Predatory Marriage

Chapter 199 – Emotional Whirlwind (2)

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

Absorbed in the fresh scent, Leah pressed her lips together. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. Every word this man from the desert spoke made her feel strange.

“But, at least we could kiss,” he added nonchalantly.

“……?”

“You need it, too. Of course, if you want to do something else, that would be welcome.”

“I don’t need it,” Leah refused flatly. Even if he was the King of Kurkan, he couldn’t treat her like this. It was time that she corrected him. “We have already confirmed our identities. You must behave properly.”

But Ishakan turned a deaf ear to her words. He looked at her carefully, particularly at her skinny shoulders, and then muttered a few incomprehensible words.

“If you were in the desert, you would be treated so incredibly well…”

Leah bit her lips. Every time he spoke, her heart pounded. His scent, his voice, his gaze, even the warmth radiating from his body made her nervous. Her mouth went dry, and suddenly she had a throbbing headache. The words of a stern voice throbbed with the pain.

—Leave this place immediately.

It was a command, sharp and authoritarian, but today she rebelled. She wanted to talk to this man some more. When she raised her head, she saw his golden eyes looking at her.

“So, have you remembered anything?” He asked her bluntly.

“How can I remember someone I’ve never met?”

He frowned at the prickling words, and seemed to think for a moment before he produced a small box.

“Second clue,” he said, opening the lid to reveal dark brown fruits. Leah looked at them curiously.

What’s that?

It was the first time she had ever seen them, but they smelled so good, her mouth instantly watered. She couldn’t take her eyes off them.

“They’re dates.” Ishakan smiled and held the box out to her. “It’s a present.”

She forgot all about manners. Grabbing the box, she ate one immediately, the sweet taste spreading through her mouth, sticky on her tongue. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes widened as she exclaimed inwardly. This was the taste she had missed. Unconsciously, she had been searching for it. Dying for it.

After swallowing the first one nearly whole, she hastily shoved the rest in her mouth, as if she had never been nauseous a day in her life. The food was so delicious, she was nearly crying as she ate.

In a blink, the box was empty. She looked at it with regret for only a moment before she regained her composure and closed the lid. No matter how hungry she was, she had to maintain her dignity. She was in front of a King from another country…

She was so embarrassed, she wished she could hide. What a glutton she must look like, just as Cerdina said. And she still wanted more. She wanted to fill her empty stomach until she was bursting.

There was no way to get more. She couldn’t ask her ladies-in-waiting to get them. If she made such an unusual request, Blain and Cerdina would surely hear of it, and if they happened to ask why she wanted them, she would have no believable excuse. The only way to get more dates was from the man in front of her.

Savoring the lingering sweetness in her mouth, Leah risked a request.

“Ca…can you…” Her voice trembled, and she flushed as he cocked his head at her. “Can you give me some more…?”

Ishakan covered his mouth with the back of his hand, and she reddened as she realized he was holding back laughter.

“There is one condition.” He touched her lips with his finger, a gesture that made his price clear. A kiss. Leah’s expression turned rigid.

“I have a couple,” she said.

“Me, too.” He didn’t back down at all. His voice was quiet. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

“……”

Leah’s lips tightened. She hadn’t been able to eat anything for so long. And now that she had found something she could eat, it was so hard to resist. She kept remembering the taste of the dates she had just eaten, and hunger clouded her reason. The self-control she so firmly maintained shattered.

She would kiss him, because she was hungry. Leah looked at his lips. When he had kissed her before, she hadn’t disliked it at all. It had even given her pleasure. Would it feel the same as it had that night in the rain? Ignoring the warning in her head, she rose on tiptoe, resting her hands on Ishakan’s chest.

Her eyes widened as his face approached hers. As their lips made contact, she shuddered. The moment she thought about drawing back, he pounced.