The Alpha's Temptation

Chapter 40 The Swelling

Tania could help but be enraptured by the king's beautiful face. Her breath hitched as she tried to recollect where she had seen him earlier. This was the first time her memory faltered her. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she was just imagining.

As for Eltanin, he stayed as close to her as he could for as long as possible. His eyes traveled to her forehead, her thick eyelashes that cast shadows onto her cheeks, her cheekbones, the velvety skin on them that he wanted to touch, her straight nose that was curved up a little and then her chin. It was as if the gods had abandoned everything they were doing to create this masterpiece before sending her out into the world. A single hair teased her lips. As if bewitched, he brought his hand to the corner of her lips and removed the hair, taking the opportunity to brush her skin. The small contact electrified him and he felt dizzy from it. Gods, how he wanted to pick her up, sit her in his lap and nibble on her skin, drag her beeches down and wedge his raging erection in between her thighs. He knew that he would keep suffering from such lascivious thoughts until he claimed her and marked her.

He saw a pinch of nervousness creeping in as her shoulders tensed. Controlling his thoughts, he straightened up, rounded the table and walked back to his chair where he sat grandly.

At first, Tania waited for a moment for him to leave as she stared at him. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly, staring back at her. "Don't you have to go attend to your 'kingly' duties, Your Highness?" she asked, hoping that he would leave  so she would feel less awkward. Why did she have a feeling he was being clingy?

He narrowed his eyes at her and braced his elbows on the table. He steepled his fingers and rested his chin over them. He said, "How do you know I am not doing them now?" How could he leave his mate all alone in the library? There were guards in the corridor of the library, but they were all men. And she was unclaimed!

Tania blinked her eyes once and then twice. She cringed under his aura and then lowered her head. "Princess Morava might be waiting for you," she mumbled.

Eltanin understood that Tania was trying to use 'Morava' in order for him to leave her. As if he would leave her for that woman. So, he ignored her words and continued to stare at her.

Realizing that he wouldn't leave any time soon, Tania rubbed her neck and began to read the text in the grimoire.

And he wondered if he could ever stop staring at her. A sigh escaped his lips. How incredibly lucky he was to find his mate eventually. Surely, Rigel would get jealous if he ever came to know that he found his mate, yet he was still hunting for one. Princess Morava could go to hell for all he cared for. However, he remembered that he had to deal with her carefully. He had to send her off without making Biham angry and without revealing to the world that he had found his treasure. Once she was gone, he would slowly bring Tania out and show her to his father, mother, clan and then the world by marrying her. He heard a low grumble. All at once he remembered that she must not have eaten anything. He clenched his teeth as an urge to feed her urgently clawed its way into his chest. How could he forget that she was hungry? Chiding himself on the inside, he stood up to fetch food for her. He warned her, "I am leaving but will be back in a little bit. Do not, and I mean, do not go outside of this library."

Tania whipped her head up and shrank in her chair seeing his menacing expression with the threat. "Yes, Your Highness," she said in a hoarse voice. But she was relieved that he was going to give her some space. She would relax during that time. She was certain that he would not come back until the afternoon or maybe the evening.

Eltanin strode out of the library and closed the door behind him. She heard him instruct his guards on something. Hurried footsteps sounded down the corridor followed by more instructions. It was as if a commotion had started. Tania drew her gaze back to the grimoire and started reading the text. She took the quill out of the inkpot and started writing the translated text on the blank parchment in front of her. Even though Isgash was an easy language as compared to other ancient languages, it took time. She was immersed in translating when suddenly the door opened. The king had returned in less than fifteen minutes.

"Did you leave at any point?" he asked suspiciously, scanning the library.

Stunned that he returned so fast, Tania jumped in her chair. She hadn't even read a paragraph let alone the whole page and he was back already. Where could she have gone in fifteen minutes? "No," she replied, bewildered at his question. And why was he sounding so worried? She would certainly never put this mission under jeopardy now that the most important man of Araniea was involved in it. _{ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​}

Eltanin's gaze fell on her ink stained hand and sighed a breath of relief. "Good," he muttered. "Continue with your work." He walked past her, brushing her sleeve and sat at the edge of the table.

Tania nodded and started reading once again, as he watched her, this time with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Tiny balls of unease took root in her. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and began reading the text under his 'watchful' eyes. She felt like she was a prisoner. Even in the monastery she wasn't watched this way, under the heated gaze of a scary man like him, and definitely not surrounded by the smell of brine and musk.

Ten minutes later, when she had just finished reading a paragraph, there was a soft knock on the door. Eltanin jumped up. She breathed a sigh of relief that this time he was for sure going to lace as his absence was probably  noticed by his men by now and they had come to call him. She watched him open the door and then close it behind him. She sucked in a breath sharply and had relaxed in her chair, when all of a sudden the door opened immediately and Eltanin emerged again. This time he had a silver tray in his hand that was covered with a white cloth. He closed the door immediately as if he was guarding her with his life.

"It is time for breakfast," he announced and placed the tray in front of her. He removed the cloth, revealing cheddar cheese cut in thin triangles, an assortment of fruits in a bowl, chicken sausages, buttered bread and tea. When he came near her, he pushed the grimoire from her and replaced it with the tray. "Eat," he commanded.

Tania's eyes flew wide open, not because he pushed the grimoire away, but because he remembered that she was hungry. It was pretty odd for her to be tended like this. She was actually hoping that he left her, but at this rate, she wouldn't finish translating this grimoire in a year even, let alone any other. Little did she know that the real one still awaited her. Defeated, she dropped her quill and brought her hand forward to pick up a piece of cheese. However, the moment she reached for it, Eltanin picked it up for her along with a black grape.

He wrapped the cheese around the grape and brought it to the front of her lips. "Eat it," he said, his eyes on her plump lips. Tania's eyes went to him. She opened her lips and in went the cheese with the grape. As soon as she crunched the fruit and the grape, she saw sparkles in his eyes. Eltanin stopped breathing as he watched her wrap her lips around the cheese and smashed the black grape with her teeth. A drop of its juice splashed out of her mouth and settled on her dewy lips. Entranced, he took his thumb and wiped the juice from her lips because it felt… natural.

Tania was beyond shocked. With wide eyes and a face as red as a tomato, she watched him take that thumb into his mouth. Did she hear him groan? And why were his pants tenting between his thighs? Was he hurting so bad? She gulped down her food as she stared at his swelling. "And you really need to show yourself to the healer. Your swelling has worsened."

Eltanin groaned. She started looking around. "What are you looking for?" he asked as he cut a small piece of sausage and gave it to her with buttered bread.

Instead of eating it, she whipped her head to the right. "Oh, there it is!"

"What?" He followed her direction of gaze and saw the jar with healing paste.

"Till you go to the healer, let me apply the healing paste on your swelling."

"No!" Eltanin snapped. He couldn't imagine the paste on his cock. It would be like tying his cock to a slab of ice for hours. He brought the sausage to her and said, "You eat."

"I can eat it myself, Your Highness," she squeaked in a low voice.

"No, I can't trust you to eat well," he replied. "In fact, I have to force you to eat, and for that—" he pulled her out of her chair and sat down on it.

Tania stood there with no clue as to what was happening until he pulled her back and made her sit on his lap.

"But your swelling—"