Heart beating fast, and with butterflies fluttering in her stomach, Alicia's eyes closed of their own volition as she locked lips with Harold.
Right now she wasn't thinking. All she was doing was feeling. She was giving in to the emotions that were swirling around inside her. She wanted him. Her body wanted him.
Harold's eyes remained open in surprise, and he watched her as she kissed him passionately. All he had wanted to do was kiss her forehead, but she had kissed his lips instead. Surprising him.
If not for the seriousness of what was happening between them at the moment, he would have gloated that she was kissing someone she considered her younger brother. But he was too lost in the fact that she wanted him in this way.
Harold felt warmth spread all over his body, from his lips to his once cold and empty heart, and from there to every other part of him.
Overwhelmed by his emotions, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to himself so that she was pressed against him as he devoured her lips.
Alicia's fingers moved to the back of his head, and she dug her fingers into his soft hair as she let herself melt into the kiss that tasted of... longing. She had no idea if it was hers or his.
Neither of them heard the knock on the door until it was pushed open, and then Tyra's eyes widened in surprise at the sight before her.
Neither Harold nor Alicia, who were so engrossed in each other, took notice of her presence, until she quickly exited the room and shut the door behind her.
Harold broke the kiss abruptly and pulled away from Alicia when he heard the door close. He turned to the door, wondering why he hadn't heard it open and why he hadn't realized that someone was there. From the residue scent he perceived, he could tell that it was Tyra who had been there. Why hadn't he heard her?
Alicia, on the other hand, flushed as she moved away from him and raised her hand to her chest in surprise when she realized what had just happened between them. Her heart was still thumping fast, and her body was still tingling with the sensation from the kiss.
What could have possessed her to kiss him? It had to be Princess Amber or Queen Anne. There was no way she could have initiated that kiss on her own volition. It couldn't possibly be her.
Harold turned to her, and his gaze softened when he noticed how embarrassed she looked. She didn't meet his gaze. She was looking everywhere else but at him, and it made him want to smile.
"I want you to stay here. With me," Harold said in a gentle voice as he brushed his knuckles over her jaw to make her look at her.
This time, Alicia snapped out of her thoughts and looked him dead in the eye as she said, "How can I stay in this place that is full of secrets? You want me to trust you, and even though I do, you don't trust me. You claim you want to make here a place I can stay, but you are the same person keeping secrets from me when I don't have any secrets that you don't know about."
"Some of those secrets are meant to keep you safe," Harold explained quietly, even though he could understand what she was talking about.
"Keep me safe? From who? From what? How does sneaking out of the bedroom every morning and pretending that we didn't spend the night together keep me safe?" She asked hysterically as she got off the bed.
There was no way he could tell her about the curse and the fact that everyone expected him to leave the palace every night without telling her about their true nature.
How could he open up to her? How did she expect him to tell her that she was in a kingdom of werewolves and that she was married to one? That would make her want to leave here all the more, and he didn't want that to happen.
"What happens to me when you are not here and I'm stuck here? There is no way I can live in this place without having a clue about what is happening around me. If I have to be stuck here, then I deserve to at least know what I'm getting into! And don't you dare repeat that nonsense you said about bearing a child before you tell me," she warned, and Harold sighed.
"I will tell you. I promise you. But not now." He said before he stood up and left her bedroom.
Alicia buried her face in her hands as she thought about what had just happened between them.
What was she thinking? She didn't want to like Harold that way. She tried so damn hard not to!
"I'm so screwed," she cried. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to find a way to escape from this place and leave everyone of them.
But the first problem came in the form of Paulina. She could not leave the girl behind. And then, Luciana, who seemed to be going through a lot, came along. And now she went ahead to kiss Harold. Just wow!
When she heard her curtain flutter, she looked up immediately and saw someone enter her bedroom. Within a second, she was filled with different emotions. At first, she was startled, but then she remembered Harold liked to come in through the window sometimes and was about to be relaxed when she looked at the person and realized he looked nothing like Harold.
"Who are you?" She asked in alarm and stood up immediately. Although it was already getting dark, when he turned around, she was able to make out the face. She had seen him before.
Wasn't he Harvey? Benedicta's brother? She remembered he had been staring at her earlier.
"Amber," Harvey called her in a gentle voice.
Before Alicia could process what was happening, why he was in here and looking at her with fondness in his eyes, he pulled her closer and embraced her tightly.
"How did you end up here? I looked for you all over. You must have been scared."
Scared? Yes, she was. Imagine someone breaking into your bedroom at night and embracing you out of the blue.
Alicia quickly pushed him away and put a significant space between them before she looked at him with confusion.
Her brain quickly worked it out. But how did he know Amber? What was she supposed to do? Pretend she recognized him?
"You... know me?" She asked hesitantly, lacking anything else to say. As much as she would have liked to meet someone who knew Amber personally and get to know more about her through this person, she wasn't sure how to go about this. Who was he to Amber?
p
Harvey looked at her in confusion and just kept observing her face.
He was good looking. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. He was also very tall and well built and looked like the mysterious type.
The way he stared at her right now made her feel uncomfortable. He looked like he was trying to read her.
"You don't recognize me?" He asked calmly.
"Am... I supposed to?" As soon as the question left her lips, she felt the tip of a knife in her throat.
When did he appear in front of her?
She looked up at him, startled, while he looked down at her with a gaze she couldn't read.
"When I heard about how the new princess behaved, I knew it couldn't be Amber. What happened to her?" He asked in a calm voice as the tip of the knife touched her throat.
Alicia swallowed nervously. Who was this psychopath that seemed to know Amber quite well, even better than Paulina? She had to give him credit. He was smart.
"You have guts," Alicia said, looking up at him and trying to be tough.
"Pointing a knife at a royal. You must be courting death." She said with a glare as she pushed the knife away from her neck and stepped back.
He just continued to look at her curiously and smirked before sheathing his knife. Alicia almost sighed loudly in relief.
"You have her spirit," he noted as he turned towards her window.
'What do I say?' Alicia asked herself impatiently as she watched his back.
"I don't know if you are just pretending because you intend to achieve something, but we both know that this is the last place you want to be, especially tomorrow night." He said and turned to look at her.
The last place Amber wanted to be?
Tomorrow night again?
What was really happening with everything?
He approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder before she could step back.
"Tomorrow night... I will help you escape. Leave this place." He said seriously.