CHAPTER 224: PLANNING

"What kind of negotiation is this?" Emira asked as she tried to pull at her arms again or shift in some way to cover herself. The metal dug into her wrists as she moved. It didn’t help at all. If anything, it only made the position more obvious. But Lance simply smiled a little more, as if her struggling amused him.

Emira narrowed her eyes at that smile. She had not interacted much with Crown Prince Lance Stormhold in the past. The last time he’d been restrained and then these few days she’d had Kael and Zen as buffer. So they had never been like this.

And now, here she was- trapped, half-bare, and forced to face him without any space to breathe.

And in this moment, she realised something she had not understood. She had made a grave mistake.

In her mind, Crown Prince Lance had always felt like a calmer, slightly more serious version of Zen.Zen liked to tease. He liked to laugh. He could do something reckless one moment and turn serious the next because that was simply his nature. And when they had been with her, that is what she had thought that Prince Lance was like.

She’d even thought to herself that maybe he was actually more like Zen, only a bit more serious due to the responsibility he had to shoulder. But she had simply assumed that Kael was different.

Now, as she stared at the glittering eyes, she realized she had been fooled.

But Lance... Lance had hidden his real nature behind an easy smile and a relaxed posture. He wore his power well. No one would doubt that.

However, in private, he would let anyone believe he was a gentle one, only reacting when needed... She had never questioned it. She had never even thought to look deeper. In this room, with no distractions and no brothers beside him, there was nowhere for his real nature to hide.And the truth was clear.

Lance Stormhold was far more dangerous than she had ever imagined. Kael’s danger was sharp and direct. It reflected in his silence and in his stare.

Lance’s danger was different. Quiet. Hidden and waiting beneath the surface. A danger you didn’t notice until it had already wrapped around you.

Like just now, first he had shown his power, then distracted her by coaxing her and asking questioned, ’baring’ himself and letting her down her guard. And just when she thought she could challenge him, he turned the tables on her, so that she was the one who was ’bare.’

As she thought all this, Lance walked forward and smiled," Baby... you want the dark master to come back? Hmm? Fine. We won’t stand in your way."

Emira blinked. What did he mean by that? Was he really willing to step aside and let her help the dark master escape captivity? She could not believe it. There was no such things as a free lunch in this world. And the more he closed in on her, the more she felt that she was not going to enjoy this negotiation.

His first touch sent a shiver down her body.

It wasn’t even much, just his fingers brushing the underside of her breasts lightly and unhurriedly, as if he was testing how much she would react.

Emira sucked in a quiet breath and looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. She didn’t want him to see the way her body reacted, the way her ni**les stiffened under his touch.

"Oh, you felt that," he murmured, stepping close enough that she could feel the warmth of him against her bare skin. "Good."

She clenched her jaw and glared at him again. "Stop acting like this is normal. What exactly are you trying to negotiate?"

"Hush. Patience baby. We’ll get to that soon. After all, today is the last night of your heat...

He placed one hand on her hip and the other near her ribs, tracing a slow, deliberate line upward, slightly pinching her waist and then upwards as he flicked a finger over the stiffened peaks," I think there would look quite pretty with little jewels,hmm?"

Emira stiffened.. What did he mean. Even as she watched, he took out two diamond like studs and then fastened them on her... She looked down as she felt the pinch and then glared up at him. She could feel the pain and despite that, her core seemed to be flooding...

"Do you like this little bit of pain with your pleasure, baby?"

Emira shook her head and gritted her teeth. She needed to close her eyes and think of something so that she would not moan out her need. She would not give him the satisfaction of... Her breath caught as his hands landed on her very core. It was as if was simply placing a hand on something that already belonged to him.

Emira tried to move away from his hand but being on her tiptoes did not help her situation, leaving her only at his mercy.

"Are you willing to negotiate, Emira?"

Emira shook her head. There was no was she was negotiating anything. But even as the words came to her head, his skilful fingers tapped against her cl*t, through the layer of clothing. Emira moaned, unable to stop the sound from escaping her.

Why would he do something like this? Why was he using this to get what he wanted?

"You want the Dark Master to return," he said quietly. His warm breath slid along her neck. "You want to help him. And you’re not scared of saying it out loud."

"I’m not," she snapped instantly, though her voice shook just a little.

"Good," he whispered again, as if her courage pleased him. "We aren’t scared of hearing it. We aren’t scared of him either. And if you want to chase that path... we won’t stop you. Just agree to the stakes."

Emira shivered as his fingers then came upwards and he flicked the little stud that had already cut off the sensation from her body.... She groaned when he tapped it, sending shivers through her...

"What are the stakes?"

Lance smiled then," You, of course."