Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.-Chapter 281: The bodyguard.

Leilani.

If I thought that fighting would be my escape out of here, then I was wrong. Completely wrong.

Because I fought, thrashed, scratched at his skin and did everything known in the book just to make him drop me; but all my attempts were fruitless. Bland.

It felt like I was fighting against a stone wall, and instead of letting me go, he held on tighter, his fingers digging into my skin as he marched the rest of the way to his car.

"Zevran! This isn’t funny! Let me go!" I yelled angrily, kicking, but instead of responding, or doing as told, he simply pinched my left leg, causing me to gasp before my mouth snapped shut.

Before I could make sense of what was happening, he dropped me into the passenger seat without flourish, slammed the door shut and rounded the car, only to come sit beside me a few seconds later, his face the usual mask of indifference, so much so that one wouldn’t even guess that he’d just literally hauled me into his car.

"This is insane!" I hissed,

"You’re welcome," he drawled, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

And I swear to the moon goddess, I wanted to wipe that smug smile off with the back of my hand! I wanted to bash his head straight into his steering wheel until it disappeared.

My hands itched me to do one of those, but before I could question where all of these violent tendencies were coming from, he muttered;

"You can sulk."

I frowned. "Huh?"

"I said that you can sulk. You can be mad at me for being so stubborn and perhaps crude but I can not let you out of my sight today."

"Why?" I hissed, feeling my anger rising. "Because your Chalice has miraculously escaped from her cell?"

"Yes." He spat without looking at me, and maybe it was the fact that he was treating me like I was a child... or maybe it was because he hadn’t even looked at me at all that made me see red. But I found myself inching closer to him, my voice as cold as ice as I sneered;

"And what makes you think that I even believe that happened? Or is this not just one of your soon to fail attempts at keeping me close?"

"Leilani?"

"You’ve done worse things in the past. You’ve lied countless times too; So what in hell makes you think or believe that I wouldn’t suspect this to be one of the times when you lie?" I snapped, interrupting him.

And at my words, he went silent. However, just when I had begun to think that he wouldn’t respond, he swerved his car off the road and came to a stop at the corner of the road, his face flushed as he ground out;

"If you do not believe me, mate, you can leave."

I froze.

But I wasn’t sure if it was because he’d simply asked me to leave or if it was because he’d referred to me as ’mate’.

My eyes widened infinitesimally but shaking off the shock coursing through my veins, I leaned away and tried to pry the door open.

However, before I could do that, he began to speak again. He rasped; "Leilani, I want to keep you close. I want to protect you... and so help me moon goddess, I do not even need anything from you in return. But I’d never lie just to have that. I won’t pretend that you’re in danger when you’re not, just to have you in my car; And even though that thought in itself is as tempting as sin, you need to know that I would never do it!"

"So Chalice had indeed escaped?" I whispered quietly, a stark contrast to the loud pounding of my heart in my chest.

"Yes,"

"Goddess!"

"And I fear that she fled her cell with a prisoner or two."

—

For the next couple of hours, I got myself a bodyguard and I mean that in a literal sense. Because tell me why Zevran Stormborn wanted to follow me literally everywhere?

Tell me why he was hovering around my kitchen door when I was inside cooking and even hung around my bathroom door when I got in to ease myself?

My face burned with embarrassment and a tinge of rage when I stepped out to find him sitting on the floor a little distance away from the door, his face between his knees as he slowly raised his gaze to meet mine.

He drawled; "You’re done."

It was a statement not a question. And the finality in it had me gnashing my teeth together.

Oh, how I wanted him to leave. How I wanted this day to end... and for Chalice to be found with immediate effect. My blood boiled in my veins, but reigning it in... even if it was only a little, I hissed; "Now this is just too much."

"What?" He snapped, feigning confusion. But I could see right through him. I could see the smile he couldn’t fully hide... could perceive the way his shoulders were bunched together, as if he was holding in laughter.

I rolled my eyes as I walked away from him and headed to the kitchen, my frown deepening when I realized that he was now following me.

"Leilani..."

"If you sit in the living room, Zevran, I will be fine. I won’t be kidnapped or anything. I swear, I won’t die either..."

"But you’ll be out of my sight." He countered, his face twisted into a look of worry, "...and I cannot help the thoughts that have been swirling around my mind. I cannot help but think that something or someone could attack you when we least expect. I fear that something could..."

"Not happen." I snapped, interrupting him. "No one can hurt me... especially when you’re here."

Silence.

It descended upon us as soon as I said that, plunging us both into an uncomfortable situation where we could both only stare at each other.

A moment passed and then two, and just when he opened his mouth, as if finally able to come up with something to respond to me with, my doorbell rang.

I froze.

"Are you expecting anyone?" He asked softly— too softly.

I shook my head. "No."

"Is there anyone who drops by unannounced?"

"Besides you and your brothers?" I hissed sharply, "no one else!"

And with that, I turned around and began to walk towards the door. But before I could pull the wooden object open, Zevran suddenly pulled me backwards and into his warm arms, his breath fanning against the top of my head as he hissed;

"Let me do it, Leilani. Please."

His tone was desperate... pleading.

I nodded. "Okay."