Hate or Love

Kissing Your Enemy

Blue roses. That was the first thing Estelle noticed when she stepped foot inside the gigantic dining hall.

Then her eyes met his, and she realized they were almost the same color as the roses. They were so beautiful, she could easily get drown in them. Like water. Deep and blue and mirroring feelings that Estelle already knew were taking form inside her heart, she just didn't want to accept it. Accepting meant going out of denial... And she was so not ready for that yet.

Walking towards the table, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, finally deciding to sit down on the spot across him.

Victor took a few seconds to admire her with his eyes only, and to not hide it at the very same time. "You look..." he stopped, as if he wanted to find the right word only for her, "breathtaking."

Suddenly, it became too hard to keep eye contact with, so she looked away, trying to gain her composure. "Is this the way you try to charm the ladies of your court? Because I can tell you, it's not effective."

Throwing his head back, he laughed, a sound that made her knees weak. Estelle was thankful she was sitting down.

"I thought I was pretty good at it." He shrugged, as modest as always.

"Believe my, you aren't." But even as she said the words, she knew she was lying. "What's your fascination for blue roses?" Estelle asked all of the sudden, merely curious. The last thing she expected was to make small talk with her mate, but this somehow had started to became natural too. Estelle sometimes didn't understand the feelings he brought out of her.

He was so dangerous, for her own good, she had to stay away.

"I don't really know," Victor answered with the smallest of smiles on his face. "They remind me of you somehow."

Estelle chuckled lightly, a sound that made his heart skip a beat. "There's nothing blue about me," she pointed out.

"Your dress is, tonight."

Looking away again, she played with her fingers nervously, a habit of hers. Why did she have to wear blue for God's sake?

"Coincidence."

"Obviously," he teased, opening the bottle of the red wine. Did the man breathe without drinking wine? Sometimes Estelle really doubted it.

"Where are the others?" She asked, looking at the empty chairs. She had been expecting for the other to join at any moment, but strangely, they weren't.

"All busy with their works." He said it as if it was such a casual thing for them to have dinner only in one another's company. It was one thing to be forced to have dinner at the same table with him, and completely another to dine with him only. "Strangely no one wanted to dine with us tonight. Which leaves only you and me."

Estelle looked at him almost as if she couldn't believe her own ears. Just when she had thought there was another, softer side to him, there he was, playing her once again. "I think my appetite is completely gone now."

"Estelle," Victor insisted, persistent but pleading too. "What is that bad about having a dinner with me only?"

"You lied to me," she pointed out. "Again."

Victor tried making an innocent grin. "I didn't lie to you, I just didn't mention... our siblings wouldn't join us. Would you have agreed if I did?"

Hesitating, she started playing with the fork and the delicious food in front of her. Would she? "No," she admitted, figuring there was no point in lying.

"Exactly."

With that, it seemed that this conversation was over. And like always, Victor had this small victory too. She just couldn't understand his ways of making her see things differently, with his eyes. If someone told her a few days ago that she would be living this today, she would have laughed at their faces, telling them that she would pull her mate's eyes out with a fork than have dinner with him. Yet, here she was. With her feelings all conflicted and mixed up together, and a heart that beat faster whenever he was around.

They ate in silence at first, realizing they both had a lot to talk, but still neither agreeing to speak first. They were both just stubborn like that.

"Irene is not my mistress," Victor decided to break the silence first. "They are just ugly rumors. She means nothing to me."

The smallest bit of helpless hopes bloomed inside her and Estelle started hating herself more for it. "I don't care," she said with a straight face, continuing to eat, unbothered. Or at least she tried to come out as unbothered. Inside, she could feel her own pulse on her ears.

"You do."

"I don't."

There were some seconds of another yet torturing silence. "You do."

"I don't care about anything you do, Victor," she said, her voice rising. "I don't care about you. I can't care about you, don't you understand? You murdered my father!" She accused. "You're my enemy. Agreeing to this dinner was stupid. Even coming to this court was stupid, no matter the reason for it." It was like she had started rambling the million reasons of why she couldn't care about him, but this to convince herself more than Victor.

"Your father was about to rape Evelyn!" Victor stated, hitting the table in front of him. "I saw it with my own eyes."

"That's a lie," she refused to believe him. "You're lying."

Victor sighed in frustration, his hand gripping his forehead to ease the ache there. "Please, just please stop brainwashing yourself. You know Robert was capable of doing that. You know, you just don't want to accept it."

Her hands had started shaking under the table, but she kept shaking her head almost dumbly. "You didn't know him, he would never do that, and especially not to her. He was fond of Evelyn, I could see that."

"Maybe that's why, in his head, Evelyn was his. So after finding out her affair with his son―"

"Please stop. I don't want to listen." Estelle got up from the chair, refusing to hear more. But as she tried to leave, he got up after her, blocking her way.

And suddenly Victor was so near, dangerously near, invading her personal space.

Her breath quickened, her pulse racing. He was just inches away now, and so tall, Estelle had to crane her neck to hold his gaze. So instead she decided to look at his chest. Somehow, she felt safer doing that.

"Little wolf," Victor whispered, noticing the way she sucked in a breath. Good. She liked the endearment as much as she acted otherwise. "Estelle, look at me."

She shook her head no.

With his index finger only, he raised her chin until she had no other choice but to look him in the eye. "You're beautiful," he whispered again, their lips only a few inches away.

Estelle closed her eyes, waiting for his soft lips on her.

"You want me, little wolf. Admit it. Admit that you want me to kiss you right now." His voice was arrogant, cocky, but oh, how much she loved it. His thumb traced her bottom lip slowly, causing her stomach to clench in anticipation.

She shook her head once again, not trusting her voice to speak. His lips hovered over hers, almost brushing hers that parted just slightly, breathing her breath, and her whole body felt weak. Shivering. Like she was cold and like she was burning all in the same time.

"You don't, little wolf?" He teased, but his voice showed how much he wanted to kiss her as well. "Alright then. Goodnight."

Her eyes flew opened, her mouth widening in shock at realizing how much he had teased her. "You're infuriating," she hissed, but before she had time to leave, one arm was on her back, and the other hand again on tilting her neck as his mouth finally covered hers. For her surprise, it was soft and welcoming, as if he was waiting what she would do next.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she moved her lips against his almost desperately, pleading him with her lips only, allowing him inside her mouth fully.

And Victor kissed her as if there was no tomorrow. Slowly, but deeply, letting her hands run through his silky hair as his hands explored the soft curves of her tiny body. Every atom of his being wanted for it to be her skin instead of the soft material of her dress.

But instead he took her bottom lip between his, sucking down gently in a second, and harshly on the other.

"Victor..." Only when Estelle had moaned his name against his lips she realized what she had done.

She made a step back, her fingers tracing her lips almost like she couldn't believe what she had done. They both panted hard, looking at each other, their lips red and swollen.

"This shouldn't have happened." She made other steps back, guilt starting to make her head clearer. "It shouldn't have."

Estelle ran to the door, wishing to escape the truth as soon as she could.

"I'll make you mine, little wolf," he shouted for her to ear, his lips spread up on a big smile. "Even if it's the last thing in the world I will do."