7. Falling into temptation.

Neriah could feel her heart about to leave her chest. Her legs were trembling. Her knees were barely holding her up. Yes, she was prepared to fight if need be, but no she wasn't really prepared to fight! Not when the man looked like he could break her bones just by moving a single finger.

Where did such a man emerge from? And how come she did not hear his footsteps? He was such a big man, with tight muscles. She would hear if he moved, but she didn't.

And now this man who seemed twice her height_ okay maybe not twice, but he was nothing less than 6 ft 5. And she was merely 5 ft 6.

Why was he so horribly tall? He was about eight feet away from her, but she could still feel the dominating aura from him.

And what was wrong with his eyes? Were they burning? Why did they seem to sparkle in the night?

She was staring, she wasn't supposed to be staring, she had to say something, anything, or run for her life at the very least. But she could neither move her legs nor her lips. She just stood there staring at the man.

Ah yes, the man. He was definitely a man in every way. A very breath-taking one at that. His curly hair was dark, the moonlight made it look like a shade of dark blue. Slightly long, it stopped at his shoulders and some strands that fell to his face reached his chin. His lips were full and fine. His nose pointed. His Jaws were shaped too perfectly.

A dimple at the center of his chin only added to the arresting features of the man before her.

His strong arms crossed over his chest languidly.

What!! He clearly is from the dragon tribe. Those fiery eyes are a total pointer. But weren't they supposed to be ugly and unpleasant to look upon? They are barbarians after all.

Why then does he look like this?

They say their dark skin made them look like dirt and dung, but right now all Neriah could see was that this man's darkened skin only added to his manly beauty. How can a person's skin be as brown as a walnut and he still looks so good?

She couldn't keep staring at him, she had to say something, anything at all… Or for the love of all things holy, run for her life!!

She could suddenly remember Aria's words, and she quivered.

"M_ my,"

"Are you the extra maid that they said would be coming in to serve prince Barak today?" His voice, oh lords, his voice was thick, and deep. Her father had a deep voice, but this one touched the deepest parts of her stomach. Her father had to be very angry to produce a sound close to this one. But this man seemed relaxed and yet his voice was that deep!

"Can you not speak?" He asked again. She frowned at his question. Of course she could speak, did she look dumb? But what was wrong with her, she had to say something!

"Are you lost? Or are you the maid sent to serve prince Barak?"

"Yes!" she finally found her words.

"Yes what?" There was a commanding power to his voice. One that clearly showed his superiority. One that made it clear that he expected no disobedience.

But he was dressed rather simply, a simple tunic tucked into leather trousers and knee-high boots. A glorious sword by his side. Was he a decorated guard? Maybe.

"Clearly, I'm not stupid enough to lose my way. Isn't it obvious that I am the maid sent to serve prince Barak?" He hadn't seen her climbing the wall, it seems. If he believes she was a maid, then that would give her easy access into the castle.

What a pleasant coincidence! It seemed a maid was supposed to come. The goddess was working in her favor, Neriah thought. I'll just disguise myself as the maid so I can see the prince. She said in her head.

"I was sent as an extra hand to serve prince Barak. You seem like a guard? Take me to him." She ordered.

"Oh, I see. Right this way." The incredibly tall man directed her. Neriah could not believe this was working, she could not believe she would be entering the castle without any stress whatsoever!

But what she did not notice was the smirk that curled up the lips of the man who led her.

…

He had been ready to throttle the climber when he had thought the person to be a man. But things just happened to change now.

Not only did the man turn out to be a woman, but she was something he couldn't just seem to comprehend. She was something more than anything he had ever known. And there was something about the commanding tone in her voice that made Barak curious.

The way she spoke, it seemed she was someone who was in the position of giving orders. She said her words like she expected them to be followed without questioning.

Now, he was still thinking, if the king of Avelah hadn't sent a spy to watch him, then who could be so interested in his life that they would send someone to spy on him?

Only one thought came to his head. He had no idea why, but he felt like if what he'd heard about the princess was true, then she could very much be the perpetrator of this entire spying thing.

It made sense, and this red-haired was probably the personal hand-maiden of the princess. That would explain why she sounded commanding. She was probably used to giving orders to the workers around the princess, because her position placed her higher than the rest.

The more he thought about it, the more interesting it became.

Dear bride, are you that curious to know what your future husband looks like? So much so that you would send someone to spy on me? Barak mused to himself. Well if his bride wanted to send someone to spy on him, she should have been more careful when choosing a spy.

She should have chosen someone he would not even spare a glance.

But sending this moving and breathing temptation to him was a really foolish move on the part of his naive bride.

But, then again, falling into temptation once in a while wasn't such a bad idea. And he planned on immersing himself deeply inside this temptation tonight.

In fact he planned on drowning in this pleasant temptation. He'd fall so deep into this temptation that she would beg him for mercy, and then she can go tell the princess what she should be expecting on their wedding night.