CH5

Lester pov

Arvin only glares at me. So be it, I don’t mind.

I reach for the cage door and creak it open, standing to my full height and growling, “out.”

To my surprise, he scatters to get out, almost.. fearful? Interesting..

He stands up, straightening his posture in front of me, standing rigid, his breath uneven as his chest rises and falls with the force of his own restraint. Arvin doesn’t speak, but I can see the war within him in his eyes.

Arvin refuses to admit the truth. He denies, to himself, and me, that there is hunger that simmers under his skin. It’s clear, my little defiant human will never claim this hunger as his own. He will keep blaming me, he will lie to himself until I will shatter every part of him that believes he is only meant to fight me.

And fuck me, is he exquisite in his defiance. So damn fragile, so damn stubborn and so damn pretty.

I move slowly, circling him like a predator savoring the moment before the strike. My presence is purposely too close, overpowering and my breath is a whisper against his skin when I lean in. He shivers, just barely, but I catch it. “You can keep pretending,but your body tells me what your lips won’t.”

His jaw tightens as his fingers curl into trembling fists. “You think you know me?” Arvin spits, his words laced with venom. “You know nothing.”

A chuckle rumbles deep in my chest. “Oh, but I do. I know the way your pulse quickens when I stand too close. I know the way your breath hitches when my fingers graze your skin.”

I lift a hand, fingers tracing the edge of his collarbone, the barest touch, just enough to watch his body betray him. He stiffens, and there’s a sharp inhale of breath that he tries to hide beneath his rage. But I feel it.

“You hate this,” I mutter, watching his eyes desperately dart everywhere but at me, trying to hide the conflicting emotions he is at war with. “Hate me. And yet,” I continue as my fingers travel lower, ghosting over his ribs, feeling the heat of his skin through the fabric. I savor the way he reacts, how his breath falters, how he doesn’t pull away. “You stay.”

His lips part, I know he’s planning to deny my statements, but I press a finger against his lips before he can speak. “No lies, Arvin,” I whisper, letting my own lips hover just beside his ear. “Not to me.”

He trembles under my touch, his chest rising and falling too quickly, his body caught between his anger and something more.

I drag my touch lower, following the shape of him, memorizing the sharp edges, the stubborn strength beneath his skin.

“I could take it from you,” I murmur, my voice becoming deeper, a little quieter. “I could rip every denial from your throat, make you beg for what you swear you don’t want.”

His body tenses, his nails dig into his palms, but he still doesn’t pull away. Arvin never does. He’s a fighter, a survivor, my little human.

“Then do it,” he hisses suddenly, his voice stained.

We both know Arvin is throwing me a challenge, but I’m not foolish enough to take it. I have self control, I know how to restrain myself when it really matters, especially if I must deny myself what I desperately crave.

Taking another step closer, breaking any distance between us and standing uncomfortably close to Arvin, I look down and smirk. “Not yet.”

Another moment of silence stretches between us. It’s more uncomfortable than ever, like a ticking time bomb that pulsates between us.

His pulse is wild, it thumps in a desperate rhythm, every sound becomes louder in my ears. With every erratic beat, I realize just how much he pulls me to him. Not even Arvin himself, it’s a sort of invisible force that pulls me closer, and him, fuck, Arvin actually is leaning into me as I lean closer.

He only realizes that when I pull away, forcing the distance back between us.

His breath is ragged, his hands trembling, clenched into tight first. I watch him, savoring the way he fights himself, the way he resists and yet, heesn’t move.

“Beautiful, so damn beautiful,” I murmur, quietly enough to know the words are heard only by me.

Arvin’s chest heaves erratically as I reach my hand toward him, but the magical moment we share is shattered by my bedroom door opening and Malik stepping inside.

He clears his throat, making me pull away from my little human. “A word, Lester?” Malik asks loud enough to break Arvin out of the dazed state.

With a smirk on my lips, I run my fingertips over Arvin’s jaw and lean in, “be good, my little lamb.”

Arvin shivers under my touch, but unsurprisingly, he tries to suppress the reaction and hide it from me.

It’s fine. I am a patient man, I can keep dancing around him for decades if need be. Of course, I can’t promise to remain patient, but the fact still stands.

“Lester?” Malik still stands at the door, his arms crossed in front of his chest, a scowl on his face. “We need to talk,” he repeats. It’s not a request, it’s a command.

If it were anyone but Malik, I’d tear them to pieces for the disrespect.

As I step out of the bedroom and close the door behind me, I notice how Malik’s golden eyes dart everywhere but at me.

“It’s about my little human, isn’t it?” I groan, already tired of the conversation.

Malik scoffs. “No, my prince, this is about you. About the fact that every elder in the court is whispering about your decision - about the weakness it implies.”

I hum, the corner of my lip twitches. “Weakness?” I repeat, stepping closer to him. “Tell me, Malik, do I look weak to you?”

Malik’s golden eyes lock with mine. “You know what I mean. They say you should’ve drained him. Killed him. Ripped his throat out in front of the court to remind them what you are. But instead, you caged him.”

I tilt my head, “and?”

“A prince taking a human pet? Unacceptable. They see it as a stain on your rule - a disgrace.”

I hum, tapping a finger against my chin and smirk. “Good. Let them choke on it.”

Malik’s expression darkens. “You think this is a game? The elders are restless, they already doubted you before. But now? They think you’ve lost your edge, that the hunger in you has dulled.”

I chuckle at his words. “Dulled? Oh, Mailk, I have never felt a hunger this intense before.