BLOOD.FANGS.N'.FIRE

Matthew placed the food he had brought with him on the short round table near the maroon lounging sofa in the king's bedroom.

He went over to the reading desk, picking up the paper the king had just written. He bowed to him and soundlessly walked out of the room.

Florah just stood there stiffly like she was a part of the furniture in the room.

The tantalising smell from the food made it very difficult to ignore her hunger. She kept stealing glances at the food meant for her master.

Gavriel saw this and smiled mischievously. Little did she know that he caught every expression of hers.

He always found himself observing the girl's actions.

Moving from his reading desk to the sofa, he removed the plate covering his food. The white plate beneath contained sliced Irish potatoes, some green vegetables that were covered in a golden dressing, and then some pasta with a creamy sauce was set to the one side of the plate.

The scent of the food got stronger, and so did the sound of a certain stomach that growled louder in hunger.

Florah wanted to request to be excused, but her plan to hide from her embarrassment turned to dust when the king called.

"Come, Red," Gavriel called

By now, Florah had come to terms with the man calling her 'Red' because she was too scared to correct him.

What Florah didn't know was that Gavriel chose to call her Red when he knew her name clearly.

Walking towards the king, Florah faced him awaiting his orders for her.

Gavriel tapped the spot next to him unashamedly and said, "Feed me," with a grin on his gorgeous face.

Florah stood there in a trance. She wondered if she had heard the man well.

'No, my ears must be failing me,' she tried to convince herself that she had heard wrongly.

"Master, I am sorry my ears must be failing me. I didn't hear clearly what you said. Could you please...."

"What did you hear me say?" Gavriel cut off his servant's continuous rumblings.

Swallowing her nonexistent saliva, she said, "l think, l heard you say 'feed me',"

"And.." Gavriel tilted his head a little in askance.

"I thought, I heard his Majesty wrong beca...."

"Master. Master Gavriel, " the king stated, cutting her off again.

Florah looked at him blankly, a little frustrated that he kept interrupting her speech.

"Did you forget how you should properly address me, Red?" Gavriel asked his face serious.

The redhead froze but only for a second, "I am sorry, Master. I thought l was obliged to call you by your title." Florah said wittily.

Smirking, Gavriel stood up this time, his tall mysterious figure towered over the redhead who felt like taking a step back, but her legs were not corporating.

So she stayed rooted to her spot, her heartbeat that she had so much tried to control, now drummed in her ears like she had run a marathon.

Cupping her chin with his colossal palm and fingers, he smirked, hearing her loud heart beat, she was clearly in fear but tried to put up a strong front that he easily saw right through.

His eyes changed to red maroon the more he listened to her heart beat against her plump bosom.

Leaning in, he whispered, "What are you obliged to call me?" He asked.

His extreme closeness made her extremely nervous. Her thoughts were all scattered. "You..your the king, l a..am obliged to call you your Majesty, aren't I?" Florah stuttered, trying to answer his question.

"But if I am the king, aren't you supposed to follow my orders?" He also asked

Florah gulped in nervousness, taking a small step back. She couldn't form any words, so she nodded her head in acceptance.

Gavriel moved closer to the girl who tried to create some distance between them, which he didn't allow. "How many times do l have to punish you, Red? It seems that you always have trouble following my simple orders. " Gavriel berated, caressing her neck, slowly feeling how her blood rushed through her body.

Her heart beat strongly in her chest. He felt her temperature slowly rise, her breathing erratic.

"Hahaa," he chuckled at the girl's expense.

"First, you lie the moment you enter the castle, second, you just keep on lying to everyone, third, you escape from me, and fourth, you say you are something yet we both know you aren't what you claim to be." Gavriel drawled.

"Those were four punishments, now they are five, thanks to your disobedience, Red." Gavriel said, lifting her face clearly to stand face to face with his maid.

All along Florah thought that the man was not as they said, she thought he was letting her go with only warnings from time to time but by his words, she realised he was counting her wrongs and piling them up to punish her.

Her lies were all harmless. She only lied in the beginning so that she could get the job that she now regretted even hearing about.

She wanted nothing to do with the man that stood infront her looking at her like she was his dinner, that was why she tried to run away because she realised that she was at a risk working for the man.

But now it was too late, it seemed that he knew everything about her. She hoped he didn't know that Jeremiah was her friend because she was afraid he would cause him trouble.

"Your Majesty, your food is getting cold." She said, reminding him.

Gavriel smiled, his eyes staring at the girl whom he failed to compel yet again.

Keeping his hand around her waist, he dragged her down with him to sit on the sofa. But it was that he sat on the sofa while she landed sitting sideways on his lap.