The Dragon Prince's Slave

Chapter 5

MARIETTA

“Friends? Which friends? Why do you want to introduce me to them?” I said in a rush because I really wanted to go back home so I could put Crista’s mind at ease since she would be worried sick right now.

The man pulled out the chair next to me and sat on it before grabbing the jug, pouring water from it into another cup. “You’ll meet them soon and I want to introduce you to them just because.”

His voice was deep, warm and inviting and it made nerves dance up my spine. I really, really liked it but I didn’t like that answer because I wanted to know why he wanted to introduce me to his friend. He had the upper hand in this situation though because he could ensure that I got back home safely. If I went back to The Northern Kingdom on my own, I could get killed by a wild animal or kidn*pped again. Neither of those were favourable.

There was also the fact that he was a member of the Imperial family… most likely a prince. I had figured that out because his clothes were golden and they had jewels just like the clothes of the woman that had been talking to the Emperor in the box for the Imperial family in the arena and I also figured out that we were in a palace because of everything and everyone I had seen on the way to this room. I didn’t want to piss off a member of the Imperial family by demanding that he let me go home now so I had to wait to meet his friends.

“Can I go home after I meet them?” I asked and he hmmed in response as he drank from his cup. I took that as a yes so the thought of him giving me to one of his friends as a gift instantly left my mind. “How soon am I going to meet them?”

He cleared his throat and placed the cup on the table while his knees brushed mine. “At the end of the festival.”

“When is the festival ending?”

“Evening,” he replied and I buried my face in my hands as I groaned in frustration because we were still a couple of hours away from sunset.

Crista must be going crazy. If I was meeting his friends by evening, that meant I would be going home tomorrow morning because no one would want to take me back to The Northern Kingdom through the forest in the middle of the night. Aw, hell.

“Do I really have to meet your friends? I don’t think they would want to meet me,” I said, wanting him to change his mind and decide to send me back home right now.

He snorted. “Trust me, they need to.”

“Why?” I asked and remembered that before he had said he wanted to introduce me to his friends, he said he wanted to test something. I furrowed my brows. “What do you want to test?”

He got to his feet with a sigh and headed towards a wardrobe that was on the other side of the room. “You ask a lot of questions.”

He opened the wardrobe and I opened my mouth to reply him but words deserted me when he suddenly took off his shirt to reveal a muscular and well-sculpted back and arms and I gaped at him. I had seen a fair share of shirtless men but this was different somehow and I pressed my hands to my cheeks when I realized my face had become hot.

He turned to face me after grabbing a red shirt from the wardrobe and he smirked when he saw that my hands were on my face while I blushed even harder because of his chiseled chest and abs.

I wouldn’t lie, he was attractive… really, really attractive, but I had kept that out of my mind because I had been nervous, scared and worried about Crista. I could no longer keep it out of my mind now and the thought of how his body would feel against mine abruptly popped into my mind.

Gods! I didn’t even know his name and he was hiding something about the friends that he wanted me to meet but here I was, thinking about rolling around in his bed with him… naked. Stop it, Marietta! He’s a prince, he probably doesn’t want to do that with you! You shouldn’t even be thinking of that!

“You haven’t told me your name,” I said to distract myself from my thoughts while he flexed his muscles as he put on his shirt and I gulped.

“It’s Milan.” He turned around to grab a black belt from the wardrobe and faced me again as he fixed the belt around the shirt. “Would you like something to eat?”

“No, I’m not hu -” I was cut off by the sound of my stomach rumbling and I glanced down at it as my face grew hot again while Milan snorted. He walked over to his bed before pulling a rope that was hanging from a small hole in the wall and I furrowed my brows.

What does that do?

He walked back to where I was just as a loud roar came from outside and I jolted in my seat. My eyes darted to the huge window in time to see a blue-black dragon fly past it and a cold wave embalmed me as I remembered what had happened in the arena. I still had no idea why the dragons hadn’t killed me and why they behaved like that but I felt really bad for the people that they had killed.

“... Why did they sacrifice those people to the dragons?” I asked when Milan came to a stop next to me and his mouth set in a hard line.

“Dragon festival,” he muttered half-heartedly and the corner of his mouth twitched.

“That’s not a complete answer. A festival doesn’t -”

A knock came on the door and my eyes darted to it while Milan went to open in, revealing a servant girl standing in the hallway outside. The girl bowed and Milan told her something that I couldn’t hear before she bowed again and walked away.

“Milan!” a man’s voice called out cheerfully in the hallway but before the person could come into my line of sight, Milan shut the door and locked it. A knock came on the door almost immediately but he ignored it and walked back to where I was.

“Oh come on Milan,” the voice announced as the man knocked on the door again while Milan sat next to me. “I just want to see the dragon tamer s***h witch. Everyone said you took her from the arena.”

“Who is that?” I asked as I nervously bunched up the fabric of my gown in my fists because that person was obviously talking about me.

If I was a witch, I wouldn’t be in this situation and how could I be a dragon tamer when this is the first time I’m seeing dragons in my life?

Milan gave me a dismissive wave and let out an irritated sigh as he glanced at the door over his shoulder. “It’s my brother. Ignore him.”

“... Oh.”

He then suddenly pulled my chair forward, making me jolt, and caged my thighs between his knees as a smirk appeared on his face. “Let’s talk about you now.”

“M-me?”

I swallowed and looked down at his hands when he placed them on my knees before he began to draw small circles on them. I could feel my pulse thrumming in my throat as I kept staring at those artful hands… Hands that would feel absolutely perfect against my neck where they would then trail ever so slowly down to my breasts and -gods Marietta, get a grip!

“W-what do you… what do you want to know about me?” I finally managed to say as the person at the door knocked again.

“Okay then you crazy man. I’ll come back after the festival… Have fun,” he announced with a chuckle and Milan slightly tipped his head to the side while my face flushed because of the way the man had said ‘have fun’. It sounded like he expected something to happen between me and Milan and the atmosphere in the room instantly felt different.

I cleared my throat and tucked a lock of hair behind my hair as I nibbled on my bottom lip. “What do you want to know about me?” I repeated and excitement instantly set my pulse racing while the heat in my core rose even higher when his hands slowly trailed from my knees to my thighs. I didn’t stop him… I didn’t want to stop him.

“I honestly don’t have a particular question,” he muttered as his hands continued their upward movement. “I just want to find out something that can explain what happened in the arena… You could start by telling me about your family though.”

“My family… I don’t have any. I’ve been an orphan for as long as I can remember and I don’t know anything about them.”

Something flickered in his eyes - pity perhaps - and I pressed my lips together while his hands stopped moving. “Sorry about that,” he replied and I waved him off.

“No need for that. I don’t even know what they looked like so I’ve never missed them.”

He gave me a nod and hmmed as he slightly furrowed his brows. “Okay then... Where do you stay in The Northern Kingdom?”

I had no idea how the answer to that question would help him figure out why the dragons had decided to not kill me but he was the dragon expert in this room and he had a calculating look on his face so the question might actually be helpful.

“In a small village close to the kingdom’s border. The village is not on the map and I don’t think the King even knows that it exists,” I replied as my eyes darted to his hands which were on my thighs. I wanted them to keep moving. “... I live in a hut there with my best friend Crista. The both of us only have each other.”

My heart tightened in my chest as I imagined what Crista was doing right now. She would still be searching for me and she must be distraught. Why does the darn festival have to end in the evening?

Milan hmmed again, drawing my attention back to him and I wondered if what I had told him was helpful as I shifted on the seat, inadvertently shifting his hands which were on my thighs too. My pulse began to race again when his eyes glinted after they darted to my thighs and he began to caress them without asking any other question.

I slowly inhaled as my senses tingled. I should be focused on going back home but what his hands were doing was making me unable to form a thought and he was only touching me through my clothes. What would happen when he starts to caress my bare skin?

If, Marietta. If, not when! Get. A. Grip!

“My Lord -”

My breath hitched and I squeaked when he suddenly lifted my legs and placed both of them over his open thighs, making the hem of my dress ride up to reveal my thighs. My heart rate instantly elevated and my lips parted slightly as he lifted his eyes to mine.

He paused for a moment to gauge my reaction and when he saw that I wasn't going to stop him, he used his knuckles to caress my thighs. Goose bumps appeared on my legs at the small contact and Milan inhaled sharply when a soft moan slipped past my lips. My face flushed instantly.

Is this really happening?

A small growl escaped from his lips and my heart jumped in my chest as he pulled my chair even closer before pushing the hem of my dress back to reveal more bare skin.

Gods, this is happening.