Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 538: To choose

And she looked at him. She really looked at him for the first time since... Ever.

Forget the body he, null doubt, worked hard to build, Atticus lived as one of those people that nature spoiled, having every feature and trait on his face well proportionate and precisely shaped as though sculpted by the most talented of hands.

Even the shades of hair, eyes and skin he inherited fit a little too perfectly with each other.

However, Arabella was still in complete darkness as to what he meant. To look at him the same way she did the nut? What way was that?

The twisting in her stomach never ceased. On the contrary, it doubled in intensity as every second of hesitation counted as defiance... Or so the prince had called it.

But the knots that twined her vocal cords won, leaving her mouth agape and wide eyed as the little night skull still lay in her open hand.

The contortion on Atticus’ face was gradual, nearly unnoticeable at first, but grew impossible to ignore with every moment that went by.

Eventually, the fruit slipped out of her hand when she flinched at the sudden movement the General made. Though again, he didn’t touch her and instead stood on his feet and made his way towards a second door in that vast, extravagantly decorated bedroom.

After a few seconds since disappearing behind it, the sound of gushing water blared, leading the young woman to assume it was a bathroom.

Atticus reappeared in the room only to stop by the bed, near her figure, "Shed that cape around you," he ordered coldly.

Those words iced the blood in her veins.

Somehow despite him already seeing her naked body being used in the most deplorable of manners, the act of disrobing in front of any man who wasn’t her husband still hit with the same impact as the first time she was given that order.

Nevertheless, she did as told even though very reluctantly until every part of her was left bare before his eyes. Instinctively, her shoulders crumpled forward so that her arms could cover however much of her breasts they managed.

"Don’t hide your body from me,"

Atticus made a point of speaking softly, as if it would take from the blow his actual words dealt.

Once anew, very hesitantly, Arabella followed the directives, prompting the General to move forward and put his arms around her for the second time.

Her weight was nothing to him seeing the manner in which he so easily swept her figure off the bed.

To the bathroom he quietly took her until the tub was right by his knees, "The water temperature seems kind to me but do let me know if it is too harsh on you," he said as he lowered her into the water.

Upon first contact, the pain that had grown dull was instantly reverted back to its initial effect, reigniting the stinging of a freshly cut wound.

Every muscle in her body recoiled beneath her flesh, forcing her to curl and solidify in his arms while fighting all the urges to scream and cry.

"Is it too hot?" he stopped dead in his motion to ask.

"No," she squeezed her eyes shut and profusely shook her head.

"Then it must be the injuries you’ve sustained. Bear with me. It’ll feel better after a while,"

Not a second after laying her in the tub, the man fully undressed himself as well without a warning, revealing every inch of hard work he put into his physic before her eyes.

Though Arabella immediately looked away, which did not go unnoticed.

"You may look if you want to,"

Was that an order? Was she going to suffer his wrath if she chose not to look?

But as the struggle to turn her neck around intensified, he spoke again, his tone a tad different... Lower, somehow, "You do not have to,"

Alright then, was it a trap? Was there only one right choice to make? One may never know with people such as him.

In any case, he didn’t wait for a reaction and simply got into the tub, squeezing himself right behind her.

A little jolt took over her body when his arms went around and pulled her back against himself.

It didn’t matter how gentle he was, the direct skin to skin contact between them only made her battle to keep the breakfast in her stomach tougher.

That was agonizing enough, but the moment he started rubbing all over her, focusing mainly on her breasts made the young woman cling to the edges of the tub in order to stay put and not leap out of there.

"Calm down," he whispered in her ear, "We must get rid of all that filth,"

There was no calming down! The longer it went, the more of her he touched, moving from her breasts down between her legs, alternating between caressing, rubbing and pressing on her tender flesh.

"They did a number on you," he finally commented as she continuously winced and whimpered every time his hands grazed the open cuts riddling her bottom.

He was doing a number on her too and simply didn’t care about the outcome.

After a while of him fondling every part of her despite the clear displeasure she exhibited, Arabella was no longer able to hold back and burst into tears, hands clasping over her face.

As if attempting to comfort her, Atticus seemed to think wrapping her and holding her closer would work to calm her down, but of course, it didn’t. It only worsened her torment.

"Do you hate your own kind?" the man leaned even closer to speak right in her ear.

Those words petrified her in place, "No, I do not," she cried, shaking her head from left to right.

"Then why? Why choose a vampire over your own?"

Her breath hitched in her throat momentarily as her eyes landed on the immaculate and highly reflective tiles facing them.

The sight of their bodies intertwined as he held onto her only pushed the rising bile in her to rise faster.

"I didn’t choose a vampire," she sniffled, "I chose a man who happened to be a vampire,"