The Death of a Bachelor

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: Just a small point of information- I love this chapter ♥️

Kieran was strolling in the back yard, and he sat down on a bench in the lawns. Thinking of Elena's blushing face made him smile to himself, but he wondered why she had left his presence so fast. Had he shocked her that much? She did have a tendency to run away from him. And with all that had happened lately, maybe he had come on too strong when she hadn't fully recovered from his last attack.

But he couldn't help himself. He knew she was naive and new to intimacy, but whenever she was around, he seemed to act on impulse, not reason; and failed to consider whether she was uncomfortable or not.

Regardless of whether she'd been too flustered to stay by him, or it was due to discomfort, he knew he needed to calm down.

"It's you!"

He turned his head sideways and saw Elena standing next to the bench, just under the stand on which a lantern hung. She was bending forward and peeping at him with a......wide grin on her face? Wait, why was she smiling?

Elena sauntered round the bench and stood infront of him.
She gasped loudly and exclaimed, "It is you!"
She jumped and clapped her hands once, excitedly.
"You are the General!" she added and tossed her head back, laughing mercilessly at whatever she thought was funny.

Kieran was utterly confused by the oddity of her perky behaviour. He regarded her for a while, and realisation dawned on him.
"Are you......are you drunk?"

Elena narrowed her eyes until they were mere slits, as if pondering hard on his question.

She lifted her head, and he lifted his, awaiting her response. She made to bring it back down in a slow nod, and he mirrored her actions. But instead, she cocked her head to the side, before lifting her head once more, and repeating the motion. The result was something between a nod and a shake, and her reply was,
"No......yeeeeeeh...no! I mean...yes?"

Kieran sighed, now sure that she was drunk. He raised himself to stand, but Elena placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him to sit back down. She stepped forward, filling up the space between his slightly spread legs, and he arched his head. Her ocean blue orbs bore into his cyan ones, and the steadiness in them commanded him to be still.

"You..." she breathed.

It was mild, but he caught the whiff of brandy.

She ran her hands up his neck to his jaw, and cupped his face gently, her thumbs touching his earlobes.
".......are mine."

To say that Kieran was disconcerted was an understatement. Her words dove into his heart, and crippled his nerves, rendering him immobile.

Slowly, she leaned in, and as her face inched closer and closer to his, the pace of his heart picked up. Her nose softly rubbed against his, and her forehead met his.
She closed her eyes the moment their foreheads and noses touched, but he kept on looking at her, eventhough it was a cross-eye view. He looked at her thick long lashes and pink cheeks, and took in her roses and peaches scent.

If this was her revenge for what had happened with them during the dance, it was most definitely a success.

They remained like that for a short while until she withdrew her face from his, but kept her hands in place.
"You are my betrothed." She said, her eyes never leaving his, "Mine, and only mine."

Kieran watched her silently, his entire being swelling with pleasant emotions for the woman infront of him.

"Yes." Was the only thing he mustered to say, his resolve weakened into submission.