ARTEMISIA
"Hello, Queenie."
Laurent smirked as I ran into him in the hallway.
I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm in his voice. It was his usual way of referring to me. At least it was better than him staring at me like I had fallen off from somewhere and tagging me Sin's Queen rather than my given name.
He had said I was too inexperienced to be a queen to him. When he said inexperienced, he meant, I wouldn't be able to handle the supernatural world as time went on. That I would flee in no time.
He said so in front of Sin which had ticked him off.
I wasn't bothered. It would not be the first time Laurent was making snide remarks about me.
Ignoring him was the best I could do and I realized doing so also made him furious. But then, whether he was furious or not, I didn't care about his feelings.
Swiftly, he gripped me before I could round the corner.
I gasped as he yanked me, "Let go of me!"
"Stop acting as if you are a mighty human because you happened to be Sin's bride."
"What do you want with me?" I gritted my teeth, struggling in his grasp.
"For once, you asked a really great question." Laurent chuckled.
He puckered his lips, then moved his head towards me.
What was he doing?!
My eyes enlarged and I jerked as his head dipped.
"I'd like to have you spread your legs apart on my bed whilst your ginger hair is scattered on my pristine pillow." He whispered, twirling a lock of my hair in his hand.
I shuddered and let out a deep breath. I had thought he was going to kiss me! Perhaps, I was naive as he said.
"Is that a yes or a no?"
"Thanks but no thanks. I'd rather die than let you have me."
"Careful Queenie, never make such a wish." He clucked his tongue, shaking his head.
"Let me go, Laurent." I tried again, my voice was firmer this time.
Yet, he didn't budge. Also, it felt like I was talking to a block of wood rather than a human.
What had ever made me think he was attractive?
I guessed it was the way his lips tilted into a smile. It was somewhat similar to Sin's. Still, it was rare to see the latter smile, making it more unique when he did.
I shook my head at the silly thoughts I had about Laurent whilst in the meeting hall. Now, it was certain someone had played with my mind because I would not ever think of him in such a nasty way.
I was not the kind of woman that married one brother and went in with the next. What was such a woman called?
Well, I used the term 'slut' for them. How does that even feel? It was disgusting to me and being in Laurent's presence didn't only make my skin crawl, it made me want to hurl as well.
"Stop making that face. Someone might think I'm an ogre when they see your expression whereas I'm the sexiest being alive."
"Keep hoping." I rolled my eyes "And let go of me now!"
"Oh Queenie, are you rejecting my offer?"
"I'd never accepted such a thing!"
"Lest I remind you," He said, caressing my face. "I have a lot of playthings that I'm sure you'd be fascinated with and I have a bigger bed than your hus…"
Laurent trailed off. His eyes twinkled as he stared above me.
"Sin," I mumbled as my body tingled.
I always felt that way when he was around.
I let out a relieved sigh as Laurent released me almost immediately. I staggered as I was leaning back, he moved to grip me but I slapped his hand away and used the wall to steady myself instead.
Swirling, my eyes collided with Sin's dark gaze.
"Hey," I murmured, stepping to his side.
His eyes strayed to mine, then to Laurent who shrugged and to mine again.
"I was wondering what was taking your time." He finally said after scrutinising me.
"I-I," I stuttered.
Would it sound alright if I said I was with Laurent?
It was even weirder thinking of it.
It sounded like I was in the room with him or maybe my thoughts were just dirty.
"She was with me." Lauren asserted, grinning.
Sin grunted, but he said nothing. He flashed me a smile and pulled me into him.
"I'll be with you shortly, okay?"
"Okay," I replied, blushing as he kissed me.
★★★
My eyes flitted around and I noticed two horses I hadn't seen before, not even in the stable, were being tended by the stable boys.
I had thought we were going by car but I could see none presently.
It was Sin's idea to hang out because, since my arrival, we had never been anywhere together.
He had picked the venue, so it was certain he was making the provision for transportation as well.
But going by horses?
"You should take the grey mare, I bought her for you."
I lurched, swirling. "Sin!"
"It's not my fault you are always in deep thought." I saw him shrugged.
But the fright I had felt was soon replaced by the news of him buying me a mare.
A smile spread on my face and I skipped to where it was. It was perfect, everything I ever wanted and dreamt of. But, there was a problem.
I couldn't ride a horse. No, I could but I was frightened despite having spent my whole life in a ranch before coming here- the house at Lane was a ranch and also, one of the properties my dad had inherited.
I breathed in and out, glancing at the mare. The animal turned to stare at me.
Was it going to shove me?
I doubt it since a stable boy was next to it.
I was sure he would take care of it before it could do anything.
"Don't you like it?" Sin asked.
"I do!" I grinned, glancing at him.
"She is perfect…" I trailed off whilst staring at his face for the first time.
"What happened to you?!"
"It's nothing." He mumbled.
"That doesn't look like nothing." I narrowed my eyes. His once perfect lips were now bruised and swollen. The side of his face had a nasty purple bruise and blood trickled out of his upper lip as he licked it.
"You are bleeding!" I hissed.
"It's nothing Artemisia. We need to get going, we'll be…"
"I don't care," I mumbled, tugging his hand towards the room. "You don't look too good."
Sin sighed but didn't pull away as I dragged him towards the room.
"What happened between you and Laurent, Is this the small talk you had in mind?"
"Well, it could have been worse than this." He winced as I applied some spirits on it to clean the blood.
"I shouldn't have left you alone with him!"
"So, you'd rather stay and let him flirt with you?" Sin tilted his brow.
"I could hardly call that flirting." I scowled. "He was just annoying and trying to scare me."
"It is flirting to me." Sin grunted, balling his fist. "He looked like he was about to kiss you before I appeared and you did nothing to freaking stop him."
"I didn't notice that," I argued.
Even though it was a lie, there was no way I would agree that Laurent was flirting with me. It would make Sin angrier than he was.
"I punched him first." Sin said. "I hope his freaking face gets damaged so he won't stay in front of you anymore."
"Why?" I sighed. Although I know the answer- Laurent riled him- I wanted to hear him say it.
"Because he deserved it."
"Sin…" I gripped his clenched hands, staring into his eyes. "You shouldn't let Laurent get to you."
"He freaking said some nasty things that he would like to do to you if I was dead."
"Dead?"
Sin let out a humourless laugh and I creased my brows.
What was funny about being dead? Maybe it was a joke. But then, there was nothing funny about what was going on.
"Of course. When I f**king die, he'll be the first to sleep with my mate!"
He stood from the bed, walking to the window. His shoulder drooped and I saw him shudder.
I had never seen him this way before. He sounded angry, sad and at the same time broken.
He was seldom emotional and this meant something huge might be going on. Something he didn't want to let me on.