His thumb haulted on her lip, as he met her eyes. "I can give you a false promise. Will that be okay?"
Frowning, She took a step back from him. "Absolutely not!"
"That's what I thought," he muttered and his nostrils flared. "You drive me crazy, Grace. This all promise thing is absurd. We are married. We have our present with us. Do hell with the future. Let us be happy now."
A sad smile smile rose on her lips. She'd thought Dorian would be the one to understand her. But she realised he was just a man. And a man could never understand a woman's feelings, no matter how compassionate he was. "I want to be happy," she said in a soft voice. "And I am demanding my happiness from you."
"I will make you happy, Grace," he said touching his chest, like a knight naming himself to his princess. "Give me a chance. I will fill your days and nights with pleasure. We will make our marriage the most exciting bond there ever was."
She shook her head again. "That is not the only happiness I want, Dorian. I want everything from you. Or nothing at all."
A hard groan came from him and he clutched his hair with both hands. Grace frowned when that groan was replaced with a laugh. A small, husky laugh that didn't give out any sign of an enjoyment.
"I never thought I will see a day when a woman would reject me. Let alone my own wife!" His hands moved down to rub his face. "Do you know Grace, it's been almost two weeks since I'd had a woman."
The thought shocked Grace. It meant he didn't have a woman since days before their marriage. As if reading her thoughts, he continued. "I didn't take a woman ever since your father wrote to me that he'd agreed to our marriage. I thought to be loyal to you since then."
Happiness flickered in her chest. She never thought Dorian would be so considerate.
"Had I known you would keep conditions on our consummation..." he stopped with another humourless chuckle.
"What?" Grace asked angrily. "If you had known then you would have kept a mistress ready here in our home?"
"You need not sound so furious," he pointed a finger at her. "You walk around me with this graceful body of yours, tempting me and then throwing your conditions on my face."
Her heart skipped a beat at his angry compliment.
He raised up his hands between them. "My hands ache to touch you, Grace. But I am a man of my word. I cannot promise you something that has a chance to be broken in future."
"Then don't give me the promise." Grace found a lump forming in her throat. "Let the things between us stay aloof."
He scoffed. "Everything is good between us, Grace. We could easily make a happy marriage but you came up with your stupid conditions."
This time, she took an angry step towards him. "How long would it have stayed good?"
He blinked at her.
"Until you found someone else?" She asked. "What then? I would have been alone! Where would I find someone else?"
His brows pinched together as he looked at her. "You will not find anyone else," he gritted through his teeth, taking a step closer to her. "You need something, you come to me."
They both walked towards each other until they were again very close.
"If I can promise you my fidelity, then why can't you?" Grace snapped. "And if you cannot, then I also cannot promise that I will stay only with you." Saying this, she turned around angrily to walk to her room.
But her arm was suddenly yanked in a death grip and she was turned to collide with his chest. "You will promise me your fidelity, Grace," he said, his breath fanning against her lips, his head leaned down to her. "You will promise yourself to me. You are mine," he growled. " And if you let any other man close to you, I will kill him. And this time, I won't spare anyone."
Her chest heaved as she looked stunned at him, at his possessiveness. She had never seen him this angry and protective at the same time. It was the possessiveness a person had for somebody very precious.
Grace tried to calm her growing imagination. She wasn't precious for him. She was just his wife, and any man obviously would be possessive of his wife.
But she also saw something else, something more in his anger. Her breathing increased the more they gazed at each other, their faces leveled, their breaths mingling.
Finally, he let go of her and took a step back. "Let us see how long do you hold up on your condition," he smirked suddenly. "I'll be a celibate until you break your conditions. You will be the woman I would touch next. Take your time, Grace. Let's see how long would you resist me."
His devilish smirk rose goosepimples all over Grace's skin. It seemed he had planned something in his mind. Not knowing how or what to reply, she turned and walked out of his room.
Entering hers, she locked the door and rested her head on it. Her heart thudding loudly in her chest and her whole body trembling. But for the first time in her life, she didn't feel like crying after an argument. She never had such a conversation with anyone in her life before. She never thought she would be strong enough to speak with anyone in this manner. But Dorian brought out a part of her that she herself was a stranger to. He made her hot, he made her fight and he made her value herself more.
And the smirk he gave to her just now, it held a promise. A promise of a mission that he would accomplish no matter what.
But what was it?
As Grace descended the stairs next morning to go to the dining room for breakfast, she knew Dorian's mood would be bad. Whatever they had spoken last night couldn't keep her in good mood. And Dorian must be feeling the same. And Grace had decided that he would have to start talking. She would not be the one to speak first.
How politely she had asked him to join her for the dessert last night. And how rudely he had rejected. Now, she would demand him to take the first step. Holding her chin up, she entered the dining room.
Dorian was nowhere to be seen. Grace frowned seeing the empty table. Even if Dorian didn't wait for breakfast, the table was always set with hot tea. Now it held nothing.
"My queen."
Grace turned around and saw Mr. Kit.
"Mr. Kit, Good morning," she wished.
"Good morning, my queen. My king has sent me to inform you that he is waiting for you to join him for breakfast in the garden."