FlOWERS WITH THORNS | K.TH

Mercy Taken

SILIN

He looks so anxious.

And somehow he reminds me of the first time I had met him, freshly bought from the auction. Back then, his scarlet eyes had been firm and frozen, gaze transfixed on me without a single wavering of his lips. Even though he must've been so afraid.

Back then, I had been too ignorant to know.

I touch the line of his shoulder. His broad figure swallows up half my vision, as I sit down at the edge of my bed. I would tell him to sit next to me, hadn't he already looked so uncomfortable being here. The last thing I wanted was for him to run away again.

His mask covers his lips. And his dark curls cover his downcast eyes.

"Taehyung."

Somehow, I can practically see the way his mouth is clamped shut behind that dark, protective cloth of his. He's looking for a chance to run again, to avoid me. And this time, he may actually leave for good.

I don't understand what's making him do this.

But I can feel it. The way that he would never tell me the truth no matter how much I ask nicely.

And sometimes.

Beasts could be tamed in other ways.

"I'm going to count to six," I whisper. "Tell me what has been going on with you these past couple days."

His eyes widen.

"One."

I rest a hand against his waist, near the hem of his sweat-soaked shirt. His gaze wavers, and I see him rapidly flick his eyes up to meet mine. But his figure stays still, hands crossed behind his back so taut that I can see the stretch of his broad, muscled arms.

"Two."

My hand slips underneath. I feel him bite back a gasp as I slowly run my fingers along his hard, firm body. Nothing about him is soft.

And I see his face twist with resistance.

The edges of my lips tint with a smile.

So it is mine, hm?

It's my body that you have been fantasizing about. Are you afraid that you cannot have it? Are you afraid of hurting it?

Tell me with your own mouth.

"Three."

I drop my hand. And his scarlet eyes flash open when I grip his wrist instead. Slowly, in a heat mixed with both desire to be touched and to know his thoughts, I do a thing that I would've never had imagined myself doing.

I bring his hand to my cheek. He is frozen still, his eyes crimson as ever as he stares unblinking into my face. I rest my head against his thick, calloused hand for a split second before lowering it down to my chest.

I hear him gasp.

"M-Mistress..."

His entire body is trembling. I hold his hand against the curve of my breast, my eyes never leaving his.

"Four."

What are you afraid of.

You are stronger than you think you are.

You are stronger than your desires.

I slowly unravel the chiffon ties of my dress near the shoulders. His breathing, rough and uncontrolled, is the only thing that fills the silence of the room. The dress slips off, revealing smooth, unblemished skin.