The Devil's Temptation!

Normally, her heart would always clench at the thought of dying soon but recently, it didn’t matter anymore as long as she was able to enjoy a little bit of happiness before leaving the world.

If the heavens could give her that, then she’ll be more than contented.

“What are you circling?” Came the questionable voice behind her and she instantly froze on her seat for a few seconds, looking like a criminal that got caught in the act. Her heart missed a beat due to the deep alluring voice whispering into her ear and that familiar scent of his that uninvitedly invaded her nostril, made her want to lean back against him and take in more of his scent, but she didn’t dare to try the things in her head.

Roshan, who leaned behind her to see what she was busy doing, had his gaze fixed on the notepad and saw she circled two dates.

“What are you busy doing?”

Anna immediately regained her composure and closed the notepad. Shaking her head, she said, “It’s nothing serious, I was just marking a few...uhm...I....” She barely knew what excuse to come up with as the words refused to leave her tongue.

“Anna.” He drawled, making his impatience known and her mouth instantly moved faster than her mind.

“My birthday.” She said it and her heart relaxed a bit at the thought of how quickly she remembered her birthday on time.

.....

“Your birthday?”

She nodded with a smile, still refusing to look his way, “on the 30th of this month is my birthday so I normally start counting the days whenever we enter the month of autumn, a childish habit that hasn’t left my system yet.”

She explained with a smile and it wasn’t a complete lie either. Her birthdays was always the best days she anticipated for as a child. She wouldn’t even sleep the night to her birthday due to excitement, cause it was the only time her mother would take her out after being kept at home for almost all her life as a child.

“My mother was always afraid of letting me step out of the house for reasons unknown to me, aside the fact I was cursed, she always said the world outside was dangerous and I should stay hidden from it. I didn’t understand her point back then and I constantly disturbed her, so on my birthday she always took me out, hiding my meteor mark with a jewelry headband.”

A sad smile formed on her lips at the sweet remembrance of her mother, but she discarded it quickly before it brought tears to her eyes. Why remind herself of good memories when knowing she wouldn’t experience them again.

“It’s just a habit.” She quickly placed it back in the drawer and closed it. Getting to her feet, she finally turned to look at the glacier who stared back.

The enchanting being looked fresh out of the shower as his black hair seemed damp and messy and his unblemished skin glowed. Worst of all, he was dressed in black pants and a black long sleeve loose shirt that had two to three buttons left undone.

It exposed his smooth, sculpted chest, leaving a tantalizing glimpse that’d make one want to unbutton the whole thing and see everything hidden beneath those clothes of his.

He looked seducing! And to think he was standing really close to her just now....

‘Goodness Anna! When did you start having such thoughts about a man?!!’ she inwardly scolded herself, but it didn’t help her situation at all. Everything about him was irresistibly tempting. He was a lethal beauty, a mixture of effeminacy and manliness. The best thing she had to do was excuse herself from his captivating presence.

“Madame Alina must need me now,” she forced herself to speak, “and the beast event must have started already, why don’t you come watch?”

“You go,” he moved away from the chair she was sitting on before, “I’m in the middle of something, I’ll come when I’m done.”

She nodded before taking her leave from the room. After she was out of sight, Roshan opened the drawer and picked the notepad. He stared at the two circled dates for a few seconds before letting his eyes divert to the 30th which was already circled.

“Why did she circle this?” His eyes narrowed in doubt.

Anna hummed softly as she strode past the carpeted corridor, wanting to cheer herself up with a little sweet tone and get rid of the heat that had been awakened by the glacier himself.

“Miss Ann, there you are.” William’s brogue voice caught her attention and she stopped in her tracks. She turned to see he was heading towards her direction and when he stopped in front of her, she dipped her head in a polite bow.

“A lovely morning to you sir William.” She greeted him charmingly. William on the other hand lifted his shoulder in a gesturable manner, feeling all pompous about how politely she greeted him.

“At least you have some good manners unlike that brother of yours.” He harrumphed, meanwhile Anna just rolled her eyes with a knowing smile.

“And to what do I owe this sudden call?” She asked, bringing William’s mind as to why he called her in the first place.

“Ah yes! Nicholas requests your presence in the garden.” He told her, but Anna’s expression turned blank and her brows quizzically knit themselves.

“Nicholas? But isn’t he joining the event?”

“No,” came William’s response as he adjusted the bowtie of his shirt, “he’s participating tomorrow, today’s a normal duo for all beastmen to see who’d be worthy enough to face Nicholas tomorrow.”

“Oh, I see,” she nodded in understanding, “But....why did he ask for me?”

“I can’t answer that Miss, I’m just following orders.”

A soft sigh left her lip, she already attended to his wound early this morning and he looked fine. Was something wrong?

“Okay then, I’ll go see if he needs anything.”

“Should I escort you?”

“Thank you, but no,” she politely declined, “I wouldn’t want to waste any more of your time Sir William, I’ll find the garden myself.”

“As you wish.”

She bowed politely once more before dismissing herself from William’s presence.

The moment she was out of sight, a slow smile formed on William’s lips as he found her really nice. It made him wonder if Madame Alina will be successful in bringing her and her son together.

He left the corridor as well.

~

Roshan, who kept his mind occupied on the Grimoire, trying to figure out reasonable reasons as to why the rest of the letters were gone, stumbled slightly on something behind him and when he turned around, it was the shopping bag Anna had dropped by her bedside.

Seriously?

“She’s not even here but her things are tormenting me just like her.” He hissed out, sounding less annoyed than usual while shaking his head. He reached to pick the bag of clothes from the ground and placed it on her bed when something interesting caught his attention.

With his Hazel-green eyes glinting like that of a sly fox, his hands reached into one of the bags to pick the red sexy lace nightwear that left his eyes widening at the sight. It was a see-through short-lace nightgown with wonderful net designs, enough to bring out the sexy delicate curves of a woman.

“She... bought this?” He was really taken aback by it. And when he dared to give himself a mental image of a particular someone in the dress, he involuntarily gulped hard.