CHAPTER 3.

Chapter 3.

Drystan walked down the wooden stairs of Lina’s all-glass house. He had a scowl on his face as his burning gaze fixed on Lani.

“Do you ever stop yapping?” Drystan’s voice sliced through the air as he descended the stairs completely. Irritation and disgust could be heard in the undertone of his voice. No matter how quiet Lina tried to be, she could never be as quiet as her brother, Dryatan. Not that she wanted to be.

Lina hissed slowly and rolled her eyes at Drystan who had made his way through the corner of Lina’s kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water from her freezer then returned to the spacious living room.

“This is my house and I can Yap for as long as I desire.”

“It would hurt more if I didn't have a house. I am not the one who keeps begging to be visited.”

Drystan's replies were always a comeback and it left Lani faking a frown. She hated to admit how much she desired to be surrounded by the people she loved.

“I don't need you.” She countered and Drystan shrugged, taking a turn to the stairs again.

“How rude can you be, Merikh? Can't you at least say hi to my friend?”

Drystan paused on his track, his scowl deepened and he shut Leni with a dangerous glare. He never gave two shits about her friend, so the question was weird.

He was going to reply when the side of his eye caught a glimpse of Rosealba's face.

He directed his gaze to Rosealba. Deep Doe's eyes with a shade of sky blue and a shade of sea green, sank him in. Her blonde hair was not packed into a ponytail. They framed her delicate oval face, this time.

The lines on his face smoothened, replaced with a calm expression.

For the longest, he had felt a powerful gaze on him since he walked into the living room, but he never thought to check who the person was. He never cared.

He had only ever spared glances at bodies that lay on his bed, ready to have him in their tight and willing body, but this time, it looked like he would be sparing more than just a glance.

A minute passed and the world seemed to have frozen in the moment of their eyes. As if time held their breath, they stood still, lost in each other’s world.

Lina stared pinpoint at them. She’d cleared her throat, pulling them from their trance.

“Do you two know each other?”

Rosealba blinked back from the world of his eyes, she batted her lashes softly and directed her gaze to Lina.

“No.” she made to smile, but the word got stuck in her throat as she heard Drystan's calm reply.

“Yes. I meet her some ride away from the airport. When your pestering ass would not stop bothering me to get you some books.”

“Well. My pestering ass was bothering you to get a book for the person you are staring at!” Lina countered with a squeezed nose.

Rosealba stared back at Drystan, she saw his shoulder relaxed from the shrug he gave Lina. The look in his eyes remained unfazed, his haunting jade eyes piercing through her. She was almost lost in the world of his eyes again.

“Wait.” Lani gasped as Drystan’s words downed on her. She directed her bewildered gaze to Rosealba, whose cheeks were burning red.

“You mean, my brother was the knight in shining amore you were gisting me about?”

Rosealba bit back the extra embarrassment that burned through her, then nodded with her lips merged into a thin line.

Before Lina could say another word, Drystan saved them another question by stretching his hand forward, adding extra bewilderment to the look on Lina’s face.

“Hi. I am Drystan.” He never got her name last time because he was eager to bury himself in the warm hole of an ordered body, after his ruthless section. Something he did for fun.

Rosealba stared at his hand for some seconds before picking it up.

“I… I am Rosealba.” she struggled through her words as Drystan took her soft hand into his callused palm, pressing softly on it. She swallowed forcing her eyes not to look down at his lower region but she failed. A tiny rippling occurred in her system, as her eyes met with the line on his lower abdomen, and the rigidness of his packs.

Lina stared at her brother and friend who were exchanging soft compliments like she had seen a ghost.

For a person who has known her brother all her life. It was weird that he introduced himself as Drystan, instead of the usual Alactor Merikh who portrayed him to be the bad guy he is and evoked fear in people. Adding the last straw to her observation, he never helped anyone, not if they were dying and he would lastly never stretch his hands for a handshake. Not for business deals or women.

Lina cleared her throat in the air.

“Well, I am glad you finally helped a soul in your life.” the word came out more like a joke and it didn't seem to bother Rosealba. Lani made jokes about every little thing, that she had come to know.

“Well now that you both have a good relationship. I would run a bath get dressed and go do my research while you both keep each other company.”

Rosealba’s eyes widened! No! She didn't want to be left alone with him. The look her eyes held was of nervousness, but Drystan didn't betray his formal expression. He remained unfazed and that was enough hint that he was okay with it. And this right here was just another thing to stir up some worry In Lani.

She moved closer to Rosealba and whispered.

“He is my brother. Loosen up. He doesn't bite.” the word against Rosealba's ear had a grumbling effect on her stomach. She looked above Lina’s back. The half-naked sight of Drystan looked the opposite of his sister's words. He looked like He would bite, chew, and…. swallow if chance permitted. The realization that this naked sight of him had her nipples prickling left her unsure of herself.

Before she could say a word. Lani was already leaning against her brother, whispering to his ear something she could not hear.

“She is not some whore to desire. A hand on her and I will make sure you have no cock again.”

Drystan chuckled. A slow and dry chuckle.

“She looks just as tempting as a lady I desire to possess. You know I do not do ‘sweet nothing. I fuck.. And I fuck certain kind of woman.” The words from Drystan had Lani growling in disgust.

She pulled away from her brother and then said.

“Her car is bad. Help me drop her off when she desires to go home, okay?”

Just a nod from him and Lina vanished into the air.

Silence settled in, and hung the air with the weight of unsaid words. It felt awkward for Rosealba. Three days back, he was her shining armor and today, he was her best friend's brother, whom she could barely stay or cast a glance at without desiring a feel of his ripped muscle.

The silence was becoming thicker and thicker and almost touchable as though it filled the space with fog. With the distance that spread between them, Rosealba suddenly felt claustrophobic, she could feel his haunting gaze on her, piercing every part of her body and that left her a little too nervous, fidgeting on her finger.

The slight and occasional quiver of her body was a factor that made him forget his gaze on her body.

The way she constantly pressed her lips into a thin line. She looked…. Like something he could possess. So Innocent, pretty much naive. She looked incredibly attractive, sitting nervously than he would ever permit a person. Thinking about it now, he lied some minutes ago. She was the kind of woman he dealt with, he just never dealt with them in bed.

“White rose,” Drystan called out the meaning of her name, and the weight of silence was lifted, slowly washing off.

Rosealba's cheeks stretched into a big bright smile. Melting through the shadow of his darkness. It was not permitted for a smile to be this beautiful.

“How did you know about that?”

It was a question he expected her to ask or he would have concluded that she was dumb. But hell! He would never tell her that he googled her name right after he got it from her. She was just as bright as her name. Rosealba, white rose.

“You read?” He inquired after some seconds and that automatically changed the topic.

A brighter smile secured the bream of her lips, and then she replied.

“Yes. I read a lot.”

Damn it! He was captivated by the big and bright smile that stretched on her lips. No one was ever permitted to smile this way. So pure, so innocent, so ethereal.

“Do you read as well?”The questions were not out of curiosity. She just hated how slow the silence was finally creeping into the air.

“I don't read.” His voice was chilled and it sent an alarm into the air.

“Ohhh.” she opened her mouth to say but was suddenly interrupted by his words.

“But I would listen if you read to me.”

Instantly, her cheeks flushed with arousal— nonsexual ones. Unable to control the blush she let it all out, allowing the feeling to consume her.

She looked marvelous. The way she struggled to not blush too hard. The way her edges softened, and her eyes glittered with a canvas of warmth. The sparks in her eyes added to her charms, forming a glimmer of light that connected a string to his darkness. The brightness her eyes held, he adored it. Drystan’s muscle pinched. He had never adored anything light, but with her, he didn't just adore it, he desired her. To own her, to protect her to shield her from the darkness of the main world. For his 31 years of existence, he had never desired to own anyone. He had desired to kill, to ruin, to fuck and bang, not all women that fell to his feet, the ones he desire to bang. However, he had never desired to own anyone, this desire was pinching into the darkest part of his soul and he hated how much he was accommodating this unwelcome feeling with open arms.