#maomao

“Now, what do we have here?” His voice came low beside her ear, little more than a dark whisper against the night. “You seemed to be enjoying yourself in there.”

Her face remained frustratingly turned away from him, only the faintest smirk resting upon her lips. “You should know better than to watch so closely, Your Highness.” Her voice carried all the sweetness she had bestowed upon the nobles inside. “It was merely harmless fun.”

“Harmless.” The word left him almost like a laugh.

His fingers lingered upon the crescent before tracing downwards, winding themselves amongst her dark hair. His grip tightened just enough to make his displeasure known. “So many men looking at you. Touching you.” Quiet amusement entered his voice, though there was little warmth behind it. “And you let them.”

“Did I?” she asked, and he found his eyes narrowing further.

Finally, she turned her head slightly, just enough to glance at him from the corner of her eye. “How strange. I seem to remember leaving with everything I wanted and giving them nothing in return.”

There she was. That calculating little creature hidden beneath silk and painted smiles.

His other hand slid along the line of her neck before coming to rest at her throat, guiding her chin upwards until she had little choice but to look at him.

A perfect collar for his perfect bride.

“And what, exactly, did you want?” His voice was darker now, a dangerous lilt hidden beneath the question.

Lady Kan's smile only deepened. “Wouldn't you like to know?”

She settled further into the bench, adjusting herself within the position he had forced her into until it appeared almost deliberate, as though she had chosen to remain there rather than simply allowed him to keep her. If he wanted to believe he had cornered her, she saw little reason to spoil the illusion.

His thumb brushed slowly across her lower lip. “How careless of you, Princess.”