Sold To The Cruel Prince-Chapter 28: You Started It!

And for the first time that morning, Aveline wasn’t thinking about snakes, or food. She didn’t even think about her newfound... assets. All she could think about was him, and how dangerously close he suddenly felt.

"Uh... can you... move...?" she asked, her voice betraying her as her eyes flickered downward in pointed discomfort.

Right now, she would have very much preferred that to be a snake.

At least she understood snakes.

This... whatever this was...

It made her aware of things she didn’t have the words for, didn’t have the experience for, and absolutely did not have the composure for.

Theron didn’t move.

Instead, his gaze sharpened, a faint hint of something amused curling at the edges of his expression.

"Why?" he asked, far too calmly.

Her heart stuttered at the tone alone. There was something deliberate about him now, something that made it clear he knew exactly what he was doing, even if she didn’t.

"I just—" she began, only to falter as his weight shifted again, pressing the reality of the situation far too clearly against her. "It’s... a problem," she muttered, not daring to look at him.

That was the safest word she could find.

It was also, apparently, the wrong one.

Theron exhaled softly, the sound brushing past her ear like the ghost of a laugh, though there was no real amusement in it. What lingered instead was something slower, more deliberate—an unfolding curiosity that settled deep in his gaze as he looked at her, as though she had suddenly become something he needed to understand.

"Problem... and abhorrent..." he murmured under his breath, almost to himself.

Aveline’s brows drew together slightly, her confusion slipping through despite everything else pressing in on her senses. "You’re so different now, Theron..." she muttered quietly.

Back then, she used to understand him.

Now... she wasn’t even sure where to begin.

Hadn’t he bought her for his crown prince? Hadn’t he refused, time and again, to take her as a mistress and help her escape his crown prince?

Then what was this?

What was he doing?

Theron’s gaze shifted again, slower this time, as if he wasn’t even trying to hide it. His eyes dropped briefly to her lips, lingering there just a second too long before lifting back to meet her eyes, the silence between those two glances saying far more than either of them acknowledged.

He had changed.

He could feel it in the way he looked at her, in the way his thoughts no longer stopped where they used to.

And he didn’t stop himself.

"You were curious a moment ago... to touch me," he said, his voice lowering as he leaned closer, his presence pressing in around her in a way that made retreat feel both necessary and impossible. "You touched my face... my neck..."

Aveline blinked, her thoughts tangling over themselves as she tried to follow him. "I—what?"

His gaze didn’t waver, steady and intent.

"You didn’t seem shy a moment ago," he murmured. "Do you want to touch there too?" he asked, softer now, but far more dangerous for it. "Aren’t you curious?"

There was something else beneath his words, something unspoken and sharp, a curiosity of his own that had nothing to do with innocence and everything to do with the way she reacted to him.

He wanted to see it... And then push it further.

For a moment, she simply stared at him, the meaning of his words arriving slowly, like a delayed strike of lightning cutting through fog.

And when it did... Her entire face burned.

Heat rushed up her neck, blooming across her cheeks as her heart slammed wildly against her ribs, so loud she was certain he could hear it, could feel it where he still held her.

"Huh?" she managed, utterly unhelpful, her voice small and breathless despite herself.

And somehow, that only made his gaze deepen.

The smile that tugged at her lips betrayed her before she could stop it, small and helpless and entirely at odds with the panic racing through her.

Instinctively, she turned her face away, trying to bury it against the pillow, against anything that wasn’t him, as if that could somehow hide the way her body had already reacted.

But even then, she couldn’t quite stop smiling.

Theron noticed.

Of course he did.

He leaned closer, drawn in by that unguarded reaction, by the way her defenses slipped in the smallest, most revealing ways. His gaze lingered on the line of her neck where it curved into her shoulder, now exposed by the way she had turned away from him.

Something in his expression shifted again.

The space between them thinned to almost nothing as he hovered there, close enough that she could feel his breath, warm against her skin. Close enough that the thought crossed his mind...

I want to kiss her there.

And this time, he didn’t dismiss it. His head dipped, just slightly, not enough to touch... Enough that she felt it.

Enough that she stopped breathing.

"Careful, Aveline," he murmured against her ear. "You’re the one who started this."

His voice sent a shiver down her spine, sharp and unfamiliar, locking her in place despite every instinct telling her to move, to say something, to do something.

But she didn’t.

Neither of them did.

Because at that exact moment...

A knock sounded at the door, sharp and clear.

The tension between them snapped like a pulled thread.

Reality rushed back in all at once.

And whatever might have happened next... Didn’t.

Theron didn’t move immediately. His jaw tightened, just slightly.

Then he pulled back.

Aveline released the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

-----

Theron watched her eat.

She had drawn her knees up to her chest, curling into herself as she held the bowl close, chewing quickly, almost urgently, like a small animal afraid that if she slowed down, someone might take it away.

It was... oddly endearing.

Like a wary little hare that had finally found something it didn’t want to lose.

She could sleep now, he knew that much. The restless nights seemed to be behind her, at least for the moment. And yet, the way she ate told a different story. Whether it was fear or habit, her movements carried the same quiet desperation, as though some part of her still believed this could be taken from her at any moment.

He simply watched.

Only when she finished did she lower the bowl, exhaling softly, unaware of the small crumb clinging stubbornly to her cheek.

Theron noticed it immediately.

And without thinking, he leaned closer.

Aveline stiffened at once, her entire body going still as awareness rushed back into her, sharp and immediate. The faint color that had faded from her face returned just as quickly, blooming across her cheeks as his presence drew near again.

For a brief moment, his gaze lingered, not on the crumb, but on her lips.

There were a hundred things he could do. A hundred things he almost did.

But in the end... He reached out and brushed the crumb away with his thumb.

Nothing more.

The contact was brief, almost careful. And yet, it lingered.

An awkward silence followed as he pulled his hand back and leaned away again, returning to his place as if nothing had happened.

Aveline’s heart didn’t agree.

It was still pounding, uneven and loud in her chest, refusing to settle no matter how still she forced herself to be.

Slowly, quietly, reality began to settle over her.

Aveline...

She lowered her gaze, her fingers tightening slightly around the empty bowl.

Don’t misunderstand this.

The words formed in her mind with a clarity that hurt.

You’re a slave he bought. Whatever this is... it doesn’t mean anything for him.

It can’t be for you, too.

Her chest tightened, the earlier warmth draining away, replaced by something far colder, far heavier.

This isn’t something you get to keep... so don’t be stupid enough to want it.

The shift was subtle, but it was there.

And Theron saw it.

His brows drew together slightly as he studied her, the lightness from moments ago slipping out of her expression as though it had never been there to begin with.

His gaze didn’t leave her.

"You were smiling a moment ago," he said.

"What changed?"