Unexpectedly, she did not back away this time. She narrowed her eyes and continued smiling, ’’Maybe,’’ her soft voice made her look more seductive.

Aleister: "_" Did anyone feed her something? Was she really drunk this time?

Looking at his speechless expressions, Esme laughed, ’’That’s because I have decided,’’ she said as she tilted her chin and flashed him her sweetest smile before throwing another question that he did not see coming, ’’What do you think of me?’’