The Dragon King's Heart

"I think I'm more comfortable like this, princess," Dante joked as he placed his hands around his waist, proud of himself. 

"I'm sure you are, but I am not," Laina muttered as she pushed the towel to him. 

She could feel his rock solid abs, against the soft towel she was holding in her hands. How much weight did the Dragon King have to lift in order to achieve such a god-like body? 

Seeing how embarrassed Laina was, he relented. After drying himself off with the towel, he wrapped it around his waist to cover himself up. 

"Is this better?" He asked as he tapped her on the shoulder. 

Laina carefully opened an eye. Once she was certain he was covered, she opened both eyes and looked up at him. 

"Much better," she replied with a soft smile. 

Dante materialized a small glass bottle filled with ointment. He placed it on the dressing table and took Laina's injured hand into his. He crouched down before her. He scooped up some of the ointment from its container and began to rub it carefully on Laina's injury. 

As he carefully rubbed her hand with both of his, Laina bit her lip. She could feel a warm sensation on her skin, where Dante had applied the ointment. The heat from the ointment helped to soothe the injury. 

"That should do the trick," Dante said as he released Laina's hand once he was done, "Try moving your hand. It should not hurt anymore."

Laina did as she was told. She rotated her wrist and gently pressed on the part that was previously injured. The amount of pain she felt had greatly reduced. It was no longer as red as it was before. 

She could smell the strong scent of the ointment on her hand. It smelt familiar for some reason but she did not know why. 

"It seemed to have worked quite well, thank you." Laina thanked him. 

"I think I deserve a thank you kiss, princess," Dante requested shamelessly as he turned his face to the side. 

"Just a small peck right here," he said as he pointed to his cheek. 

Laina sighed, she could not believe how shameless Dante was. However, she could not deny that his tactics were working on her. Laina leaned forward. Instead of giving Dante a peck on the cheek, she cupped his chin in her hands. 

She turned his face to face her and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. 

"I think you deserve a little more. So here's the payment for your hard work, plus a tip," Laina replied cheekily with a wink. 

Dante was once again pleasantly surprised. Laina never failed to surprise him. Just when he thought he had figured her out, she shows him another facet of her personality. 

"Well then, shall we get back to the bath then?" Dante said as he gestured Laina over to the bathtub. 

She had hoped the bath would relax her, she has had a long day. But with a half-naked Dante standing in front of her, Laina knew it was not going to work. Before she could say anything else, the muffled sound of a knock followed by the turn of the doorknob almost caused Laina to leap out of her seat. 

Dante, on the other hand, kept his calm as he turned to look towards the bathroom door. From the other end, he could hear the clanging of cutlery and hurried footsteps. 

Before either of them could say anything, they heard a voice. 

"Your Highness! I've brought your dinner as per your request," it was Margaret. 

She must have met up with Kol and heard that she wanted her dinner brought to her room. Her handmaid delivered it to her room herself. Dante was about to open his mouth to reply on Laina's behalf. Laina leaped out of her seat immediately and covered Dante's mouth. 

"Are you crazy?! You better keep your mouth shut, Dante!" Laina whispered loudly to him while covering his mouth with her hand. 

She could feel his rock-hard body against hers. At that moment, their intimate touch was the least of her worries. If Margaret had other servants in the room with her right now, and they were to see Dante in her bathroom; it would truly be the end of her reputation. 

"Princess? Laina? Is everything alright?" Margaret's voice was filled with worry. 

The handmaid noticed that the bathroom door was closed. She walked up to the bathroom door and knocked twice. 

"Laina, is everything alright?" She asked again, this time her voice was clearer. 

"Yes… yes… I'm alright, Margaret. I will come out shortly," Laina quickly replied. 

Hearing Laina's voice, Margaret heaved a sigh of relief. But she could tell that the princess sounded a little flustered. 

"Do you need any help? I can come in and dry your hair for you," Margaret said as she reached for the doorknob. 

Laina could see the doorknob slowly turning. In a state of panic, she ran over to the bathroom door and held it close with her body. The floor was a little slippery, so Laina ended up sliding across the floor and slamming her body against the door. 

Dante quickly covered his mouth to stifle his laughter as Laina's back hit against the door, stopping Margaret from opening it. On the other end, the handmaid could hear the loud thud. 

When she tried to push open the door, she could feel a force stopping her from doing so. 

"No no, it's alright! I can handle it on my own. Margaret, you can retire for the night. I'm worn out from today's activities so I just want to eat dinner, alone, after I am done with my bath," Laina replied swiftly. 

Whatever words came to mind, she blurted them out. 

Laina looked over to Dante, who was trying really hard to stop himself from rolling on the ground in laughter. 

She glared at him and whispered, "Don't you dare make a peep if not I'll kill you!" 

"Laina, are you in there with someone? Who are you talking to?" Margaret's voice sounded through the door. 

"Huh? No, no one! I was just … ha ha… talking to myself," Laina swiftly replied to avoid suspicion. 

She proceeded to let out a long audible yawn before adding, "Oh man, I am really tired. Well, I don't need anything else for the night, Margaret. You may take your leave. I'll see you tomorrow."

Margaret furrowed her eyebrows. Something did not seem right. But since Laina was so insistent, she did not want to intrude any further. Once the table had been set, she signaled the other servants to leave. 

"Alright then. I'll take my leave now, princess. Good night, Laina," Margaret replied. 

Once she was certain everything had been set up, she closed the door to Laina's room behind her and left to turn in for the night. It had been a long day for the handmaid as well. 

She too was looking forward to a relaxing night of her own.