Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 26: Punishment

The air in the chamber suddenly seemed to cease at the mere presence of him, and the sudden chill that went down Belle’s back made her shiver slightly. Though her back was turned to the door, facing the bedpost where she held on as her corset was being tied by Farrah, she knew he was looking at her. Slowly, she turned around to him and felt her heart thud at the sight of him.

Her vampire husband was a sight to behold, standing there, staring at her with narrowed dark eyes and a displeased look. He wore a long black coat with silver embroidery on the cuffs. Beneath the coat, a fitted black vest hugged his torso, its buttons fastened neatly over a dark, open-collared shirt that revealed a little of his solid, tan chest. The sight made her gulp and wonder how he had tanned to a honey-bronze shade when there was no sun in Nightbrook. Vampires were known to be pale as the dead.

Just like in Aragonia, the sky in Nightbrook was gloomy, heavy clouds looming as if it would rain. Every person she had seen so far, vampire and human alike, looked pale, and she doubted whether the sun ever rose in the sky here. He was a man made different in many ways that scared her. If he hadn’t told her he was a vampire, she would have mistaken him for something else entirely, as his eyes could never belong to any human.

And just like yesterday, he wore black leather gloves that matched his form-fitting trousers, which clung to his powerful, long legs. His tall black boots, polished to perfection, completed his drop-dead gorgeous look, making him resemble a dark prince. But his disheveled deep blue hair did not match his smooth appearance. It fell in messy strands around his face, as if he had run his fingers through it too many times.

When her eyes fell on his bottomless, pit-like black eyes piercing down at her in blankness, Belle subconsciously crossed her arms around her half-dressed body, as if to hide herself from him and ward off his frosty stare. His gaze seemed to follow the movement of her arms crossing over her breasts, where she clearly recalled he had touched last night and caressed, making her feel like a withering snake.

A flush rose to her cheeks as she saw his eyes linger where her arms were crossed.

"What is taking you so long to dress my wife?" he demanded from the servants without looking away from her. They were already half frightened to death by his presence and quickly bowed to their waists to reply. But Belle came to their saving grace and spoke up, as it was her fault that had caused the delay to begin with.

"It’s not their fault... I did not wake up early and did not hear their knocks on time," she lied without daring to meet his gaze that she knew was glued to her like bees on flowers. She was only wearing her chemise and had yet to get properly into her corset. Her chemise was a thin fabric, and his presence and eyes made her feel not only self-conscious but also recall every traitorous detail of his sinful fingers inside her and his hands touching her in places no one had ever touched before. He also made her so much more aware of parts of her body she never knew would throb and feel hot at just the memories of last night and him staring at her now.

Not to mention the devil was staring straight at her breast despite the fact that she had tried to hide it from him!

Rohan’s eyes finally trailed away from her chest, where her arms that had crossed around it only made it more noticeable. She had lovely breasts, lovelier than that of the whore dancers in his mini-theater last night, and he could get addicted to mounding them. His eyes settled on her face that looked nothing like someone who had just woken up. Did she take him for a fool? he thought in mirth. She had rejected his gifts and refused to come down to eat breakfast with him.

Nobody rejected his gifts. Nobody dared to keep him waiting. Rohan never waited on anyone; instead, he made them wait on him. He had been a prince before now, and everything he wanted was given to him even before he asked. On the rare occasions he did not get his way, he carved his desires out with blood and gore. But it seemed his little bunny was trying to test his limits on carving his way with her.

Without even looking at the servants in the room, he ordered, "All of you, out." His voice was calm and yet commanding, and none of them needed to be told twice before they scrambled away like ants. He heard his little wife’s heartbeat begin to rise faster.

"Since you have kept me waiting for so long to have my first breakfast in my castle, little bunny, what shall I do to you now?" he said as he began to stalk her with slow, intimidating steps. She jolted and began to back away, her eyes looking around frantically as if searching for an escape. She was one adorable thing, and she never ceased to amaze him. Under that innocent face, he knew a mischievous, stubborn girl hid underneath it, and he would like to see it.

Belle wet her lips with her tongue as she moved backward while he kept moving forward. She hadn’t meant to make him come to her room by refusing to go down to eat with him. She hadn’t even expected they were supposed to share a meal—after all, last night, her dinner had been brought to her room. All she wanted was to dress and go out under the pretense of touring the castle while secretly searching for her ring. But he had gone and ruined her plans by burning her dresses and demanding her presence in the dining hall.

She had thought he would leave her alone when she sent the servants to tell him she wasn’t going to eat with him. Husbands were known not to care whether their wives ate or not. In fact, they preferred wives who stayed out of their way and gave them the freedom to have mistresses outside. Eating alone without having to see their wives’ faces made them feel more superior—she had heard this among the women. That was why she had angrily slammed the door after sending the servants back to him.

But when he threatened the servant, she immediately regretted her disobedience. She had never disobeyed anyone before—until now. But how could she not when he had burned her clothes without a second thought? She had always been an obedient girl to her family, yet now, for the first time, she had acted out... and she was already paying the price. What was he going to do to her now?

"I am sorry I kept you waiting for so long. If... if you give me a few more minutes, I will be ready to join you for breakfast," she said in hopes of him leaving so she could dress. But instead, he smiled and crooked his head to the side as her back hit against the cold bedpost, blocking her only escape from his predatory advances. She felt her heart drop to her stomach as he now stood right before her, towering over her and making her inhale his spicy musky oud scent that clung to his presence and invaded her breathing. She wanted to step away, but there was nowhere to go as he blocked her from the front and the bed was behind her.

"I do not accept apologies, sweetheart. Apologies don’t lessen my anger or displeasure when someone rejects my kindness." He clicked his tongue as he raised his gloved hand and gently tucked back the strands of hair covering her face behind her ear. She flinched at his touch and quickly ducked her head down gently when he frowned at the action. He did not like it when she flinched or recoiled, but then he continued to speak as if it had not bothered him.

"I punish people even when they apologize, and you, my wife, are no exception. You will receive punishment for this, so next time, before you reject my gift or my kind offer to eat with you, you’d think twice about it." He let his hand fall away from the side of her head where he had tucked her hair away from her face.

Belle could feel her heartbeat increasing its pace at his words. She was used to being punished when she did something bad in her childhood, like when she could not accept the fact that she was to stay away from her sister and not try to play with her, or the days where she was forced to eat on the floor of the dining hall with the cheap, separate plates the servants used. And when she refused to obey, she would be locked back in the room until she learned to accept that things would no longer be the same with her family and do what they wanted her to do.

Whenever anyone talked about punishment, she knew it was something worse, something that would make her see the gates of hell and back. Being locked in a room for three days without food was not something she looked forward to here as well. Since the time she started growing into a woman, she had not been punished by her family as she learned to obey them, and she could not remember the last time she’d been locked in a room.

What was she thinking, disobeying her husband when her own family did not welcome disobedience? Belle swallowed hard and waited for him to leave the room and lock her in it. She knew that apologizing would not stop him from punishing her, so she would accept it. However, he surprised her by saying, "Turn around, sweetheart."