Alena's eyes widened. What did he just say? A-aroused?! Her?!

Her mind reeled as unwanted heat surged to her cheeks. And when she saw an almost imperceptible smile gracing his lips, her lips, which were always so ready with regal declarations or a gentle, diplomatic smile, were now pursed in a tight line, quivering ever so slightly as she struggled to contain her mortification.

“You look really adorable when you're flustered,” Kaztiel commented.

“Flustered? Who?” Alena retorted, attempting to regain her composure.

“You’re not very honest, are you?”

She scoffed. “You’re one to talk about honesty, Duke. How about you start by answering my questions?”

“If I do,” his voice seemed to deepen, darken. “Are you going to be honest with me too and admit that you’re hopelessly falling in love with your handsome husband at the very first sight?”

Alena’s mouth gaped open due to sheer disbelief. What in the afterlife was wrong with this man? What universe was he living in? She’d never ever imagined that the fearsome Duke Donovian could actually say something like this!

“Falling in-love? You overestimate yourself, duke,” Alena laughed inaudibly in disbelief. “I wouldn’t even deny if you said I’m in-lust with you, but in-love? You’re being delusional, Duke Donovian.”

Kaztiel's eyes sparkled with an enigmatic glint. "So, you are indeed lusting after me," he observed, a hint of satisfaction weaving into his tone. He nodded slowly, as if confirming an inner thought that mildly pleased him. "That's more than enough for the moment. At least, it confirms we share a mutual... interest. We're moving forward.”

Alena was once again utterly dumbfounded as she struggled to catch up with his brazenness. Never in her life had she encountered a man with such unabashed audacity!

"You... perv... wait, aren't you supposed to be into men?" The words tumbled out before she could filter them, a knee-jerk reaction to his brazenness.

He simply stared at her, his face betraying nothing. Yet, subtly, something shifted in his gaze, altering the air between them in a heartbeat.

But then, just like that, she found herself ensnared in his trap once again. His golden eyes locked onto hers, forging an invisible link she seemed powerless to resist.

“Give me your consent, and I’ll dispel your doubts,” he murmured, his voice dripping with promise, an undercurrent of temptation that threatened to drown out everything else. "I'll show you just how mistaken you are, right here, right now."

Alena became acutely aware of every sensation. The rhythmic pounding of her heartbeat echoed in her ears, the uneven rise and fall of her chest became increasingly noticeable. The flush that painted her skin, warmth flowing from her cheeks and coursing through her veins, stoked a fire she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to put out.

He leaned in, and the world seemed to disappear around them. The space between them became charged, electric, as if they stood on the precipice of a storm, waiting for the first bolt to shatter the tension.

And then, his face inched even closer, effectively catching her in the vortex of his pull. But just when their lips were a hairbreadth apart, he paused.

"Though I love the way your body screams just how much you are yearning for my… demonstration, I still require your spoken consent, Duchess," Kaztiel's voice, low and husky, whispered, his breath feathering against her skin in a maddeningly seductive caress. "Just speak the words, and I shall enlighten you."