Baby deer

"Delectable."

I tried to control my expression, but I couldn't help but press my lips in fear. How could he say all that while looking at me? The food... wasn't on my face. Before I knew it, I already slapped his shoulder lightly.

"Do I look like food to you?" I asked with a shaking voice.

That did not faze Hugo, as he simply glanced at his shoulder. A deep exhale slipped from his lips before he smacked them.

"Don't mind me, Bambi. I am simply speaking my thoughts aloud so I can hear them," he explained halfheartedly with a lazy look in his eyes. I pressed my lips into a thin line and tried to ignore him, just as he said.

However, how could I eat when Ivo, the person I was with, was missing? And his replacement was staring at me while mumbling things? The first bite felt hard to swallow because of the pressure Hugo was giving me.

'Why must he be so cruel?' I wondered, weeping internally. 'If he is hungry and thirsty, just as he was mumbling, he should eat and drink!'

When I couldn't take this pressure anymore, I turned my head to him. My eyes glinted and without a second hesitation, I shoved the spoon with the food I was eating inside his mouth. Hugo's eyes popped open, blinking at me cluelessly.

"You keep saying you're hungry and thirsty. If so, why don't you join me?" I intoned, although my voice shook midway. I bit my lower lip, staring at him as if he did me wrong.

Hugo didn't speak but pointed at the spoon in his mouth. So, I pulled it out reluctantly.

"You're right, Bambi," he said after swallowing down the food. "I should eat, but my arms feel tired for some reason."

I looked at him in dismay, grasping what he meant by that. "If you want me to feed you, just ask. You don't have to lie."

I pouted as I scooped the pudding and was about to feed this important man, but then he shook his finger sideways. What was it this time?

"Let's do it alternately," he suggested with a grin until his eyes squinted evilly. "You eat it, then me."

Hugo cupped his jaw while looking at me with delight. I didn't know what made him so happy so suddenly, but I didn't find any problem with his suggestion. So I fed myself and scooped again for him. Feeding him was the least I could do for him after all he had done for me until now.

"Same spoon. Hehe," he mumbled while chewing. I ignored him and continued with the routine. Now, I didn't feel the pressure of eating while being watched. Actually, I felt liberated as the pudding taste sweeter, although the spoon was a little hot for some reason.

Out of curiosity, I licked the spoon clean as it idled a little longer in my mouth. I looked at him when he raised a question.

"Taste good?" the side of his lips curled up into a cunning smirk. He looked more like a fox than a wolf.

I nodded as I pulled the spoon out. "The pudding tastes good."

"It only tastes better because I'm eating it," he said and by now, I was slowly getting used to his confidence. "I'm not joking. Saying it tastes good also means I taste good."

"Hugo, is this a riddle I must solve?" I blurted out, confused by what nonsense he was saying.

Hugo squinted his eyes as he hummed. His deep voice humming sounded oddly pleasant in the ear. I could not help but notice it.

"I like it," he said, adding to the piling-up bafflement he was sinking in my head. This time, however, he made it clear.

"My name, I mean. I like how it sounds so kind when you say it." He fixed his eyes on my lips, making me hide them in a thin line. "You used to call me, "you", so it really surprised me when you called my name the first time."

I could not help but raise my brows as I listened to him. A small part of me was surprised as well. He didn't seem like lying. Actually, he sounded sincere. And that somehow moved me a little. How could this overly confident man say such a simple thing pleased him?

I huffed and smacked my lips. "You haven't even called my name, though. You keep calling me Bambi when it's not even my name. It's Rinnie."

"Rinnie," I repeated while staring at him. Hugo's eyes glinted while biting his lip as if pondering whether to call my name.

"Hmm. Should I, Bambi? But Bambi suits you, though." I flinched when he extended his arm that was draped over my chair. Hugo clipped the tip of my hair in between his thumb and index, playing with it with his eyes on me.

"A baby deer. Although not long legs, you have big eyes; a bit curious and innocent... and maybe a little childish and naive." Hugo guided the tip of my hair to his lips. His devious smirk remained. He suddenly appeared dangerous, and I gulped at the sight of him. ​The way he looked at me was akin to a predator staring at his prey.

"Just my type," he continued under his breath, eyelashes fluttering ever so tenderly. "Call me by my name from now on, Rinnie."