Chapter 81 - You Cannot Be Serious!?

"I want you to kiss my boots." He said in a serious tone. 

Evanna's lips parted in shock, "You cannot be serious!?" She almost screeched, but she lowered her voice again as he glanced at her in agitation. When she saw the seriousness on his face, Evanna looked down at his boots; they were so muddy and dirty, there were even leaves sticking to the end of them. Her brows drew together, and it was then she realised Arawn was not wearing his luxurious royal robes, but his outerwear making him look like a ranger.

It only took her so long to realise because of the events leading up to this moment, along with the fact that Arawn was still wearing black, so she did not take an interest in his outfit. But now, she noticed some dust and dirt on his clothes, especially on his boots, which she looked back at in disgust. The prince chuckled again, taking obvious delight in her reactions.

"Or.."

Evanna's eyes ripped away from the foul boots and back to his sculpted face that was lit with amusement; his lips were set in a sly smile and eyes gleaming in delight.

"Or.." She asked with a note of impatience in her voice. This only made his smirk deepen as he reached forwards and brushed his thumb against her bottom lip, his eyes lingering on them for a moment too long before they glanced back at her dazzling emerald jewel-like eyes. His touch had incited a rosy hue to her cheeks, making her all the more beautiful. "You can kiss me.."

Evanna looked at him, appalled by his suggestion. "How shameless are you!?" She pointed her finger into his chest, "I will do no such thing! You.. I cannot believe you!"

Arawn snatched her finger. "You did not let me finish.." He drawled. The amusement on his face made her want to slap him. But, luckily for him, her life was in the balance along with the life of her mother and possibly her comrades. So, she resisted the urge, but it took all of her willpower.

"Oh, I am so sorry, your highness! How rude of me! Oh, wait, any woman would react how I have at the mention of you asking for a kiss! A kiss!" Evanna couldn't help herself. If she couldn't slap him, then she will definitely let her voice be heard.

The scoundrel!

How shameless!

This was why they were in a private room!

While Evanna was ranting internally about the prince, who could easily read her thoughts from the anger evident on her face, he was still holding her hand that was now flat against his chest. The prince had not moved it away; he was too absorbed in how cute she looked angry at him. He chuckled and finally added to the end of his sentence, "Or, you can kiss me on the cheek."

"Well, it looks like I have no choice," Evanna bit her lip, "how do you want to do this?"

Arawn's expressionless features suddenly took on one of shock. She was quick to choose, but before he made his own assumptions up, he asked her instead, "How do I want to do what?"

"I'm going to kiss your boot," She said in disdain, her lips thinned, and her face was set in a determination by her choice. The prince chuckled again, releasing her hand and gestured behind him. Evanna marched past him towards one of the love seats and spun around, tapping her foot impatiently, her hands placed on her hips.

Evanna snapped her jaw together after she watched the prince walk towards her and away to another love seat, making her all the more frustrated at him and the situation. Finally, he flopped down on the seat and widened his legs comfortably as he watched her march towards him, her cheeks flushing with rage.

"Now, now, Evanna. I hope you are not forgetting the reason why you are here? This is your punishment." He tilted his head to the side, looking at her as though it was all her fault.

Evanna lowered down onto her knees before him and narrowed her eyes at the prince. "Your punishment was cruel, Arawn." She muttered through clenched teeth, trying to keep her temper at bay.

Arawn leaned closer to her; his hair fell forwards in waves of moonlight while his arms relaxed onto his legs, letting his hands clasped together. Evanna held her breath at iciness transforming on his features. She wondered if she touched his face right now, would she flinch from the cold, or would her fingers stick to his skin, unable to remove until he warmed up again. If he warmed up again.

"Then, my lady.." He drawled in a chilling tone, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "You should have no issues with the way that I punish you. As you have seen today, there are much worse punishments than a simple kiss to the boot.. or.. a kiss to my cheek."

Evanna pursed her lips and glanced back at his boots. They truly were awful. If they were clean, then she believed she could actually go through with it. But then, she could just wash her lips and rinse her mouth out?

While Evanna was contemplating her following actions, Arawn watched her intently. He had not moved away from her, and he had no intention to; the prince knew what the inevitable was. Or, so he hoped, he could not sometimes tell what was going through that pretty brain of hers, but if he figured her out well, then she would relent to kissing him on the cheek.

He couldn't help it; he loved seeing her reactions to things. She was so much fun to play with! And why not have a little fun out of the situation? He found her innocence and mannerisms to be incredibly endearing, and he just wanted to eat her all up!