90: A Taste of Temptation

A Taste of Temptation

A small gasp escaped Anastasia's lips upon feeling his lips dangerously close to hers, and she instinctively pulled back as if she had touched something searing hot. She noticed how the prince had trouble holding himself back, and when the opportunity presented itself, he eagerly seized it, diving right into attempting to seduce her.  2

"What happened?" Dante questioned her earnestly, making it seem that what he just did wasn't odd. 

"That, your tongue," Anastasia sputtered as she became flustered. How was it possible that he wasn't embarrassed by the action he did? she asked herself, while staring at his questioning black eyes. 

Dante angled his face to hers, and when he spoke, every word of his bounced off her pale pink lips, "You didn't like it?" 

His question made her involuntarily think about it, and she replied, "I don't know…" and her heart began to pound in her ribcage. 

A wicked gleam entered Dante's eyes, and he replied to her, "Let us try it again then, shall we? So that we can decide if you hate it or if it makes your toes curl." 

"T—That is fine, you don't have—"

"I want to," Anastasia heard Dante's words as he gently pushed her hand down with the back of his own. He asked her, "Have you ever tasted chocolate, Anastasia?" 

Anastasia's attention was torn between how the prince looked at her and the question he asked. She answered, "I haven't."

"Then let me introduce you to its taste," Dante responded, maintaining his unwavering gaze on her, making sure his rabbit didn't run. Not that she could run away from him, but he allowed the rabbit to think that she could escape him, a false sense of possible freedom. 

Anastasia's eyes briefly shifted from his intense eyes to his hand as it moved towards the trolley of food in the room. His fingers dipped into a small bowl that resembled gooey mud, and she observed as his fingers were brought before her already-parted lips. She softly gulped and said, 

"I can eat it myself." The last distinct memory of her being fed was by her mother. 

But Dante's two fingers didn't budge, waiting for Anastasia to taste it, and while he waited, a drop of the liquid chocolate on his fingers dripped onto the swell of her chest, sliding down to the curve of her breast. 

Dante's free hand came to press on the back of Anastasia's, which was resting on the bed, quietly letting her know not to move. His head dipped down, and not a moment later, she felt his coarse tongue delicately graze her skin, lapping up the gooey chocolate. Her body trembled, and her breathing turned shaky. 

"Do you feel that, Anastasia?" Dante whispered over her now wet skin before sucking the last essence of the bittersweet taste off her skin. 

Anastasia realised that Dante's touch was nothing like the repulsive advances she had endured from Mr. Langston, who had been forceful in his approach earlier. It wasn't that the prince wasn't being forceful, but he was conniving enough to entice her with seduction, igniting the sparks of need and want that she hadn't previously experienced. 

However, despite the allure of the moment, logic and reality hadn't entirely abandoned Anastasia's mind, and she breathlessly asked, 

"Shouldn't these things be done when one is married?" 

As Dante pulled away from her chest, Anastasia caught him running his tongue across his lips and tracing the corners of his mouth before locking eyes with hers. It occurred to her that the man possessed a sinful tongue. His eyes subtly narrowed as he watched her, and he said, 

"If you have thoughts of another man in your future, it would be wise to drop them now, little rabbit."

Anastasia didn't miss the gleam of possessive glare that flashed through his eyes, and it made her draw her feet closer to the bed. Her heart shook before she asked, 

"Was it a lie, then? To give me a choice and time to decide?"

Dante's other hand, the one with chocolate-coated fingers, came to gently brush against her lips. He stated, 

"No, it wasn't a lie. I just happen to be confident in what I do. You may deny it because you have never felt your emotions stirred or thoughts scattered, but I will help you indulge in it so you become aware, and understand that no one else will ever be enough," he promised her. "Why don't you take it as a challenge, since you are so certain, hm? Part your lips so that you can have a taste."

Anastasia became flustered and said, "You are treating me like a child." 

"Would you rather prefer that I treat you coarsely?" One side of Dante's lips curled upwards, because he was indeed treating her carefully. 

Anastasia hurriedly attempted to fix her words, "I didn't mean th—", but she was silenced by Dante's fingers pressing against her lips. 

"Too late to take your words back," Dante was not going to miss the chance offered by the slip she inadvertently provided to him. 

He had been with women before, not those within the confines of the palace but outside these walls, and never had anyone evoked such strong emotions in him, feelings of both a fierce desire to protect and at the same time a want to wreck her according to his liking. 

Seeing her all dolled up had irked Dante. He resented the attention she received from the men who kept calling her to their side to serve them in the Hall of Mirrors, while he watched them with a disapproving glare. And now that they were alone, he wanted to hold her captive. 

Anastasia's sole desire was to protect her heart, mind and body, but Dante was hell-bent on making her succumb to the wicked pleasure he dangled before her. To think this was the same person who had pointed his dagger at her neck, scaring her out of her wits, who now wanted to seduce her. 

She felt him press his fingers on her lips, and she silently took on the challenge as there was nothing to lose, was there? When her lips parted, his chocolate-coated fingers slipped into her wet mouth. 

A small frown graced her face when she tasted the bitter yet sweet chocolate on his fingers, as she had never tasted anything like this before. She had seen the people in the kitchen grinding and heating it, but never had she sneaked a taste. 

"Don't be shy," Dante coaxed, watching her lips wrap around his fingers. 

Feeling more at ease than frightened, Anastasia sucked on his fingers to capture every bit of chocolate offered to her. He watched her with fascination, his eyes tracing her flushed face and the mesmerising movement of her lips, enticed by the tantalising sensation evoked by her tongue. 

"Don't waste it," Anastasia heard him instruct her. 

Blood had already rushed up her neck and face at the embarrassing things she was doing by licking the chocolate off his long fingers. He asked her, "Did you like it?" His eyes smouldered as he pulled his fingers out of her parted lips and brushed her bottom lip with his thumb. 

"It was good," Anastasia whispered, talking about the chocolate, the dull thought of his fingers mixed in with the chocolate dawning in the back of her mind when she caught him clenching his jaw. 

"More?" Dante offered her, "Or are you scared?" he added, daring her. 

But Anastasia wasn't going to fall for his trap, and she didn't deny his claim, replying, "I am."

"And what are you scared about, Anastasia?" Not wanting to push her more than she could take, Dante retrieved his hand to his side. Seeing her stare back at him without responding, he shifted away from her and said, "Place your feet up here," while patting on the surface of the bed. 

Anastasia's eyebrows furrowed, but without questioning him, she lifted the hem of her dress before placing her feet on the space that Dante had made. Curious, she leaned forward and asked him, 

"Is something wrong?" 

"Mm," Dante hummed, and then pulled something out from inside his coat. Soon he fastened something made of metal around her ankle, and she noticed that it was an anklet before he did the same for her other ankle. 

Anastasia had heard of and seen the gifts her sister had received from various men while she was alive. She wondered if this was a similar situation. The anklets were pretty, and they looked like they were expensive. She said, 

"I cannot accept something as valuable as this." 

"Don't mistake this to be one of those doting gifts for your service, because you didn't exactly service me. Don't ever take them off," Dante warned her, because she was the woman he had chosen. He said, "You looked lonely a second ago, as if someone had abandoned you. This is so that you remember you belong to me and no one else."

Anastasia felt her heart skip a beat at Dante's ardent words, and she didn't know what to say. After her sister's death, she had resented the royal family, and she felt lost, and now to think that this man had found her. His words were direct, revealing his honest emotions, and she bit her lip. 

She quickly put her feet back on the ground and looked ahead, feeling the anklets underneath her dress and his eyes still on her. 

After a minute, Dante leaned backwards until he laid flat on the bed. He placed one of his hands behind his head and said, 

"With the fly dead, you should sleep now."

Anastasia turned to look at Dante, who had gotten comfortable on one side of the bed. Sleep in the same bed? she asked herself. He said, "Lay down and close your eyes." 

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