The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia shook her head at the incredulity of her current situation. With pressed lips, she continued reading where she left off. Deep inside, she couldn't help but feel giddy and squeal at the cringey thought of her intentionally making a few mistakes just to make Darius happy… Well, not just Darius since she also enjoyed his kisses.

She controlled the yawn that was threatening to come out of her lips as she went through her options. She barely slept a wink last night because of those lewd books, and now here she was reading very real and very important information that she actually needed. But with her drowsiness starting to get the better of her, it wasn't helping her chances at all.

"Did you not sleep properly last night?" Darius asked, probably noticing how lethargic she was currently.

"No," she answered without looking at him, her attention still solely aimed at trying to understand the book she was currently reading.

"And why is that?" Darius pondered some more.

"I read books…" she plainly answered.

"Books? What kind of books would even keep you awake and active last night more than the books you're reading right now?" Darius asked. "They're so important that they might even help you with a few life and death situations."

Xenia's body stiffened. She turned to look at Darius, seeing the lingering curiosity in his eyes. She smiled at him, one that almost oozed awkwardness as she lied, "Ah, nothing. They're just some spells and magic stuff that Jayra lent for me to study."

Darius plainly nodded, and she inwardly heaved a sigh of relief at her lie being bought.

A few minutes passed, and she couldn't help but yawn. Not just once, but a few more times in rapid succession.

"This won't do. You need a distraction," Darius broke the silence between them with a frown. "Come here."

"Huh?" Xenia looked at him, not understanding what exactly he meant.

"Sit on my lap, love," he nonchalantly specified.

Eyebrows squishing together, Xenia simply followed, seeing as she was curious about what kind of distraction Darius was referring to. Would it be effective, she wondered.

Sitting on his lap with her side profile before him, Darius pulled up the book she was reading on the table and held it out in front of her. "Read it out loud to me," Darius instructed.

"Do I really need to sit on your lap to do that?" Xenia questioned with lifted brows, making Darius chuckle.

"Of course, I'm the distraction for you not to feel sleepy," Darius commented. "Go read it out loud."

Not having a choice in the matter, Xenia did as she was told. She continued reading, but she quickly halted when she felt Darius's nose nuzzling against the back of her neck.

"Continue," he whispered without a care in the world.

Was he kissing her neck and shoulder despite them being covered by fabric? She could feel his hot lips and breath seeping through despite the dress covering her skin.

She was wearing another one of her winter dresses since Darius's marks were still on her skin. It was only a good thing that the autumn weather wasn't as hot as during the summer. Already, she could already feel the humid and chilly air seeping in for the coming winter.

But despite all that, how come her body was burning? She began stuttering when she felt Darius unclasp and unlaced her dress from her back, just enough for her bare shoulders to be sprung free for his visual enjoyment.

"What are you doing?" she gasped out.

"Continue reading, Xen. One more stop and you'll receive another punishment," Darius commanded in a serious tone. He then added with a hoarser tone, "You're sleepy, so I'm just helping you wake your body up."

Xenia's body trembled when his fingers touched her skin, smothering all the marks on it with his own heat.

"You should flaunt these marks on your skin," Darius whispered onto her neck. "You need more anyway, seeing as there's still a lot of vacant spots left."

Xenia's throat dried up from his actions. She felt so hot that her body was practically burning up at that point. She couldn't even feel an inch of drowsiness in her anymore. Instead, it was replaced with something else… The tingling sensations traveling throughout her body… It was keeping her senses wide awake and unable to relax.

She tried to continue reading, but it was way too hard for her to concentrate anymore.

"I'm no longer sleepy, so you can stop now, my king. I can barely concentrate on what I'm reading," she complained, almost followed by her own suppressed moaning when Darius's lips finally touched her skin.

Feeling his blatant actions, Xenia bit down on her lower lip in an effort to control herself from making a sound. It just felt so good that she didn't even have the will to make Darius stop anymore. He was suckling and licking her skin nonstop, biting on it softly and giving her more marks just like he said. She clutched onto the book hard as she endured his onslaught.

"Look at me, Xen. I want to kiss your lips…" Darius whispered in her ear.

'Aren't they supposed to be studying?'

She turned to him and naively asked, "Did I make a mistake?"

Darius chuckled, followed by a nod as with a devious smile, he parted his lips together.

"W-What?" she inquired, swallowing in anticipation as her eyes darted towards his inviting lips.

"You're totally distracted, and I told you not to get distracted during training," Darius coolly replied. "You need to keep reading and stay focused no matter what is happening around you. I will now punish you severely for it…"

Xenia didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how absurd the Werewolf King was being right now. He was obviously doing this on purpose just to have a flimsy excuse to have his way with her.

'Alright then. Punish me,' she inwardly scoffed, enjoying the naughty smile on the king's face. She didn't even wait for him to do it as she obediently wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him.

Well, that wasn't too hard. It was like one of those scenes she read from last night's book. 'Take the initiative' as the book said, and so she did.

This time, she felt Darius's body stiffen. He probably didn't expect this from her at all, and Xenia was glad that she managed to surprise him. Moving her lips, she sloppily kissed him, all while wondering if what she was doing was even the right thing anymore. She simply followed her instincts, copying how Darius would intimately kiss her from before.

After a while, Darius gently pushed her away, his eyes blinking at her as he whispered with a frown, "I forgot that I have something important to attend to. Continue with your studies, and I will see you… Uhm- later…"

Without so much as a warning, the king stood up and left, leaving Xenia alone and heated for nothing.

"What just happened?" Xenia murmured with a frown as she watched Darius leave her in a rush.